Just Marketable Karaoke Singers (Boyband/Girlbands)

Member Name: jaybee

Product:	Boyband/Girlbands
Date:	22/11/00 (47 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: none

Disadvantages: just about everything

“They’re fun,” “They’re great” They don’t do anyone any harm, leave them alone.”
“They should all be taken into a field and shot!”

Pretty differing views I’d say. Seems there can be no middle ground .Boy/girl bands, you either love them or loathe them.

Me? - Well I personally think the vast majority of them are hopeless and completely talent less. The only time these people would have something in common with music would be if you used it as an acronym for their talent. Boy bands mean MUSIC: MIMING – USELESS -SONGS that are -INCREDIBLY - CRAP.

But unfortunately I believe they are going to be around for a good couple of years yet. The main reason for this has little to do with their musical abilities, but has more to do with their being marketable as a product. Bands (sorry I won’t refer to them as that from now on, as someone rightly pointed out in another opinion - a band plays instruments)

So I’ll start again, Groups like this are a marketing and ad mans dream. Musical ability is not considered; they are marketed as a product to make money, just like Furbies, or chocolate. Like other products, some new ones will come into the market place and fail not because of their ability to perform or entertain, but because they didn’t throw enough advertising or money behind the launch.

Most of these groups are brought together through auditions, where the look of the performer (I use the word performer very loosely) is the most important factor, not their musical ability. Once the members are selected, the marketing men take over, while the group go into rehearsals to learn 3or 4 songs (with the obligatory dance routine) The marketing men go to work. They start “dropping” stories to newspapers. You know the type of thing “Bust up in new boy band” “New boy band singer was Madonna ‘s lover”(yeah
and who hasn’t been).

While this is going on the group have learnt how to mime to their 3or 4 songs, cover versions of course, which they will mime to, on shows like Richard and Judy, and The National Lottery show. One of these songs will be released as a single, another as the B-side, and the other two held in reserve as their next single. The formula is the same every time.

Real bands, and musicians very rarely – if ever – are signed by a record label and then told to go away and learn to play their instruments, it’s just not done. Real bands gig hard for a few years to learn their trade, playing in small venues for very little or no money. The boy/girl bands meanwhile are claiming exhaustion flying between TV and radio stations doing interviews.

For me the most worrying aspect about all this, is the fact that we could have a generation growing up who think that playing in a band consists of miming to backing tracks, while doing silly dance routines. When you see some of these bands “playing live” some of them don’t even have musicians on stage for gods sake. Its just large scale glorified karaoke.
Anybody could get up and do it; you don’t need any talent, just a lot of cheek. It’s this that makes it so popular with the young kids; they see these bands and say to themselves “I could do that”(and they probably could).

I’ve heard people say about a certain band-who I won’t mention, but they’re like stairs – It’s a great show they sound just like their records. Now call me cynical, but I wonder how they do that? They must be the best singers in the whole wide world (NOT). When I go to a concert I don’t want to hear a band sound like a record, I can listen to that at home.
I want to hear the odd missed drumbeat; the guitarist playing a bum note, a bit of improvisation, that’s what I want, that’s what music is a
bout.

Bur I’m afraid that while this product is still marketable. And there’s a lot of money (MILLIONS) to be made by the agents and marketing people then I’m afraid the true music fans will have to suffer this dross a bit longer.

Summary: