Just wrote this on myspace. I had to repost it.
Paris Hilton's new CD
Paris Hilton's new CD
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
I take time in my blogs to write material that is creative, humorous, enlightening, inspirational, thought-provoking, and intelligent. I prefer to write material that does not delve into the realm of random rants and complaints on life (as is the case all too often with online journals) but rather is worth reading, even for those who do not know me. This, however, is not one of those blogs. So without further ado:
WHY THE FUCK DOES PARIS HILTON HAVE A MUSIC ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of all the ridiculous "cram premanufactured pop down the throats of today's youth" bullshit ideas that exist in our modern society, this is by far the most ridiculous and insulting. Britney Spears is the trailer trash wonder that I love to hate, but at least she set out to be a music icon - albeit an artistically worthless one - but at least it was a lifelong goal. But Paris Hilton? What did she do, run to daddy and beg for a music deal until he bought one for her? This isn't make believe and playtime sweetheart, you can't wake up saying "I want to pretend I'm a rock star today" and have it happen. I wonder if anyone has ever told her "no" in her life. Maybe it would do her good to hear it every once in awhile - you know, it may force her to go out and actually DO something instead of kicking and screaming until she gets her way and has the world handed to her on a silver platter. God forbid that the spoiled rich brat would ever have to make an effort for anything. Those voice synths in the tracks sound great, it's just too bad that your voice will never really sound like that. So what did she actually "do" in this album anyway. Lets see, she didn't write the music (because she can't) she didn't write the lyrics (because she found someone better) she didn't play anything (that would be a funny sight) and her voice was ran through a processor to give her some semblance of resonation. Hell, she couldn't even think of a title for the album. "Paris Hilton" by Paris Hilton. Yeah, that's catchy. And the lead-off single "Stars are Blind", what is that about? Star blindness is a major medical deformity that thousands of stars are suffering from, how does it make them feel when someone profits from their misery? It's barbaric. And I think I've heard the backing music before. It was used in a piece entitled "every pop dance song that has been written in the past decade". Britney, call your lawyers. As unfathomable as it seems, I think someone else is actually ripping off of YOUR music. This is the only person in the world that Ashlee Simpson could call a hack and I would agree. So what is it up to now - what has she done at a whim that so many worthwhile artists and driven people struggle their entire lives to acheive:
Author - while Stephen King had to teach high school literature to pay the bills until "Carrie" was published
Film Actor - while Anthony Hopkins went through years of intense study, acting, dramaturgy, and Shakespearean traning to become "something worth seeing"
Model - while Naomi Cambell was getting desperately lost in the middle of the dangerous Paris Metro trying to make interviews
Recording Artist - while Rob Thomas was left homeless on the streets of Orlando trying to put together a worthwhile band and Tori Amos was being raped leaving the dive bars she gigged at.
So, am I overreacting? Yes. Do I take insignificant things personally? Possibly (shut up Emilio). But it worries me when mass-marketed music becomes so trite and overwhelms any recording artists that actually have something to say. Yes, music is a business. I hate to admit it, but in the mainstream market, it is just that. But music is also an art form. How far will this society continue to decay before there is nothing left in the mainstream but mindless dance beats that appeals to an audience that would rather hold a beat in a club than actually have their minds and hearts opened by music. Imagine your first kiss to "Toxic", your first breakup to "Boyfriend", finding out that a friend died, and then hearing Mike Jones brag about his bling. Are the artistic bands and artists destined to only play the small, unsigned gigs while the pop gurus fill the stadiums? Have we reached the point where the power that is Clear Channel will prevent us from ever experiencing another Beatles revolution, Zoo TV tour, or OK Computer? I wonder how many of the mainstream consumers would be susceptible to such things if it was marketed in the same fashion as Britney or Christina. Maybe the middle school students that are the mainstream's new "target audience" listen to it simply because they don't know anything else. I was brought up on 60s rock - a time when the leaders of music were also passionate artists fighting for a cause, a change, or just a happier life. And I attribute this fact to my being so particular about music. I'm not asking for Paris to write "Yesterday", I wouldn't expect it from her. But for god sakes say SOMETHING, anything. You're in a position where you could change the world. So run with it. Because in twenty years, nobody will remember "Stars are Blind", but people will still be finding hope in "Imagine", falling in love to "With or Without You", and dancing, just like your crowd, to "Bohemian Rhapsody". And hopefully, if society holds its ground, a small wiry reject with a microphone will still have the power to change a generation.
WHY THE FUCK DOES PARIS HILTON HAVE A MUSIC ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of all the ridiculous "cram premanufactured pop down the throats of today's youth" bullshit ideas that exist in our modern society, this is by far the most ridiculous and insulting. Britney Spears is the trailer trash wonder that I love to hate, but at least she set out to be a music icon - albeit an artistically worthless one - but at least it was a lifelong goal. But Paris Hilton? What did she do, run to daddy and beg for a music deal until he bought one for her? This isn't make believe and playtime sweetheart, you can't wake up saying "I want to pretend I'm a rock star today" and have it happen. I wonder if anyone has ever told her "no" in her life. Maybe it would do her good to hear it every once in awhile - you know, it may force her to go out and actually DO something instead of kicking and screaming until she gets her way and has the world handed to her on a silver platter. God forbid that the spoiled rich brat would ever have to make an effort for anything. Those voice synths in the tracks sound great, it's just too bad that your voice will never really sound like that. So what did she actually "do" in this album anyway. Lets see, she didn't write the music (because she can't) she didn't write the lyrics (because she found someone better) she didn't play anything (that would be a funny sight) and her voice was ran through a processor to give her some semblance of resonation. Hell, she couldn't even think of a title for the album. "Paris Hilton" by Paris Hilton. Yeah, that's catchy. And the lead-off single "Stars are Blind", what is that about? Star blindness is a major medical deformity that thousands of stars are suffering from, how does it make them feel when someone profits from their misery? It's barbaric. And I think I've heard the backing music before. It was used in a piece entitled "every pop dance song that has been written in the past decade". Britney, call your lawyers. As unfathomable as it seems, I think someone else is actually ripping off of YOUR music. This is the only person in the world that Ashlee Simpson could call a hack and I would agree. So what is it up to now - what has she done at a whim that so many worthwhile artists and driven people struggle their entire lives to acheive:
Author - while Stephen King had to teach high school literature to pay the bills until "Carrie" was published
Film Actor - while Anthony Hopkins went through years of intense study, acting, dramaturgy, and Shakespearean traning to become "something worth seeing"
Model - while Naomi Cambell was getting desperately lost in the middle of the dangerous Paris Metro trying to make interviews
Recording Artist - while Rob Thomas was left homeless on the streets of Orlando trying to put together a worthwhile band and Tori Amos was being raped leaving the dive bars she gigged at.
So, am I overreacting? Yes. Do I take insignificant things personally? Possibly (shut up Emilio). But it worries me when mass-marketed music becomes so trite and overwhelms any recording artists that actually have something to say. Yes, music is a business. I hate to admit it, but in the mainstream market, it is just that. But music is also an art form. How far will this society continue to decay before there is nothing left in the mainstream but mindless dance beats that appeals to an audience that would rather hold a beat in a club than actually have their minds and hearts opened by music. Imagine your first kiss to "Toxic", your first breakup to "Boyfriend", finding out that a friend died, and then hearing Mike Jones brag about his bling. Are the artistic bands and artists destined to only play the small, unsigned gigs while the pop gurus fill the stadiums? Have we reached the point where the power that is Clear Channel will prevent us from ever experiencing another Beatles revolution, Zoo TV tour, or OK Computer? I wonder how many of the mainstream consumers would be susceptible to such things if it was marketed in the same fashion as Britney or Christina. Maybe the middle school students that are the mainstream's new "target audience" listen to it simply because they don't know anything else. I was brought up on 60s rock - a time when the leaders of music were also passionate artists fighting for a cause, a change, or just a happier life. And I attribute this fact to my being so particular about music. I'm not asking for Paris to write "Yesterday", I wouldn't expect it from her. But for god sakes say SOMETHING, anything. You're in a position where you could change the world. So run with it. Because in twenty years, nobody will remember "Stars are Blind", but people will still be finding hope in "Imagine", falling in love to "With or Without You", and dancing, just like your crowd, to "Bohemian Rhapsody". And hopefully, if society holds its ground, a small wiry reject with a microphone will still have the power to change a generation.