Payola Shocker: J-Lo Hits, Others Were ‘Bought’ by Sony

I remember thinking, back in college, how I was going to keep up with pop music so that I would be different from my dad. When my kids talked about a singer, I’d know who they were talking about. Then, around 1995 or so, popular music got so sucky and weird that I had to stop listening. (When “Ace of Base” is the best thing out there, pop music is dead.)

Maybe this will lower your esteem of me, but when I was driving across Iowa to go to I-CON, I heard Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and it’s the first pop song I’ve liked in ages. I don’t watch “American Idol” because watching kids redoing songs I didn’t really like when Barry Manilow did them and then being berated by some British twit doesn’t strike me as a fun time. Still, I have to admit that it’s an attempt at the one thing that the music industry isn’t: a meritocracy. The people succeeding on that show really can sing! Contrast Kelly Clarkson to most of the underfed, semi-naked hotties whose singing ability consists of warbling unchallenging songs into a headset mic.

OF COURSE there’s corruption in the music industry!