Press: Respect for MMJ

[LaurieBlue]

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/9225648.htm

Posted on Sun, Jul. 25, 2004
 
With a glitzy megastar blitz, who needs talent?

If by some remote chance you're still clueless about what's rotting out the heart of popular music, turn on MTV's The Ashlee Simpson Show.

See the young veteran of the drama 7th Heaven, who wants to be a reality star just like big sister Jessica, sitting on a couch, talking solemnly about her true "art" - that unique vibe she brings to music.

See her at a recording session, singing so far out of tune, it should pain the engineer. See her chat - during another session in which string parts are being added to a song - about getting her nails done. See her trying on a rock-rebel pose, getting quiet as she processes the sage and gentle advice from one label honcho that she try writing songs with other people.

What you don't see in this protracted advertisement for her debut Autobiography (which came out last week on Geffen) is even a moment when this well-connected but artistically undistinguished hopeful does anything in the music to galvanize her listeners.

A kazillion singers and songwriters struggling to be heard, and the one who gets the best position on the runway is completely incapable of actually earning that face time.

Not once does Simpson offer some shred of music that makes you want to root for her on the long, craven campaign for fame. Creating musical sparks would be work. That would require discipline. Maybe even talent.

Watching Simpson waiting for fabulousness to descend upon her like fairy dust is another tiresome reminder that this decaying industry's primary wizardry is the ability to transform meager artistic potential into sellable goods.

It's the scheme that has prevailed, at the big labels, forever, but has become particularly entrenched since the boy-band bubble. Think of it as the giant revolving door at Spectacle Central, through which pass any number of exciting-looking young people whose calling card lies primarily in the refinement and promotion of an image.

Everybody gets a turn grabbing the bandwidth, and through coordinated strikes at MTV and radio and the Internet, the multi-platform superstar thrives for a shining moment. Then, when it comes time to deliver the follow-up artistic statement, the anointed ones falter and graciously disappear into the post-fame glow of guest appearances on TRL, leaving behind a trail of inconsequential singles and hucksterish I'll-do-anything TV appearances.

How tiresome that cycle has become: Christina Aguilera. Mandy Moore. Willa Ford. JC Chasez (whose entire solo career seemed to zip by on fast forward). Clay Aiken. Whatever karaoke star won American Idol this year. Now Ashlee Simpson.

The next executive who whines about times being tough should go back to the ledger sheets and the sordid spending history on those "sure things" of the last decade: The sensations, from the instant stars of Idol all the way back to Brandy, have had the benefit of lavish promotional excess, while the less-pliable artists - musicians and singers who actually have something to say - have been treated like expensive (if not dangerous) liabilities.

The music business has evolved into a curious two-tiered game - the mega-exposure Sensation level and the less-pushy Grassroots level, which usually exists beneath the radar of MTV and commercial radio.

The irony, in this summer of ticket-sales panic, is that the more-creative, lower-wattage artists are emerging as shining examples of survival, while the bigwigs are watching their massive outlays bring embarrassingly poor returns. Not all the dreadful news about ticket sales centers on the short-term phenoms, but when you look closely among the "multi-platform" stars such as the singing Simpsons, only Hilary Duff seems to be pulling consistently big draws.

Meanwhile, less-airbrushed acts, who have cultivated audiences through steady and imaginative touring, are doing just fine. Bob Dylan, on a run of minor-league baseball parks with Willie Nelson that comes only as close as Aberdeen, Md., next month, is bringing his fans a distinctly different experience and is having no trouble selling tickets. The Dave Matthews Band did two sold-out nights here this week with no new album to sell. The Phish farewell trek is fetching ridiculous dollars on eBay.

These acts understand that it's not about one tricked-out blitz, it's about winning hearts the way Duke Ellington and James Brown did - one night at a time, grinding through grueling travel and unfavorable performance conditions. It means coming back time and time again, often enough to take advantage of word of mouth: Following the strategy of the Dave Matthews Band, a number of emerging rockers, notably My Morning Jacket, are returning to some markets four and five times in a touring cycle, whether they have new music or not. By adhering to a stoic work ethic, they're quietly proving that interesting music can be its own reward. Focusing on the sounds, they offer the prospect that some transcendent moment may happen when they hit the stage - and if you're lucky, you will be in the house when it does.

No matter how much hype-machine Ashlee Simpson has going, that's an offer she simply can't make.


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Contact music critic Tom Moon at 215-854-4965 or tmoon@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/tommoon.  

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Feel the love...

[lyricjunkie]

 :DI can't wait till the world is saying "MMJ for breakfast, Please"...And I got faith that the "boy's" won't let the fame take them too far from those of us that have always been here!

[MMJ_fanatic]

spread the gospel... 8)

[sweatboard]

I think I like where we live!

[Oz]

Right on! And let's hope for the best...

[Oz]

Oh, and I'm proud to say I had never ever heard of Ashlee Simpson, and I only knew about Jessica Simpson because of Adam Greens song "Jessica"....  ;D

[TheMollusk]

if you tell any american to buy something twenty times, they will.(britney, ashlee) its a joke. thank god im not in the u.s, or i'd automatically feel mildly retarted. bomb poor people, congregate at wal-mart, and listen to justin timberlake/mcdonalds commercials. feel the hate

[MMJ_fanatic]

not all Americans are hooked mcdonalds, hanging out in walmart or blithely buying mass produced crap from mewling self centered brats posing as artists.  britney spears could fall off the face of the earth tomorrow and i certainly wouldn't take notice.  feel free to drop off our forum and leave my country alone.  oh but make sure you keep supporting the greatest band going--MMJ...

[lyricjunkie]

Bravo MMJ_fanatic.

[SMc55]

if you tell any american to buy something twenty times, they will.(britney, ashlee) its a joke. thank god im not in the u.s, or i'd automatically feel mildly retarted. bomb poor people, congregate at wal-mart, and listen to justin timberlake/mcdonalds commercials. feel the hate

Welcome back Mollusk  :)

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

if you tell any american to buy something twenty times, they will.(britney, ashlee) its a joke. thank god im not in the u.s, or i'd automatically feel mildly retarted. bomb poor people, congregate at wal-mart, and listen to justin timberlake/mcdonalds commercials. feel the hate

WTF?  Not being the most patriotic soul, I can't say your comments are unwarranted.  But we're not all herd mentality, just like wherever you are doesn't have a herd of people who are cast in the same light.  

But since we don't KNOW where you come from, it's left to speculation.  I'm an American, there...I said it.  Not all of us are idiots.  Not all of us are painted with that bullshit, rectum-colored brush you just painted all of us with.  Our "leaders" don't speak for me, nor do they for quite a few other Americans.  

Golly, I am defending my country (again).  I gotta get out more!

[havibulin]

if you tell any american to buy something twenty times, they will.(britney, ashlee) its a joke. thank god im not in the u.s, or i'd automatically feel mildly retarted. bomb poor people, congregate at wal-mart, and listen to justin timberlake/mcdonalds commercials. feel the hate

it is pretty shitty that a lot of outsiders view all Americans that way.

your entitled to your opinion, and in a way you are right. But trust me, there are a lot of Americans who are fed up with the way the masses consume the shit that the government (or entertainment industry) passes down the pipeline and instead think for themselves.  

so think what you want, but if you think that by just being American we should all be lumped together in the same group, then you are just as closed minded and ignorant as anyone you are describing above.