The Last..

[Isis]

May 28, 2008 21:14:49 GMT 2 The Curmudgeon said:

May 27, 2008 17:30:51 GMT 2 @mediko said:

it's having an open mind that's good, not reality shows. if a&r men had always just signed the same type of artist they always had, there'd be no beatles, bowie etc.

if some film producer hadn't had the cojones to turn comic strips into movies, you'd be sitting here discussing the merits of doh a fucking deer all day.

Of course having an open mind is good - and that's exactly the thing these "moguls" like Simon Cowell DON'T have. There's nothing wrong with a&r men (did I ever say there was?) but here's a good example. There's a singer in the UK (I don't know where you're from, you anonymous little "red" people, you) called Mika. Now, HE went for an interview with Simon Cowell. Cowell said he liked his voice but didn't like his songs (something Mika found funny as Cowell sat with a framed gold Tellytubbies record). So, if Cowell had his way, falsetto singing Mika would either be singing Bee Gees covers or songs written by glossy American super producers (a la Leona Lewis).

The result? Mika found another record company and produced the multi-platinum, Brit and Ivor Novello award winning "Life In Cartoon Motion", with all songs written by Mika. Now, whatever you think of the finished record, if Mika had auditioned for X-Factor he would be signed to record "Staying Alive" and then dropped like a hot rock.

I am getting very very concerned here TC, as I am starting to nod in agreement with your comments........are you an alien and have you inserted some sort of probe to reprogramme me......im scared

[trashcanman]

The problem is this: reality shows are dictating what music is or isn't produced by record labels in the first place, what is or isn't played on the radio (which is a dead medium to me anyways), and therefore what is or isn't bought by consumers. Pop music is in no way, shape, or form a creative art any longer; it is product and nothing more. "What can we get braindead idiots with no identity of their own to buy right this minute?" is the only mantra left in the mainstream music industry. Nearly every act that you ever loved that came out before 1997 simply would not have made it in today's climate. They would have released an amazing album, been entirely ignored with no advertising or airplay, and then slipped down to the indie or even local scene never to be heard from again except for those of us others deem "elitist" or "stuck-up". New artists with legitimately good original music will very soon be something you have to work very hard to find and these shows are the single biggest reason.

[The Curmudgeon]

Dear God, I never thought I would have to DEFEND my slating of reality shows on this board.

The times, they are a-becoming quite different, indeed.