Things I Hate About

As my girlfriend says, I don’t like loads of different things. I thought I would write a few of them in an occasional series called, "Things I Hate About… First is music.

1. Random rapping in the middle of pop songs and ballads that bears no link or relation to the song. Why? Rap is rap and pop is pop, they don’t mix. Rap and rock has fused successfully on some occasions though not often. It tends to work once mixed; the whole song represents the mix, not random parts.
2. Rap again I am afraid. Why do they have to sing about the amount of money they are making and things they are buying with our money? I understand there are some rags to riches stories but they are done to death by so many. One noticeable rapper that doesn’t do it is the one I listen too, Eminem. He raps about his whole life, mental health, success, and family but not his cars or gold.
3. Next is talent shows that allow relatively low talent musicians their five minutes of fame and then lets them plunge head first into obscurity. There are a handful of success stories but considering the amount of shows and thousands that apply, the success is low. Part of my problem is that the bands and singers that rehearse and hone their craft don’t get the opportunities and the ones that look good on TV jump the queue. X Factor in the main builds over the weeks till Christmas, tries to take the number one song, and then dumps the singer before the next series. There should be more support and back up for winners and the others that get record deals from the show. In fact, as I recall from the few successes, losing is often better than winning.
4. The exploitation of bands and singers, especially deceased ones, with a myriad of greatest hits and other spurious compilations. Elvis for example seems to have a greatest hit every Christmas, which is clever as he passed away 40 plus years ago. Therefore, it's simply rehash and rearrangements of the limited back catalogue. Buddy Holly is another example, with a far smaller back catalogue but still regular hits albums.
5. The numerous part two of greatest ever albums. A quick search of Amazon reveals the best 60s album in the world, a bold claim you might think. So how can you have the best in the world ever with a part two? Surely, they both can’t be the best in the world ever. So, if I said the best 60s album in the world ever has a part three and part four you may see my problem.
6. One of probably the most personal to me is people who wear band tour shirts or t-shirts for fashion statements. People who almost certainly haven’t been to the gigs or even listened to the bands are sure some of these are licensed but otherwise bands are losing out to commercial businesses using their logs and images. If you want a tour shirt then go the concert and buy it there, it’s part of the event.

These may sound personal and pedantic but I am sure many people would agree with one or more of these. In fact, maybe you didn’t know you agreed until I mentioned these things. They are my personal gripes and once I finish writing I will probably think of a few more but I think that’s enough whining for now. I will add some more to other parts of the site as I go along, maybe TV and film next. Who knows?