Because of this, they decide the best way to show everyone how free thinking they are is to proclaim how terrible Justin Bieber, "Twilight," or any other mediocre popular thing is, as if it is some deep, dark secret that only they could figure out. It'd be like pointing out why a blind person couldn't be a good sniper to make it seem like you have a knowledge of guns or warfare. If these people listened to song glorifying violence against women, three days and forty five listens later they'd post a status update on Facebook proclaiming how they just figured out "Smack That Bitch With a Shovel" is totally sexist and that everyone else should open their eyes!
Once they establish that some things in popular culture aren't a profound exploration of the human condition, they use this as an excuse to complain about how our generation is totally ignorant and how we should be ashamed that generic entertainment is popular. They'll then cherry pick a couple classics from a single era, compare them to some of the more popular (but forgettable) stuff of today, and point to that as a reason as to why we are getting dumber as a species... except for them, of course! If you made one of these people a professional MMA fighter, they'd just carry around a picture that features Bas Rutten, Jake Shields, and a caption that says "What happened?" to try and make up for the fact they'd start crying every time they got hit.
This leads me to today's guest post by famed internet playboy David Zafra, who has his own blog about movies and philosophy here. Today he tackles the below poster, which perfectly epitomizes the aforementioned dipshittery I described:
I cannot believe how many people jump on the approval of this poster without realizing how illogical it is to be disappointed with music because of this kind of comparison. Comparing the two is like saying "Shakespeare said 'all the world is all a stage,' but Stephanie Meyer said 'I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars'". The people with this kind of insight are the ones that like to scorn society before going back to watching a re-run of the Jersey Shore. Of course, much more dedicated hipsters will probably post it on facebook and then talk about the evils of the Internet. There are so many things wrong with this poster that I feel like I just watched Sucker Punch. And like Sucker Punch, I have to take it one terrible scene at a time.
What we have is a picture of Frank Sinatra quoting the words to a song that was written for a musical in the 1930's and performed by Sinatra in 1961. The fact that Frank Sinatra didn't sing the song first is meaningless, but I think it's a funny note. But we're comparing artists of then and now, so to be fair we should pick a song that was super popular then and one that is super popular now. So Sinatra's version of "The Way you Look Tonight was probably as successful as "Baby" right? Actually, that song never made it to number one in 1961. The song that WAS number 1 the longest was a song called "Tossin and Turnin" by Bobby Lewis. There is not much to know about the guy, because his next song only made it to number 9 before he disappeared.
These are the lyrics:
Baby,
Baby,
You did something to me.
I couldn't sleep at all last night,
Just a-thinking of you.
Baby things weren't right.
Well I was tossing and turnin',
Turnin' and tossing,
Tossing and turnin' all night.
The lyrics don't get much deeper than that. Also on the list of Billboard hot 100 for that year is Ray Charles, who I love. But you can't argue that "Hit the Road Jack" is that much deeper in lyrics than "Baby".
However, if you really insist on proving that music is not as good as it used to be, you have to at least be fair in the comparisons. The above is a song that was sung by Frank Sinatra in his adult life, while Justin Beiber is just a fucking kid. Also, the guy who wrote "The Way You Look Tonight" was 45 years old, and was working to express a very specific point. Remember that the song was written for a musical, and musicals use songs to advance the plot by allowing the characters to say what they are feeling, without ACTUALLY saying it. Baby was written by Beiber with the help of a few 30 year olds for the purpose of entertainment.
Why is this teen pop sensation not carrying on Public Enemy's questioning of authority and government in his music?!
The problem with that stupid poster is that the person is picking very specific examples for a very biased point. Why not use something from a multiple Grammy award winner like The Black Keys?
Let me be your everlasting light
The sun when there is none
I'm a shepherd for you
And I'll guide you through
Let me be your everlasting light
That is a great sentiment from a band that is not only amazing, but also well recognized by the music community. Even better look at Adele, who is huge both critically and commercially. She's been on the Billboard Hot 100, won Grammy's... and she did it all without a mask.
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your ship [shit] bare
See how I leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
I won't bother with looking at the people who made it to the top 100 of the same year, because it's probably terrible. But you know what? The things that are popular now, will not necessarily withstand the test of time. Music has a filter. Just because you love these great artist of the 60's and 70's now, doesn't mean everybody loved them during their time. You also have to understand that every single generation looks down on their own, as if everything was somehow better at another point. Just look at the great literary writers of history. A lot of people would look at Twain and Blake and Shakespeare as low forms of art. They may have once been looked down on, but they are now considered classics.
Go backwards in time and you'll see that people have been saying the same stuff. If music really has died, then it's been going on for a long time. Did you forget that during the 90's we had to put up with dozens of shitty pop artists? Back in the 70's great artists were competing for popularity against disco music. This kind of thing has always existed. Common wrote a song talking about his disappointment with the direction of hip-hop back in the 90's. He obviously didn't give up on it.
[Punchline's Note: The song Zafra is talking about is called "I Used To Love H.E.R.," one of Common's most well known and respected songs]
Common using his discontent creatively and artistically, rather than as a sad attempt to sound better than everyone else.
So now to look nostalgically on this time that existed before us, is ridiculous. Just watch Midnight in Paris for a good example. Or read the review for it on my blog.
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