I’ve never been a huge fan of American Idol but I caught myself sucked into this season’s first episode last week. It was entertaining to see so many songs tortured by well-meaning singers with delusions of grandeur, I admit, but I found myself a little annoyed afterwards.
American Idol is destroying the very thing that makes rock-n-roll what it is. Chuck Berry would never have made it past the tryouts. Elvis Presley would have been laughed off the stage. Little Richard would have been ignored. Joey Ramone would have been censored. Bob Dylan would be crucified and Mick Jagger would be told to stick to his day job.
I tried to think of anybody who I really like to listen to who might have what it takes to be the next American Idol, and I couldn’t think of any. Sufjan Stevens is too whispery. Robbie Seay is too gravelly. Michael Nau is too sad. David Eugene Edwards (Woven Hand) is too depressing. Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou) won’t even try to sing. Jesse Coppenbarger (Colour Revolt) screams too much. Aaron Strumpel’s range is too limited. Vincent Voss (The Singing Mechanic) has an odd vocal style. Daniel Smith… well Daniel Smith wouldn’t even be allowed to sing on American Idol if he wanted to.
Pretty much anybody I like to listen to would probably not even be allowed past the tryouts. And chances are that anybody who would do good on American Idol wouldn’t last long on my playlist.
When rock-n-roll came on the scene, it was fighting against staid, overly-perfected songs that dominated American listeners, replacing that with music that burst forth from the gut. By its very nature, rock-n-roll emphasizes experimentation, self-expression, and raw emotions. American Idol is destroying all that.
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January 20, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Joe Dorsey
I would agree with your commentary. The fact that the industry has embraced more individual artists over bands has been it’s downfall. I’m not saying that great music can’t be made by one person. But, when you have a band that creates something unique. It’s an awesome thing. Each individual bringing their own musical identity to the plate. May that creative spirit live again.
January 20, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Lena
Wow, thank you for that post! It’s the triumph of form over heart, although music from the heart is still easy to tell when you hear it.
Yeah, everybody now got used to top quality of sound and nothing less flies (which is okay, I guess).
But I think lowest denominator music got so bad that it can only become better. I think it will, soon.
January 21, 2009 at 9:58 am
Steve
Happy to say I’ve watched only about 10 minutes of the show in the first season just to see what the big deal was — and didn’t see the big deal. I’ve avoided the show and anyone who appears on it like the plague. But then I’ve always treated manufactured pop stars like this.
January 21, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Ruben
I’m not at all a fan or viewer of American Idol, but I wouldn’t nesseccarily say that AI is capable of destroying RnR – I would say that AI is the antithesis of the spririt of RnR. But I think that that spirit will express itself in spite of shows like AI and that spirit cannot be ended by something as lame as AI.
January 21, 2009 at 11:06 pm
jakestimp
I like your line at the end – “that spirit cannot be ended by something as lame as AI.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
January 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Tom
That is why rock and pop will always remain seperate. You are so right, rock is raw, dirty and sometimes ugly but always cool, and rockers are raw, dirty and sometimes ugly (Jagger I’m looking at you) but always cool. Pop is pretty slick and not nearly as cool. Let the pop posers keep AI.
February 1, 2009 at 1:49 am
Keith Mohr
You are dead on. I hate American Idol and all it stands for. And I despise even more the Christian knock off versions.
June 17, 2009 at 4:24 pm
discodave
People take this stuff so seriously. It’s not religion, folks, just music. Pop and rock always have mixed and will continue to. It’s just that AI is pretty much all the way on the pop end of the spectacle… um, spectrum. And even though I don’t watch it, as a trained and practiced musician I’m glad that AI has kind of restored technical skill to prominence. It’s not that skill is all there is, but there’s been a huge deficit in performers who could actually perform live for a crowd. (Much less so in Christian music, since Christian artists, I think, still value performance because of the church setting.) We went through the grunge and garage trends, and entered the Pro Tools/Autotune era where anybody and everybody can be a “singer.” It just ain’t so. Some people shouldn’t attempt to be singers, at least without putting in some serious work in the woodshed. So, AI has brought back the singer. It will not destroy creativity, just help to re-establish a balance between artistry and skill.