Ashlee Simpson Sucks

[Joe_Kickass]

How could she ever think she is a good performer?
What happened to the good ol' days when a musician was caught lip-synching, suicide would follow?

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

oh come on now.  "Solid Gold" and "Hee Haw" both had lip synching, and no one cried foul back then....

[Angry Ewok]

Ashlee Simpson was one of my first friends on MySpace, so I guess I'm obligated to object to this thread by saying something along the lines of...

w/e dood cus leik she is soooo talnted an omg her album is theeee shiitttt!!!!one i hurd it so many taims on trl and she is so hot i wan luk jus leik her but not relly haha kthxbai

Yea, she sucks.

[Joe_Kickass]

oh come on now.  "Solid Gold" and "Hee Haw" both had lip synching, and no one cried foul back then....[/quote]
I'm looking for blood vengence!!!!!!

[wellfleet]

i'm going to go on record here, again, and say that i own ashlee simpson's second cd and it's totally my guilty pleasure. it's my "true blue" circa 2005.
i will also go on record and say that it's so, like, totally cliche to make fun of the way she allegedly speaks and of the lip-synch fiasco and of her music. let's give her a break, folks. she's not claiming to be pj harvey or blondie or cat power. she is what she is. and for the audience demographic that she plays for, she IS the shit. but having worked at a record store for some time, 9 year-old girls and 30 year-old women bought her first album. if someone can relate to "autobiography" or "boyfriend", who are we to judge? what makes any musical act more relevant than another? hell, hilary duff doesn't sing about my life, but my 12 year-old step-daughter may feel that hilary describes her life perfectly.
it's so easy to playa-hate on open targets like ashlee simpson and britney spears and the like and i think it's kind of cowardly. she's not claiming that her music is important or that it's a scathing commentary on our political present. she's just doing what she wants to do and putting it out there. if you don't like it, that's your prerogative. i just don't think it's very nice to poop all over someone who is actually showing that you don't have to take yourself so freakin' seriously. not every piece of recorded music has to be abbey road, harvest, or desire, ya know?
all's i know is that it takes balls to put yourself out there and try to succeed in a business that eats most people alive. it's even braver to fuck up on national television and attempt to bounce back.
maybe ashlee simpson just isn't for you, but that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[ycartrob]

all's i know is that it takes balls to put yourself out there and try to succeed in a business that eats most people alive. it's even braver to fuck up on national television and attempt to bounce back.

A few thoughts:

Put yourself out there? She was "famous" before she ever sang, b/c of her big sister. Fame is more important than talent. Look at Paris Hilton for God's sakes. She is famous for what?

 Ashlee Simpson didn't pay her dues, not 1. Her father whored her out based on her big sister's T & A. Her debut album sold a million plus before she ever played anywhere but a shopping mall. It's a corporate sell out from the word go.

12 yeard old girls buy what's on the radio, they buy the mass marketed crap.

She plays the Ryman here in Nashville, her first tour, her first album, and it's b/c she is so talented?

I don't consider Ashlee Simpson brave, b/c she's simply ignorant. Hell, that "She bang She bang" guy from American Idol got up there and made an idiot of himself night after night. Is that brave? They do it for the money. PERIOD. No bravery there, in my book. It would be brave if she admitted she had little talent and was riding her sister's success. Good grief.

[ycartrob]

[Jaimoe]

 it's even braver to fuck up on national television and attempt to bounce back.
 

Yet she did the mature thing and blamed her band.

Ashlee's popularity is nothing more than a contrivance. The only reason she's famous is because of her sister. Her family and management used Jessica's TV show as a springboard to launch Ashlee's career. She has an average singing voice and her punky image is also a complete lie. Her lyrics are banal and shallow and by wearing a Ramones t-shirt doesn't make you radical and edgy.

True, her music isn't meant to appeal to girls older than 14, but there are a couple of teen artists that have at least more substance and personality than Ashlee.  

[ycartrob]

and another thing, that great dad of theirs (that holy, Christian man) has the nerve to say Jessica is not being marketed as a sex symbol?  Is this guy from our planet?

[dragonboy]

You do seem to know a lot about the Simpson family Carrot - you sure you're not a closet fan?  ;)

[ali]

hey wellfleet, how're things? i completely see where you're coming from - points to you for admitting you have a AS album & you enjoy it. (i'm not being sarcastic here..) i'm an ingrained music snob, but i do know that if something does it for you, it doesn't matter what it is/how "cool" it is... you just like it.

and i'm fine with singers etc wanting to put there stuff out there, and get their 5 seconds of limelight, and good on anyone with the guts to do that. i certainly don't. but surely there is a difference between singers (i'm not going to say artists, different argument) putting themselves out there & singing their little hearts out, and "singers" who are putting themselves out there & MIMING. in public. regardless of who the singer is, be it ashlee or britney or bono or madonna or whoever, personally i lose all respect for someone when they mime. i don't care if they didn't write the lyrics or the music, but if you are a singer, then goddamn SING. that is why i go to gigs. to see and hear the person sing.  i don't know how other people feel about this, i just feel its a bit offensive, and disrespectful to just about everyone involved (including the singer - ashlee must have some talent... she should be given the opportunity to use it if she wants to)

she may not be a real punk, but at least she's not wearing little weanie clothes like some people we could mention... ;)

[ycartrob]

You do seem to know a lot about the Simpson family Carrot - you sure you're not a closet fan?  ;)

I work with teenagers, I have to keep up with pop culture.

[wellfleet]

ali... thanks! i'm well, just finished a big move, my first as a real grown-up! i, too, am/was a music snob. before i started working in the music biz (buyer for HMV), i thought most music was shite. i ridiculed everything i didn't like. and if someone i knew listened to something i found odious, like say, linkin park, i made fun of them.
then i realized a few things:
1. you just never know what will make you happy. some people will only listen to electronica and they trip out on that kind of stuff. some people really FEEL nickleback lyrics. some people think ryan adams is a tool. some people worship neil young (me!!!!).
2. just coz it makes you happy, don't mean it will make someone else happy.
3. there's something for everybody. whatever turns your crank, there's a musician out there for you. ever wished bowie would do his music in portuguese? check out the soundtrack to "the life aquatic with steve zissou". ever wish you could hear a rap version of the white album? check out the grey album by danger mouse.

although ashlee simpson may have been introduced to the world via her big sis, she is the youngest dancer ever to be admitted to the american school of ballet. she has outsold her sister by millions. maybe she doesn't have the most amazing voice, but there are many singers out there who don't have the greatest vocals but get by because their voice has charm and personality. it can be argued that neil young doesn't have a typically on-key voice, but i love it. to me, his voice feels like the truth. but i now know that only i can hear what i can hear. so what if some 14 or 40 year-old likes ashlee simpson's voice and/or personality? i like it, and i don't think that makes me a retard.
look, i'm not saying ashlee is anything more than a pre-fab image who may or may not have a pleasant singing voice. i'm not saying she is anything more than just plain old girly fun. it's ok to relax and dance in your bedroom to holiday or papa don't preach or ashlee freakin' simpson.
it just upsets me when people are so worried about their musical-savant cred.
i don't care who you are, you have a deep, dark secret in your music collection that 99% of people would laugh it but that you treasure. some of you have george michael albums, gino vanelli, rush, etc... they're not everyone's cup of tea but to some people, they're the shit. so there!

[wellfleet]

and quite frankly, even if you're a bad singer, especially if you don't have the vocal chops of other singers, and you still pursue what you love to do, that's brave in my book.

[ycartrob]

you're comparing Ashlee Simpson with Neil Young? There's a difference in liking someone's voice (or not) and someone who lip synchs and doesn't have the integrity to admit it until there's no other choice. I think saying you have guilty pleasures in your CD collection is like saying you enjoy some crappy music. I do too, but I admit it, I don't try to justify it.

I like some crappy music. Ashlee Simpson's crappy music just doesn't appeal to me.


(BTW, Neil Peart of RUSH has more talent in his left knee than the entire Simpson family).

[Jaimoe]

i don't care who you are, you have a deep, dark secret in your music collection that 99% of people would laugh it but that you treasure. some of you have george michael albums, gino vanelli, rush, etc... they're not everyone's cup of tea but to some people, they're the shit. so there!

However, one should be able to recognize talent and quality regardless of whether you like their sound or not. I despise Depeche Mode, The Cure, Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Genesis, The Killers, The Smiths, Morrissey, The Pet Shop Boys, Wham, Nickelback, Gwen Stefani and No Doubt, most of Madonna's music and Avril Lavigne - (to name a few) -  but at least there's substance in every artist I've mentioned... well maybe not Nickelback.

[ycartrob]

and quite frankly, even if you're a bad singer, especially if you don't have the vocal chops of other singers, and you still pursue what you love to do, that's brave in my book.

No, it's brave if you believe in it enough to sacrifice your life for your craft; to live week to week for the music, in hopes to make it; to believe in what you're doing and not compromising. To pay your dues.

Knowing the whole time that your family is wealthy, never having to worry where your next meal is coming from if you don't get a gig, getting TV deals b/c your sister is famous, BEFORE your album comes out, that shit ain't brave. You're not risking much of anything. All she is risking is some silly pride.  Ashlee Simpson would last 2 days in a van on the road with nothing but her guitar and her "band" (does she play?) and her pursuit of her "dreams". She'd call her daddy to come pick her up.

Hog vomit!

[DD]

No, it's brave if you believe in it enough to sacrifice your life for your craft; to live week to week for the music, in hopes to make it; to believe in what you're doing and not compromising. To pay your dues.

Knowing the whole time that your family is wealthy, never having to worry where your next meal is coming from if you don't get a gig, getting TV deals b/c your sister is famous, BEFORE your album comes out, that shit ain't brave. You're not risking much of anything. All she is risking is some silly pride.  Ashlee Simpson would last 2 days in a van on the road with nothing but her guitar and her "band" (does she play?) and her pursuit of her "dreams". She'd call her daddy to come pick her up.

Hog vomit!

true.  but there is a place for her in the world of music along with hundreds of others like her who are part of the corporate music machine.  as long as there is a market this stuff will continue to be out there.  and as long as people are having kids and we have a pop culture driven society there will be a market.

in a big way i kinda feel bad for her.  going through life having everything handed to you doesnt exactly make the most well rounded people.  so she has a house, a new mercedes or two, the latest in fashion, and doesnt really have to work a "real job", but is she happy?  is she always in the back of her head thinking "im only here because of my sister".  ive done some embarrasing ass shit in my life.  she did hers on tv.  obviously here we are what, two years later, and people are still talking about her.


lip synching is no big deal.  all the early heroes of rock n roll did it on stage at radio shows.  elvis did it.  little richard did it.  buddy holley did it.  all those early rock guys would go to the local dj's weekend shows down at the shore or out at the park and lip synch to their latest 45.

these people, the record buying public.  most of them wouldnt know quality music if it skull fucked them.  people for the most part are easy to please.  some verse chorus verse, a catchy beat, a good producer, and a cute boy or girl who sings the song on the mtv.  the average music buyer doesnt understand the cut n paste world of pro-tools where a verse of a song is put together word by word or phrase by phrase rather than the person singing an actual track.  they also dont realize one of the reasons so much of this music sounds the same at any given time is because there are a limited number of song writers, song writing teams and/or producers who are doing ALL the music that becomes the "pop hits" for the teeny boppers and boy bands.  this aint the "good old days" where a group stood around a single mic and played live while it was etched into a record.

talented or not.  cute or not.  these people have a place.  a lot of musicians who deserve to be paid for their craft never will be.  a lot of people who in your opinion dont  will be.  these teeny boppers the average music snob hates usually end up broke nobodys after their year or two of being somebody.  there are a few exceptions, like the simpson girls who had a business savvy dad, but for the most part they end up right back working in restaurants or on construction sites or doing whatever they were doing before.

there will always be people out there playing music because they simply HAVE to play music.  those people who reach YOU, those people who speak to YOU through their craft will probbably continue to be small time "nobodys" on the grand scale of the pop culture world.  you gotta look at it this way though, even if its a bit selfish, these people will continue to play small clubs or bars or maybe even your backyard party.  these people will continue to be accessible to hang out with, maybe kick back a few beers with and just chill.  these people will continue to be regular people eeking by but creating wonderful pieces of music you can sit and enjoy and feel special about if for no other reason than the fact that you are one of the few people who gets to participate in this persons beautiful creation.

in conclusion.  i'd love to be the meat in a simpson sandwich.  its possible i said all those nice things in hopes they will become jacket fans, read this board, and then make a man out of me.

cheers.

[wellfleet]

tracy, no, i am not comparing ashlee simpson to neil young on a real level. i can relate to neil's lyricism, politics, and voice. i'm just saying that bagging on such a soft target is soooooo lame and facile. i mean, what an easy target to shoot at. it takes zero effort to say that the simpsons are a manufactured lot of clean-scrubbed, pretty folks with too much money and not enough brain cells. and maybe that's all true, and maybe it isn't. i don't know any of them personally, so how can i make that judgment?
but it doesn't surprise me that you would go out and bash her and her music and then make me feel bad about defending people's likes and dislikes. not everyone has your tastes. personally, rush makes me want to stick rusty forks in my eyes but i have lots of friends who worship at the altar of rush. which one of us is wrong? neither. it's way too easy to attack the integrity of a pop artist. you don't know what ashlee simpson will turn into.
i, for example, don't usually associate with people who don't love the beatles. my husband routinely says he wouldn't have married me if i didn't love the beatles. but "please, please me", despite being maybe the most perfect pop song EVER written, is not especially profound. the beatles lip-synched all the time on TV. does this take away from the beatles' integrity or what they became later.
and no, i am not comparing her to lennon-mccartney, in case you ask.
i don't have to justify liking crappy music. certainly not to you. you just make us feel like we have to apologize for liking something that's beneath this board and that's not cool.
it's more challenging to discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of Z or ISM instead of Cheneying the easy target.

[wellfleet]

No, it's brave if you believe in it enough to sacrifice your life for your craft; to live week to week for the music, in hopes to make it; to believe in what you're doing and not compromising. To pay your dues.

Knowing the whole time that your family is wealthy, never having to worry where your next meal is coming from if you don't get a gig, getting TV deals b/c your sister is famous, BEFORE your album comes out, that shit ain't brave. You're not risking much of anything. All she is risking is some silly pride.  Ashlee Simpson would last 2 days in a van on the road with nothing but her guitar and her "band" (does she play?) and her pursuit of her "dreams". She'd call her daddy to come pick her up.

Hog vomit!

and to further my objection, i guess i deeply resent the music biz and fans' obsession with cred. being a starving artist is not more a merit badge than hitting it big right away. why does touring in a smelly van for years and selling 3 records make you more valuable than someone who rocketed to fame? it's snobbery and it's really bullshit. i know a lot of jacket fans who secretly hope the band remains in the shadows so they can always be the coolest kids at the party when they bust out their copy of at dawn and blow everyone away. being obscure is not being special. some artists become immensly popular because they appeal to many, ,many people on a personal level and it's ridiculous to belittle that.
i just don't see how you can place a value on personal taste. i like sushi and my brother doesn't. neither one of us is in the wrong here.
except for you, because you're just a bitter old man sick of hanging out with krazzzyyyy kids you secretly want to strangle.  ;D