Proof
She's actually going to become a pop star... FOR TROLLING THE INTERNET.
I want to become a pop star by trolling the internet now. Someone write me some lyrics.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
I don't think you guys are following. Rebecca Black got signed to Vevo, a major record label. She is probably going to make millions... for making a music video so bad it went furiously viral. In essence, she's going to make more than a surgeon...for trolling the internet.
Doesn't that make your blood boil with rage? The fact that pure irony is making people rich and famous instead of, you know, talent?
I suspect most people would prefer listening to her "music" than having surgery. Perhaps a better comparison would have been her versus trulytalentedmusic.
Yeah, I used to think about this a lot, now I simply accept this stuff and don't care about it. I live in a country where most athletes struggle to find sponsorship while popular soccer players who are almost always not nearly as prepared or hard working make more money in a year than what I'm gonna make in my whole life.
Every carnival, some stupid band has to make a song that has at most 20 different words in it that will be so successful that will be played to exhaustion until my ears can no longer tolerate it, while some people that are very knowledgeable of music and can make good stuff will simply be ignored.
However, despite these setbacks I still think that if people try hard enough, they will be rewarded. My advice is: "if you don't know how to kick a ball or how to sing pop music, stay in school" :P
OMG, that's awesome :D
And since this is some kind of trend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24yUUHYlJEI
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11475
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
We don't have so much time.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself.
It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the
kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional
functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success."
- Onkar Ghate
That's so autotune-heavy that I'm starting to understand why people hate it (autotune-heavy music, that is). Ok, there's an extremely small chance that it's not (it's sometimes hard to say), but I wouldn't bet on that.
In the same way that fashion magazines refuse to publish any unretouched photographs, pop music producers seem to refuse to publish anything that hasn't been autotuned to "perfection"...
Not really. I feel extremely sorry for her. She is going to make a couple songs, that are going to be extremely forgettable (the new one certainly is), within a year or two, she'll be totally ignored for anything new that she comes out with. Her pop-career is going to be extremely short lived.
She is a teenager who got a (rather extravagant) gift from her parents to make a music video with her friends. She put it online to share with said friends. Someone found it, and it went viral. The collective internet made her a star; it wasn't her choice or goal. Now, she is just riding the tidal wave you (the collective internet) created for her. She'll disappear from the spotlight soon enough.
However, I doubt anyone is helping her invest the money she is getting intelligently, so she can use it to live off for a long time. (also, I highly doubt it will be millions, vevo will drop her once they realize she is a one-flop-wonder.) So, eventually she'll have to get a 9-5 job like the rest of us. However, she'll always be 'That Friday girl.' She goes shopping, out to eat, etc, and it will be "Hey, isn't that the girl that sung that crappy song 5 years ago?" Same for going to college, job interviews, etc. This friday video is going to haunt her for the rest of her life, and she'll have her life 'peak' at 14.
See what happened to Macaulay Culkin for what hell child stars go through. Look to "Snakes on a Plane" to see how the entertainment industry misjudges the money that can be made from "going viral."
While this is obviously all speculation, I think history has shown what happens to people like her. She is going to need something a little more memorable, good or bad, to maintain a pop-career.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
It doesn't sound heavily autotuned at all. Perhaps she is just a competent singer who trolled a bunch of people into giving her fame. I knew something was up when Friday didn't make me rage while everyone else was going "FFFUUUUUUU-". I mean, I'm prone to raging, but this just didn't bother me too much. I knew there had to be something going on in the background. Aren't instincts awesome?
@Darkkobold: What you say sounds pretty reasonable.
Still, it scares me a little the way the entertainment industry is evolving. It seems that large record labels make very shitty music videos on purpose just to see what they can get away with, and when it works, they continue to lower the bar, thus creating videos that insult the audience at every turn.
For those who don't believe me, watch Todd's pop song reviews (a guy on ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, very funny).
Songs like "Whip my Hair" and "Dirty Bit" show that music labels are intentionally trolling their audience, and making huge profits because people seem to only care about a catchy 3 second loop, while lyrics and subject matter get tossed to the wasteland. Has there ever been a time where songs without verses and 3 word choruses were considered acceptable music? When voices are so warped they don't sound human anymore? When there's clear evidence that a 6 year old's brainfart could produce better lyrics than grown songwriters? This isn't just true of the music industry either. For instance, look at the writing and acting quality in a movie like Transformers. It's as though filmmakers will sink to the lowest common denominator possible so long as there's flashy CGI and a cool trailer to back up their big budget blockbuster.
Despite sounding like a rant, I'm not really angry about any of this, it's just a reality of life, and I'm slowly coming to terms with the sheer absurdity of the world.
@Darkkobold: What you say sounds pretty reasonable.
Still, it scares me a little the way the entertainment industry is evolving. It seems that large record labels make very shitty music videos on purpose just to see what they can get away with, and when it works, they continue to lower the bar, thus creating videos that insult the audience at every turn.
To cheer you up, I'll give you some perspective. This industry has always been doing this. It is just that, in the long run, the crap that is at the top of the billboard Top 100 will be forgotten, whereas, the future will only hold on to the music that has actual value.
For example, Free Bird - by Lynard Skynard, doesn't even crack the top 100 for it's year.
http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1975.php
I wish I could find the Cracked.com article where I learned this fact. (i.e. the music industry has always put out shit that hits #1, but #1 isn't what has longevity.) It was great, and put real perspective on the good music we cherish from previous generations.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
I wish I could find the Cracked.com article where I learned this fact. (i.e. the music industry has always put out shit that hits #1, but #1 isn't what has longevity.) It was great, and put real perspective on the good music we cherish from previous generations.
It is just that, in the long run, the crap that is at the top of the billboard Top 100 will be forgotten, whereas, the future will only hold on to the music that has actual value.
I don't think that's always true. Elvis and The Beatles are good counter-examples. There are many others as well (such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix...)
Joined: 11/22/2004
Posts: 1468
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Actually, that's not so different from what DarkKobold said I think, Warp. I mean do you know what the #1 ranked song was in 1977? Or the #2? Or ask yourself the same question for any year in the 70s.
Top 100 songs tend to be forgettable, while those who consistently make good music, such as Bob Dylan or Frank Zappa or you name it, are remembered long after their music is released. Even though those musicians don't crack the top 100 that often.
Actually, that's not so different from what DarkKobold said I think, Warp. I mean do you know what the #1 ranked song was in 1977? Or the #2? Or ask yourself the same question for any year in the 70s.
Top 100 songs tend to be forgettable, while those who consistently make good music, such as Bob Dylan or Frank Zappa or you name it, are remembered long after their music is released. Even though those musicians don't crack the top 100 that often.
Of course many top-1 songs will be forgotten soon afterwards, and it may even be that the majority (meaning over 50%) of them are such. However, that doesn't mean there aren't lots of counter-examples to this as well. For example Bob Dylan seems to have three albums published in the 70's that got to the #1 in the US charts (in 74, 75 and 76). Now, I'm not such a music enthusiast as to know if those specific albums/songs are still remembered today, but knowing the popularity of Dylan I'd say they are probably at least well-known.
And this was not just a trend in the 70's. The latest US chart #1 album by Dylan seems to be from as recent as 2009.
It is just that, in the long run, the crap that is at the top of the billboard Top 100 will be forgotten, whereas, the future will only hold on to the music that has actual value.
I don't think that's always true. Elvis and The Beatles are good counter-examples. There are many others as well (such as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix...)
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.