Genre4.Duksta

My fourth genre is going to be an editorial

Characeristics: -Title -author -date -opinion is clearly stated -may appear in a newspaper, magazine, or internet article. -can pertain to recent events, a contraversial issue, or something else the author feels strongly about -can be as simple as a recipe, craft idea, or review of a tv show

Criteria: -evidence can back up the opinion -written in 1st person perspective to create a personal feel --organized -writer's experiences are used to support opinion

Rough draft of my genre:


 * Don't want to hear about the music industry losing its dignity ? Turn the Radio Up Louder.**


 * April 11, 2008**


 * Robert Sanford, a member of the indie rock band, "Grace's Fall"**

It's the perfect summer's day and you happen to fnd yourself driving down an unknown route to an unknown destination. The sun is shining, you're free from any burdens or responsibilities, and nothing seems to get in the way of feeling so peaceful and at ease. Speaking of feeling peaceful or at ease, you press the Scan button on your radio system, in search of a song that fits your mood right now. Radio station #1: Katy Perry singing about girls from California, who apparently wear blue wigs. Radio station #2: Taylor Swift singing about how cute and innocent she is, and how the other girl in the picture is a total witch. Radio Station # 3: Nickelback is singing what apparently is their new single, but you could swear on your life that they released the very same single every few months for the last 5 years. Radio station#4: That bratty, trashy girl that spells her name with the dollar sign is using her autotuned voice to tell listeners about her obviously skewed opinion on how attractive Mick Jagger is, and brushing her teeth with a bottle of jack. You sigh, starting to lose faith that you're going to hear something fresh sounding. Ahhh, finally. A Third Eye Blind song from the 90s begins playing through your speakers, but it's over. But low and behold, a classic rock station is playing "Take it Easy" by The Eagles. You begin to think..."well, not all music they play on the radio is crap." But then you realize the sad truth: most of it has already sealed the envelope, passing the test of time. Any songs found on the radio that are pleasent to the ear of those who appreciate geniunely talented artists are usually hits from the 90s and earlier, with the few gems who sound like they're doing what they love and doing it well (i.e. Sarah Berailles, John Mayer, Jason Mraz) just to name a few. I am not saying that my taste is superior than others. I am not a fan of Brittney Spears or Usher, but I am willing to say that they are talented and know how to produce good music. The thing of it is, rap is not better than rock, is not better than classical is not better than reggae is not better than country. Music was meant to take as many forms as possible, as every artist has their own taste. The problem with the music industry these days, is that the meaning of "good selling music" does not mean what it did 30 years back. It's way too easy to be heard on the radio. This is not to say that many artists don't deserve to have their music played on the radio. After all, the goal of any driven and determined musical artist is to nourish their career by having as many people hearing their music as they can. It is completely geniune when these artists want their music to be heard because of the powerful feeling they must get in knowning that the work they put all of their heart and soul into is being heard and appreciated by complete strangers. Of course, if it happens to make the airwaves, that's great for them. But if a girl's voice must be autotuned and singing about mindless things such as "getting drunk and letting boys touch her junk", the integrity of the music industry must be questioned. Let's take Mark Oliver Everett, for example. After writing an album focused on the deaths of his sister, father, and mother....it is safe to say that death was all around him and it was probably impossible to write a happy, upbeat album. But, he felt completed after he finished it. He felt as though he took a piece of his soul, and was willing to let it be shown to the public. He was incredibly excited about it. Many record companies who had previously respected him told him that it was too dark and needed to be changed if he wanted it to have any potential. They shot it down immediately, dismissing the fact that Everett was creating music whole heartedly. Everett struggled and nearly starved until he found a new record company that would accept his music for what it was. The music industry nowadays is making it extremely easy to break into...that is...if you have the ability to write mindless, cliche', 'catchy' songs. Record labels seem to eat up anything that has the potential to be mindless and easy to listen to. Once again, the definiton of 'good selling music' is totally different in meaning now in comparison to 10, 15, 20, 30 years ago. Here's how the process seems to go nowadays. Can't sing ? No big deal. There's autotune. Can't write your own songs ? We've got people to do that for you too. Can you look commercial and are you willing to sing about things that EVERYONE seems they can relate to ? Well! Then we've got you covered. Now start making us money. It saddens me to know that when The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Johnny Cash, The Beatles, and Pink Floyd (just to name a few) broke into the music business, they did because they had talent. True musical talent. Even acts that are not in that category (Britteny Spears, Nysnc, The Spice Girls, Destiny's Child,) were able to produce music that seemed geniune. They were good at what they were doing. The 80s contained a lot of cheesy music, too. But it was respectable music. The 90s contained music that sounded fresh and full of life. Every decade had its own general sounds. With the death of the late 90s and early 2000s also came the era where the music industry is easier to break into than a candy shop owned by a 5 year old. Part of it is due to the fact that the majority of young people (where 'popular' music is mostly aimed at), are looking to listen to anything that is mindless and easy. Will the music industry ever gain its dignity back, or is this just the begining of a vicious cycle only sprialing downwards ? Only time will tell. For now, pull out those albums you have saved from when you were 7 or 8. Don't throw them out. You'll probably regret it.

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