Radio Radio !!!

So I am driving west and unfortunately my CD player (yes, CD player) is on the fritz. I am driving thru Indianapolis combing through channels. I get stuck on a some classic rock classic and then another. So I bite. I even listen to the babble by the Disc Jockey's for a second or two.

I'm amused. I typically don't listen to the radio. Why? Because it sucks and after listening to this station my opinion won't change. But again my CD Player, (yes, CD player) was on the fritz. So they go back to the music and I am not annoyed or frustrated by the choices. It's typical Top 40 hits that you'd expect from a soft rock station. Then the babble comes back.

I don't know their names but I do know it was a man and woman (helpful right?) that began talking about the Grammy's. The guy casually joked about how surprising it was that Justin Beiber did not win the Best New Artist Award. This kind of joke is not offensive to me. The lady admits here amazement towards the Grammy's then the guy says that such things can be expected by the Grammy's because they like to shock people with who gets the awards even giving the Album of the Year honors to a band nobody has heard of. Really? Really?

Well I have heard of them and so have a lot of other people. If you don't believe me, Well it was #1 on NPR's Top Albums of 2010. It was #3 on Spin Magazine's list, #4 for Rolling Stone and # 11 on Pitchfork Media. So clearly some people know about this album and those people are singing it's praise. Maybe he was joking but I don't think so. Maybe he was just being a lazy and ignorant douche bag... Ding Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner !

Why say such harsh things? Well because either he thinks awards and award shows should only be for popular artists or maybe he thinks that just because he hasn't heard of the band that they aren't any good. In either case, he is an asshole. I mean it is not like he works for a radio station and cannot take a little time out of his day to find or listen to new music.... oh wait, he does work for a radio station and maybe he is just lazy or ignorant.

I was turned off by this and tried desperately to make my CD player work again. Thankfully, it did. This is just another example of blind ignorance that should not go unchecked. Check yourself Indianapolis 105.7. because you suck !

This is Why the Black Eyed Peas Suck

This just in - Reports from various strangers and friends all over the country convey disgust over the hugely annoying and untalented performance by the Black Eyed Peas during the Super Bowl halftime show are still coming in. It's Wednesday and still I hear the rumble and grumble of people complaining about how bad the show was.

So the halftime show was bad. Let me ask something... Did you really expect it to be that good. Sure, last year The Who were tremendously disappointing. Egh, The Who sucked it last year, so the NFL got tired of all the classic rock groups and decided to reach to the youth of America. Not a bad idea. After all the Black Eyed Peas did a fairly decent job of providing entertainment to all who attended the World Cup Ceremonial concert last summer. So why not get a pop group that is not offensive and plays anthem like pop/hip hop/dance songs that get people riled up? Sounds like a good plan.

So why hate on the Black Eyed Peas? Why kick them when they seem down? Why? Well in all fairness this hatred of mine started before the Super Bowl performance. It started last week while I was in my local Best Buy and I saw a display for the new Black Eyed Peas album. It was a cheap cardboard display that also featured the group's previous efforts, except for their debut album and their second album. Why hating on your first two records BEP? In fact if you go to any record store, you cannot find their first two albums at all. Most people don't even know of the first two albums. Most people don't know that Fergie, the leggy, fake dirty blonde in the group wasn't even a member of the group till their third release Elephunk in 2003.

Yes, Fergie was not an original member of the group. Her arrival coincides with the groups "selling out" phase. Yeah, fuck the quotations. They sold out.

Reason #1 to hate the Black Eyed Peas - THEY SOLD OUT !

Originally the group was comprised of it's three hip hop foot stompers, Will.I.Am., Taboo, and Apl.De.Ap. The group came out when popular hip hop music celebrated bling over substance, nonsensical lyrics over poetics, violence and sex over kicking it and good times. Maybe the same could be said about hip hop throughout it's history but that is not true. Only an idiot would say that and I'm not that idiot. The Black Eyed Peas not only stood against the stereotype that was late 90's hip hop but made fun of it. They called out Diddy (back then Puff Daddy) not only claiming that his music was bad but so was his dancing and fashion. BEP celebrated head bobbing rap that could make your feet twist and expand your mind. Songs like "Karma" from their 1998 debut Behind the Front are a clean cut example of this. Now, I'm not suggesting that the Black Eyed Peas were going to be the next Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul but it is sad that after two albums they stopped trying.

It's also no coincidence that notable underground or conscience hip hop stars like Mos Def, De La Soul, Chali 2na and others were on hand for the groups second effort, 2000's Bridging the Gap. In the group's latest incarnation, no illustrious hip hop stars to be found. It's sad.

Reason #2 to hate the Black Eyed Peas - Talent or the lack of.

If the Super Bowl performance is any indication of it, the Black Eyed Peas really don't have any talent. I'll admit, Will.I.Am the leading member of the group has worked with a variety of musical greats including Sergio Mendes, Carlos Santana, John Legend, U2, Nas and Usher. He has been cutting his chops in the music business since he was a teenager in the early 90's. and he does have a knack for a catchy hook. I am not doubting Will.I.Am's talent but his strength is as a producer not an MC or performer. Fergie seems like a product of the a good production studio. Her performance during the super bowl was either the result of bad audio mixing or lack of talent and vocal flexibility. Or maybe she had a cold. Did anyone notice or wonder why Fergie, a California native tried to come off as if she was from Brooklyn? What do the other two members of the group do? I have no idea. The other two shout the chorus, they occasionally say a line here or there and let's face it, the rhymes are simple and the flow is amateur... I am not that hip but I can do that.

Insults aside. I am not sure why people would want to see a concert in which the rappers/MC's are not very good at rapping, they can't sing, they can't dance and they don't or didn't play any instruments. Is it really that exciting to see 4 people standing around simply waving their arms without displaying any serious or credible vocal talent? I don't think so. Thank goodness for the glittery lights of the stage.

In the end, some groups are great live acts as their albums can never equally the intensity, energy and vitality that their concerts create. Some groups are great studio acts because they create powerhouse albums that are adored for generations but that sound, big or small is never captured live. Both are unfortunate and the great acts are the bands, musicians, or groups that succeed at both. It seems like the Black Eyed Peas fit in that category of making pop hits in the studio that don't come off any different on stage than hitting the play button on your I-Pod. Wait, I take that back, the I-Pod probably sounds better.