We were watching the second round of the latest American Idol last night. By the end, I noticed that I could count the number of singers who actually tried to sing a melody on my thumbs - maybe on just one thumb. Everyone else produced overwrought outbursts of yodeling and pointless melisma. I felt like grabbing each of them and shouting "pick a fucking note ! Carry a tune ! "
Is a loathing of popular culture part of growing old?
Do i have to consider not wanting to hear bad singers as hating pop culture? I mean, if i don’t like “Pokemon” because blacking out makes me sad, then that’s not the same as hating it because i’m a cartoon snob, right? So if i don’t like AI because nausea and shooting headaches aren’t my thing, then i should still be able to call myself a pop-culture junkie, right?
i was thinking that because all these kids sing with the same horrific style, that it must be something broader than just lack of talent – they must be trying to sing in a popular style. i can’t sing either, but i wouldn’t try to pull off singing Stevie Wonder in the style of the worst yodelling pop diva.