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am i so cynical..?


bubinga5
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my other half and her friend have just been watching the X Factor.... ive been accused of being cynical and taking music too seriously... the only people i can turn to for some back up are my fellow bass players.... i hate to be judgmental and a music snob, because everyone enjoys music on different levels.. but i cant help but be annoyed by the total false absolute rubbish that people seem to be taking as the norm...

what bothers me is most of the viewing public. especially the younger generation... are being indoctrinated to think this is all that music has to offer... when i was young i was brought up with stevie wonder, chaka khan, steely dan..... ok i was into shakin stevens for a while... :Dbut when i used to listen to music as a nipper it was magical, and that feeling has stayed with me until now and always will...

i cant help but think television as a media is peddling the fast food version of music... our younger generation is taking this as the norm when it comes to music, so dont expect much more... over years to come good music is being watered down, personally i expect music to be special, and i dont see anything special in the sh*te that Louis Walsh etc...is producing

40 years ago, the younger generation had the beatles in the charts...


excuse my rant...would like to hear other opinions

Edited by bubinga5
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But unfortunately the stuff that is pedaled on these shows is the stuff that sells most. The 'good' stuff just doesn't sell in large quantities anymore. Even Brian May has had to admit that, and I'm sure you'll include his music as 'magical'.

the music business works much more towards live concerts these days. X-Factor winners might do one, maybe two arena tours then that's it. How many people will go to the upcoming Stones tour. But at the same time how many people will buy their new CD. Not nearly as many as would have in the 70s.

There is 'magical' stuff out there but it doesn't get played on the radio that much and I guess that's your point.

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Hasn't there always been popular 'rubbish' in the music charts and on television? Remember 'Opportunity Knocks' and 'New Faces'? There have always been 'talent' shows on TV.

Also when you used to listen to music as a 'nipper' and it was 'magical', perhaps part of the magic is that you were young and hearing a lot of stuff for the first time. Our perspectives change as we get older because we gain experience.

I wouldn't worry about it. Sitting in front of the telly slagging off stuff you don't like is a mugs game - it makes [u]you[/u] the stupid one and plays directly into the ratings for the likes of X-factor etc.

Just ignore the stuff you don't like and don't waste another second of your life even thinking about it.

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[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1352652537' post='1865616']
Hasn't there always been popular 'rubbish' in the music charts and on television? Remember 'Opportunity Knocks' and 'New Faces'? There have always been 'talent' shows on TV.

Also when you used to listen to music as a 'nipper' and it was 'magical', perhaps part of the magic is that you were young and hearing a lot of stuff for the first time. Our perspectives change as we get older because we gain experience.

I wouldn't worry about it. Sitting in front of the telly slagging off stuff you don't like is a mugs game - it makes [u]you[/u] the stupid one and plays directly into the ratings for the likes of X-factor etc.

Just ignore the stuff you don't like and don't waste another second of your life even thinking about it.
[/quote]

Very much this.

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[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1352651332' post='1865592']
my other half and her friend have just been watching the X Factor.... ive been accused of being cynical and taking music too seriously... the only people i can turn to for some back up are my fellow bass players....

when i was young i was brought up with stevie wonder, chaka khan, [b]steely dan[/b].....
[/quote]

Taking music too seriosly .......Steely dan ........UGH , I am sure they composed songs by throwing a bucket full of random chords in the air and playing them in both the order and the time sequence that they landed .

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[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1352651332' post='1865592']
...
because everyone enjoys music on different levels..
...
[/quote]

It's not a singing or music competition, they're looking for someone with the X-factor. Just remember that and the fact that no one knows what the X-factor is....

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[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1352654292' post='1865650']
Taking music too seriosly .......Steely dan ........UGH , I am sure they composed songs by throwing a bucket full of random chords in the air and playing them in both the order and the time sequence that they landed .
[/quote]i think those random chords worked quite well though.. ;)

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What bugs me is that so many of the entrants go on about how music is their life, all they've ever wanted to do was perform. Do they go out and find a band? go to open mic nights or do anything to further their dreams? no they wait for a 'talent' show to turn up on their door steps before they'll do anything. Obviously this isn't true for all of them but seems to be the case for the majority, I can't work out how they really want to do this but have never got off their arses and tried.

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Cynical? Nah... I totally understand what you're saying, but equally I'm not ashamed to say that I really like pop music! This coming from someone who's broken a rib seeing Motorhead in the past ;)

Mainstream pop has always been a manufactured 'production line' of the sort exhibited by the X Factor. I actually quite like how the show lifts the lid on the industry and shows it for what it is - a glorified karaoke competition. Nothing wrong with that; and nothing new about it either.

Production-wise, there are some superbly skilled people working in the pop industry. I'm no fan of Britney Spears, for instance, but much of her music is superbly produced if you can look (or listen!) past the bubblegum presentation.

Ultimately, if it weren't for mainstream pop then there'd be nothing for the cool kids to rebel against, and then music would truly suck. So long live pop I say!

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[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1352656133' post='1865700']
What bugs me is that so many of the entrants go on about how music is their life, all they've ever wanted to do was perform. Do they go out and find a band? go to open mic nights or do anything to further their dreams? no they wait for a 'talent' show to turn up on their door steps before they'll do anything. Obviously this isn't true for all of them but seems to be the case for the majority, I can't work out how they really want to do this but have never got off their arses and tried.
[/quote]

I know lots of people who have auditioned from our local stage school. All very talented singers, dancers and actors. Most of them perform regularly to large audiences, many of them have gone on to have main roles in West End Shows and parts on TV.

The X-factor are not looking for people who are good, they're looking for a back story that gets the phones ringing.

Edited by TimR
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I used to be pretty cynical about all of it, til I viewed a seminar about what it takes to write a hit song... and I found a great deal of respect for the commercial work that goes into (at the very least) the writing of a hit song. X-factor is slightly different, but I do have a new-found respect for them making money this way. I'm not saying I like the way it works, or even approve of it, but I do respect that it still takes a great deal of work and industry-smarts to make it work and stay afloat in a relatively competitive marketplace.

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I don't deny the entertainment appeal of the X-Factor, but it does represent a part of the music industry and TV that I truly, truly loathe. I hate the way it gives the appearance that something can be gained from doing nothing at all, I hate the way it conveys a sense that largely talentlessness individuals can be offered careers (most often fleeting) when other far superior songwriters, singers and musicians should be offered the opportunities instead. It seems terribly unjust and somehow, and yet it gets dressed up as harmless Saturday night TV and accepted. I think Gary Barlow is a drab songwriter, I think the rest of the panel are devoid of talent, I think Cowell has an unhealthy stranglehold on music and I think the fact that we offer this kind of thing to young aspiring musicians is damaging. It's a money-spinner and every time I hear about it which I inevitably do through either the media, family or friends, I can't help feeling incredibly angered by it.

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Don't watch it so can't comment as i am always out gigging B)

Just wanted to add that we were supported by an X Factor or similar show type person recently who was really nice, turned up with a small band and knew a bit about music too.

Edited by BottomE
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[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1352658137' post='1865743']
I don't deny the entertainment appeal of the X-Factor, but it does represent a part of the music industry and TV that I truly, truly loathe. I hate the way it gives the appearance that something can be gained from doing nothing at all, I hate the way it conveys a sense that largely talentlessness individuals can be offered careers (most often fleeting) when other far superior songwriters, singers and musicians should be offered the opportunities instead. It seems terribly unjust and somehow, and yet it gets dressed up as harmless Saturday night TV and accepted. I think Gary Barlow is a drab songwriter, I think the rest of the panel are devoid of talent, I think Cowell has an unhealthy stranglehold on music and I think the fact that we offer this kind of thing to young aspiring musicians is damaging. It's a money-spinner and every time I hear about it which I inevitably do through either the media, family or friends, I can't help feeling incredibly angered by it.
[/quote]this, i just wasnt as eloquent...

Edited by bubinga5
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Larry Parnes, Larry Page, Mickie Most...........the list goes on.

This ain`t a new thing. X factor is just the latest, fashionable version of it. All these things have a shelf life. What will come after the likes of X factor? Now that is the scary bit.

Edited by jezzaboy
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I have not watched the show myself but my daughters have.

It is aimed at the young - it gives them the feel good factor.
The hope that fame and fortune can come to the ordinary person.

That is what entertainment has been about since the war years.

Opium for the masses :)

I like making my own music. Playing in a band. Listening to blues, rock and even jazz lol.

If you don't like it don't listen and agree with your other half, yes you do take music very seriously!!!!

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I wonder whose music Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell listen to? Not the sh*t from their show obviously. Do they listen to music at all? Do they even like music?

Edit: Looks like he stopped listening to music in 1975 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/95e3e1cc#p0093v6h

Edited by gjones
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[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1352661912' post='1865821']
I wonder whose music Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell listen to? Not the sh*t from their show obviously. Do they listen to music at all? Do they even like music?

Edit: Looks like he stopped listening to music in 1975 [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/95e3e1cc#p0093v6h"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...e3e1cc#p0093v6h[/url]
[/quote]

last i saw , C*****l must have attempted to auto-tune his face.

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[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1352654292' post='1865650']


Taking music too seriosly .......Steely dan ........UGH , I am sure they composed songs by throwing a bucket full of random chords in the air and playing them in both the order and the time sequence that they landed .
[/quote]

Sorry mate, but you haven't a clue.

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[quote name='Subbeh' timestamp='1352656133' post='1865700']
What bugs me is that so many of the entrants go on about how music is their life, all they've ever wanted to do was perform. Do they go out and find a band? go to open mic nights or do anything to further their dreams? no they wait for a 'talent' show to turn up on their door steps before they'll do anything. Obviously this isn't true for all of them but seems to be the case for the majority, I can't work out how they really want to do this but have never got off their arses and tried.
[/quote]

:lol: :lol:

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