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[schmevil]

"There's something puzzling about the way Def Jam has pulled out all the stops to anoint Rihanna as the world's newest pop superstar and to position Good Girl Gone Bad as its blockbuster summer tentpole. The chief characteristic of Rihanna's voice, after all, is a sort of knife-edged emptiness, a mechanistic precision that rarely makes room for

Comments

[metaphoracle]

The other relevant point to bring up re: why is it okay for Meg to suck and not Rhianna is that they're working withing different genres. It is an aesthetic, yes, but the White Stripes are also PUNK not in the over-produced Wall of Sound MXPX/Green Day kind of way, but in the STFU I REJECT YOUR SKILLZ way that characterized early punk from the late 70s (Sex Pistols, Go Gos). I once saw a Behind the Music type special on the Go Gos and in the early days the girls didn't even know how to play their instruments. It's completely in character (and on message) for Meg White to not be that good.

Another way to put this is that Meg White is part of a tradition, while Rhianna is a talentless anomaly (not unlike William Hung of American Idol fame/disdain).

[schmevil]

*nod* You know, Green Day is using software to tweak their sound now? It's possible to make a case for them as being a punk band in their early days. Some of their stuff had a genuine spirit of rebellion, even if it was completely conventional in sound. The Stripes though, while they don't have a punk sound, they definitely share that punk, DIY spirit. Found another review that talks about the good/badness of the band.

I think I saw the same special on the Go Gos, btw. I watch way too much Behind the Music.