I’ve witnessed two guys nearly start throwing punches over whether Nickelback plays good music. Guy 1 claimed that they do because their music is enjoyable to him. Guy 2 claimed that they do not because they are unoriginal, lack musical talent, write trite lyrics and their music is not dynamic.
Both are right. When speaking about music, “good” is too vague a term to discuss such a complex concept. Music is subjective; everyone likes different genres. But music is also objective, and unfortunately the subjective is taking over. The shallow tastes of the masses are ruling the music industry and any celebrity with a pretty face can get a record deal. Singing well isn’t even necessary.
Topping the Billboard Top 100 chart this week are “My Boo” by Usher and Alicia Keys, “Over and Over” by Nelly (with Tim McGraw?!), “My Happy Ending” by Avril Lavigne, and, dare I say, “Balla Baby” by Chingy. Is anyone else out there wincing? Or are you too busy crooning the cookie-cutter alternative hit “The Reason” by Hoobastank?
Last week I attended Barry Drake’s multimedia presentation “’60s Rock: When the Music Mattered.” I left the Dawg House feeling bittersweet and jealous that I could not have grown up during a time when to be the most successful, a boy band had to write their own songs, play their own instruments or, at the very least, harmonize ever-so-sweetly (The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons), and the only girls who rocketed to the top of the charts had voices that were heavenly (The Supremes, Nancy Sinatra).
Talented songwriters like Bob Dylan and John Lennon wrote deep, profound lyrics that changed the thoughts and mind-sets of everyone in the ’60s, leading to a shift in the American way of life. Music encouraged people to be more open-minded and to fall into the trap of conventionality.
Rolling Stone just released its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” with the majority of the spaces given to ’60s rock, and only three held by post-1990 songs. The top spot was won by “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan. According to Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke, “No other pop song has so thoroughly challenged and transformed the commercial laws and artistic conventions of its time, for all time.”
I know that there will never be another period of music so influential, but luckily the music of that period will never fade into the past like today’s popular music surely will.
My brother, guitarist and music-lover, said that music today is a “fashion show,” where “the record companies take an image and performer and make the music fit that,” rather than finding a genuine talent and building fame off the talent. He’s right. Look no further than the bevy of synthetic pop princesses and pop-punk/alternative bands today.
Record companies are capitalizing on the idea that if it sells, it works, hence the homogenous quality of mainstream music today. In other words, it all sounds the same, but people are buying it. Why? Because it’s catchy. Because they can sing along or pick up a guitar and play along, because the songs are easy enough for everyone to play.
Music today has lost what music is about-soul. The motivation to write and play music has shifted from performer’s hearts to their wallets, and the fans’ attraction has shifted from the performers’ talent to their faces. It’s unthinkable that there was once a time when the uglier or goofier-looking the musician, the better the music. Just look at Simon and Garfunkel, The Who and Janis Joplin.
In closing, I’d like to hold a sing-off between two artists who, at their respective times, were both considered mainstream pop artists-Bob Dylan and Ashlee Simpson.
Bob Dylan sings, “Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people/They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made/Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things/But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe…”
Now for Ashley’s rebuttal. “You make me wanna la la/In the kitchen on the floor/…I’m like an alley cat/Drink the milk up, I want more/You make me wanna scream …”
Profound, Ashlee, simply profound.
Erin Clyburn is a sophomore English major. She can be reached at [email protected].