American Idol gets it wrong?
Posted on | May 21, 2009 |
How the Hell would I know? I don’t watch that drivel. To me it seems nothing but a showcase for mediocrity. I’m not saying those folks aren’t talented, or that I could come close to doing what they do, but I am saying that if anyone thinks they’re going to be listening to anything that an American Idol contestant releases 15 or 20 years later, they’re certifiably insane.
Think about the artists that changed your world. That inspired you, that touched you and let you know you weren’t alone in this crazy little thing we call Life. Of course, this group is different for everyone. For me, it includes Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Warren Zevon, Janis Joplin, Mick and the Stones, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, and others. Can you imagine pretty much any of those people on American Idol? They’d get on the show all right, as the people who get laughed out of the auditions in the first half of the season.
But those are artists who have changed the face of music in this country forever. How? By doing things DIFFERENTLY. Of course, most were met with disdain and simple indifference early in their careers. But they stuck to their beliefs about what their music should be rather than sell out to the corporate whores. And that is what creates change. Being unreasonable. I’ve got a quote on my fridge:
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
Or woman, obviously.
The American Idol contestants just seem to be doing their best impressions of existing stars. But we’ve already seen that. Not to say they aren’t gifted singers and performers, but give me something original, something different.
The internet is abuzz today because apparently the more talented guy didn’t win. Let’s see, he was gay and the dude who won is a midwest church goer? I’m utterly in shock that America wouldn’t vote for the gay dude with eye liner who is into glam rock. Of course, I have no opinion either way, since I never watched a second of this season and have seen maybe an hour total of American Idol in my life. I won’t get into my whole Ryan Seacrest thing. That career is a mystery bigger than Sasquatch, Nessie, the Abominable Snowman, and the lost city of Atlantis all put together. But I digress.
What was my point again? Oh yeah, America seems to be celebrating mediocrity more and more these days. All of these absurd so called “reality” shows that create “stars” out of regular people who have no talent, no brains, and no appeal whatsoever. What’s that idiot’s name on The View? Hasselback? Fine, she’s a republican, I have no problem with that. I have a problem that she and Sherri Shepherd are both dumber than a box full of hammers and yet are given a national platform to spew their ignorance. Shepherd isn’t even convinced the earth is round and also said something a while back to the tune of “nothing came before Jesus”. Really? That is Stupid on a level that would even make Forrest Gump say: “You’re really fucking stupid.”
Glenn Beck was handed his ass the other day on The View when Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg both called him out for telling bald faced lies about an encounter they’d had on a train a while back. He was caught dead to rights and all he could say was “I misspoke”. Fuck you, Glenn. You are a fear mongering moron inciting Americans to be scared of their government and blubbering like a 5 year old simpleton who’s lost his favorite toy. I’m rambling again aren’t I? Tough.
I got stuff to do, maybe I’ll come back to this tonight…