Most of us watched the Super Bowl last night. Most of us enjoyed another huge Giants win and another Hall of Fame-caliber performance out of Eli Manning. Being a Cowboys fan, it’s not the best way to spend a Super Bowl Sunday, but I always enjoy a well-played game and like giving credit where credit is due.
It is another thing entirely that was articulated for me as the night wound down to a close: the subtle destruction of quality music. I am not going to spend time griping about the old, broken model that is the Music Industry either – I’m talking music; the integrity of a song.
When all is said and done, the only one who gave a true and superb performance last night was Kelly Clarkson when she sang the National Anthem. Madonna did well too and proved that, despite her age, she can still move with the rest of them. So, you have Kelly Clarkson that sings the Star-Spangled Banner and Madonna that went through a catalog of timeless pop hits…then we got a few doses of reality.
I’ll start with the least offensive of them all: LMFAO.
This is a group that will not be relevant for another year. I was once told by a writing mentor of mine that good literature will speak to the human condition; it’ll tell stories that will relate to people reading it whether it was 2012 or 1712. Fear, love, anxiety, jealousy, rage, tales of triumph over an overwhelming foe…that speaks to the human condition.
I was taught never to put too much time into a piece that dates your work. Then we have LMFAO’s group name. “LMFAO” is going to have as much social relevance in 10 years as an 80′s band called “Slap Bracelet” would have today. Not only is the group name vanilla, their presence on any stage is utterly forgettable…and of course, poorly lip-sync’d.
M.I.A. also made an appearance on stage, which was odd, considering she hasn’t been relevant since 2009. I get that she has an album coming out this summer, but even at the peak of her U.S. popularity, with the “Kala” album, I would never have seen her fit for a cameo at a Superbowl. She supposedly gave a camera the middle finger too, which I couldn’t care less about. Every child over the age of seven is flipping each other off these days, anyhow – it has become an acceptable salutation in some households.
Onto the woman of the hour: Nicki Minaj.
Nicki Minaj is the greatest example of how disposable our music is now. She is a gleaming beacon of hopelessness when it comes to how temporary everything we hear on Top 40 radio has become. I laughed about how dated naming your music group “LMFAO” is? Well, now it seems that Nicki Minaj has started to pump out bad music at a rapid pace, just to promote her next appearances.
In her latest auditory abortion, “Stupid Hoe,” Minaj makes reference to her upcoming Superbowl 2012 cameo…and that is exactly what it was: a short, poorly lip-sync’d appearance which was designed to keep that stupid “angry face” thing she does fresh in your zoned-out minds.
To think, people used to take care of each track they produced. To think, artists used to release songs that would be sung for decades to follow. But, let’s not think too much…thinking breeds lament.
The saddest part is that children don’t seem to notice, and certainly don’t seem to care. This is the culture we have been phased into over the course of the past ten years, hence, it became the new norm; the new paradigm.
I always hold out hope that there will be some sort of awakening or renewed interest in pieces with more substance, but it seems the only culture many people have now is pop culture.
From a humbled Cowboys fan, I want to congratulate all my friends that are Giants fans!
~ Be well
Frank hosts a twice-weekly webcast from his Port Chester studio, covering everything from cyber-bullying to current events. Visit Zedalza Entertainment on the web for more info.
