The Grammy: My beef with Taylor Swift
Does anyone remember the 90s? When a young Canadien singer songwriter named Alanis Morrisette released an album called Jagged Little Pill? You know Alanis was 19 at the time. I bet you didn't know that. It didn't matter, because her lyrics were enough to satisfy angsty teens AND bitter 30 somethings. She was young, but she was an artist, no doubt. And man, could she perform live.
When I see Taylor Swift, I miss Alanis. I miss Alanis' lyrical content. I miss her presence. I miss her singing in tune.
Taylor is nice enough. She's cute when she's on talkshows. She's simple, young and innocent. When I have to wash my ears out with soap after being verbally abused by acts like lil' wayne, it is nice to feel like I can listen to all the words someone sings.
But Taylor is everything that is wrong with the music industry today. She was hatched prematurely because she's young and beautiful. If we admit it, her songs belong on a cassette tape demo that you should only get when her mom passes them to you over a cube wall at work because she's just so proud. She needed a little more incubation period performing smaller gigs and learning what good pitch felt like. She needed more time to live life so that she wrote music with some depth.
Let me just say, I know Alanis was a canadien debbie gibson before she came to us, and she wasn't all that great for a while, but it just seems like, back then, we had artists and bands you could still believe in. Pearl Jam, U2, Nirvana, the chilli peppers, Alanis, Jewel. REAL artists who made REAL music and made you believe that they wanted to sock it to the man. I miss those bands. I miss the days when the industry at least made us feel like they didn't exist. I miss Rock.
I'm tired of music being about having an image more than having talent. I'm tired of music being about the show, the lights, the dancers, the shock. I'm tired of watching the grammys and feeling like I could do a better job. These people are supposed to be professionals!! They're supposed to make us feel like we could NEVER do what they do. They're supposed to amaze us with their singing and playing and touch us with their lyrics by writing the songs we need to sing.
I want my music back from Hollywood. I want it back from guys in suits. I want it back from the popular kids. I want it back from MTV, from Rolling Stone, from Clear Channel. I want music to come from people who look like me, who live like me, who write songs on their back porch and practice them well before they play them. I want Bob Dylan, I want Eric Clapton, I want Alanis and Jewel, I want my music back!!
When I see Taylor Swift, I miss Alanis. I miss Alanis' lyrical content. I miss her presence. I miss her singing in tune.
Taylor is nice enough. She's cute when she's on talkshows. She's simple, young and innocent. When I have to wash my ears out with soap after being verbally abused by acts like lil' wayne, it is nice to feel like I can listen to all the words someone sings.
But Taylor is everything that is wrong with the music industry today. She was hatched prematurely because she's young and beautiful. If we admit it, her songs belong on a cassette tape demo that you should only get when her mom passes them to you over a cube wall at work because she's just so proud. She needed a little more incubation period performing smaller gigs and learning what good pitch felt like. She needed more time to live life so that she wrote music with some depth.
Let me just say, I know Alanis was a canadien debbie gibson before she came to us, and she wasn't all that great for a while, but it just seems like, back then, we had artists and bands you could still believe in. Pearl Jam, U2, Nirvana, the chilli peppers, Alanis, Jewel. REAL artists who made REAL music and made you believe that they wanted to sock it to the man. I miss those bands. I miss the days when the industry at least made us feel like they didn't exist. I miss Rock.
I'm tired of music being about having an image more than having talent. I'm tired of music being about the show, the lights, the dancers, the shock. I'm tired of watching the grammys and feeling like I could do a better job. These people are supposed to be professionals!! They're supposed to make us feel like we could NEVER do what they do. They're supposed to amaze us with their singing and playing and touch us with their lyrics by writing the songs we need to sing.
I want my music back from Hollywood. I want it back from guys in suits. I want it back from the popular kids. I want it back from MTV, from Rolling Stone, from Clear Channel. I want music to come from people who look like me, who live like me, who write songs on their back porch and practice them well before they play them. I want Bob Dylan, I want Eric Clapton, I want Alanis and Jewel, I want my music back!!
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