Solution Needed ASAP

This is going to be a short post considering the point is to say I have no answer for the problem. File sharing continues to rain down its misery on the music industry. We need a solution. The solution will not be more laws against it. All that is left is to embrace it. Keith Urban has realized this and voiced his support of such activities in getting the music into the hands of fans. I will admit that I buy less for two reasons: iTunes price increase and lack of what I would deem $1.29 worthy music. It is also true that I still love the idea of having a CD to read the liner notes, see the artwork, and to add to the growing stack on top of my record player which I must move everyday. The point is there is still value in CD production, but where is the value in digital music? Sure it makes millions, but what part of that goes to the industry: artists, musicians, producers? The question remains: how do you satisfy the customers and keep the industry alive.

How Many Grammys Can You Hold? Then That's As Many As You Can Have

As horrible as it sounds, I laughed a little inside when I heard Taylor Swift dropped one of her Grammys. Needless to say, a large percentage of the music industry finds it ridiculous that she was awarded "Album of the Year" among other honors. She has reached the tween generation. I get that. She should get an MTV or VH1 award. Not Grammys. A Grammy should not be given due to popularity or notoriety. A Grammy should be given on genuine musical ability. I can honestly say that if I was an artist I would want to be recognized on ability. If you are playing music for the wrong reasons that Grammy will only make you happy as long as your fame lasts. After that, you are in need of a new catch phrase and beat. Sing. Win. Repeat.
The winners in less publicized categories are always more talented because they are awarded on ability, not popularity. With an exploding Top 40 revolution, is there hope for ability-based awards? Or has that ship sailed?

"I'm gonna let you finish but..."

I would be amiss not to comment on the ever expanding reign of one, Taylor Swift. I don't hate her. I don't hate her music. I do hate the number of awards she is getting. Entertainer of the year? Seriously? Female vocalist of the year? Above Reba and Martina no less. Artist of the year? Above Michael Jackson for crying out loud. I don't deny that she is talented. Her songs are catchy and truly speak to the heart of the tween population. This is where I become confused. Are there really that many fifty year old men out there buying Taylor Swift's albums? Sure they may buy them for their daughter and maybe even take her to a show, but I don't think that warrants a claim to the heart of the baby boomer generation. Point in case, stop talking about her, stop awarding her. It isn't doing her career any good for her face to be everywhere you turn. Eventually the public will get tired of that glittery, pink guitar.

Vye Music: A 16 Year Old's Protocol for Music Distribution

We all remember the downfall of Napster, the original interface for stealing music. With the continual spread of illegal downloading the music industry is being forced, however reluctantly, to embrace the digital age. I'll be the first to admit I hate to see the vinyl, tape, and recycled plastic disappear from our lives. Nevertheless, the industry can and will fail if they do not embrace new technology. As with any new concept, there are different definitions of the word "embrace." Up until now, executives have wrapped their arms around lawsuits and cozy meetings with artistic rights lobbyists.
Australian native Charles Allatt is shining a new, LED spotlight on the problems with music piracy. The public is forcing the hand of the music industry in making music easier to download. And the public will not be satisfied with a larger selection in the iTunes store. iTunes just bumped prices from $.99 to $1.29. Such a move does not boast well for those in the trenches of the piracy war. Now Vye Music, the brainchild of sixteen year old Allatt, acts as a search engine more or less for online music. Vye is walking an admittedly fine line between theft and distribution. Allatt claims they will avoid court by putting liability into the hands of the file hosts and the downloaders. If a teenager is searching for online music specifically for the purpose of downloading, I doubt they will put much importance on the legality of the site that just produced their new favorite song available for free, no strings attached. There is not enough space on this server to give digital music complications their due attention. For now it will have to suffice to see how the industry handles the increasing popularity of sights like Vye Music.

Week of Shame

I apologize for the lack of entries. My life has taken many twists and turns. Hollywood never fails to shower topics though and this week was no different. Let's jump right back in shall we?
Taylor Swift has taken the country and pop genres by storm. I don't think her vocals are truly up to standard and her writing has yet to graduate high school. However, America has embraced her. She has reached the hearts of young girls everywhere and recently garnered a whole new fan base. She didn't even have to release a new album to do it. Swift simply won "Best Female Vocal" at the MTV VMAs. Kanye West did the rest. While Swift deservingly basked in her victory, West jumped on stage and proclaimed Beyonce's superiority much to the seated artist's dismay. As quickly as he came, West retreated and left the stunned Swift to finish her speech. Later, Beyonce gave the young artist time to say her thank you's. While some may see this incident as shocking does it really garner surprise? Let's relive some classic Kanye moments. The 2004 American Music Awards. West loses the "Best New Artist" nod, takes the stage and declares that he was deprived of what he, being the superior talent to Gretchin Wilson, rightly deserved. (I won't open that can of worms.) The 2007 VMAs brought Kanye the horrifying ordeal of playing his single "Stronger" from a hotel suite and not the main stage. How could they ask something so vulgar of such a star?! Really Kanye you haven't done yourself any favors here. First of all, your threats are empty. I recall a threat of never returning to MTV after one of the earlier rants. We see how that ended up. Second, eventually even your fans are going to get tired of this. Stop giving yourself a pat on the back. That job belongs to the fans and the critics.
The last bit of news for this week comes from the charts. I suppose this is more of an opinion thing, but where did Miley Cyrus come from exactly? I would think it's a rather large leap from star of a Disney show to international pop sensation topping the charts. Oh how easily America is captivated. If I'm going to criticize Taylor Swift I would be amiss not to mention my increasing dislike of "Hannah Montana". Her father may have been a country star, a one hit wonder but a country star nonetheless, but she didn't inherit the vocals. While Swift's songs are too young many of Cyrus' are too old. How many mountains have you really climbed at 15? Especially when you have to take the gold spoon out of your mouth to sing. Others are just obnoxious. For example, "Hoedown Throwdown". With lyrics like "pop it, lock it, polka dot it" followed by "country fivin" I am at a loss for adjectives. And please don't say "GNO" in a song called "Girl's Night Out". Not only can America no longer write entire words in letters and emails, but we no longer have the patience to say entire words in song. This roast of Miley Cyrus was brought on by her single's position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Party in the USA" is number 3. That's right. A song about her "tummy turnin" is higher than Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody". What's worse her EP "The Time of our Lives" is hanging on number 2 on the Billboard 200 one ahead of Whitney Houston. People. Really? Do you listen to what you buy?

MJ: Exile to Envy

I know there are millions of devoted Michael Jackson fans around the world. Those who never once considered even the possibility that he was guilty of child molestation. I am ashamed to say that I was not one of them. Until this past Tuesday. I entered Jackson Death mayhem with an iron will. I planted my feet firmly on the line of appreciator of musical genius and strong opposer to life. It is unnecessary to list all of Jackson's musical accomplishments. It would take many pages and you would be well beyond tired of reading, not to mention bored, by the time I was done. Thus, I'm taking a personal angle on the death of Michael Jackson.
The world regarded him as one thing. A freak. He was black by birth and white "by choice". Although I don't know that we will ever know for certain why his skin changed colors. He had a botched nose job multiple times. He dangled his youngest son over a balcony as a child. He was accused of child molestation after reports of sleepovers gone wrong at his Neverland Ranch. Without dispute one of these critiques will get you expelled from Hollywood let alone all of them. But let's be honest. We never really knew who Michael Jackson was. He was a soft-spoken, big-hearted humanitarian. The Guinness Book of World Records documents his extravagant gifts to charity. He touched millions with his music. Now that I see all this on paper the good and bad really even out. I'm not saying child molestation isn't horrible. But the truth is he was never convicted. According to family and close friends, Jackson never recovered emotionally from the highly publicized trial. The icing on the cake for me was the amazingly touching and reverent, though public, memorial service. The singers were genuinely hurt at the loss of a friend and icon. His children, in public for the first time in their lives, made it clear that Michael Jackson was a present and attentive father. That can't be said for too many stars these days.
Looking back, I feel I should have given Michael Jackson more of a chance. I'm prone to instantaneous idolization of attractive celebrities. They end up disappointing me nearly every time. Maybe I had it backwards this time.

Real Life + AI

I recently read a piece of news which I found hysterical. Clay Aiken wrote a raving blog about American Idol and how it has lost its direction. He stated it has become a popularity contest and is no longer an unbiased forum for the public to make their choice. After some background research into his views I discovered that Aiken was clamoring to do a duet with Adam Lambert even though his blog called Lambert "slightly frightening". The former Idol made an appearance on the Idol set and was promptly escorted off the premises. While I do applaud his description of Lambert's interpretation of "Ring of Fire", "at that moment, I [also] thought my ears would bleed", let's be honest the days of Clay Mania have long passed. I completely respect Clay as an artist. His voice is rich and quite enjoyable, unfortunately he has managed to lose nearly all of my once infinite respect for his personhood. What I don't understand is Aiken's argument that American Idol was founded on the discovery of America's hidden talent. Yet, Kris Allen is a prime example of that, but this was the year Clay Aiken decided to use his celebrity influence on the industry. Seriously, Adam Lambert owned the boots he wore during his performance with KISS long before he was dreaming of being an Idol. Does that concern anyone else? Personally, I believe the public deserves more credit. We know enough to promote decent musicianship to Idol fame, thank you very much Mr. Aiken.
If anything shows the series' turn from talent to looks its the constant appearance of "bikini girl". Of course she got a spot in the finale. There really aren't enough scantily clad women on television. This lustful move is only justified by judge Kara Diaguardio's flash of her equally perfect, slightly pale, bikini figure.
Last but not least as a transferring college student I am learning more and more about the university I have chosen to call home. I am pleased to say that Appalachian State University has a student run record label. Music is not completely lost in the small towns of America. These are the artists and producers that will save us from the cliche productions we currently know as hit songs.