Idolator

On a certain level, it seems ridiculous to claim that American Idol has anything to do democracy. Sure, people vote, but it's self-selecting, has costs associated with it, and seems to have more to do with interest groups and the opinions of prominent commentators than any true expression of the popular will. Then again, you could say the same thing about presidential elections. If the "Idol=democracy" argument reeks of lazy journalism, maybe that's just because there's no significant restriction on culture in America, "Piss Christ" and Karen Finley aside. In places where there's a stronger governmental or social restriction on taste, it's possible that Idol-style contests can let hidden currents of public opinion bubble to the surface. Like, say, in Afghanistan. More »

What's the best way to get the goverment off your back when they're about launch an inquiry into your business habits? Attack the other guy's business habits! With Congress breathing hot on terrestrial radio's neck over complaints that it should be paying royalties to the drummers and bassists and other non-royalty-earning band members whose songs sell their ads, "the National Association of Broadcasters asked Rep. Howard Berman (R-Calif.) to conduct a hearing on label treatment of artists as part of the lawmaker's examination of a new royalty for recordings played over the air," according to the Hollywood Reporter, with radio claiming that even though they may be doing bad stuff to working musicians they're not the only ones doing bad stuff to working musicians. But Rep. Berman ain't playing that game: More »

You know those mornings after those nights where you don't even drink that much, only like eight or 12 bourbons, but the sum total of what you ate that day amounted to, say, an apple and a handful of pretzels, so when the idea of eating a bacon cheeseburger with jalapenos at 2 a.m. pops into your head it seems like a really good idea, until you wake up the next day feeling like you have been beaten around the base of the neck with a large bottle of canola oil in your sleep after which said bottle of canola oil was poured down your throat to let fester in your gut for the thre hours of restless, uncomfortable sleep you got on someone else's floor? Well, what better time to live-blog a congressional hearing on "the business of stereotypes and degrading images" in popular culture? So come along me with me, won't you, as I sit through a bunch of rappers and some old rich white assholes lamenting the current state of music until either it's over or I pass out: More »