The VMA's: Yet Another Reminder That I'm Old
I really expected more of myself than this. But I'm actuallly about to launch into a tirade about MTV, the VMA's, and Lady Gaga. I'm about to lose credibility with myself. And here... we.... go.
I'm 30. I'm not sure if you readers have picked up on that yet considering I feel like I mention it at least once per entry. I used to remember when MTV was the shit. You got to hear all your favorite bands and got to see what they actually looked like. But you really didn't see much more of those bands except in magazines, at live shows, or at awards shows. Now, you see them all over the place. Not just magazines, but you can find their live performances on YouTube, half of them seem like their judges on American Idol or some knockoff, they make appearances everywhere and anywhere for charities you've never heard of, they release books, have Myspace pages, have iTunes exclusive interviews and tracks, and are interactive on Twitter. Rock stars have never been more accessible. The air of mystery has been removed from musicians for the most part. Wasn't that always part of the allure? Man, what would it be like to kick it with Guns N' Roses? Or when Eminem was first blowing up, wonder what it'd be like to chillax with Marshall. Now most of them are on reality shows and you know exactly what it'd be like to hang out with them. They're in your face. And they're douches. Not that they weren't douches before, but now we just know they're douches for sure. But I digress...
The VMA's were tonight. I'm not going to rant about how MTV no longer shows but about 20 videos a day (the same ones, over and over) or how they shouldn't even be called MTV anymore (Music Television?). Those rants have been done numerous times before and everyone knows it. It's common knowledge and a joke. I don't need to waste your time on it. What I do need to rant about is how the VMA's point out to me each and every year that I'm getting older (and probably way less cool).
Back when MTV actually was known for music videos, the VMA's were watched, then as like now, more for the spectacle of the event than the actual videos. You tuned in to see the live performances, you tuned in to see if anyone would get drunk and do stupid shit (remember the Rage Against the Machine guy who scaled a tree prop?), you tuned in to catch a glimpse of your favorite rock stars all glammed up and being social, and yes, you tuned in to see which videos actually won. Tonight's show wasn't too shabby in that respect. Eminem and Rihanna kicked the show off well. There were a number of good performances. People dressed up as you expected (Lady Gaga had more costume changes than host Chelsea Handler and more on Ms. Gaga later). But let's face it. MTV has a demographic. And every birthday, I get further and further away from it. Pretty soon I'm sure I'll be saying to myself, "gosh darn, these sure aren't the Grammy's. Why don't they class this up a bit! Damn these kids today!" I'm not there yet, but perhaps I'm getting there. How do I know? I consider myself a decent music man. I was in a band for a decade. Ok, two separate bands. But I was quote unquote a musician. I tend to think my taste in music is decent. I'm a pretty fair critic though I definitely admit I'm a hater of country and am anything but objective about the genre (though I do love me some Taylor Swift and she looked smoking tonight). I didn't recognize half the artists tonight that were being mentioned. I've ranted about the state of music in the past but I just don't see or get what the kids are listening to today (Justin Bieber, really???). The music scene nowadays is pretty bad, at least in the mainstream/pop arena. Can someone please enlighten me as to what the difference is between Ke$ha and Katy Perry? I'm a fan of Katy Perry's. Mostly because she looks like Zooey Deshanel with bigger boobs and has some flair (and California Gurls is catchy, let's admit). But I can't tell them apart on the radio. Or Rihanna and Beyonce? Can't tell who sings what hook. I thought I knew my Taylor pretty well until I heard a Lady Antebellum song on the radio and claimed it was Swift until I was proven wrong. I grew up on grunge. And I'll admit if you were a casual fan, you probably couldn't tell the difference between a Pearl Jam song or a Soundgarden song. But all these artists sound the same these days!! If you've heard one pop song this summer, you've heard all the rest.
Which leads me to the Queen Bee at the moment, Ms. Gaga. Lady Gaga is an enormously polarizing figure. Initially, I just thought she was another flash in the pan. The next Britney Spears. She apparently is not. She's not just a phenomenon, she's an icon and a hero. Well, that's what the Gaga fans tell me. Gaga does not have universal appeal. She is not liked by straight men. Mostly because many don't find her attractive. Most guys would lump Lady Gaga in with the Katy Perry's, Ke$ha's, and American Idol winners of the world. Interchangeable. Repetitive. Guys tolerated Britney and Christina and Jessica Simpson because they were super hot (I was never a Britney fan, but let's face it, the majority of guys dug her). Gaga doesn't have that going for her. However, she has a huge following with women and gay men. Before, when I was just like most oblivious men, I didn't understand her appeal. To me, she does nothing different than what's been done before. She wears shocking outfits!? Cool. I'm pretty sure I saw Xtina wear some crazy outfits. She writes her own stuff? Cool. It sounds just like Britney's. In fact, tonight, MTV brought out Cher to present Lady Gaga her video of the year award (yeah, that happened). Cher seemed just as clueless about all the new "talent" in the industry as me. She didn't hide it. She asked people to get out of the way of the teleprompter because she didn't want to mess up any of the nominees names. But there Cher stood, all 64 years of her. And she was wearing a racy lingerie themed outfit. And she even made a comment that MTV banned her (or would have) for wearing anything close to it a decade or two ago. But that just further confused me about the way Gaga has taken over the pop culture scene. Is LG doing anything different than Cher did in her prime!? Did Britney and Christina do anything more racy than Madonna did in hers? Music, by natural progression, is cyclical. I don't begrudge any of these current musicians for paying homage to the past. I don't mind seeing them become superstars because they fit into a particular brand. I just don't understand how Lady Gaga gets all this attention for seemingly being revolutionary and different when it's an act I feel America has seen before. It's an honest question. What sets her apart? I tried to ask some Gaga fans about this and I got lectured. She stands up for causes (fantastic, but so do a lot of celebrities). She isn't fake. Ok, how do you know? Is Marilyn Manson fake? They have similar qualities. Manson has his followers. But he never took over the world like Lady Gaga. Again, why is she so special? And then there's the music. It's catchy dance pop. I don't think it's amazing. I get it. It's fun. It makes me wanna dance. The lyrics are somewhat deep. I think.
But then I stop and think. What did my parents think of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins (my two faves growing up). They sure as hell didn't watch the VMA's and if they did, I'm sure they would have thought, "Sinatra was way better than this crap. And those grungy guys are just trying to be like Led Zeppelin, the Stones, and the Beatles! What makes them so special!?"
And then I realize... maybe my viewpoints are based on the fact that I'm just getting old. Maybe Gaga really is a revelation. Then again, I did know that 30 Seconds to Mars band tonight, so I am still kinda with it so I can't be THAT old, right? Sure, I felt great about that one until my roommate's 23 year old girlfriend asked, "Jared Leto? Who's that?" And when we explained he was the dude on My So-Called Life and she just looked back blankly at us, I realized... fuck man, I really AM old! And the VMA's prove it to me, slowly but surely, year after year.
My Name is Macster and I Poker Faced This Message
P.S. I'm introducing a new feature to each blog entry. It's my SHOUT OUT section. It's anything I'm currently loving and that you, in turn, should love as well.
SHOUT OUTS:
The Sandwich Spot in the Marina - I'm the Duke of this place on Yelp. It's basically my new favorite sando spot in SF.
Entourage Season 7 Finale - No spoilers here but Season 7 was one of the best seasons in the series because they finally changed the tone and made it feel real for the first time since Season 2. The rumor on the street is that Season 8 will be the last and then there will be an Entourage movie. I'm liking the way it's going though if it does in fact end next season.
Eminem's "Seduction" - Recovery as a whole is a pretty damn good album but for some reason this particular track has seduced me. Bad pun, I know.
Mad Men - Nothing new here, but one of TV's best shows keeps getting better and better.
Green Day - Chances are, if you didn't see Green Day on this past tour, you missed out big time. I've seen Green Day numerous times (they were my first show ever back in '95). This was the best show I've seen of theirs. A 3 hour set, 37 songs, and energy throughout. If you get the chance, see them, though they just wrapped up their U.S. tour.
Smashing Pumpkins - Ok, I had given up on Billy Corgan. I thought he was destroying the Pumpkins (there are no remaining original members in the band aside from Mr. Corgan himself). I saw their residency at the Fillmore 2-3 years ago and honestly, it was tedious. I saw them at the Phoenix Theater last week. I went in with low expectations. The fact that I almost considered not buying tickets to a Pumpkins show in and of itself is telling. However, the reincarnated form of the Pumpkins put on a very loud, very rockish 1.5 hour set that pleasantly surprised and deeply satisfied. They're still on tour so if you get a chance, peep them. The 19 (!) year old drummer is a worthy Chamberlin replacement. And that's no easy feat.
I'm 30. I'm not sure if you readers have picked up on that yet considering I feel like I mention it at least once per entry. I used to remember when MTV was the shit. You got to hear all your favorite bands and got to see what they actually looked like. But you really didn't see much more of those bands except in magazines, at live shows, or at awards shows. Now, you see them all over the place. Not just magazines, but you can find their live performances on YouTube, half of them seem like their judges on American Idol or some knockoff, they make appearances everywhere and anywhere for charities you've never heard of, they release books, have Myspace pages, have iTunes exclusive interviews and tracks, and are interactive on Twitter. Rock stars have never been more accessible. The air of mystery has been removed from musicians for the most part. Wasn't that always part of the allure? Man, what would it be like to kick it with Guns N' Roses? Or when Eminem was first blowing up, wonder what it'd be like to chillax with Marshall. Now most of them are on reality shows and you know exactly what it'd be like to hang out with them. They're in your face. And they're douches. Not that they weren't douches before, but now we just know they're douches for sure. But I digress...
The VMA's were tonight. I'm not going to rant about how MTV no longer shows but about 20 videos a day (the same ones, over and over) or how they shouldn't even be called MTV anymore (Music Television?). Those rants have been done numerous times before and everyone knows it. It's common knowledge and a joke. I don't need to waste your time on it. What I do need to rant about is how the VMA's point out to me each and every year that I'm getting older (and probably way less cool).
Back when MTV actually was known for music videos, the VMA's were watched, then as like now, more for the spectacle of the event than the actual videos. You tuned in to see the live performances, you tuned in to see if anyone would get drunk and do stupid shit (remember the Rage Against the Machine guy who scaled a tree prop?), you tuned in to catch a glimpse of your favorite rock stars all glammed up and being social, and yes, you tuned in to see which videos actually won. Tonight's show wasn't too shabby in that respect. Eminem and Rihanna kicked the show off well. There were a number of good performances. People dressed up as you expected (Lady Gaga had more costume changes than host Chelsea Handler and more on Ms. Gaga later). But let's face it. MTV has a demographic. And every birthday, I get further and further away from it. Pretty soon I'm sure I'll be saying to myself, "gosh darn, these sure aren't the Grammy's. Why don't they class this up a bit! Damn these kids today!" I'm not there yet, but perhaps I'm getting there. How do I know? I consider myself a decent music man. I was in a band for a decade. Ok, two separate bands. But I was quote unquote a musician. I tend to think my taste in music is decent. I'm a pretty fair critic though I definitely admit I'm a hater of country and am anything but objective about the genre (though I do love me some Taylor Swift and she looked smoking tonight). I didn't recognize half the artists tonight that were being mentioned. I've ranted about the state of music in the past but I just don't see or get what the kids are listening to today (Justin Bieber, really???). The music scene nowadays is pretty bad, at least in the mainstream/pop arena. Can someone please enlighten me as to what the difference is between Ke$ha and Katy Perry? I'm a fan of Katy Perry's. Mostly because she looks like Zooey Deshanel with bigger boobs and has some flair (and California Gurls is catchy, let's admit). But I can't tell them apart on the radio. Or Rihanna and Beyonce? Can't tell who sings what hook. I thought I knew my Taylor pretty well until I heard a Lady Antebellum song on the radio and claimed it was Swift until I was proven wrong. I grew up on grunge. And I'll admit if you were a casual fan, you probably couldn't tell the difference between a Pearl Jam song or a Soundgarden song. But all these artists sound the same these days!! If you've heard one pop song this summer, you've heard all the rest.
Which leads me to the Queen Bee at the moment, Ms. Gaga. Lady Gaga is an enormously polarizing figure. Initially, I just thought she was another flash in the pan. The next Britney Spears. She apparently is not. She's not just a phenomenon, she's an icon and a hero. Well, that's what the Gaga fans tell me. Gaga does not have universal appeal. She is not liked by straight men. Mostly because many don't find her attractive. Most guys would lump Lady Gaga in with the Katy Perry's, Ke$ha's, and American Idol winners of the world. Interchangeable. Repetitive. Guys tolerated Britney and Christina and Jessica Simpson because they were super hot (I was never a Britney fan, but let's face it, the majority of guys dug her). Gaga doesn't have that going for her. However, she has a huge following with women and gay men. Before, when I was just like most oblivious men, I didn't understand her appeal. To me, she does nothing different than what's been done before. She wears shocking outfits!? Cool. I'm pretty sure I saw Xtina wear some crazy outfits. She writes her own stuff? Cool. It sounds just like Britney's. In fact, tonight, MTV brought out Cher to present Lady Gaga her video of the year award (yeah, that happened). Cher seemed just as clueless about all the new "talent" in the industry as me. She didn't hide it. She asked people to get out of the way of the teleprompter because she didn't want to mess up any of the nominees names. But there Cher stood, all 64 years of her. And she was wearing a racy lingerie themed outfit. And she even made a comment that MTV banned her (or would have) for wearing anything close to it a decade or two ago. But that just further confused me about the way Gaga has taken over the pop culture scene. Is LG doing anything different than Cher did in her prime!? Did Britney and Christina do anything more racy than Madonna did in hers? Music, by natural progression, is cyclical. I don't begrudge any of these current musicians for paying homage to the past. I don't mind seeing them become superstars because they fit into a particular brand. I just don't understand how Lady Gaga gets all this attention for seemingly being revolutionary and different when it's an act I feel America has seen before. It's an honest question. What sets her apart? I tried to ask some Gaga fans about this and I got lectured. She stands up for causes (fantastic, but so do a lot of celebrities). She isn't fake. Ok, how do you know? Is Marilyn Manson fake? They have similar qualities. Manson has his followers. But he never took over the world like Lady Gaga. Again, why is she so special? And then there's the music. It's catchy dance pop. I don't think it's amazing. I get it. It's fun. It makes me wanna dance. The lyrics are somewhat deep. I think.
But then I stop and think. What did my parents think of Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins (my two faves growing up). They sure as hell didn't watch the VMA's and if they did, I'm sure they would have thought, "Sinatra was way better than this crap. And those grungy guys are just trying to be like Led Zeppelin, the Stones, and the Beatles! What makes them so special!?"
And then I realize... maybe my viewpoints are based on the fact that I'm just getting old. Maybe Gaga really is a revelation. Then again, I did know that 30 Seconds to Mars band tonight, so I am still kinda with it so I can't be THAT old, right? Sure, I felt great about that one until my roommate's 23 year old girlfriend asked, "Jared Leto? Who's that?" And when we explained he was the dude on My So-Called Life and she just looked back blankly at us, I realized... fuck man, I really AM old! And the VMA's prove it to me, slowly but surely, year after year.
My Name is Macster and I Poker Faced This Message
P.S. I'm introducing a new feature to each blog entry. It's my SHOUT OUT section. It's anything I'm currently loving and that you, in turn, should love as well.
SHOUT OUTS:
The Sandwich Spot in the Marina - I'm the Duke of this place on Yelp. It's basically my new favorite sando spot in SF.
Entourage Season 7 Finale - No spoilers here but Season 7 was one of the best seasons in the series because they finally changed the tone and made it feel real for the first time since Season 2. The rumor on the street is that Season 8 will be the last and then there will be an Entourage movie. I'm liking the way it's going though if it does in fact end next season.
Eminem's "Seduction" - Recovery as a whole is a pretty damn good album but for some reason this particular track has seduced me. Bad pun, I know.
Mad Men - Nothing new here, but one of TV's best shows keeps getting better and better.
Green Day - Chances are, if you didn't see Green Day on this past tour, you missed out big time. I've seen Green Day numerous times (they were my first show ever back in '95). This was the best show I've seen of theirs. A 3 hour set, 37 songs, and energy throughout. If you get the chance, see them, though they just wrapped up their U.S. tour.
Smashing Pumpkins - Ok, I had given up on Billy Corgan. I thought he was destroying the Pumpkins (there are no remaining original members in the band aside from Mr. Corgan himself). I saw their residency at the Fillmore 2-3 years ago and honestly, it was tedious. I saw them at the Phoenix Theater last week. I went in with low expectations. The fact that I almost considered not buying tickets to a Pumpkins show in and of itself is telling. However, the reincarnated form of the Pumpkins put on a very loud, very rockish 1.5 hour set that pleasantly surprised and deeply satisfied. They're still on tour so if you get a chance, peep them. The 19 (!) year old drummer is a worthy Chamberlin replacement. And that's no easy feat.
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