What “Idol” has done to the music industry

Our popular music industry is now at such a low-ebb that the major focus is on mainstream/crossover shows such as American Idol, leaving true original talent to only be marketed via independent music companies or by self promotion on the web.

The nature of these shows goes against any original ideas or artist development. Judges and therefore music producers are only looking for a short term quick buck, instantly marketable to masses, in a music style that in past decades was called “bubble gum” music.

Imagine serious heavy weight artists (before they were famous) going on to American idol…..

For Example:

Jimi Hendrix performing “Purple Haze”….

Randy (What’s up dog) Jackson would say…

“Dude, listen up. Ok man what are you doin’, dog? I don’t know, I don’t know. Pitchy! Pitchy! Pitchy! Lose the guitar. It wasn’t good for me man. I didn’t get it.”

Ellen (And my last hit single was?) Degeneres would say….

“Okay that was pretty good but maybe you should smile a little more. And I really think you should clean yourself up a little, sweetie. You know get a haircut, have a shave and sober up. The show was good though, I really like what you can do with your teeth.”

Cara (I can sing better than you) DioGuardi says…

“I have to agree with Randy the pitch was all over the place. What are you doing? I’m sorry but I see you more in a Jack Johnson vein. You should listen to him. And you don’t need that guitar…guitar solos are sooooo yesterday. But I like you; you seem like a nice guy.”

Simon (I am making so much money out of this show) Cowell says …

“I have to say that this was just self indulgent rubbish. I’m sorry it’s a fact. You are not a rock star my friend and shouldn’t act like one. Do you really think you can sing? Come on, you’re kidding yourself and wasting my time. This is nothing like what I want … I mean record producers today are looking for. You will never get anywhere and never be anything. People don’t want to hear music like that. I am sorry but that’s a fact. No one is interested in your music but I guess you’re not good enough to cover a song. Sorry.”

 As long as shows like this are our main source of popular music, good original music and artists with a fresh approach will never get the attention they deserve when the main criteria for success is sounding like someone else, looking good and being demographically acceptable on TV.

It seems talent is not an issue anymore, only how much money the record companies and television industry make from an artist. And let me tell you they are making an absolute fortune from American Idol.

Thank God we didn’t have American Idol in sixties, seventies or eighties then we may never have heard of people like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Sammy Hagar, Phil Lynnott, Neil Young, Ted Nugent and other rock legends.

Could you imagine what the judges would say to Bob Dylan if he appeared on American Idol?

 Illy

The history of the guitar is longer than most people probably imagine it to be. The modern classical guitar is older than contemporary flat-top “steel string” guitars, but even it is a comparatively recent development. Unfortunately, the history and roots of the guitar are shady and very complicated. This isn’t surprising considering how many different types of guitars have been developed over the years, and the vast amount of instruments that are closely related to the guitar that have influenced its evolution.

The guitar traces its roots back to the ancient stringed instruments of India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Some of these instruments and their relatives eventually found their way to Europe. Important for the eventual development of the guitar were various foreign four-string instruments, which were present in Europe from at least the 3rd century. There are examples of written music for these four-string instrument which date back to 16th century Spain, while in contemporary Italy, a five-string instrument replaced the four-string one. These early guitars typically had no more than 8 frets, but this number increased over time.

By the 17th century, the six-string guitar was created, and quickly became the most popular model of the archaic guitar. Around 1850, the larger-bodied modern classical guitar was developed, which improved the sound quality of the guitar and quickly become the new standard. The classical guitars available in music stores today are still the same shape and size of this 19th century creation.

Flat-top “steel string” guitars were developed around 1900, and are today typically referred to as “acoustic guitars”. Soon after, arch-top guitars were created with the purpose of increasing the volume of the guitar. With the continued search for more volume, guitar pickups began to be developed. The first pickups date back to the 1920s, but pickups didn’t become very successful until the 1940s under the hands of Orville Gibson and Christian Fredrich Martin.

As amplification technology developed, the first solid-body guitar appeared. As to who was the first to invent the solid-body guitar, this is still a controversial and murky topic with no clear answer.

Rickenbacker Electro’s 1931 “Frying Pan” Hawaiian guitar is generally considered to be the first electric guitar put on the market. Other electric guitars from the 1930s include those made by companies such Gibson with their ES 150 model.

Fender introduced the Broadcaster (now known as the Telecaster) in 1949, and the Stratocaster in 1954, while Gibson introduced the Les Paul model in 1952. Another important development was the creation of the humbucking pickup in 1954, which the Les Paul model began to use beginning in 1957.

While many new companies and guitar models have emerged since the 1950s, there have been few innovations between then and now. The development of the electric guitar reached its epoch mid-century, and many of the classic models developed at this time are still highly regarded and valued today.

I remember as a kid, whenever I heard from someone that one of my favorite bands was playing on a late night talk show or on American Band Stand, I’d stay up past my bedtime to sneak a peak. I was more interested in the guitarists because at the time, I was amazed by anyone who could play the guitar. And because I was too young to go to concerts, the best way for me to catch a glimpse of a real guitarist was by watching them on TV.

I can still picture the Stones doing “Little Red Rooster” and the Doors doing “Light My Fire” on the Ed Sullivan show. And of course the fallout after Jim Morrison said the word “higher” when he was told not to sing it on air. As a youngster I idolized guitarists like Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Muddy Waters, BB King and later guys like Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck but I never got the chance to see them play; not even on TV.

YouTube changed all of that.

Many people don’t realize how good they have it today. The way I really learned to play and got good was by watching other guitarists and picking up their chops. I never really got that good until I was old enough to go to clubs and pubs and watch real guitarists play. But even then it wasn’t easy getting into a position close enough to see what the guy was actually doing and even if you could see you couldn’t say to him, “Would you mind stopping for a minute and playing that lick again but a little slower this time so I can figure out what you are doing.”

Today, I can go to YouTube and watch whomever I wish whenever I like. I can stop, rewind and replay over and over until I get it. I can see video clips of close-ups so I can learn fingering patterns. And some clips are even cut down and just show the solos or even parts of solos. On top of that there are a myriad of how-to and tutorial clips. I can learn how to play most songs from just connecting to YouTube. Hell, even the guys from Axebay have put clips up there. Not of me of course as I am just a fictional character but you can go and see our old friend Craig Taylor playing the lapsteel.

Another great thing about YouTube is that you can always tune in to see a clip of a band that you admire and never had the opportunity to see. One of my greatest regrets in life is that I never got to see Pink Floyd live but at least now I can go to YouTube and watch videos of their concerts.

And the greatest thing about YouTube is that it is entirely free.

So thanks YouTube.

- Axel