A Reflector news article Tuesday revealed that Darius Rucker, former leader singer of Hootie & The Blowfish, will headline the Old Main Festival.
I would like to point out that Lawrence Simmons is not at fault for writing the article. In addition to being a solid writer, Simmons says “whoa” a lot, so you have to like him. The problem I had with the article is that the sources seemed to have no perspective about music.
Student Association newly elected President Blake Jeter claimed Rucker had two great country singles out. That might be true, but I listened to them, and they’re bummers.
In both songs, Rucker doesn’t know how to have any fun. For example, “It Won’t Be Like This For Long” involves Rucker, or someone, telling his wife or girlfriend that their young child won’t be with them for long. Jeezus Christ!
Starkville is a college town full of young adults, and concerts here tend to draw a younger crowd. We also know most people agree that college towns and our younger years should be fun. Thus, the headliner for a major music festival in Starkville should be as fun as possible, not worrying about the past and future. Needless to say, I am looking forward to more of Jeter’s youthful music suggestions after he becomes SA president unopposed.
Next up, Madison Gartman, student director of Music Maker Productions, said Rucker “is going to be great because he is an all-around guy.” Why is this important to music? I assume Miles Davis, if he were alive, would be too much of an a–hole for Gartman to invite to Starkville.
Former SA President Braxton Coombs, a likeable guy with an impressive handshake, also seemed lost. He said that Rucker “has a wide music base” and this is one of the main reasons the musician was selected for the concert. An artist with several hit singles during the 2000s would appeal to more people than a guy who led a ’90s alternate rock band – a group that many rock fans still detest – and released a couple of country singles on artistic life support.
Lastly, and least importantly, Adam Shields and Spencer Boothe don’t seem to understand what pop music is. Shields said Rucker is a diverse musician because he “went from singing pop music with Hootie & The Blowfish” to “singing country music by himself.” It’s all pop music. If it’s popular and on the charts, it’s pop. Doesn’t matter if it’s country, rock, jazz, rap, R&B or soul. And another thing: Rucker has always had a country tone and often wore cowboy hats with his old band. It’s not surprising he’s doing country now, and it certainly doesn’t make him diverse in a musical sense.
Boothe, on the other hand, denied that Hootie & The Blowfish were mainstream. He even said they “were like in their own genre.” Any commercially successful music – Cracked Rear View sold 16 million copies – is mainstream. End of story. I also challenge Boothe, or anyone, to explain to me what unique genre Hootie & The Blowfish started. Elaborate on how they didn’t sound like anyone else.
I realize we have limited funds and that people have different musical tastes. But let’s be honest about this intel, Mr. President. Rucker’s new songs are not as fun as they should be for a young audience in a college town. Music Maker Productions is stupid if it really thinks a musician will be great because he’s an “all-around guy.” There are tons of artists with wider music bases than Rucker, and he’s not that diverse musically. And some MSU students don’t even know what pop music is.
Now that I think about it, maybe there isn’t a problem.
Jed Pressgrove is a graduate student in sociology. He can be contacted at [email protected].