Hi kids. How are you?
Really? That’s good.
Me? Well, I’m not doing so well.
Thank you for asking, I’d love to tell you.
So I came upon this article from Digital Music News today and apparently people are just as stupid now as they were 10 years ago. Perhaps more. Why do I say that?
Apparently the X Factor just isn’t doing as well in the ratings department as whoever-the-hell-thought-it-was-a-good-idea-to-rip-off-American-Idol thought it would. That is to say, 25 million fools have watched American Idol, while just 12 million fools have viewed the X Factor. According to my math, which is admittedly poor, that’s 37 million fools.
Now I know what you’re going to say, “But we get to vote who we want to win” and “There are some really talented people on that show”. Uh-huh. You get to vote for who the judges tell you to vote for. Viewer voting doesn’t start until the end. Until then the judges are told who stays and who goes by the producers. And then you’re assuming your “vote” is actually being tallied.
And as far as the “talented people” go, there are also talented bands and artists in your own hometown. Believe it or not, whether you have heard it or not, where you live has an underground music scene. In fact, there may even be people that you think you know really well who are in a band that you never knew about.
Americans are addicted to drama. That’s why you see all these “Reality” TV shows popping up like herpes on Lady Gaga. Each one less original than the last. Heard of or seen Pawnstars? L.A. Ink? American Chopper? Deadliest Catch? That’s just the idiotic reality shit on the History and Discovery Channel. Ya, even “educational” TV is getting dumbed down.
But guess what, people. Reality TV is not reality. It is all completely scripted out. How can I be so brazen as to make a accusation like that? Because every single reality TV show is aired for the soul purpose of making money. And no investor/advertiser/creator is going to put money into a show they have zero control over. They would rather go to Vegas and lose their money on hookers and blow.
Moral of the story? American Idol and The X Factor are good for nothing more than prepping America for the next Pop star. There are more than enough Pop Stars, in fact, I say there are too many.
Go to a local venue, club, whatever - and find a band or artist and give them your attention for an hour or two a night instead of mindless drones on TV acting out a predetermined set of actions. Hopefully when people are introduced to real music they will be able to break the hold that American Pop Stars seem to be gripping relentlessly.
