You never know what you'll find on the old Internet machine. But, when you're an "Internet master" like me, you stop being surprised by the treasures it holds. From squirrels with massive testicles selling mansions to seizure-inducing robots, I've (nearly) seen it all. But, the file I recently found, to put it simply, shocked and awed me.
For a little background, my main writing gig is for a music Web site (shameless plug: www.tinymixtapes.com), so I didn't really want to write anything that came close to music. I was even thinking about how ASU is manipulating real estate prices in Tempe as the city's largest single landowner, but I'm sure that's just my imagination run wild. But, now that I've used up my Dave Barry-esque filler lead, when I found this Nickelback MP3 expose, I knew I had to spread the word.
Here's the deal: someone realized two hit songs by these Nu-Metallers are strikingly similar ... dare I say, almost the exact same song. So, they made an MP3 with "How You Remind Me" on the right speaker, and "Someday" on the left, slightly altering the speed of one to match the other. And, as advertised, they play together perfectly. I listened to each individually, and there's no technical genius at work, merely an unmitigated lack of creativity.
I might be in the minority on this one, being as I'm an admitted music snob, but I thought it represented a lot of what's wrong with the music industry today. Nickelback is about image first and the music a distant second, getting signed to a record deal because they have the right look to play the light-metal songs that come out of the hit machine. This approach is endemic to almost everything on the radio today -- the Good Charlottes and Simple Plans of pop punk or the Chingys and J-Kwons of hip-hop are all conspiring to make the Spice Girls sound original.
On the one hand, I respect the music industry's very well designed formula for making gobs of money -- that's what they're made to do. God knows the stuff I listen to wouldn't get Richard Branson's hot-air balloon around the world. And there's always something to be said for the argument that what is most popular is the best, in some utilitarian way.
On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if this mindset and approach isn't behind music's sagging sales. People don't want to buy albums to hear half-forgotten songs that weren't pegged as singles, especially when they can (legally or illegally) acquire the hit. A striking piece of evidence in favor of this argument is the continued boom of independent music sales. Coinciding with the genesis of file sharing, independent music labels have had banner year after banner year. The "giant" of independent music, sub pop, is the strongest it's been since Kurt Cobain called it quits.
When it's clear that music is being made by the numbers and played by properly coifed puppets, the initial aim of this art form has been discarded. I'm not saying everything has to be as challenging as Radiohead, or even newly minted stars Modest Mouse, but can we please get rid of the automation? Music shouldn't just be something to fill the emptiness of your car on the way to work, it's something to be appreciated as much as any other art form. And who knows, treating it accordingly might even line David Geffen's pockets a little thicker.
Lewis Pardun is a cool senior. Reach him at bocefus@seizureandy.com.
