I know, I know… I promised you guys that I’d give you my best of 2009 and I contend that I’ll still give it you in the relative future. I’d even meant to offer it up this week, but then just this afternoon I felt really strongly about something.
But what’s funny is that now, twelve hours later, I don’t feel quite as strongly. I got sucker-punched by reality. It was the sort of hit that causes you to reevaluate things and really take stock. Unfortunately it’s got nothing to do with music, so I won’t dwell on it here.
Instead, I want to attack the current musical climate, yet again.
See, one of the things that I brought back with me from my trip back home to Tucson was Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1972-1992. It’s a pretty dope boxed set that features my favorite band name of all time: Dynamic Superiors.
How awesome is that name? I bet they put on a hell of a show.
Anyway, back to the thing that struck me. While listening to the four-disc set (which has been in my player for about a week) I noticed how Rick James’ offering seemed to be the anomaly; his risqué references really stand out among the songs. Which isn’t to say that his songs are any less classic, they’re just a bit rough around the edges compared to the other stuff.
But that made me realize how far the paradigm has shifted in the past few decades. Rick James Motown stuff would seem tame compared to what’s getting played on the radio today. What the music scene has lost are songs that a whole family can enjoy.
I have a friend who’s got two daughters and occasionally I’m in the car with them as a whole. It’s equal parts hysterical and depressing watching him scan the radio for songs that aren’t meant for adult ears. Generally it’s funny, mostly because I’m child-free. But listening to young Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and even Boys, Another Bad Creation and Shanice really reminded me of how much more pure things were just over fifteen years ago.
I mean the Boys were asking a girl to “dial my heart” and Shanice was singing about a smile. ABC maybe were making moves beyond their years, but really, the date consisted of cereal and video games. And these songs were hits. Could you imagine a hit song as innocent as that in this day and age?
If I had to blame anyone, I’d blame Jodeci. They were the first to fully merge the rough edges of hip-hop with the smoothness of R&B, and things have never been the same since. They almost singlehandedly ruined modern R&B.
But I also blame Disney. Just like “the sitcom a family can enjoy” has been killed and replaced by network sitcoms and Disney/Nick sitcoms, the musical subgenre of child singers has been whole fully co-opted by the House of Mouse. The Jonas Brothers are basically just the Boys in a better package. And you couldn’t have (another) Another Bad Creation without having Mickey’s four-fingered glove prints all over them.
And this isn’t a call for censorship; I’m all for freedom of speech. I’m a huge Prince fan and you don’t get more risqué than him.
My beef is that most of the R&B/pop artists in the past fifteen years have focused their energies on being clever and pushing the envelope rather than being good. And to me, that’s a shame.
