Mikeala AxToGrind: Dear Music Industry...

The other day, I was with my grandmother, seated in the passenger's side of her silver mini-van. With one hand, I turned the dial of the radio, the other hand I used to punctuate my rant about the state of the music industry. After skipping past at least five songs that all seemed to sound exactly the same, my grandmother asks me,

"Well, what do you think of that Gaga person?"

It took me several moments to answer, being that taken aback with her query. My answer was something along the lines of, well, at least she's different.

But is different really enough?

My answer to that would be a no.

Although Lady Gaga's music is admittedly rather catchy, and her appearance alluring, it isn't a level of musical talent that really seems to justify the following that she's built up for herself. We call her a pop music star. But I wonder, can we really leave the word music in that phrase, sans guilty feelings?

We don't seem to care anymore about who has musical ability in the music industry. If it sells, if it catches mass attention, we, the society, deem them a star.

It no longer requires talent to be famous, just a shocking fashion sense and the Autotune application. The check list for a hit artist, let's see...

Must be able to:

-Dance around an award show performance, smearing fake blood on abdomen

-Steal microphone from and insult Taylor Swift on television

-Rhyme "Mick Jagger" with the word "swagger"

-Make hat out of own hair

The meager qualifications for stardom have created an entire radio dial's worth of monotony and a source of irritation among those who would like at least a side of talent with their so-called "stars".

To be perfectly honest, I do not hate Lady Gaga. I just wish that we had more of the rock, less of the shock. It shouldn't be your image that sells your album, but the album itself. Music for the sake of money, music to be famous for is what I'm sick of.

I want music for the passion of music.