Mediocre Music

After the spectacular My Coke Festival in March, featuring Korn, Muse, Chris Cornell, Kaiser Chiefs, Good Charlotte and 30 Seconds to Mars, I suppose it was too much to expect that some good live acts would follow to South Africa. Instead, currently we are being tortured with mediocre acts such as Akon, 50 Cent and James Blunt. I suppose we have to be thankful that Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, the Sugarbabes, Westlife and any boy-bands for that matter, are not scheduled to appear here any time soon.

Why is it that POP music is so obviously mediocre, the music so monotonous, the lyrics so dumb and meaningless? Take this song I happened to hear recently by Jordin Sparks featuring Chris Brown, "No Air," as a case in point. The lyrics go something like this:

"Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe with no air? Can't live, can't breathe
with no air It's how I feel whenever you ain't there It's no air, no air"

Have you ever heard such inane crap? I'll tell you how you're supposed to breathe; but I won't bother. It's better you hold your breath, for a while, a long while. OK, that's harsh, but please don't tour South Africa, ever. I mean, the words to a song are supposed to be poetic, insightful, full of meaning and make you stop and think. POP songs contain some of the most mindless drivel you can imagine; anything that rhymes seems to be OK. What goes on in the mind of people who actually spend good money on this rubbish?

Well, there is actually hope it seems for South Africans of good taste, as, the Counting Crows are booked to perform soon. Oh, how I long to see real quality such as Pearl Jam, Blink 182, Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters, Green Day, The Killers, Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead, Snow Patrol, System of a Down, The White Stripes, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers perform here in South Africa. Come'n Big Concerts, 5FM, really rich sponsors, make it happen. Save us from mediocrity.