So, I’ve always had a little bit of an old James Dean movie in me. I always fell for the bad boys, the quiet sulkers, the artists and the musicians. I was the girl in high school who checked out that incredible guy who sat alone and read Shakespeare. The underdogs, the loners – they were my passion. English class would leave me enraptured with that boy who understood all the sensitive issues of the poetry we discussed.As I grew up, more and more of these soul-mates formed bands. Imagine, four of these majestic creatures in one place at one time, all doing what they loved the most, their passion, their calling. I supported all my friends in these endeavored projects, and I still do. Not only because they’re my friends, and you should support your friends, but because I know what they’re feeling. An artist and musician myself, I understood the feeling one gets from the arts and how indescribable it is to someone who does not perform.So, I think that’s why I have such a problem with the music industry these days. Not that I like television in the first place, but I hate MTV. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it: Geared towards pre-pubescent females, it shows mostly videos of “attractive” guys who cannot even play a musical instrument. Thank God that they have computers and machines to help with recordings because most of these “performers” can’t sing either. So this is music? Are people going to look back on this in hundreds of years (assuming we live past next New Year’s) and think that this was all we could do with ourselves?”Artists” like the Backstreet Boys and returns from various members of the New Kids On The Block have plagued the music industry in recent years. What happened to musicians who could actually sing and play music? Music is no longer based on talent. It’s based on looks. Who can attract the most attention, who can become the biggest sex object?A recent article in Rolling Stone told of talented women artists who were denied contracts with major labels because of their appearance. They were too fat and wouldn’t appeal to the consumer. How about the controversy with LL Cool J when his backup singers on tour were different from those who sang on his album. Why? For the shear fact of appearance. I’m asking, why does it matter? What about the old saying you can’t judge a book by its cover? Milli Vanilli – need I say more?I suppose since the early days of Elvis and rock and roll, music has been based on sex appeal. With his swinging hips and sexy lyrics, Elvis took the ’50s and ’60s by storm. Followed by the Beatlemania of the ’60s, the days of disco and the hard rock anthem of the ’80s, this is what we’re left with. Breast implant poster girl Brittany Spears and ex-NKOTB cutie Joe MacIntyre? I think I’d rather vomit. In the meantime, the few talented bands can’t even make it off the college and local circuits.I’m disgusted with music. Music should be about feeling and emotion. It’s a raw art. Victor Hugo once said, “Music expresses that which can not be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” But, what exactly are these “hip” new artists singing about? They don’t know. How can one experience so much by the tender age of 16 to write music? It’s simple: They don’t.Somebody else writes it for them. The mastermind behind all these bands holds auditions every few months to bring together attractive people to sing together. No history, no emotional connection. Just good looks. It’s just another example of the pathetic commercialism of America.
Kendra Davitt is a sophomore German/international studies major from Coshocton, Ohio.