1:30 pm - 11/20/2012
(CNN) -- One day, many years from now, future generations will look back at this time in our country's history and wonder what in the hell were we thinking.
The Kardashians are famous for no reason, same-sex marriage is controversial for stupid reasons, and somehow the "Twilight" franchise is a cash cow.
But our culture's biggest sin may well be the auto-tuned syrup we've allowed to dominate the pop charts. All-time chart records are handed to vacuous acts such as the Black Eyed Peas and singing awards are given to vocal lightweights such as Taylor Swift.
History will show a dark time in our culture in which a million followers on Twitter became a key component to winning a Grammy.
But thank God for Pink.
That's what I was thinking as I was watching her performance during Sunday's American Music Awards. She recreated the video for her current single, "Try," a midtempo ballad about the ups and downs of an imperfect relationship.
Where there is desire
There is gonna be a flame
Where there is a flame
Someone's bound to get burned
But just because it burns
Doesn't mean you're gonna die
You've gotta get up and try try try
Singing words like that live with the right level of emotion that Pink is known for is hard enough. Doing so while in engaged in an athletic pas de deux, complete with lifts, is breathtaking. She received a standing ovation afterward, much in the same way she commanded one at the 2010 Grammys as she swung over the audience's heads on a trapeze, asking:
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?
Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, "I just don't care"?
It would all seem like a meat-dress wearing gimmick if she didn't have the voice and lyrics to back it up. But she does, and thus we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing her voice will be there for future generations to discover when looking back at us.
Pink won't be able to scrub our record clean singlehandedly -- there's just too much manufacturing for one person to overcome. But at least there will be evidence for my great-great grandkids to see that we weren't all "American Idol's" sheep. While Christina Aguilera has a tendency to oversing, Britney Spears can't sing, and Lauryn Hill sorta stopped singing, Pink has managed to carve a brilliant 13-year-career by being something that is incredibly rare these days -- an artist.
A complete artist.
Maybe the most underrated artist we've had on the radio in the past 20 years.
That's not to suggest she's been ignored -- Pink has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. It's just when you look at the amount of publicity given to her in comparison to say, Lady Gaga or Adele, well there is no comparison. We know she is phenomenal, but the others are considered phenomenons. Gaga and Adele are worthy of the accolades, but whenever I listen to Pink's "Dear Mr. President," "Family Portrait" or "Sober," I feel the need to atone for us not making more room for her in the pop culture paradigm.
Billboard magazine -- one of the most respected names in the music industry -- ranked the top five performances from the American Music Awards. For them, Pink's brave rendition of "Try" was second. Tops was Psy doing "Gangnam Style" with MC Hammer.
MC Hammer!?!
Yes ... we're going to have a lot to answer for someday.
Source: http://us.cnn.com/2012/11/20/opinion/gr
P!nk, a true pop artist
(CNN) -- One day, many years from now, future generations will look back at this time in our country's history and wonder what in the hell were we thinking.
The Kardashians are famous for no reason, same-sex marriage is controversial for stupid reasons, and somehow the "Twilight" franchise is a cash cow.
But our culture's biggest sin may well be the auto-tuned syrup we've allowed to dominate the pop charts. All-time chart records are handed to vacuous acts such as the Black Eyed Peas and singing awards are given to vocal lightweights such as Taylor Swift.
History will show a dark time in our culture in which a million followers on Twitter became a key component to winning a Grammy.
But thank God for Pink.
That's what I was thinking as I was watching her performance during Sunday's American Music Awards. She recreated the video for her current single, "Try," a midtempo ballad about the ups and downs of an imperfect relationship.
Where there is desire
There is gonna be a flame
Where there is a flame
Someone's bound to get burned
But just because it burns
Doesn't mean you're gonna die
You've gotta get up and try try try
Singing words like that live with the right level of emotion that Pink is known for is hard enough. Doing so while in engaged in an athletic pas de deux, complete with lifts, is breathtaking. She received a standing ovation afterward, much in the same way she commanded one at the 2010 Grammys as she swung over the audience's heads on a trapeze, asking:
Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?
Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, "I just don't care"?
It would all seem like a meat-dress wearing gimmick if she didn't have the voice and lyrics to back it up. But she does, and thus we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing her voice will be there for future generations to discover when looking back at us.
Pink won't be able to scrub our record clean singlehandedly -- there's just too much manufacturing for one person to overcome. But at least there will be evidence for my great-great grandkids to see that we weren't all "American Idol's" sheep. While Christina Aguilera has a tendency to oversing, Britney Spears can't sing, and Lauryn Hill sorta stopped singing, Pink has managed to carve a brilliant 13-year-career by being something that is incredibly rare these days -- an artist.
A complete artist.
Maybe the most underrated artist we've had on the radio in the past 20 years.
That's not to suggest she's been ignored -- Pink has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. It's just when you look at the amount of publicity given to her in comparison to say, Lady Gaga or Adele, well there is no comparison. We know she is phenomenal, but the others are considered phenomenons. Gaga and Adele are worthy of the accolades, but whenever I listen to Pink's "Dear Mr. President," "Family Portrait" or "Sober," I feel the need to atone for us not making more room for her in the pop culture paradigm.
Billboard magazine -- one of the most respected names in the music industry -- ranked the top five performances from the American Music Awards. For them, Pink's brave rendition of "Try" was second. Tops was Psy doing "Gangnam Style" with MC Hammer.
MC Hammer!?!
Yes ... we're going to have a lot to answer for someday.
Source: http://us.cnn.com/2012/11/20/opinion/gr
I love your username. It's all I got :)
Where does she dump on other women?
Here, let me help you. READ THEM.
And if you STILL think that is her trashing girls, then... I give up.
As for Running Up That Hill? Can I have some of whatever it is you are smoking?
It's professional politics and there is no card or badge or oath you have to take when you get a job, that says you have to stick up for shit you don't like just because you happen to share a gender.
Your upset over this makes me think you are a woman, have you never dumped on a fellow girl student at school or dumped on a fellow woman in your work place. If you have never done that, then your rage is justified ( I guess if pop stars flinging shit is really your cause campaign) but if you have then let her alone.
Making a criticism about a female artist isn't automatically shitting on women...however, selecting Stupid Girls as a single is. There is a monumental difference between finding fault in another person-- of whatever gender-- or holding a negative opinion about their work, versus promoting girl on girl cattiness and shaming, as well.
It's professional politics and there is no card or badge or oath you have to take when you get a job, that says you have to stick up for shit you don't like just because you happen to share a gender.
Who said there was?
In addition, assumption making is never a good look. If you can't form your argument without going down that road, pack it in.
These are your parting words to me. You are assuming there is some need for GIRL POWER in the pop world.
You are assuming/ implying she is insecure and that it's wrong of her to dump on other girls.
So maybe you should have packed it in before you started.
It's not okay to go at other girls just because they're girls and you don't like them. It's not okay to stereotype someone by their looks, just because the mean ol' cheerleaders picked on you in High School. Girl on girl hate is gross, and doesn't help her cause.
She doesn't own anyone, but herself and the people in her life anything, and for anyone to demand more from her, or to put some title on her that she might not want is or desire is just fucked up.
When your industry is filled with woman, and your competition you don't have to sit on your hand and put tape on your mouth. It's ok to be critical and share your feelings about them and the direction the music is going. Just like this article did.
Did you get all in people shit over Gaga's dig at Adele's weight? Or Minja starting that shit on AI. Are they poor feminists for speaking their mind? What Madonna's digs at Cindy Lauper in the 80's poor feminism? It happened. They were huge rivals.
It's show business and what's so funny is your care more than the people she talked about care about it.
Who are you to demand her be a role model. And who are you to judge her level of feminist?
This is what she claims to be. So, she needs to do it, or drop it. You said it's okay to be critical, and I am simply being that.
Sadly, though, you seem not to be reading anything I'm posting (or, at the very least, not comprehending it), so it's clear this discussion has met it's end. Once more for the record: just because others take digs, doesn't mean it's open season and that their actions are at all justifiable. Ignorance shouldn't ever be tolerated or excused, and needs to be called out.
However, this post is about Pink and her offenses... not to mention that's atrocious logic, what you're using, and therefore doesn't warrant any further reply.