Views Expressed...: BAD MUSIC

Are you (or were you) a hip hop fan? Do you wonder why the genre has lost all respect (instead of being disrespected it now does not deserve any)?

I'll tell you why this genre has slipped so bad and become the laughing stock/ignorant man's music.

It's your fault.

It's your fault for settling for the bullshit "they" feed you. "They" being the corporate controlled radio stations and "music" television stations that have an average daily play list of fifteen songs. Fifteen songs!!!

Allow me to explain how these stations operate. They don't play the music you want to hear. They play music that's not designed to entertain you. They only play songs that sound like what's "hot" at the moment and bank on the fact that you won't NOT like it enough to change the station. Because, at the end of the day they only care about ratings so they can keep their advertising rates high. Unlike radio stations of yesteryear that actually catered to the listener and worked to bring them new music these stations are only worried about the bottom line.

So, how do they decide these songs that they play?

There's a combination of ways they do this. One is study groups, and the other is payoffs from corporate controlled mega record labels. They play fifteen second clips of music to groups of people usually no bigger than twenty and ask if they like, hate, or love something. They also ask if they would change the station if they heard it or leave it on. Yes, you as an idividual have been categroized by twenty people you don't even know. Chances are you wouldn't like these twenty people as they seem to be the most jaded and boring people I've ever heard of. This is what they base their decisions on. However, if a record label sends over a copy of their artist's (I use that term loosely) new single along with a hefty check, they'll bypass all the study group crap and spin the record a few times. That means - if you're record does not have earth shattering appeal in fifteen seconds or you don't have a couple thousand bucks then forget about it. Get a "real" job. Becaus you know, making art (the one thing that actually makes us human) is not a real job because instead of an hourly wage you touch peoples emotions and connect with them on a level that the Big Mac, Yoga DVD, Chrysler, and XBox could only dream of.

So, if you're one of those people that always listens to the same station and never bothers to change it regardless of the song then I'm talking about you. Especially if you're that type of person that does this and then proceeds to complain about the music that's being played.

So what can you do about it?

First, if you really had to ask yourself this then I question your intelligence. Second, if you want to start hearing what you really like and actually have a real identity as a member of society then I suggest you turn off your radio. Burn a cd, or better yet, buy an album from an artist that you like. The only way that these corporations are going to respond is if you hit them in their pocket book. Also, you could try calling them and asking for a song that you really want to hear but they never seem to play. After all, they do have voices (that are just normal people just like you and me!) saying "I am channell 955". So, if this is "your" radio station why don't you call them up and tell them to play what you really want to hear. I won't be calling them though because they are certainly not my radio station so don't say to yourself, "I'll let someone else fight this fight."

But wait, I only know the songs that the radio stations play for me. How do I request the songs I really like if they play them already?

If this pertains to you then you are a waste of space. I would bet you have nothing higher than a highschool diploma, and if you are experiencing higher education it's more than likely a major you've put little thought toward and I'm sure it's the general major that most kids enroll for (like marketing, or general business). This might seem foreign to you (hold on, don't go all patriotic I didn't mean THAT type of foreign) but, people actually search for new music and subscribe to blogs and read music magazines that enlighten them with new music all the time. These people are smart, and you're unfortunately dumb (but you can fix this!).

Look, bad music is unfortnately being flung, like mounds of monkey poo, into your face on a constant basis. If you don't have the mental capacity to handle that and you instead settle for looking like a clown doing the latest dance then fine. That is why you probably are a low income citizen, and or a spoiled suburban kid who has actually achieved nothing but feels entitled to something so you eventually become a low income citizen when your parents pull you off the teet. So, stand up and demand that you be catered to as an individual instead of a statistic. You wouldn't settle for your physician (that means doctor) to prescribe you any old medicine because it works for these twenty average joes over here - right? So, then why would you allow your music to be prescribed to you at all?

Find what you like, listen to it. If the radio stations don't play it then shut them off until they do.

Also, if you're offended by what you've just read then take a look in the mirror - you're probably the problem. If you're not offended by this then I'm sorry for telling you something you already know.

Good day.

"I trust no one who hasn't time for music." - Jack White