Justin Bieber was nominated for the Best New Artist Award during the BET Awards 2010.
BET, really? Really? You couldn't find a more suitable candidate for this award? Are your credentials and ratings so far down the drain that you had to nominate Justin Bieber?
Before we start pulling out the obvious cards, this is not a matter of race. We've had Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake nominated for R&B awards and they're decent artists, relevant to our demographics. Not once have I heard a Bieber track on any urban radio station and it's TOO obvious that Justin Bieber was nominated in order to draw a younger white audience. That decision was transparent. If the goal was to nominate someone white in order to draw ratings, then why not nominate Lady Gaga? She has a fan base that spans across race and gender not only in this country, but around the world. Plus, she has shown exceptional skills in her songwriting, vocals, dancing, and overall performance. Lady Gaga may be a 2000s version of Madonna, but at least she is doing something to stand out in what I believe has become a very boring pop music scene in America. I personally don't listen to Z100 or other Top 40 stations that much because everyone sounds the same to me.
It is transparent moves such as the one stated above that proves time and time again that American music is all about the bestselling product instead of the art. The recording artists aren't truly nurtured anymore, their craft not given time to grow. Ever since the birth of the mega ringtone, it's very rare to find an album that is decent, if not stellar in its entirety. Some albums are good for just the two singles and then the rest of the album is filler.
*Insert disparaging comment about urban music*
I'd be hypocritical if I cursed the hip-hop I hear today. You know the songs I'm talking about--"Lemonade". "All The Way Turnt Up." Those who demean the party songs are just as ignorant as those who demean the alternative, "conscious" music. For the record, I really hate the term "conscious" rap. I like to believe that all musicians are conscious of the music they put out, whether it is deep and lyrical or shallow and bass-bumping. I believe the best result is to recognize both sides of the coin, and be mature enough to know the difference. (But I'll save that for another post before I go off on a rant.)
Every era of music--the jazz era, the rock n' roll and glam rock era--have all had their share of deep ballads and what would be the equivalent to "pulp fiction". A good example of this is KISS' song "I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night". The title of the song of course, serves as the hook, then goes on to say "and party every day." Surely, this is not a moral we would like to teach to the American youth, yes? But in my lifetime, I have not heard anyone say ANYTHING about that song and other rock classics like it, even though those songs are featured on Guitar Hero, a game that the American youth has open access to. Nor should anything be said about those songs. There are just moments when you just wanna not worry about shit and have fun.
Kanye West's new video, "Power", proves that he is part of the Illuminati.
...I am getting really tired of rumors circulating the Illuminati and the music industry. This is worse fear-mongering than the War on Terror. It seems to me that any urban music video that doesn't feature voluptuous video vixens, dollar bills in the air or men exercising their hyper-masculinity and frivolity--automatically falls under the category of Satan.
It is no surprise that the following artists that have been named as Illuminati--Kanye, Jay-Z and Rihanna--have popped up more than anything when it comes to the secret society. I can understand why this group gets so much negative attention. I mean, it wouldn't be a good look for anyone to worship Satan. All joking aside, he's not a good guy.
But the funniest thing about the paranoid comments you see on YouTube about the "signs" and "symbols" they point out is this: if you are so against Satan, then how do you know all of his symbols? As I mentioned in Confession #2, when people are so repulsed by something, they avoid it at all costs. You're wasting time and energy researching (if you can call it research) something that you don't even wish to be a part of, while the artists in question are focused on getting that money and fulfilling their goal.
And as an added note, I've watched the videos in question--"Power", "On To The Next One" and "Rock Star 101" and I've had no inclination to worship the devil. Thank you very much.
The UK appreciates a much wider variety of music than the US does. They have better taste.
Yes, the UK is ahead of their time, but that's also because they're ahead in history. The United Kingdom (and Europe in general) has been around for many centuries, and therefore has had more time to develop their culture and art. So considering that the United States as a nation is only 234 years old, compared to the UK's long history, we're in the medieval times relatively speaking.
In my opinion a lot of it also has to do with the fact that there isn't as much support in America for the arts as there is in Europe. America was founded on the ideals of freedom, but it is now only based on capitalism and profit. So it's not about what will last over time, but what will last as long as it can.
Author's note (8/25/2010): I apologize on the relative lateness and terseness of this post compared to last month. It was spaced over a period of two weeks compared to a few days. I have been working on getting back to school and all that good stuff, so I regret I can not give you my "final thought" as I usually do. Considering the hectic schedule I have, I will do my best to make two to three posts a month. Thank you for reading with me so far.
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