PMMJ (cheetahmaster) wrote,
PMMJ
cheetahmaster

the why of American Idol

"One of Idol's most powerful strategies has been to reimagine pop within a closed world that exists adjacent to actual history, but not beholden to it. Here, Aerosmith matters more than the Rolling Stones, and Stevie Wonder's minor 1980 ballad 'Lately' has as much impact as his career-defining 1972 monster 'Superstition.' Sometimes Idol's parallel pop universe skews history in cool ways: the show has helped spur a Queen revival and maybe pay some of Leonard Cohen's bills by joining in the odd 21st century fetishization of 'Hallelujah.' It has, however, also greatly elevated the status of post-Genesis Phil Collins.

"The point is, it's just as important to track Idol for its effect on established artists' careers as for its ability to birth new ones. Madonna agrees. She chose to tease her new video for 'Gimme All Your Luvin'' on Thursday's episode, I'm sure, because she knew it would reach not only younger fans who would find it the next day on YouTube anyway, but those grandmas and moms (and dads and uncles) who've learned from the show that they don't have to age out of active music fandom."

Tags: not news, tv
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