Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Arts & Entertainment
 

'Anyone can play guitar'

Music fans too easily impressed by talents that they themselves could obtain, master

Stay Sick

Jason Gagnon

At the Warped Tour a few weeks ago, I was heading back to the Solid Skin Klothing booth after watching the train wreck that was Juliette and The Licks when I stumbled upon a huge line of autograph seekers for some lame pop-punk band. The band wasn't even worth the sweat these people expelled under the hot sun, let alone the time spent waiting for a meaningless signature.

It was incredibly frustrating on a base level because, well, the whole purpose of punk rock was to destroy the faux rock mystique and the overall concept of the "rock star." It was antithetical to everything those bands and fans should stand for. But I don't expect too much intelligence or appreciation of history from the new scores of mall punks Hot Topic belches out of its womb on an hourly basis. I just expect more common sense from human beings in general.

You see, I'm of the belief that rock ‘n' roll is not as complicated a medium as many would like you to believe, and I think anyone, regardless of skill or professionalism, can do it. Look back in history and you'll find that some of the most earth-shattering music has come from people who had no idea what the hell they were doing in the first place. They played for the love and passion of an art that allowed their meager musicianship to transcend the lifetime guitar virtuosos who could play scales for days but were incapable of writing a decent song to save their lives.

The Ramones, Joy Division, Guitar Wolf, The Velvet Underground, Suicide, The Stooges, Jesus and Mary Chain -- all of them were not traditionally trained artists, but they created something profound and deeply affective on a grand level, against conventional standards.

The bottom line here is that you should not worship 99 percent of these hacks for doing something that you yourself could easily do just as well, if not better, if you decided to get off the couch and do something.

I'm not saying some random kid obsessed with Good Charlotte or Hoobastank will produce something profound if he starts a band. Chances are, it will be worse than the aforementioned groups. But actually trying your hand at something will force you to accept that there is nothing special about the bands you idolize. They are people just like you and me, and they deserve no more acclaim than the janitor who expertly removes a clog from the toilet.

So quit furthering the corporate hype machine and idolizing these little losers for their staleness, superficiality, horrible ethics and bad music. They are no better than the rest of us.
 

Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu