Popular Music Video.
It is now 2 AM -- I have spent the past hour or so watching music videos. The last video I saw caught my attention in particular, and made me think. I would like to describe the video, and then share my thoughts. It is a video by a newer artist, who I believe USED to be in a popular singing group, but has now GONE SOLO, so to speak, although in this case, "solo" would refer to having songs written for him (or co-written, and really, what is the difference?), arranged for him, a band picked out for him, hair and makeup and wardrobe chosen, reality TV show written & planned around release date of album, etc. In any case, here is his video:
We start with a lone microphone, on a stand, white tape (carelessly?) wrapped partially around where the mic connects to the chord. The music begins. He steps up to the mic. The lyrics begin to take shape -- at this point, I start paying attention. Lyrics you might find in a 14-year old's diary. Lyrics you might have found in MY 14-year old diary, had I kept one. Think "Sk8r Boi". Think early Beach Boys. Think current Worship songs. (ouch!) Lest I give anything away by printing actual lyrics, just as a thought experiment, i will now off the top of my head write some lyrics that may as well replace the current ones.
Take another look at me.
Look harder, you will see.
I'm not the boy you thought I was.
I'm tellin' you now, because... (wait for it)
I love you, baby
And I'm wrapping my arms so tight ('Round you tonight <-- background vocal)
Don't leave me, ba-a-a-by
'Cause I would never be all ri-i-i-ight!! (Yeah!)
The chorus finally kicks in; nothing spectacular, but of course very SINGABLE. And then. Without warning. At the end of the first chorus, on the VERY LAST CHORD. . . . . THE WALLS FALL DOWN! ONLY TO REVEAL A CROWD OF DANCING TEENS! All of them SINGING ALONG! This is unREAL! He must feel like a MILLION BUCKS!
Enter the bridge: THESE KIDS RUN ON STAGE! They're a part of this thing, too! You, YOU! The viewer, you are a part of this thing, too! You could be that kid next to the mic! He is not especially tall or handsome, neither are you. He is not nearly as good-looking as the singer, neither are you. And yet, YET! HE WELCOMES YOU! You can be in his CLUB!
Kids are eating this shit UP. And I can hardly believe it. Remember when the majority of everyone loved the BEATLES? Bob Dylan? Well, we weren't born. We got Michael Jackson, I guess. But this all led me into some thoughts...
What is the difference between this and what I am trying to do? How different is it from, say, The All-American Rejects? In a way, I look up to that band -- they write really catchy songs that are generally well-arranged and well-performed; perhaps lacking some depth lyrically, but not TOO bad, and I can tap my foot to them all day. Where does the quality come in? Am I much better than Reality Show / Pre-made Success / Wall-Bashing Singer? Perhaps not, but may I always aspire to something a little higher than that. And you, YOU! The reader, you may hold me accountable, if you so wish.
Tired of media, bitter, ready for sleep,
Danimal
posted by Dan @ 11:05 PM
16 Comments:
that made COMPLETE sense. whoaaa. i liked reading your blog. and i agree completely.
-heathertoshiko.
www.myspace.com/so___elektrick
hahaha!! I know who you are talking about. It's quite sad how people are eating it up. Very sad. I congratulate you on watching the whole video though because I've never been able to make it past the first chorus.
awwww, i like ashley angel! oh... oops... but mostly because i was at the height of the whole making the band joy... i think i was in... lets see... 7th grade when that show was on, and i LOVED it, never missed an episode... and now that he's back, i guess it's partially the joy of getting to reconnect with my past? or at least i'll let that be my excuse. But yes... you ARE much better than him... i prefer singing along to your music any day! keep it up!
it's so ashley parker angel and I find your commentary hillarious.....rock on to the real musicians you guys are great.
i will keep you accountable. just keep making stuff you're proud of. if you feel that what you're doing is easy, you're not trying hard enough. don't be predictable.
The other day I was playing sherwood in my car, and my slightly snobby anarchist friend was complaining. She was like "auh, gawd. . . you listen to this crap? Oh, look at me, I learned 4 power cords and know how to ryhme. . now I'm a pop star!!"
I was pretty offended actually, because you guys really ARE talented! You guys don't just play power cords and write lame run of the mill music. You are musicians, and you put on a damn good show! I think that furthermore, you as people are part of the "Sherwood" experence. You guys are so down to earth and honest and so good to your fans! (Stasha just said to me the other day that one of the best days of her life was Cinco de Mayo when we met Mikey at the Cave with This Providence)
Back to the story:
My anarchist friend listens to crusty punks scream and play random notes on the drumb kit (their rich daddy bought ) She thinks that stuff's "genious, life changing! Fucken revolution!"
. . .She really shouldn't be passing judgments. Seriously.
By the way, Ashley Parker Angel has no talent at all! (Have you heard him sing?) He needs to realise that he's not going to be able to support his family from performing, and get a different job.
In short, Dan, what I mean to say is:
Don't you go comparing yourself to A.P.A., cause there's a whole lot of real people who really listen to your music and enjoy it and have done so for years. Whenever it's sunny out, I say "this looks like a Sherwood kinda day" and sing along real loud in my car with the windows open. Even in the ghetto.
Don't let em get'chu down man! I'll see you in San Jose, hope things are grand!
daniel.... you never cease to amaze me.. you're one of my favorite people
and yes... ashley parker angel is a sap.. worse than ryan cabrera? YES.. worse than ashley simpson? who knows maybe they tie...
it was ashley parker angel that you were talking about right?
SHmoo
I'll just let you know that your skills and those of the other members of Sherwood are BY FAR above those of All American Rejects. Don't get me wrong, I like AAR, but they've got NOTHING on Sherwood. You guys rock my socks! <3
youth will always be impressionable. emo/screamo/"indie" will always be saccharine at best.
and honestly, that feeling you felt when you watched that dumb Used/solo video where all the kids run up... thats pretty much the exact same feeling i have about your adventures with sherwood.
no disrespect to anybody in the band, you guys are all great. but seriously, its like watching somebody drop a lit bundle of dynamite into a vat of brainless, uniformed anchovies. too easy. what really drove a pike into my brain was when you guys debuted your new song at the Gaslighter gig.
you got the disco hi-hat thing going. the sure-fire way to sell several thousand records. great.
i dunno man, it's an obvious pattern nowadays in the music biz to appeal to the lowest common denominator, cuz that's what sells, but it just leaves a bad taste in everybody else's mouths, like, "ok, theres the fat, now where's the beef?".
think about shakespeare, and what he accomplished in his time. he wrote plays with material that both the idiots and the aristocrats and everybody in between in the same village could relate to.
you guys are all really talented, your lyrics arent half bad, dan, i'd just rather not see you pigeonhole your act into a genre that is fleeting at best.
will these 14-17 y/o goslings full of raging, emotional hormones be able to pick up your records at 25 and still be able to say that these songs are still relevant and meaningful? or will your catalog become just another GetUpKids, or Ataris... nice at the moment, got them through a tough spot in high school, but now just gathering dust in a)the basement of mom&dad's house, or b) the used bin at Amoeba?
what makes sherwood stand apart from other acts like All American Rejects, or Yellowcard, or the "Used", or whatever?
besides the blatant beach boys influence and the almost-pretentious lyrics, of course.
anyways. enough about that.
hope all is well, dan, you are sorely missed.
-jon
so who's the 'band'?
i would love, LOVE to be in his club.
the difference, my friend, is in that last paragraph. youre aware of the fact that music has the potential to offer much more, whereas the aforementioned reality show guy , i fear, thinks he truly is making (or performing, i should say, but maybe not even that) stuff comparable to former great artists. anyways, just wanted to say keep it up. good to know people have as much time as i do riding in a van forever to think about this kinda stuff.
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