Teenybopper Bands
Nowadays, music listening
has become part of everyone's hobby. Compared to the Beatles time, there
are great variety in the music for teens this century. As the range of
music broadened the industry becomes more and more competitive. There are
competition among the artists. The artists in competition with each other
came from many different music genre
ranging from heavy metal
to melodramatic pop. Billboard charts, award ceremonies, magazine covers,
popularity and frequency of airplays on radio indicates the artist's success,
and their place in 'the race'. Who are more likely to be in no.1 in billboard
chart and be the cover art of YM, Silverchair or A-1? And which of the
two bands do you (honestly) think produces more substantial music?
Pop culture now dominates
the music world and are apparently the winners in this race. All the radio-friendly
hits that top the charts are from the pop acts that target teens. This
is acceptable to some degree, taking the account that teenybopper bands
dance well and sing well. But what more do these boy bands do besides singing
and dancing. It wasn't them who came up with the songs they were awarded
for. Their only contribution to a song in their album was their voice.
For most pop boy bands, all
they do is meet up with their fellow band members in studio, ask the producer
how to sing the song that was composed for them before hand, sing their
part and then go home. The manager and the computer did all the work. The
tunes, the chords, the melody, the harmony parts done by some unknown song-writer,
back-up music all computerized. Lyrics and choreography done by other behind-the-scene
producers. But it was them who walk up the stage and receive the awards.
Do you see them drag producers,
mangers, and the song-generating computer along to receive the awards too?
Not until recently did I have this concern. Ever since I start admiring
rock bands, I started to feel that the pop music's high profile and success
is unfair. Every band under the rock and alternative, classical and instrumental
category contribute 100% to the song under their name.
It is them who composed the
words, the melody, the harmony and every element in a song. It is them
who generates the back-up music using the instruments they know how to
play. Computers and additional song writers are not needed. When listen
to their songs, every little sound you hear was produced by them. Every
millisecond of the song was their work and theirs only. They might be less
muscular than boybands like 98 degrees but at least they use their ordinary
muscle wisely on carrying their instruments instead of showing them off
on music videos. Before concerts they have more time to prepare their music
like tuning their instruments because they don't have to worry about the
amount of hair-gel on their hair. Once on stage performing, they do not
lip-synch like boybands. And if they ever get to receive awards like the
boybands, them walking up on stage receiving it would mean the song-writer,
manger, producer, the computer receiving the credit too.
If you find pop music's success
a problem and are annoyed by these fabricated acts, simply ignore their
existence. I know of friends who write complaints to teeny magazines criticizing
these acts. They end up promoting the band, bringing them to public attention.
Majority of the public favors pop acts, so that did little positive effect
and more negative effect to themselves. Also, if you find a Backstreet
Boys or any teenybopping song you love listening to, do listen to it, and
remember, you can always borrow your friend's BSB CD or find MP3 of it
from the net.
Ploy Thirati <stu5-318@isb.ac.th>
International School Bangkok,
Thailand
