First, congratulations to the Green Bay Packers. They simply beat us and deserve to be champs. It was a good game, and we had our chances to win it but just didn’t make the necessary plays. Losing sucks, and I’m not going to pretend like it doesn’t sting, but life goes on. I’m just as big of a Steelers fan today as I was yesterday. We’ll be back in the big game soon, and we will bring home number seven.
That’s enough about the game. What I really want to write about today is that god-awful excuse for a halftime show. Five Finger Freddy, or whatever the hell his name is, said that the Black Eyed Peas were going to take it to the next level. Well, if that’s the best you got, you are a terrible excuse for an entertainer. That show was pathetic. Sure, there were lots of flashing lights and cool effects, but the “music” was beyond lame. I would’ve rather watched Milli Vanilli lip-sync their way through twenty minutes of their crap than watch those four no-talent jerk-offs stand around like statues and mumble their songs out of tune, out of tempo, and out of harmony.
That show confirmed so much of what I believe about what hippity-hoppity has done to the music industry. I prefer my music sung by people who understand harmonics and key changes and well, singing. Hippity-hoppity has become a terrible parody of itself, much like Air Supply and Journey were a terrible parody of real rock. Real musicians hold up live, regardless of the venue. That steaming pile of horse dung that Sam I Am, or whatever the hell his name is, and the others left in the middle of Cowboys Stadium shows just how thin and weak the music industry has become. Real musicians, who can play real instruments and create beautiful songs, can’t break into the industry, while talentless hacks get to play the Super Bowl. I mean, they were so bad they made Slash, one of the greatest guitar legends of all-time, sound lifeless and bland.
Part of me looks at the music industry as a perfect metaphor for where we are as a nation. Sixty years ago, our nation created some of the most powerful and amazing music in the world, and that music inspired the world to follow it. Musicians like Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Presley had real talent and honed skill. At that same time, our nation was revolutionizing technology and industry and leading the world into the future. Today, our country produces mediocre garbage that couldn’t inspire a pig to root in crap. Our masses still lap it up, however, because we’ve become so accustomed to mediocrity that most of us can’t appreciate real music and real talent. At the same time, we have lost our innovative edge and have fallen hopelessly far behind in education. We stand around bragging about how great we are, while the rest of world blazes by us.
Please, America, please, wake up and realize that when you settle for mediocre crap, you become mediocre crap.
Big Owl's Tree 
Great post!!! Well, I was not privy to the performance as I am one of the crazy few who did not watch the Superbowl. I love Hippity Hoppity lol but of a certain kind. We call it intellectual Hip Hop and those musicians are far and few between. My guess is that it has something to do with the Corporate Machine.
As for the Black eyed Peas, I can only say how sad I was to fall in love with one of their songs long ago and then boom, I watched a live performance on TV. Like you, I was horrified at the fact that they so clearly can not sing and amazed and disgusted that their popularity continues to grow. Looking at one of their videos on Youtube is mind boggling, 83 MILLION hits. WTF? So called Studio musicians who need technology to pass the ear test are a sad travesty that just keeps growing. Mediocrity does IS running rampant these days so your comment and plea is well deserved…
Coco, there’s definitely a difference between Hip-Hop, which is usually grounded in musical tradition, and Hippity Hoppity, which is just bubble gum. That’s why I used the pejorative to insult the latter. Real music is real music regardless of genre, and likewise, crap is crap.
Coco, I can still remember back when BEP were a serious, fairly intellectual hip-hop group. Sometime after they added Fergie and they started making the big bucks, they turned into some kind of weird pop-techno goofball band.
Heck, people are better off still listening to their old A Tribe Called Quest records.
It’s so true. My fiance told me the same thing earlier today and all I can say is what a shame. Perhaps, we should redefine musician… 🙂
Isn’t there still lots of real music being made though that’s just not on the top of the charts? I am sure there are jazz musicians, orchestras, choirs, Charlotte Church, etc. I’m not saying that to be contrary, just to give you hope that the music you appreciate isn’t gone, just obscured by that which is embraced by the masses.
Which brings me to another point, Elvis and a lot of singers from that era were “just noise” and “garbage” and only embraced later. I wonder if some of today’s artists will be viewed similarly?
Again, I am in no way taking the opposite side of what you said…just rambling out loud.
Yes, I agree that there is still a lot of great music out there, but the fact that it’s kept out of the mainstream is a symptom of the problem. There are still a lot of innovative, visionary engineers and entrepreneurs in this country, but we’re being pushed to the fringes by this race to mediocrity.
And yes, in its early days, rock was considered noise by the adults, but the difference of what I’m trying to say is that the early Hip-Hop had a lot of substance and artistic expression to it but has devolved into this mockery now, much like rock did. Early Hip-Hop will probably stand the test of time, but that crap they played last night will hopefully soon be forgotten.
Oh and BTW Joel, I always enjoy when you chime in.
I’m glad you don’t mind me chiming in! I feel smarter just from reading your blog!