It’s all about the music
Music is the medium that spans further across the artistic spectrum than one can comprehend. From orchestral compositions, to pop, to death metal, it can be used to excite, inspire, relax, entertain, move, and teach depending on the assortment of vibrations entering the listener’s ear.
Something awful has happened in the last 20 years to this treasured form of expression. It has moved from an audible to a visual, thus destroying all beauty once held therein.
There was once a magical time, before the invention of MTV and others of its genre, when it didn’t matter what an artist looked like or whom they partied with. “Artist,” being the key word here.
All forms of music should have their credit where credit is due, regardless of personal taste, but the validity of music should be judged on… the music.
Artists today are given massive popularity or are swept under the rug depending on how marketable they may seem. This is why Britney Spears and the boy band craze took over the world in the 1990s. Their music is not deep, meaningful, innovative, or any one of the many adjectives that should describe an artist that has sold millions of albums.
A pretty face or a sex scandal sells far better in today’s market than years of extensive training and commitment to one’s craft. It no longer matters what an artist has to say, only that they look good while they say it.
A listener should have to do no more than put on a song, close their eyes, and just absorb.
It is disturbing that so many bands are shunned because they don’t have a pleasing poster or have differing views than some would like.
The lack of anything original breaking into the mainstream can be credited to the rape and destruction of the artistic side of the music industry.
If this trend continues, do not expect anything resembling the artistry of The Doors, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, or any of the musicians that are deemed “classics” to ever break through again.
Ponder this one: What music released in the last 15 years will still be around in another 25?