TMI

I read an interview with Tom Morello in the LA Times this past weekend. Here's an excerpt:

LAT: People are so desperate to sell records that they think they have to do anything.

TM: One of the things I enjoyed about bands growing up was there was a sense of mystique about them. I didn't know what they were eating in catering at their gig every day as they Twittered it to me. Maybe there's something to be said about that.

I think there is something to be said about that: it sucks.

What happened to staring at album covers and band photos for hours on end imagining what incredible, debauched lives our favorite rock stars led? What happened to the mystery?

I really don't want to know what Jimmy Page or Morrissey or Pete Buck are having for lunch, or how much they love CSI: Miami. I want them to exist the way that I envision them - as removed, untouchable, above it all, outside of the pedantic boredom of every day life. Yet thanks to the miracle/curse of modern technology, we can now keep up with our idols' every move. Every boring detail is now available for us to savor while we wait for the next tidbit of useless information about their everyday lives. That is so not rock 'n' roll.

My response: no thanks.

And Twitter is only the latest nail in the coffin of rock mystique. Things really started to go to hell when Ozzy was put on display - in a track suit, no less - in the Osbournes' reality show. I want to think of Ozzy as growing old in a darkly-lit mansion in Birmingham somewhere, not hanging out with Pat Boone by the pool.

So rock stars, I beseach you: resist the urge to tell us everything about yourselves on a minute-by-minute basis. We're already so constricted in this world - at least let our imaginations run free. Even if you are wearing a track suit. ~ Tim

Negative Reinforcement

NOTE: this is not a stab at urban music. There's a lot of awesome hip-hop and R&B that's being created as I type, by a lot of folks who are true artists. But this Ciara clip? It's just wrong on so many levels.

Let's start with the tune itself, which is built around the melody of Gamble & Huff's "If You Don't Know Me By Now". Note to Ciara's songwriters: write your own melody.

Then there's the laser focus on bling and material possessions. At the beginning of the clip you've got Ciara's girlfriends basically saying: "If the guy's not loaded, he's not worth being with." That's a great message to send to the legions of 14 year old girls watching the video. Then you've got Young Jeezy waving around wads of cash. I mean, it's 2009. Is this not the most clichéd, lame video construct ever at this point? We get it, man: you're loaded. Now get back in your stretch Hummer.

Speaking of getting it, it's made abundantly clear that Ciara is attractive. But how sad is it that her label reps/management/people in charge feel that we need to see her looking like a stripper in order to appreciate (and buy?) her music. Our culture's fixation on physical beauty and the major label recording industry's full-scale embracing of looks-over-talent marketing continues to be a huge bummer.

And finally, what's the deal with the reel-to-reel tape machine rolling throughout the clip? I'd wager a huge amount of money that Ciara has no idea what that contraption is or why it's in her video. Random and annoying.

Yes, I know: this is pop. It's designed to be escapist and disposable to take our minds off of our Real Problems. But the culture that created this video is a Real Problem. It's a culture that reinforces the perceived importance of material wealth and physical beauty above all else. And that affects you and me and our kids because we have to live with the people who buy into that crap.

Ultimately, it's just sad to see so many resources and so much energy going toward reinforcing notions that are truly harmful to our society and our culture at large. And this issue is by no means limited to urban music. In fact, modern country music is one of the worst offenders when it comes to reinforcing clichés that perpetuate a warped, bogus view of the real world.

I just hope that the kids watching this stuff can distinguish between what's real and what's faux. ~ Tim