As we all know, the airwaves are filled to the brim with
singing contest shows, like American Idol,
The Voice, The X Factor, etc. But why is it always just singing shows? How
about contest shows with other instruments, like Guitar God, or Drum Deity, or Bass Master? And
like the singing shows, it could be about not only talent and ability, but also
performance and style, etc. Now who wouldn’t want to watch the next generation
of Randy Rhodeses, Edward Van Halens, Stevie Ray Vaughns, etc? (And perhaps
they could be divided up by music type, like Metal Shredder, Punk Grinder,
Country Twanger, etc.) I would find it a lot more interesting than all these
singers adding too many extra notes to songs I already don’t like.
And once these shows are established, then how about a
songwriting contest show? Then the winners of the other shows could perform the
winning songs, and perhaps they could all get together to form bands and such.
But wouldn’t it be fun to see someone do something creative besides singing?
And the panels would be much more to my taste than egomaniac singer stars who
don’t necessarily have much talent themselves to see a panel of guitar greats
judging up and coming guitarists. Who wouldn’t want to see that?
And, just in case you’re a hip hop fan, then how about a
panel of drummers judging drum programmers, producers judging sampler stuff and
arranging, and rappers judging rapping? Wouldn’t it be a nice change from the
same syrupy, poppy top 40 junk we’re always being fed?
(BTW: I really like what they do in Europe with the
Eurovision song contest. Why don’t we do something like that here in America?
We’ve got enough bands and rappers and original songs to rival all of Europe
right here! Why not value musicians and songwriters with talents other than
just singers, for a change?)
