When I Was Your Age...

I got a chance to watch a repeat telecast of the VMA Awards on MTV the other night. I usually don't watch them, but I wanted to see the Kanye West debacle for the 150th time... as if the news didn't sensationalize it enough/to death already. Between that and Russel Brand, who was hosting, the whole show felt like a food fight at an elementary school cafeteria... everybody screaming... chaos... disruptions. At the risk of sounding like my Mother, this generation of music has very little to do with music and more to do with sensationalism.

In my day, we had some truly talented singers. Songs were about something. People could actually sing. Nowadays, it's all rapping about cutting your bitch 'cause she a ho, voice modulators to cover up that they can't sing and ripping off the words/music of someone who could and rapping overtop of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's not easy to be a rapper, especially for a gay, whiteboy like me... but isn't rap just 'poetry'? Isn't it just a big long haiku mindfuck? You don't see every legitimate poet up on stage with bling and a gold tooth banging out their work. And they can't sing at all. Isn't that a requirement? That you have to be able to sing to be a singer? When did that change? Isn't rap just a new medium for slackers to celebrate not striving to be better? Almost like Ebonics was for speaking. 'Ahhh... English is too hard to learn so let's just take the easy way out and make up our own shit and call it something'.

Now, don't get me wrong... the fabulous Miss Barbra Streisand can be equally annoying. Although her voice, at her age, is starting to sound more like margarine than butter, how many times and ways can we hear her churn out Smoke Gets In My Eyes or Cry Me A River. But at least the bitch has talent and a voice and the largest piece of bling on her is her nose... and she pokes it into every political cause going. Yesterday, I was painting at my Dad's and had some 70's station on... Karen Carpenter came on... it took me back. Sure, she was a skinny, homely bitch and she needed to eat a bucket of chicken or two, but she had chops. I miss real talent. And when we do get someone who can sing, they are overshadowed by someone like Lady Gaga... WTF? And if I hear Taylor Swift one more time... who seriously, although cute, can't sing either, I will poke her eyes out. Although I can't stand Kanye West, I wish he pushed her off the stage altogether. Beyonce should have won... she's fresh, can sing, killer legs, looks great in a leotard and knows how to brand herself. Props to Lady Gaga for at least being the modern day Madonna.

What is this world coming to? When we were young, after walking 8 miles from school in a foot of snow with no shoes on, it was nice to sit in front of the hearth and listen on our new-fangled radio to someone with talent... at least we had the 'warm fuzzies' to keep us toasty.