After blasting artists who are good in one genre but feel compelled to venture into another genre where they emulate Hoover vacuums....they suck....in part one, in part 2 I unleashed on the craptacular things that pass for voices in much of today's music scene. And now we get to one of the worst sins against eardrums; the lyrics.
Take a Justin Timberlake. I know he was part of some boy band or other...I could not tell you which one, though the Goose could. And I have to admit, in some ways he puts it all together. He actually has a pretty good voice, he knows his range and sticks within it. He finds and uses pretty catchy hooks and has talented musicians on the instruments. He also finds subjects people are always ready to listen to. Sure, a lot of his stuff is pretty banal...then again, how much intellect went into Warrant's Cherry Pie or many of much-maligned Bon Jovi's entire body of work? Actually, I think that attack is pretty unfair. Some of his stuff pretty much hit where people live, and really, were the lyrics really that much worse than Mariah Carey's "oh-oooh-oooooooohhh-oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" she somehow worked into every song so she could annoy us with....err, impress us with her piercing albeit powerful voice? No, no they weren't. At least they were lyrics and not just a sound.
But where Timberlake falls short is where a lot of today's music falls short. His lyrics may or may not lack depth. What they do lack is originality.
When rap first burst on the scene, a lot of it was bragging about having more rhymes than the other guys..."I got more rhymes than the other guys do. Their just a monkey, I'm the whole *censored* zoo" went one song. Well, music typically is metered and rhymed. Timberlake just doesn't bother with that.
In one song he rhymes girl with....wait for it...girl. About 12 times. There is some other word he rhymes with itself in the same song, and does so repeatedly.*
But wait, you say, why pick on one lightweight ex-boy bander and his saccharin tunes. Well, okay. How about mega-star and big-time producer Timbaland and his efforts which include rhyming boat with...wait for it...boat. He does that 3 or 4 times in his song, rhyming a word with itself.
Have we really sunk that far? Sure, the themes for songs have really narrowed...whereas love songs have always been with us in the radio years there used to be a lot of other stuff too...from the hyper political efforts of early Bob Dylan to praising music by Bob Seger to stories of musical legends by Lynyrd Skynyrd to...well, the list is endless. Remember Aerosmith's commentary on incestuous abuse, Janie's Got a Gun? Compare that to today's selections...Loosen Up My Buttons, Girl, you Make me Suicidal, It Must Be Summer Love....wow, really makes you think. Not only is today's music, in an era rife with opportunities for political commentary, devoid of protest, it has descended into a morass of vapid, thoughtless vapor. What happened to the Public Enemies that combined social commentary with sharp, intellectual lyrics, unbelievable levels of filth notwithstanding? Though I did not and do not agree with their tactics or levels of profanity...at least they put some effort into their lyrics.
It is a sad, sad day when the most intelligent songs blasting out of the radio are commercial jingles. Welcome to sadhood.
* and yes, for all you Timberlake defenders out there...I understand he rhymes the word prior to "girl" and the pause accentuates it. This is not, in fact, a valid defense. Study music even in the most superficial way and you will see it is about as useful as Paris Hilton and means almost as much.
4 years ago
2 comments:
The only thing I've ever liked that Justin Timberlake sang was that SNL skit, "Dick in a Box." That sort of describes him anyway, doesn't it? ;)
A lot of artists...ahem...musical performers...ahem...singers...ahem...rappers...ahem...pop stars...ahem...abominations of a once proud and meaningful industry? Whatever you want to call them, have been following that trend you mentioned where the word prior to the final word rhymes as well, though the emphasis is on the final word in the sentence. I too do not care for this as it makes it SEEM as if they aren't rhyming anything, only repeating, which is annoying and depressive rather than impressive( I have no idea if depressive can be used like that and I'm too tired to look it up). But how can you call Paris Hilton a superficial. She doesn't even Like seafood.
Let me repeat: I'm tired and I probably should not be typing right now... Good night.
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