Dang Duncan! If you watched then you're part of the problem! I heard a producer talking on NPR a couple months ago saying that he is not a fan of "vocal gymnastics" which I think sums up what you get from American Idol.
It's not the downfall of American culture but I sure would like to see good original music get the same kind of push.

I guess by supporting it I am part of the problem. That doesn't bother me so much. There has ALWAYS been horrible music. It has been my experience that over the past 5 years there has never been more great music available to me. I don't have the capacity to even listen to the music that I want to check out. If I watch Idol and another piece of crap becomes a success story, it doesn't bother me.

One more thought, you're also going to the Museum of Bad Art! I'm starting to see a pattern here!

I hate two things about the show. First, it puts as much emphasis on style and looks as it does on musical ability. Note how the judges will frequently say "I like you" rather than "You're a good singer." I know that's true in other areas, even writing--witness the popularity of a moron like Ann Coulter, who is a celebrity for her looks, not her brain--but that doesn't mean we should encourage it.

I also hate how they take stupid people and hold them up to the light and mock them for their stupidity--i.e., the ending last night in which they did a montage of diverse-looking people to undercut Star War girl's rant. Star War girl was a moron; just let her go be a moron. It's almost like entrapment--they entice morons onto the show, encourage them to be morons, and then the rest of us get to laugh at them and feel good about ourselves.

Something about that doesn't sit right with me.

With all that said . . . after I posted this thread, I went in and watched the last 45 minutes of the show with my wife. So, like Barry and Duncan, I'm part of the problem.

Maybe this is just me, but I hate hearing vocal embellishments all over the place.  Every "good" singer that I heard was just doing all these ridiculously cheezy pentatonic style vocal things.  And they all sounded exactly the same.  Nobody would just hold a pitch or sing a melody - at least a recognizable one.  It reminded me of times that I've had to play with someone who wouldn't stop soloing.  Granted, maybe it's because they're trying to impress the judges in a short amount of time.  I for one, hate this show and everything it stands for, but it's probably because I'm a bitter musician.  My girlfriend made me watch all two hours of it last night, but I did get to drink.  So it wasn't all bad. 

 A couple of years ago, I helped these girls, Jill and Kate, make a record.  It was a lot of fun - we recorded it out on the vineyard and I played most of the instruments on the record.  Anyways, Kelly Clarkson was their biggest influence and we had many discussions about how I hated American Idol and they loved it, blah, blah, blah.  Anyways, now they're Kelly Clarkson's back up singers. 

Yeah.  It has an entertainment value that, to some, overshadows the terrible music.  It's funny to watch people make fools of themselves, although some of them I actually felt sorry for.  How do you show your face somewhere again after that?  And why is it that everyone thinks that they just have to be famous?  Get over yourselves.  I, for one, just wanna be rich!!

I've never once watched a full episode of American Idle. I am not at all interested in it. F the music industry, I don't want to be a part of the bullying. I know some people have had great success, and some great failure from it. And I know lots of people enjoy watching it.

It makes my skin crawl.

Quote:

Matt wrote:
Is it any coincidence - seriously - that the ad banner beneath this thread promotes a Cd by Blake somethingorother, the Idol zhikka, zhikka, zhikka, human beatbox guy?

I think if you don't like Idol that's fine, but to think that it is doing anything different than what has been going on for years or that other shows on television aren't doing is to be mistaken. Humor at the expense of others has been a staple in entertainment since the dawn of entertainment.

Without something like American Idol and things like manufactured pop groups and boy bands to rail against, we are eliminating the possibility for another musical revolution. Punk rock took on the self indulgent music of the 70's, grunge took on hair metal etc. etc. Perhaps the next great songwriter will be moved to create something that isn't as ridiculous as Taylor Hicks?

All that aside, Since You Been Gone is a great song, and frankly Kelly Clarkson is a pretty great singer. It's nothing I'd take with me to an island, but it's really not too bad.