Off the Hook

I haven't written much about music lately. I'm sure there's plenty to say, but I simply do not listen to music as much during the baseball season, thanks mostly to that infernal XM radio, which broadcasts every game and has a baseball talk channel with lots of good hosts. But I do have some questions and comments.

First of all, can Rihanna sing? I've probably heard a dozen of her songs and I still don't know the answer. I can't say that she definitely can't sing, but I've heard no proof that she can either.

The next thing worries me, because it runs the risk of throwing me into old fogey territory. I don't understand how people don't get bored with the current pop out there. It's not that it's bad or unpleasant. Don't worry, I won't say "how could you listen to that noise?" which is what my parents (who were actually more tolerant than most) used to say. It just all sounds very similar. Every so-called R&B song has exactly the same beat. Most of the songs that have any real melody use the Ne-Yo, Chris Brown, weird synthesized voice. And whiny-boy rock hasn't changed since the 70's. Why do you need to own more than a couple of these? That's what makes songs like Sweet Escape stay popular for so long, because Gwen Stefani can actually sing and brings a unique personality. The only other things I like are fun novelty songs like "Low."

The number of American Idol finalists lurking around the top 20 is jarring. American Idol has a pernicious effect on pop music, because contestants have figured out that there's a formula for success, (eye contact, slow build, the big flourish). This can translate into actual pop success if the singer has any talent (like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and maybe Jordin Sparks), but Clarkson and Underwood didn't really follow the formula once they left the show. And you can't play to the camera on the radio.