2008 Woodie Awards
Musical taste should be embraced
By Shawna Coudriet
Rocket Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/18/05 Section: Opinion
What factors do you use to determine whether a singer or band is "good" in your book? What makes a musician worth listening to? Lyrics that relate to your life? A rhythm or beat you can dance to? Melodies that you can whistle during the day?
All of those seem like pretty legitimate reasons for liking or disliking a musician and their music. What if I asked you if you considered hairstyle an important factor in choosing who you listen to? How about what the musicians looked and acted like almost a decade ago? You would probably think I was insane, that nobody was that closed-minded about music.
My favorite band is Hanson. At least half of you have just stopped reading.
I know what you're thinking. "Hanson? Are you serious? Isn't that that band from a thousand years ago that looks like a bunch of girls?" Hey, I'll even agree with you on the girl point. Half the time I think that Taylor (the lead singer and keyboardist) would make a prettier girl than I do. But wait a second; didn't you just agree that images, especially from that long ago, shouldn't matter?
It's the same principle with all musicians; Colin McGuire's recent entertainment article is just one example of many opinions held by people in our culture. Whether it is Hanson and their hair, Britney Spears and her dancing, Ashlee Simpson and her lip syncing on Saturday Night Live, or Elvis and his gyrating hips (just to name a few), we tend to form our opinions more on how an artist appears to the public and less on what should be the most important factor: the music itself.
We live in a culture where sex sells, and it is used to promote everything from alcohol to underwear. At some point, flaunting your body and dancing provocatively became just as important to a song as the lyrics within it, and many singers were forced to adapt to this new public image. One example is Jessica Simpson's transformation over the years from preacher's daughter to Daisy Duke. It's not even an all-female transformation; Usher and Justin Timberlake regularly finish a show with less clothing than they started.
This is not to say that sex appeal in the artist is the only factor we use in determining what we like. My younger sister listens to country because she likes singers with an accent (personally, I like to be able to relate to the lyrics on my CDs). Whatever your reasons are for choosing your music, we should all respect entertainment artists for attempting to make a living out of this industry. I'm not a fan of Britney Spears, but even I have to admit that it is pretty impressive for her to have sold fifty-five million albums in only five years.
I'm not trying to sway your opinion for or against any of these artists; I am just saying that nobody should be afraid to be mocked when admitting what music is in their CD player. Nobody should feel ashamed for enjoying something they like.
All of those seem like pretty legitimate reasons for liking or disliking a musician and their music. What if I asked you if you considered hairstyle an important factor in choosing who you listen to? How about what the musicians looked and acted like almost a decade ago? You would probably think I was insane, that nobody was that closed-minded about music.
My favorite band is Hanson. At least half of you have just stopped reading.
I know what you're thinking. "Hanson? Are you serious? Isn't that that band from a thousand years ago that looks like a bunch of girls?" Hey, I'll even agree with you on the girl point. Half the time I think that Taylor (the lead singer and keyboardist) would make a prettier girl than I do. But wait a second; didn't you just agree that images, especially from that long ago, shouldn't matter?
It's the same principle with all musicians; Colin McGuire's recent entertainment article is just one example of many opinions held by people in our culture. Whether it is Hanson and their hair, Britney Spears and her dancing, Ashlee Simpson and her lip syncing on Saturday Night Live, or Elvis and his gyrating hips (just to name a few), we tend to form our opinions more on how an artist appears to the public and less on what should be the most important factor: the music itself.
We live in a culture where sex sells, and it is used to promote everything from alcohol to underwear. At some point, flaunting your body and dancing provocatively became just as important to a song as the lyrics within it, and many singers were forced to adapt to this new public image. One example is Jessica Simpson's transformation over the years from preacher's daughter to Daisy Duke. It's not even an all-female transformation; Usher and Justin Timberlake regularly finish a show with less clothing than they started.
This is not to say that sex appeal in the artist is the only factor we use in determining what we like. My younger sister listens to country because she likes singers with an accent (personally, I like to be able to relate to the lyrics on my CDs). Whatever your reasons are for choosing your music, we should all respect entertainment artists for attempting to make a living out of this industry. I'm not a fan of Britney Spears, but even I have to admit that it is pretty impressive for her to have sold fifty-five million albums in only five years.
I'm not trying to sway your opinion for or against any of these artists; I am just saying that nobody should be afraid to be mocked when admitting what music is in their CD player. Nobody should feel ashamed for enjoying something they like.
