Literary HackBefore the Music Dies
April 21st 2009 06:46
The other day I watched a documentary titled, Before the Music Dies[/]. The documentary was about how good music and popular music rarely intersect.
Before the Music Dies
The movie specifically blames the music industry and the radio stations for their contribution to the disintegration of good music. The documentary addresses the corollary between the radio stations and music industry's main labels; the radio stations mind little if the music it plays is not [I]good, they only care that it's not bad. As long it satisfies the listener enough so that he won't change the station, then the radio station has done its job effectively. This in turn, causes the record labels to be more inclined to sign artists that sell. That is to say, display consistently "safe" songs, rather than those artists that have talent that produces new or "edgy" sounds and styles.
With interviews from artists that have earned mainstream appreciation while keeping their unique sounds and styles that got them there: like Erika Badhu, Dave Matthews, and Elvis Costello; the movie earns not only credibility, but relatability as well. The movie also goes on to create a project involving a gorgeous junior in high school.
This girl in the project is already a model and wants to sing; unfortunately she has a devastatingly horrible voice. The project is to have her go to a studio and sing a cheesy-written song by a middle aged man with the lyrics intended for an audience of young adults and teenagers. She sings the pre-written lyrics over a pre-produced beat. After that, a machine changes the pitch of her off-tuned vocals to fit what it should sound like. Then, she shoots a video for the song. Walah! A teenage star is in the works as they took a pretty, marketable young girl and turned her into a sex symbol; of course, the music sounded good and the vocals sounded nothing like her real voice.
Before the Music Dies was a very well done and insightful documentary that displayed the troubling new trend of popular music in contemporary America.
Before the Music Dies
The movie specifically blames the music industry and the radio stations for their contribution to the disintegration of good music. The documentary addresses the corollary between the radio stations and music industry's main labels; the radio stations mind little if the music it plays is not [I]good, they only care that it's not bad. As long it satisfies the listener enough so that he won't change the station, then the radio station has done its job effectively. This in turn, causes the record labels to be more inclined to sign artists that sell. That is to say, display consistently "safe" songs, rather than those artists that have talent that produces new or "edgy" sounds and styles.
With interviews from artists that have earned mainstream appreciation while keeping their unique sounds and styles that got them there: like Erika Badhu, Dave Matthews, and Elvis Costello; the movie earns not only credibility, but relatability as well. The movie also goes on to create a project involving a gorgeous junior in high school.
This girl in the project is already a model and wants to sing; unfortunately she has a devastatingly horrible voice. The project is to have her go to a studio and sing a cheesy-written song by a middle aged man with the lyrics intended for an audience of young adults and teenagers. She sings the pre-written lyrics over a pre-produced beat. After that, a machine changes the pitch of her off-tuned vocals to fit what it should sound like. Then, she shoots a video for the song. Walah! A teenage star is in the works as they took a pretty, marketable young girl and turned her into a sex symbol; of course, the music sounded good and the vocals sounded nothing like her real voice.
Before the Music Dies was a very well done and insightful documentary that displayed the troubling new trend of popular music in contemporary America.
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