Miley Cyrus' VMA performance

[Miguel]

Sinead has some thoughts related to Simon Cowell as well.

In an interview on The Late Late Show in Ireland on Friday, the 46-year-old blasted the X Factor judge.

"I feel sorry for the murder of music and rock 'n' roll, which has happened because of the industry. Because of Simon Cowell, [and his fellow judge, music exec] Louis Walsh – they've murdered music," she said.

The singer believes that the moneymaking side of the industry has taken over and the result has been "the sexualizing of extremely young people" and the worship of "money and bling and diamonds."

"There's a certain alarm that needs to be rung and I know there are a lot of musicians around the country and around the world that will agree," she said. "The power of rock 'n' roll to change things, to move people, is being murdered by all this worship of fame, Pop Idol, X Factor, all this stuff."

[john]

Sinead has some thoughts related to Simon Cowell as well.

In an interview on The Late Late Show in Ireland on Friday, the 46-year-old blasted the X Factor judge.

"I feel sorry for the murder of music and rock 'n' roll, which has happened because of the industry. Because of Simon Cowell, [and his fellow judge, music exec] Louis Walsh – they've murdered music," she said.

The singer believes that the moneymaking side of the industry has taken over and the result has been "the sexualizing of extremely young people" and the worship of "money and bling and diamonds."

"There's a certain alarm that needs to be rung and I know there are a lot of musicians around the country and around the world that will agree," she said. "The power of rock 'n' roll to change things, to move people, is being murdered by all this worship of fame, Pop Idol, X Factor, all this stuff."

TV is TV and Simon and TPTB have their own agenda and it's not all great....but I can't agree with Sinead on this one. Shows like Idol and X-Factor provide the opportunity for unknown artists to get big exposure. There aren't many ways to get that. And there has always been those who want money and fame -- or at least recognition.

It does bypass of the dues payin' (getting in those 10,000 hours or whatever) side of things, which causes it's own difficulties. Once the show is over and you haven't made it big then what? But you do leave with some name recognition.

Another important aspect of these shows is that the singers are performing live, without autotuning and all the other electronic manipulations. They sing with a band. And they sing an eclectic mix of modern standards -- the Beatles, Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Leiber and Stroller, Motown, etc. AI introduced me (and others it seems) to Adelle and as a whole the shows have increased by knowledge of songs, writers, and the industry as a whole.

I'm not sure that Simon's the one who's wrecking music. These shows are, in fact, outlets for what is fairly traditional music.

[Tusk]

So begs the question, who/what is the "Prime Mover" that decides the flavour of the day, in music?

Sure corporations can throw money to help "The Anointed One/s" to succeed, but money and backing does not guarantee it will hit.

Does the general public still not have a say in what lives on the airwaves, drive many to spend millions on promoted music?

The music experience is so different from how we get our music today. The times of millions experiencing the same "moments" through media has, for the most part, passed because of how many choices and outlets that exists nowadays.

Seems one of the few places left to have that shared social musical experience with millions of others IS through shows like AI

"Haley's Journey" is a prime example of how a powerful shared experience can motivate people to pull an artist into the spotlight, disrupting the script and changing what was status quo

On the other hand, at no time in the modern era, thnx to entities like YouTube and Twitter, has the potential for a "Nobody" to become a "Somebody" been so great.

Paradoxical, to say the least...

[Miguel]

"I draw all these stupid things and people actually want to get them done. Never stops surprising me."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/03...35954.html

In related news...

Yorkshireman, 39, has 15 Miley Cyrus tattoos inked across his body to pay tribute to teenage singer 'for helping him through divorce'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...vorce.html

[john]

Annie Lennox condemns 'pornographic' music videos

Following controversial videos by Miley Cyrus and Rihanna, Lennox hits out at trend for female performers to behave like 'pimp and prostitute at the same time'

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oc...iley-cyrus

[Miguel]

Annie:

It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low. Their assumption seems to be that misogyny – utilised and displayed through oneself – is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and YouTube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetised form of self harm."

She followed that with a clarification on Sunday. "There is absolutely nothing 'wrong' about our sexuality or sensuality per se. But if a performing artist has an audience of impressionable young fans and they want to present a soft porn video or highly sexualised live performance, then it needs to qualify as such and be X-rated, for adults only. I'm talking from the perspective of the parents of those young fans. The whole thing is about their children's protection … Boundaries need to be put in place so that young kids aren't barraged by market forces exploiting the "normalisation" of explicit sex in underage entertainment."

Musical artists can address this issue with more credibility than the general public. Good to see some are.

Astute comment to the article:

It's simply down to the fact that since February YouTube plays have counted towards Billboard singles chart positions as well as sales.

No coincidence that since then we've had Blurred Lines, Wrecking Ball and now this Pour It up mess.

It's an arms race to see who can garner the most outrage and it would appear that everyone is falling for it.

[john]

^And a couple of other comments

MyAvatarIsNotACat
08 October 2013 3:03pm

Said the mom about Elvis in 1956.
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Tropicaldan
09 October 2013 10:04am

Annie Lennox's music and videos were at the cutting edge in her youthful prime
And now she's Mary Whitehouse
Sad

Constance Mary Whitehouse, CBE (born Constance Mary Hutcheson, 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was an English social activist known for her opposition to social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permissive society. She was the founder and first president of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, through which she led a long standing campaign against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). A staunch social conservative, the motivation for her activities derived from her traditional Christian beliefs and her work as a teacher of sex education.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whitehouse

[Miguel]

Compare the most shocking videos today to those of Annie Lennox and today's pornography. I think they will more strongly resemble the latter.

Annie isn't saying they shouldn't be allowed. But that they should be labeled as explicit because "market forces (are) exploiting the 'normalisation' of explicit sex in underage entertainment."

[Miguel]

Kelly Clarkson explains 'pitchy strippers' VMA tweet

...the Grammy winner is backpedaling a bit on her biting byte. It wasn't meant to malign Miley, really. "It was more me just being funny. I guess I saw about six performances from (the VMAs) and I was just being funny," she told Extra yesterday. "Everybody says stuff and I didn't even put names on it. … People did not think it was funny. I did. That's OK, I make myself laugh."

And if anyone — like, the whole world — immediately linked "pitchystrippers" with a certain twerking, Latex-loving 20-year-old, "that's not my fault," Clarkson said. "I didn't say any names. … I'm not dragging anyone's name in the mud. Everybody's art is their art. I was just simply expressing my artistic point of view."

And Clarkson swears she's no snob when it comes to careers. "Ain't nothing wrong with being a stripper," she clarified. That said, "maybe be on key. ... Be the best dang stripper you can be."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/peopl...t/2967103/

[john]

News Roundup

Miley Cyrus Offered $1 Million Porn Deal To Direct Adult Flick

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/10...76812.html

Miley Cyrus: Why My Boobs Are So Unique
“I’m trying to break out of that long hair, big boobs stereotype that women feel they have to conform to. I mean, we’re not living in the freakin’ 1950s — short hair is OK. Have people really got so little imagination,” Miley told YOU Magazine. Preach!

“Every morning I look in the mirror and I feel like a blank canvas and I choose who I want to be. In a normal job you have to live by someone else’s rules, but I’m in a job where my work is play and I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not.”

Miley certainly walks to the beat of her own drum. You go girl!

http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/10/11/mile...interview/

One Of Miley Cyrus’s Dancing Bears Speaks Out: VMA Performance Made Her Feel “Less Than Human"

Read more at ONTD: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/823...z2hV7wOlcr

If an alien species came across footage from last night's MTV VMAs and watched it, trying to determine whether we're a race worth saving, Earth surely would have been blown up by now. And Miley Cyrus is the woman we'd all be able to thank for that. Cyrus, who is desperately trying to make a name for herself as an expert twerker, forced all of America to watch her indulge her new hobby while on stage.

http://www.alternet.org/progressive-wire...erformance