reply to post by davethebear
davethebear I appreciate that current day cash machines are enough to make you wretch. good taste and common sense is enough to take you there, but
your being a musician adds on another level.
perhaps we should keep in mind the entertainment industry has been a filthy cash whore from day one. long gone are the days when a few
musicians/composers lived by the graces of well-to-do benefactors who supplied room and board in exchange for entertainment.
music & money have gone hand-in-hand for who knows how long, we've all heard the phrase "sing for your supper" and they meant it. street musicians
count on passers-by generosity today as they have for hundreds of years.
pop-music scenarios featuring pretty boys & sexy girls with minimal talent have been around in greater and greater quantity as the cost of recorded
music & recorded music players slowly went down and the spendable part of peoples paycheck packet slowly went up.
its sad but its true. business is business. a businessman can afford the expense of just so many profit-losing ventures before he is no longer in
business. money makes the world go around (I heard it in a song!) and everybody has bills to pay.
i'm not making excuses i'm just telling it as i see it. we can take a look at Billboard's Top Ten as far back as it exists and see the same pattern
appear. one hit wonders. fake front bands w/ the studio work done by top notch musicians who had to be guaranteed their name would never be associated
with the work. pre-teen / tween / kiddie / bubblegum pop. bands created to fill the time slot when Mtv first came around. boy bands.
when you were a lad there was lots of 'musicians' selling vinyl you may recall, that looking back now you'd want to decimate your eardrums rather
than voluntarily listen to: Tommy Roe. The 1910 Fruitgum Company. The Archies. The Carpenters. The Osmonds. Each generation has their share, they've
been there a long time. These days the profits are tremendous (and so is the greed factor) and it runs throughout the entertainment industry.
while I'm no Lady Gaga fan I have to give credit where it is due. I've seen her on The Graham Norton Show, SNL, and once on a late night USA talk
show (?). LG has large freakishly fun costumes that are always different, bringing her act more theater appeal. she can actually sing, which is a rare
talent these days. she actually reads sheet music and plays an instrument. i do get a kick out of her little remarks after she takes 10 minutes in a
silly costume to manage to sit astride her piano bench to play. she doesn't expect anyone to take her seriously IMHO but the girl can belt out a
tune.
singing talent, music knowledge & talent to play an instrument is something we didn't get (okay, maybe singing) from Madonna and all the wanna-be
girls like Britney Spears, Debbie Gibson, Mandy, Spice Girls etcetera.
Justin Bieber was on SNL a few months ago. that poor little boy looked like he was going to piss himself. I actually felt bad for that kid. I wonder
if he has a wealthy TV or record executive Grandfather who decided 'his boy' was gonna be a star. that lad stinks on ice, i really felt bad for
him.
greedy businessmen will be investing in pushy managers & promoters for years to come. nothing we can do about it. so I thank God there are some real
musicians, real singers and actual artists that are trained, able to read & write music and play instruments. we can let people that don't know any
better listen to and buy whatever hokey hook-filled ditties they want. as long as i'm not forced to listen to that vile rubbish i'll be a happy lad
till i go to my grave. hang in there, bro.