The Gage on Culture: Musical lapse: Mainstream artists coming up dry
Taylor Gage
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Arts
In the midst of a much-lamented slump in record sales, the music industry seems to have experienced a corresponding drought in the creative department.
New records offered by artists such as Kelly Clarkson and KT Tunstall bombed immediately upon their release. Most of these failures can be attributed by attempts by artists to either play it safe and record material that simply duplicates previous releases or to distinguish themselves too much by abandoning their standard sound.
Labels have gotten so desperate, some are dragging old names out of the closet to bring a little variety to a seemingly unimaginative field of music.
The Spice Girls just released their second reunion album, which will be accompanied by a tour throughout the United States. Celine Dion, one-time reigning queen of the adult contemporary music genre, released her first new album in three years this past week.
As a follow up to her critically acclaimed "A New Day Has Come" and "One Heart" albums, "Taking Chances" pales in comparison. While Dion's soaring vocals show up throughout the album, her voice fails to make up for the atrocious lyrics and composition.
Even though a few songs, such as the title track, fall nicely in place with her previous work, many of the tracks sound too experimental and underdeveloped for such an established artist as Celine Dion
The most recent effort of The Killers, titled "Sawdust" continues in the band's tradition of clean guitar work and echoing vocals. The first few tracks of the album provide little in terms of new work; however, by the time the track "Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" plays halfway through the album, the work starts to get more interesting.
The best thing about their work here is their devotion to the sound they made famous in "Mr. Brightside" without relying too much on previous creative efforts.
Often accused of mediocrity and of its poorly imitating its secular counterparts, the Christian music arena rarely produces mainstream hits. In recent years, this genre has produced a proliferate number of similar groups.
One group, Avalon, has maintained a surprisingly distinct gospel/pop sound even as it has experienced several member departures and additions over the past few years. The group, along with their newest member, Jermi Richardson, recently performed in Spring Arbor, Mich.
This week, the group released an EP with three songs from their upcoming album titled "Another Time, Another Place." As a compilation of covers, the upcoming album (to be released in February) will seek to reinterpret the greatest contemporary Christian standards from the past few decades. Avalon's cover of the title track rejuvenates the old Wayne Watson/Sandi Patti duet which no longer plays on most mainstream Christian stations.
Labels needs to seriously overhaul their creative departments' material in order to break this slump in the music industry. Songwriters need not look to the formula or the bizarre, but rather seek develop naturally.
Music sales are not a science, but one thing's for sure: As long as the music industry chooses to treat it as a science, music sales will continue to plummet.
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
New records offered by artists such as Kelly Clarkson and KT Tunstall bombed immediately upon their release. Most of these failures can be attributed by attempts by artists to either play it safe and record material that simply duplicates previous releases or to distinguish themselves too much by abandoning their standard sound.
Labels have gotten so desperate, some are dragging old names out of the closet to bring a little variety to a seemingly unimaginative field of music.
The Spice Girls just released their second reunion album, which will be accompanied by a tour throughout the United States. Celine Dion, one-time reigning queen of the adult contemporary music genre, released her first new album in three years this past week.
As a follow up to her critically acclaimed "A New Day Has Come" and "One Heart" albums, "Taking Chances" pales in comparison. While Dion's soaring vocals show up throughout the album, her voice fails to make up for the atrocious lyrics and composition.
Even though a few songs, such as the title track, fall nicely in place with her previous work, many of the tracks sound too experimental and underdeveloped for such an established artist as Celine Dion
The most recent effort of The Killers, titled "Sawdust" continues in the band's tradition of clean guitar work and echoing vocals. The first few tracks of the album provide little in terms of new work; however, by the time the track "Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" plays halfway through the album, the work starts to get more interesting.
The best thing about their work here is their devotion to the sound they made famous in "Mr. Brightside" without relying too much on previous creative efforts.
Often accused of mediocrity and of its poorly imitating its secular counterparts, the Christian music arena rarely produces mainstream hits. In recent years, this genre has produced a proliferate number of similar groups.
One group, Avalon, has maintained a surprisingly distinct gospel/pop sound even as it has experienced several member departures and additions over the past few years. The group, along with their newest member, Jermi Richardson, recently performed in Spring Arbor, Mich.
This week, the group released an EP with three songs from their upcoming album titled "Another Time, Another Place." As a compilation of covers, the upcoming album (to be released in February) will seek to reinterpret the greatest contemporary Christian standards from the past few decades. Avalon's cover of the title track rejuvenates the old Wayne Watson/Sandi Patti duet which no longer plays on most mainstream Christian stations.
Labels needs to seriously overhaul their creative departments' material in order to break this slump in the music industry. Songwriters need not look to the formula or the bizarre, but rather seek develop naturally.
Music sales are not a science, but one thing's for sure: As long as the music industry chooses to treat it as a science, music sales will continue to plummet.
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
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