baD kARmA INk

Let me paint you a picture.

Before you is a large urban development.   Freshly paved roads laid in the time-honored block format, with all the east-west roads named after tree species and the north-south roads named after past presidents of the United States.   Housing lots are all landscaped the same, with a short front yard, a three bedroom ranch-styled house with attached garage and a spacious backyard, complete with clothesline and a swing set.   Oh, sure, the houses may have some variances….this one here with white siding, that one there with sky blue and yet another one in a deep forest green, but all the basics are the same.   The yard, the house, the garage….even the length of the driveway, which is just wide enough for two cars, side by side.

Sounds like a typical neighborhood from Anytown, USA, right?  Everything all nice and tidy, guaranteed to be pleasing to the eye because someone took the time and effort to engineer it so.

So, why am I talking about housing developments which are so obviously part of modern day suburbia?

Because, my faithful followers, that is how I see the current mainstream pop music scene.

Allow me to articulate more on what I mean.

Basically, my thought is this.   You could take any pop song currently on the airwaves today, replace the artist with whoever you like, and the song will sound exactly the same.  I would even go far as to say that you, as the listener, probably would not even detect that the old switcheroo was played on you.  Now, it would be obvious if you cross the gender streams, as you would certainly notice if a song constructed for a female vocalist was suddenly sung by a male.

Well, at least I hope you would notice…

But what about if we stay on our own side of the gender fence?  What if we had two artists with similar vocal styles sing the same song?  Would we as the audience even care who is singing?  Does the singer carry the song, or the song carry the singer?

Now, it just so happens that I have one or two examples to offer to you.   Submitted for your approval are two separate artists singing the same song.   In this case, we are going to listen to Lady Gaga’s song Telephone, as sung by both Gaga herself and by Britney Spears.   Why Britney?  Well, because Telephone was originally written for Britney Spears by Lady Gaga and, as such, Britney recorded a demo of the song to test it out.  Essentially, Britney’s peeps decided it wasn’t for her, which prompted Gaga to record it herself and therefore gifted the world with the sight of Gaga dressed in nothing but police caution tape.

So, let’s get right down to it.  First up, Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga – Telephone

Now, let that sit with you for a moment. Once you are ready, feel free to take a listen to Britney’s version below. Keep in mind that this is not going to be as polished as the other, since it is just a demo version.

Britney Spears – Telephone (Demo)

So, really, would it have mattered if Britney did the song instead of Gaga? The point is that the song itself is the driving force, not the singer. To draw back on my suburbia reference, the song has been crafted to meet the tastes and standards of the mainstream pop audience.  It is the finely manicured lawn and the visually pleasing house.   The singer is merely the extra splash of color on the siding.  You could have taken anyone and made that song a hit.  As long as the person could sing well, it is pretty much a guarantee.

Now, now, all you fame monsters getting ready to flame me (that is, if you’re paying attention), put down your poisoned pens for a moment.  I am not at all saying that I did not like Gaga’s version.  Nor am I saying that Britney’s version would have been better.   If anything, I am saying that this is an amazing testament to Gaga’s ability to write songs that would be hits, regardless of who sings them.  However, I am also saying that the pop music landscape is riddled with artists that could just as easily have had a hit with such a well-crafted song.

Want another example?   Okay, you asked for it.   The song is Beyonce’s  Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

First, the original version.

Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

And now…..by Liza Minnelli, as heard in Sex And The City 2

Liza Minnelli – Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Now, now….come back.  I promise I won’t do that again.

The whole idea that a particular mainstream pop musician is unique and cutting edge is nonsense.  Current pop music divas such as Miley Cyrus, Kesha, and yes, even Lady Gaga are following the trail blazed before them by the likes of Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Madonna.   And more will follow.   There will always be the pop star playing to the pre-teen crowd, followed by the ‘extreme’ album release when the artist becomes an adult in an effort to shock and secure that ‘adult demographic’ for future album releases.   It has all been done before.

The hope is that, along the way, the rest of the world benefits from some extraordinary songwriting.

Artists may come and artists may go, but a good song will last forever.  Regardless of who is singing it.