Sexism and the Music Industry
It took me watching way too much Reality TV to have this as a train of thought, the show being Rockstar : Supernova. Don't get me wrong, I think the band will suck because the guys in it are stuck a couple of decades back (exception goes to Tommy Lee), but most of the vocalists were better this time than they were for the Rockstar : Inxs series. Heck I didn't even know who the hell Gilby Clarke was when the show started. I knew the other two, but damn, when listening to the tunes they had made for this 'new' album, they all sounded like late 80's American Rock. All three of them have been in bands that made better and more relevant music than what they seem to be writing. I don't think the music industry is returning to that dirty pub-rock, that didn't really sell too much anyway, between the Heavy Metal and Grunge eras. I actually found it most interesting that there were no Americans in the final four for this 'competition', two of which I chose as my favourites (as in the one male I said was the best and the one female who I said was the best back from episode one) got to the final two, and there was doubt who they were going to choose, and talent had nothing to do with this final two decision.
This brings me to my point about sexism. Why do they want females to try out for these contests when we all know that one will not be chosen? It was like last season. Imagine Inxs with a female singer....hello? This season, we have two washed out musicians looking to find a way to be popular, riding on the coat tails of Tommy Lee, and hopefully a frontMAN who won't be outshone by Tommy's energy behind the drums. They made the right choice as far as that went, but honestly Dilana was the best vocalist for the era-type of music style they were playing. Problem is, women don't make good fronters for bands.
The question I have been asking myself for a week now, since the final four, and now it's all over is, name one internationally popular band that has a female fronter that has been great for at least 20 years? The names I have heard on asking this question so far are, The Pretenders, Blondie, No Doubt and maybe Heart. Personally, I think the only one of those that comes close is No Doubt, and even then, they don't seem to tread into the International scene very much. I'm not sure much has left the U.S. border since that one album of theirs ten years ago.
What I am comparing these to are bands such as U2, The Cure and Metallica (for starters), and even the Chili Peppers have been together for the qualifying time (20 years, as the question poses). Even the Rolling Stones keeping rolling out albums, although I think most of their stuff is nostalgic tours for the children of the 60s and 70s. So I ask, are we the sexist consumer or is the industry sexist when they decide what style of music is the next big thing? Is it really impossible to take a female lead singer and make a lot of money in a band? Or are women destined to be solo artists?
This brings me to my point about sexism. Why do they want females to try out for these contests when we all know that one will not be chosen? It was like last season. Imagine Inxs with a female singer....hello? This season, we have two washed out musicians looking to find a way to be popular, riding on the coat tails of Tommy Lee, and hopefully a frontMAN who won't be outshone by Tommy's energy behind the drums. They made the right choice as far as that went, but honestly Dilana was the best vocalist for the era-type of music style they were playing. Problem is, women don't make good fronters for bands.
The question I have been asking myself for a week now, since the final four, and now it's all over is, name one internationally popular band that has a female fronter that has been great for at least 20 years? The names I have heard on asking this question so far are, The Pretenders, Blondie, No Doubt and maybe Heart. Personally, I think the only one of those that comes close is No Doubt, and even then, they don't seem to tread into the International scene very much. I'm not sure much has left the U.S. border since that one album of theirs ten years ago.
What I am comparing these to are bands such as U2, The Cure and Metallica (for starters), and even the Chili Peppers have been together for the qualifying time (20 years, as the question poses). Even the Rolling Stones keeping rolling out albums, although I think most of their stuff is nostalgic tours for the children of the 60s and 70s. So I ask, are we the sexist consumer or is the industry sexist when they decide what style of music is the next big thing? Is it really impossible to take a female lead singer and make a lot of money in a band? Or are women destined to be solo artists?