American Idol--the dumbing down of music

prog-chick wrote:   American Idol is not to blame for the ills of society.

Edited by Squonkman - April 22 2008 at 18:00

Squonkman wrote: Jimbo wrote: Besides, I fail to see the relevance of american idol in progressive rock. It's highly unlikely that the 12-year old girl who listens to Carrie Underwood would otherwise be jamming to Frank Zappa or Soft Machine.     Another person who simply doesn't get it. No one is saying that  a 12 year old girl listening to Carrie Underwood would otherwise be jamming to Zappa or Soft Machine.   What I AM saying, if you would actual READ carefully, is that the likelihood of that 12 year old who has been bludgeoned over the head with the Disney marketing machine, American Idol idiocy, and dopey nonmusical hip hop and whatever else modern corporate commercialism is trying to foist on the masses will EVER later jam to Zappa and Soft Machine etc is virtually nil, and decreases with every broadcast of that moronicy. Get it? How many future progressive rock fans do you think AI is helping to create?   It sure would help if people improved their reading comprehension skills instead of just knee jerking the first wise ass response that comes to them.

You could ease your tone a bit... I'm not easily offended, but discussing things would be a lot more pleasant if you just stuck to the topic without resorting to irrelevancies.

Back on topic... At the end of the day, I don't believe that American Idol has much to with 'the dumbing down of music'. You just have to face the fact that not all people care for music the same way most prog fans do. Those that do, will surely find their way eventually. Perhaps progressive rock will not satisfy their particular niche, but something else will - and at that point, American Idol will be long forgotten.

BTW, perhaps the situation is much worse there than it is here, but most people actually grow out of the stuff they listen to in their youth. You wouldn't believe the crap that my friends used to listen to (and me as well, unfortunately) when we were 9-13. If anything, it seems to have helped - all of us are deeply into music, even if in different fields. I would actually claim that 'underground' (whatever that means) music is doing better than it has been in decades. Maybe we have MTV and Disney (in addition to internet) to thank for that.

I gotta say it Jimbo, you seem to be talking a lot of sense!

dunno? We're not?  Hey, I'm here for fun, 

ok, but I still don't see it as "It is a major contributor to the dumbing down of the culture" not even in the slightest,  not one jot.

It's great fun telly. That's all.

 

 

NO you know what's dumbed down this culture as far as music is concerned? way more than American Idol could dream of doing.

MTV
VH1
disco
the Disney Channel
myspace
facebook
the 80's
the 90's
ignorant people who think jazz is slow, elevator music, and/or dead!
CENSORSHIP
the grunge movement (not necessarily the bands)
modern FM radio
record companies
the last 2 presidents and company
loss of rights in the last few years
Frank Zappa's death
Rolling Stone magazine
Spin magazine
media in general
reality tv
smooth jazz (aka jazz-fusion lite)
teen kids choice awards
all those retro 60's rock bands that came out earlier in the decade

theres a million more but i cant think of them right now...


Edited by darkshade - April 22 2008 at 18:41

 ^ I know, my local 'hip FM station' plays the same 50 songs over and over.. and they rarely do cool things like they used to such as the Beatles catalog from A to Z or listener's top 100 favorite songs

HOT EIGHTY-NINE NINE
TODAY'S HOTTEST MUSIC
ALL DAY LONG

or the alternative

HOT ONE OH ONE POINT ONE
THE HOTTEST MUSIC OF TODAY
FOR THE WHOLE DAY

Atavachron wrote:  ^ I know, my local 'hip FM station' plays the same 50 songs over and over.. and they rarely do cool things like they used to such as the Beatles catalog from A to Z or listener's top 100 favorite songs

i heard Q1043 NY classic rock station one time and someone called in to request "Sweet Home Alabama". i freaked out! they only play that song 6423904756 times a DAY!!!


Edited by darkshade - April 22 2008 at 18:51

prog-chick wrote: Squonkman wrote:   I rest my case.     I you implying that as I watch a TV show occaisionally I am proof of the dumbing down of culture ?