fanfare much?

Sometimes when I hear about a pop singer who's tearing up the charts right now I feel the need for a little research. I read a bio or two, even watch their music videos on youtube. The last part is a bit odd. I can see watching one, but I have a tendency to hit up quite a few, all the better to...what? Not enjoy it? You all know, or can at least guess, that I hate the music industry and hope everyone who prefers to think of music as a commodity gets bitten by a monkey.

Yeah, you heard me.

Despite that, I do respect someone who manages to make it in such a horrible place, especially if he or she manages to maintain a semblance of creative control. Plus I actually do like some pop music, such as Kate Nash or the majesty that is Gobble Gobble.

But Taylor Swift, the subject of tonight's investigation, doesn't make the cut. Like I said, while I have no problem with her brand of inoffensive country-ish music, I didn't enjoy listening to it for the past half hour. But I did. I watched 'You Belong With Me' (it's the one that goes "she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts" and so on) three times. Not because it was good, nor because it was so bad it was funny.

It's as if I feel some sort of obligation to at least kind of know about mainstream music. Maybe it's some sort of roundabout superiority trip, or even a skewed sense of fairness--giving her a chance. Not listening to the radio and avoiding MTV (if they even play music anymore) means I'm exposed to someone like Taylor Swift sideways--through random snatches that our celebrity culture manages to force down my throat. I knew quite a bit about Taylor before hearing her music, able to wager a guess at what she sounded like--we're even on a first name basis on this blog. One listen would've been enough to confirm or deny my expectations, it is for the myriad of bands that are actually recommended to me. Friend says, listen to this band, you may like them. So I listen, if I do enjoy it I may check where they're from and how many albums they have, that's where it ends. But for music I don't like I afforded far more interest for the details.

Another sure stop in the research train is how they got noticed--mostly to confirm my cynicism for the manufactured stars or to give a little cheer for those who managed to make it on their merits. I also check the age, Taylor being two years younger than me. Some kind of validation, probably.

I think I delve into this info because musician fame baffles me a little. There are bands whose music I am admittedly obsessed with, jamming their records at an incredible rate. But that's the music. The people themselves, while I'm sure are neat, aren't the focus of my attention. When I had the chance to shake hands with vocalist of one of my favorite bands I obviously thought it was cool--but as much as I geek out over the music, I can't muster the kind of shrieking enthusiasm millions of people have over Taylor, the girl. So my forays into this fame are at least partially an attempt to understand what's so interesting about it. Why we should value who she's dating over what she's writing. And I keep coming up empty handed.


In other news, this is apparently my 100th post, having had this thing for over two years. I'm celebrating by reposting the link to Gobble Gobble's Myspace. I don't care what floats your musical boat, you are a click away from one of the most strange and wonderful listening experiences of your life. Do it.