Sex sells - the degeneration of the music industry

It was a Tuesday evening, and a late night jaunt to Tesco with the Beau resulted in a (not-so-new) revelation - what has happened to music in recent years?

Having a browse of the CD charts, I looked at Adele's album cover. A beautiful monochrome shot of the supremely talented Miss Adkins. Plain, but elegant, I thought. Classic beauty - a rarity nowadays, I'm sure you will agree.

My eyes glanced to the left. I clock Rihanna, on the cover of her new album, with come-to-bed eyes, her mouth open and licking her lips. I look right and Katy Perry is lying sprawled out on a cloud, completely nude, with just a puff of pink cloud covering her modesty. 

Honestly, what is the need of this? It serves no purpose in the music industry. What it does is appease to the simplest level of human nature - not to mention serving to inflate the individual's already oversized ego. It is fact - sex is the most powerful marketing tool of all.

Truly talented artists, few and far between in recent years, are literally surrounded by this, in reality and on the shelves. Music is becoming so clouded by sexuality that it can be difficult to spot real talent.

So I'm just going to go ahead and say it. Katy Perry is not talented. Beautiful, yes - but not talented whatsoever in her chosen career. Yet a successful career nonetheless, that she has built through overt sexuality, needless nudity and smutty suggestion: just listen to 'Peacock'.

Call me a prude but I find these sort of lyrics in these songs not only disgusting but very unnecessary. Whatever happened to songs about love? I'm sure you didn't know that she began her 'career' as a Christian music artist. But surprisingly, that didn't work out (maybe if she could sing?), so where did she go next? 'I Kissed a Girl' - appeasing to the simplest and cheapest way to find popularity, particularly with men.

Her music videos are also very unsavoury. Which one to exemplify with? I'm really spoiled for choice. I'll opt for 'California Gurls', basically a song about how pretty she is. Just one of the tasteless elements in the video (again, spoiled for choice) is Katy spraying squirty cream from her bra - and this is who kids have to look up.

Children cannot be shielded from this - it saturates society. Have you ever heard an eight-year-old girl referring to Justin Bieber as 'sexy'? And singing 'sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me'? It's unsettling, to say the very least. 


Rihanna is a talented woman, but has succumbed to what seems to be a new rule of thumb in the music industry. A steady degeneration over the years, she once smiled sweetly, dressed appropriately and had quirky dance routines. Now all one has to do is watch a few minutes of her music video 'We Found Love' - everything that's wrong with society is in there. Drug-fuelled parties, violence, abuse... all while she is cavorting in suspenders or topless (of course). And needless to say, explicit sex scenes (...of course).

Her behaviour and image has become so cheap and sleazy, despite having the talent - she doesn't NEED to writh around in leather and sing about her fetishes. But she does it anyway, on what I imagine is largely reasoned on major ego indulgence.

And is it any wonder how artists like these make young - and vulnerable - adolescent girls feel insecure in themselves? Katy Perry's video for 'Last Friday Night' ridicules geeks. And the definition of 'geeks', if going by the video, is anyone who has an interest in astronomy/wears braces/has glasses/reads/doesn't get drunk/is a virgin.


Social outcasts are made fun of, and what is defined as cool and the route to popularity is drinking to the point of passing out and waking up with 'a stranger in [your] bed', a hicky and a pounding hangover. 'Last Friday Night/We went streaking in the park/Skinny dipping in the dark/Then had a ménage à trios/Last Friday Night'. I'll say it again - she is a role model to children. What sort of message is this to be sending?

Originality in music is a fleeting thing. Want to make it big? You will need the following. Knockout figure - check. Lyrics steeped in innuendo - check. Revealing clothes (if you must wear clothes at all) - check. And of course auto-tune is a necessity. It has worked for Perry, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha... I could go on.

They try to be original and quirky through their outfits and hair, which only serves to prove that it's all about image. How can anyone who sings about 'all that ass hanging out', or loving the smell of sex ever possibly claim that it's 'all about the music'? Yet it is the claim they all stake. 

Adele's music is heartfelt, powerful and clever. There is no selling of sexuality. Her music videos and performances may not cause sexual arousal but they personally give me goosebumps every time. And that should be what music is about.

Hopefully the new upcoming BBC programme 'The Voice', in which the judging panel have their backs to the singers during auditions, can make some small inroads into changing this unsavoury trend.


Published here: http://insideireland.ie/2012/02/01/sex-sells-the-degeneration-of-the-music-industry-53152/

Film Review of The Artist: The most colourful black and white film you will see

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Silence really is golden. Offering a captivating story, a charming cast and a celebration of old Hollywood, silent film The Artist is a black and white delight – the most colourful film you will see this year.

Cinematic genius is a label not to be used lightly, especially when considering cinema releases in recent years, where money is everything (3D and special effects, while impressive, often overpower the film and usurp the plot and characters) and creativity takes a hit in favour of carbon-copy pictures produced purely for profit. French production The Artist is a breath of fresh air, offering audiences a nostalgic and romantic peek into Hollywood’s golden era.

Set in the 1920s, it pays homage to old Hollywood, on every level. It is shot with 1:33 aspect ratio, in black and white – aesthetically, it looks like an authentic 1920s film. Dialogue is featured in title cards in between shots. An equally significant part of its structure is the audio. The story is told with the assistance of dramatic, poignant music that wouldn’t be out of place in a classic Chaplin production. The music, along with exaggerated expression from the characters, helps to portray emotion so strongly that the characters needn’t utter a word at all (if they could).

It is 1927 and we are introduced to George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), the biggest actor in Hollywood’s silent film era. With his slicked back hair, carefully groomed moustache and sharp suit, he is the epitome of early Hollywood style. George is adored by fans as he steals the limelight from his wife at film premiere, A Russian Affair.

Outside the premiere, George is greeted by his public, and is bumped into by fan, and soon to be screen starlet, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo). Armed with beauty and moxie, Peppy auditions for a part in a movie alongside George. We watch the pair become infatuated, but George chooses not to have an affair, instead helping Peppy get her big break. He watches on as she shoots to the top as a talkies superstar.

George refuses to appease to the talkies, insisting on his artistic integrity, but is unequivocally left behind by technological advancement. He loses his wife, home and almost his mind, being left with nothing but alcohol, his old films and his loyal dog.

Uggy, by the way, is the other star of the show. He plays George’s faithful Jack Russell, who is a doggy delight, providing laughs and ultimately saving the day following a moment of madness from George.

Upon watching The Artist, you could be forgiven for drawing a contrast between it and Singin’ in the Rain. But while Singin’ in the Rain is a light hearted, colourful representation of the transition to talkies, The Artist takes on a more sombre tone in places, as Valentin’s career and personal life crumble, like so many careers did upon the transition to sound in film.

A wonderfully fun and engaging watch, The Artist carries significance and starkly highlights the merits that modern cinema has lost in the midst of its mindless explosions and the 3D ‘revolution’ – elegance, sophistication and powerful sentiment.


Published here: http://insideireland.ie/2012/01/24/the-artist-the-most-colourful-black-and-white-film-you-will-see-51091/