Musicians don't deserve bad rap

In response to Brian Dillon's bashing of boy bands and rap. While I dislike 'NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and most rap artists, you can hardly fault them for what they're doing.

It's as simple as supply and demand and most people really care very little about where the end product is coming from (unless it's a sweatshop). So they don't write their own lyrics, so what? I'd hope most guys are incapable of writing the kind of stuff 'NSYNC sings about (even though women would like that). They are good performers, kind of like Milli Vanilli, except they actually sing. In rap, self-love tends to be more prevalent than in most genres but most of it seems kind of similar to country music. While it doesn't sound like country, the themes are alike: complaining about life and talking about drinking and women. Don’t call them musicians if you don’t want to, but they are entertainers (much like saying Pro Wrestlers are not athletes) and they earn the money they make. Would you rather see U2 or Pearl Jam on TV acting like a bunch of idiots, getting so much exposure that the mere sight of them annoys you?

Lastly, why should anyone care to gain a "cultured" taste for anything? Culture is overrated; it involves too deep an analysis of something, so that it’s not easily attainable and you feel you’ve actually worked to enjoy something. Screw that!

Robert Ranney

Junior, School of Liberal Arts

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