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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"Glee vs. Music" |
03.23.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
Glee, a television show about a high school glee club, has become one of the most popular television shows and pop culture phenomenons in recent years. This show pulls in the ratings that a show would kill for. They are topical and the show pushes an agenda that gets them tons of press and attention. They kick ass in the award department and are honored because of what they’re doing. There is tons of merchandise out there that’s making them bank.
Oh yeah, they make music too. Well, not their own music. Everyone elses. Each episode features cast members singing Top 40 and famous musician’s songs in some big extravagant musical number. People LOVE this shit. So much they’re taking these tunes, throwing them on a CD and on itunes and are raking it even MORE money.
This whole thing reeks of familiarity to me. You know those “WOW! This Is Music” CDs? That’s pretty much what’s going on here. They’re capitalizing on the blandness of the masses and giving them a recycled product. It’s a “Lame Fuck Greatest Hits” and it has multiple volumes. Same soup just reheated with American Idol. It’s the same thing with a cheesy and contrived plot thrown on top of it. We can also bring up “High School Musical”, “Fame”, and even “Kids Incorporated”. It’s all the same.
I’m not a fan.
That should be obvious. If I want to hear someone sing a Madonna song I’ll listen to Madonna. I don’t even want to do that so why the hell would I want to listen to some rosey cheeked kid do it? While art is meant to be shared with the world and a musician should be flattered to have someone want to cover their work it is their right to decide how and who does it. For some folks their music is part of who they are. They write it and make it from a deep place. Selling out to the current TV fad isn’t on their “things to do” list.
That’s the problem though. Ryan Murphy, the creator of Glee, has been pretty vocal about musicians who turn them down. Some rockers are asked about it and give their honest opinion and yeah, some go out of their way to bring up the fact they’d not “sell out”. That’s what’s shitty about the situation. I’ve seen probably two episodes of Glee and it’s NOT for me. I am however about half way through Murphy’s old show Nip/Tuck. Without going too deep into the show or spoiling it, it’s a great show. It’s dark, twisted, and a fun popcorn drama. The use of music in it is great. But the difference is that these plastic surgeons aren’t singing and the tuneage isn’t stuck on a random pop radio station. I do appreciate Murphy’s work on the show, but Glee is just not my cup of tea. Am I horrible person because I think his hit show is a waste of time? I don’t think so.
That’s the problem. Ryan Murphy is taking to the internet and interviews to lash back at the rockstar who speak out against his show. Yeah, yeah, yeah… he’s within his rights to speak back and retort, but he comes off really whiney and jerky. More and more are calling him out on his bullshit and today I wanted to take a look at some of the more vocal of wars Murphy and Glee has had against musicians… real ones.
KINGS OF LEON
This rivalry might have been the biggest and most talked about. They went back and forth for what felt like weeks. They’d just keep getting in cheap shots. Tons of websites and tabloid shows were eating it up. The lameness here is that Kings of Leon make music that sounds like it’s made for teenage dramas. Never the less, it’s their call. You have to respect that. Apparently not if you’re Ryan Murphy. He called them “assholes” and told one interviewer “Fu*k you, Kings of Leon. They are self-centered assholes and they missed the big picture.” This went on for awhile. Then out of nowhere, after Gwyneth Paltrow did the show and patched it up between them. They all apologized and a few of the Glee kids were even invited to band’s private after-Grammy party. Well, I’m going to sleep good tonight knowing that Kings of Leon and Glee mended their bridges.
GORILLAZ
Unlike Kings of Leon they didn’t get talked out of their stance on things by a Tenebaum kid. Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn is another act that wasn’t asked, but made it known. He went out of his way to say he’d not allow his music on the show “in protest”. The protest is because the show passed the Beatles for most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 by a non-solo act. “Those songs won’t last like the Beatles, by any stretch of their imagination,” Albard told the Associated Press. “They’ll be forgotten in a few years time.” Even before that this guy was out there advocating against the show. I don’t know how this would translate to “musical” format as it is so these rants are pointless, but sadly most likely provoked by random journalists with a bland range of questions.
COLDPLAY
“You know how I know you’re gay?” Yeah… Coldplay was one of the first bands to say no to Glee. A week later they called back and gave Glee full permission. This just goes to show that no matter how much you kind of like Coldplay it doesn’t matter. They can put out one or two good songs that get stuck in your head, but they just refuse to let smart people enjoy their music. I wonder if it had anything to do with Paltrow.
SLASH
This one bothers me the most. How dare someone screw with Slash, one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and not be named Axl? The story goes that Guns N’ Roses turned the show down. Slash was asked about it, but didn’t reveal the band’s voting results but was open about his open about his own thoughts. He’s not a fan. He said if it were soley up to him he’d rather be watching Grease. He’s not really a fan of musicals. Have you seen Slash? Does this actually surprise you? Ryan Murphy’s response to this was insane. "Usually I find that people who make those comments, their careers are over," he said of the guitarist. "They're uneducated and quite stupid." I know Murphy is a huge fan of music so this one is really freaking insulting to ones intelligence. Is he trying to brush Slash off to his minions of lame ass fans by saying he’s basically an old brute? Stupid shit like that makes it hard to even want to give the show a chance. The guitar solo on “November Rain” is better than anything Ryan Murphy has ever dreamt of.
THE BLACK KEYS
This one was a bit different. Apparently the show wanted Paltrow(is she ON the show now?) to sing their hit “Tighten Up”. They’re just starting to hit the mainstream and licensing money is what’s making them anything. Still, the band was classy about it. Patrick Carney said "To be honest, we've never seen the show. We just didn't want that type of exposure. The thing that was really worrisome about it was that this is our first time having a single that some people know, outside our fan base. If they re-record it, you don't get any creative control over it. At least when we do an ad, we can decide whether it looks right or not." That’s respectable, but I’m still a little surprised Ryan Murphy hasn’t thrown poo at them yet.
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
This one is surprising. Tons of top tier pop stars have been all about getting their music on there. It was said that they asked him to use some of his hits recently. He did the unthinkable and said “no”. One source according to Perez Hilton, said the producers took the rejection as a “slap in the face”. How dumb is that? He’s an adult who can make up his own mind. Right now in his career he is focusing on his acting. Why would he want a lame high school musical show to cover his music? Surely, it would be a big deal but at what cost and to who? JT seems to be wanting to shy away from all the music talk in interviews and for sure this would cause another huge tidal wave of “when you making music again?” questions. Hell, maybe he’s just like the rest of us and doesn’t like the show. Who knows? If that was a “slap in the face” then I sure as hell hope it stings.
FOO FIGHTERS
Enter Dave Grohl. Like it or not, you have to acknowledge that Dave Grohl is rock and roll royalty. He rocked it in Nirvana behind the kit, he rocks the front man gig in Foo Fighters, he’s in a side band with Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, and he shows up all over the place. Dave Grohl IS modern music. He’s not my favorite musician, but I am a fan and I’d be in denial if I didn’t respect his earned status. With that, his opinion on things music related should be taken into account. Apparently Dave Grohl could have wrote his column. He recently went on somewhat of a rant when asked about Glee. "It's every band's right, you shouldn't have to do fuc*ing Glee. And then the guy who created Glee is so offended that we're not, like, begging to be on his fuc*ing show… fuc* that guy for thinking anybody and everybody should want to do Glee. I watched 10 minutes. It's not my thing." He also recounted a story of Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins discussing Murphy after he lashed out at Slash for similar comments: "The Glee guy, what a fuc*ing jerk. Slash was the first one. He wanted to do Guns ‘n' Roses and Slash is like, ‘I hate fuc*ing musicals. It's worse than Grease.' Then [Murphy's] like, ‘Well, of course he'd say that, he's a washed up ol' rock star, that's what they fuc*ing do.' And then Kings of Leon say, ‘No, we don't want to be on your show.' And then he's like, ‘Snotty little assholes…' And it's just like, Dude, maybe not everyone loves Glee. Me included."
Me too, Dave… Me too.
Smart move? Dumb move? Who Cares? You Decide.
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