Quote:
Originally Posted by Nocturnal310 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It was Britney spears who defined the modern crappy music trend...
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This is a quibble, I know, but I don't think Spears Inc. defined the trend. I think her handlers merely perfected it.
In the late 60s, the Monkees were created as a sort of instant coffee alternative to the fresh-brewed Beatles. They didn't write their own songs, and they didn't play their own instruments, but at least they sang. And remember, there was no pitch correction in those days, so at least they had to hit the notes. In retrospect, some of their tracks ("I'm A Believer," [I'm Not Your] Stepping Stone," "Pleasant Valley Sunday") were first rate pop records. And in the end, they mutineed and insisted on playing their own instruments. Not very well, of course, but they did try.
But the Monkees were probably the first push down the proverbial slippery slope. Fast forward to the 80s, and we were looking at completely fabricated product like C+C Music Factory, whose female vocals were provided in the studio by the great Martha Wash. On stage of course, she was replaced by a much younger, much hotter stand-in, who lip synched to the pre-recorded tracks.
And then we arrived at the low point known as Milly Vanilli. Again, studio pros laid down the tracks, and two good-looking dudes stood on stage and moved their mouths to the beat. The industry was shocked, SHOCKED, to learn that Rob and Fab were nowhere to be found on the records, and they were stripped of their Best New Artist Grammy. The Grammy they were awarded by industry insiders who HAD NO IDEA. No, REALLY, they REALLY, REALLY didn't.
None of the above (not to mention to so-called teen idols of the early 60s) had even a fraction of the economic impact that Spears Inc. has had. She is virtually an industry unto herself, and has spawned, to one degree or another, such atrocities as Cyrus Montana, The Jonas Brothers, and the entire American Idol assembly line.
So again, I agree that she is compelling evidence of the execrable state of pop music, and she has certainly perfected fraud as music. But neither she nor her handlers invented this approach. They simply perfected it.
Say it together, children:
CHAAAAAAAAA CHINGGGGG!!!!!