Posted by Bruce Sanborn on November 29, 2011 - 11:03am
In the mid-80's, then reigning Miss America Vanessa Williams was mortified to discover that nude lesbian photos, one with her face buried in another girl's cooze, were being published in Playboy. The photos, stylish black & whites, had been taken some time earlier when she was young and needed the money. She was quickly stripped of her title. Her new manager, being the savvy guy he was, told her that her problem wasn't nude pictures in Playboy, it was her Miss America crown. They retooled her image and Vanessa went on to become a highly successful actress and singer.
Also in the mid-80's, nude pictures of Madonna surfaced in the same publication. And while the morality police were outraged that an over-sexed Italian girl from Michigan would display her wares for all to see, the singer's response was pure genius. "So?" Not a shy girl.
Sex sells. You would think something like being able to sing might be important if you're a singer but as Madonna has proven, vocal talent has very little to do with success in the industry and in today's music world it is all but irrelevent.
What Madonna started has become the standard in the current epoch. She was a girl with big dreams, a decent songwriter, okay looking but with an uncanny ability to market herself. No one before or since has had such mastery. When those nude pictures surfaced she recognized it for what it was: an opportunity to further her career.
Since that time there have been numerous girls who've come down the catwalk, girls of limited talent and marginal aptitude who've managed to skyrocket to the top of the charts by whoring themselves before the public. Not that that's a bad thing. We need more skin in the world. Staring at nearly naked hotties seems to take a man's mind off more destructive impulses. If Ghengis Khan had gotten a decent blowjob at least once in his life, the history of Asia would be very, very different.
The most obvious example of this peculiar genre would be Britney Spears. Her success had and has nothing to do with her musical abilities and everything to do with the fact that at 16 in her first music video she showed up in a schoolgirl outfit displaying an ample pair of gozangas that fueled every man's little waif fantasy. I couldn't name a single song by her but, damn, I remember that video.
Gone are the days of Leslie Gore (It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To) or Shelley Fabares (Johnny Angel) singing sweetly, dressed like Mormon housewives and putting forth the then-acceptable image of the All-American Girl. The new crop of pop tarts has several things in common:
1. Management that recognizes that image is more important than talent.
2. Auto-tuners that can make a warthog stay on melody.
3. Shameless pandering to the lowest common denominator.
4. A firm grasp of modern electronics and social networking.
5. Photoshop, filters and lenses that make wrinkles, flaws, stretch marks, bulging discs, herniations, crow's feet and cellulite disappear presenting the surreal goddess-like imagery required to today's music.
Makes sense?
And the list goes on of no-talent worthless gutter sluts held in high esteem by today's audience. To name a few: Kesha, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Dev, Nikki Minaj, Lady Antebellum and blah, blah, blah...my brain hurts.
Image has always been important to the entertainment industry. But you used to have to back it up with something. I'm trying to remember what. Oh, yeah. TALENT! Alas, in the digital world of disposable music and crappy I-pods compressing all recordings into unrecognizable slob, talented singing has become that rarest of commodities.
B
A reminder: The Bruce Sanborn Band will be headlining Paladino's this Thursday, December 1st at 10pm. Doors open at 7:30pm. 21+ Booze and food obviously available. 6101 Reseda Blvd. Tarzana, CA 91335 (818) 342-1563 Tickets can be purchased at TheBruceSanbornBand.com See you there! We will change your life!
Also in the mid-80's, nude pictures of Madonna surfaced in the same publication. And while the morality police were outraged that an over-sexed Italian girl from Michigan would display her wares for all to see, the singer's response was pure genius. "So?" Not a shy girl.
Sex sells. You would think something like being able to sing might be important if you're a singer but as Madonna has proven, vocal talent has very little to do with success in the industry and in today's music world it is all but irrelevent.
What Madonna started has become the standard in the current epoch. She was a girl with big dreams, a decent songwriter, okay looking but with an uncanny ability to market herself. No one before or since has had such mastery. When those nude pictures surfaced she recognized it for what it was: an opportunity to further her career.
Since that time there have been numerous girls who've come down the catwalk, girls of limited talent and marginal aptitude who've managed to skyrocket to the top of the charts by whoring themselves before the public. Not that that's a bad thing. We need more skin in the world. Staring at nearly naked hotties seems to take a man's mind off more destructive impulses. If Ghengis Khan had gotten a decent blowjob at least once in his life, the history of Asia would be very, very different.
The most obvious example of this peculiar genre would be Britney Spears. Her success had and has nothing to do with her musical abilities and everything to do with the fact that at 16 in her first music video she showed up in a schoolgirl outfit displaying an ample pair of gozangas that fueled every man's little waif fantasy. I couldn't name a single song by her but, damn, I remember that video.
Gone are the days of Leslie Gore (It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To) or Shelley Fabares (Johnny Angel) singing sweetly, dressed like Mormon housewives and putting forth the then-acceptable image of the All-American Girl. The new crop of pop tarts has several things in common:
1. Management that recognizes that image is more important than talent.
2. Auto-tuners that can make a warthog stay on melody.
3. Shameless pandering to the lowest common denominator.
4. A firm grasp of modern electronics and social networking.
5. Photoshop, filters and lenses that make wrinkles, flaws, stretch marks, bulging discs, herniations, crow's feet and cellulite disappear presenting the surreal goddess-like imagery required to today's music.
Makes sense?
And the list goes on of no-talent worthless gutter sluts held in high esteem by today's audience. To name a few: Kesha, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Dev, Nikki Minaj, Lady Antebellum and blah, blah, blah...my brain hurts.
Image has always been important to the entertainment industry. But you used to have to back it up with something. I'm trying to remember what. Oh, yeah. TALENT! Alas, in the digital world of disposable music and crappy I-pods compressing all recordings into unrecognizable slob, talented singing has become that rarest of commodities.
B
A reminder: The Bruce Sanborn Band will be headlining Paladino's this Thursday, December 1st at 10pm. Doors open at 7:30pm. 21+ Booze and food obviously available. 6101 Reseda Blvd. Tarzana, CA 91335 (818) 342-1563 Tickets can be purchased at TheBruceSanbornBand.com See you there! We will change your life!
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