Radio friendly unit shifter

‘Could it be that one small voice doesn’t count in the room?’ REM – Shaking Through

The rest of the weekend was good. Duncan finally returned on Saturday evening and we just sat and watched tv. On Sunday I watched Blackburn well and truly whip West Ham by winning 7-1 (I was almost hoarse by the end of it from all the shouting and screaming) – well worth the £8 I shelled out to watch the game (damn Sky Sports and their pay per view matches). We spent the evening with Neo, Mary and Richard – Mary cooked dinner for us all, which was fantastic and we sat around watching the Simpsons and Pop Idols.

For those that haven’t seen it, it is the same principle as Popstars (the programme that spawned the band from hell – Hear’say) but this time they are after a solo artist. It really isn’t my sort of programme but Mary & Neo seem (sadly) addicted to shows like this (they both watched BB2 avidly as well) so we were forced to watch. First of all Pete Waterman was on (the reason pop is in the mess it is – he produced Jason Donovan, Kylie & more recently Steps – for that alone he should be subjected to some sort of extreme torture) and he was vicious to those that had the guts to audition. Some were truly terrible & I cringed inwardly watching them being shot down by the panelists. I guess the appeal of shows like this lies, in some part, in the ‘fun’ of watching others humiliate themselves. This is where I fail to get it, as I admire them for getting up there & attempting it, and I feel their hurt when they are ridiculed. I guess I am too empathetic.

But the other reason these shows annoy me is the pure desperateness of some of these people. There are people that will do anything to become famous, and those that took part clearly learned nothing from Popstars & Hearsay. These people become famous because of the tv exposure and the backing. But after a few months, they fade into insignificance – Hearsay recently cancelled a number of tour dates because of poor, poor sales – why is this next one going to be different? And why is everyone so desperate to be famous. It seems like a new thing, but maybe it isn’t – suddenly no-one wants to do the day-to-day jobs that keep our countries going, they want to be popstars, actors, entertainers, etc. There suddenly seems to be some shame in having a ‘normal’ job. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for ambition, but there has to be some sense of realism in your life as well. Plus it winds me up that some teenager will win this show & immediately receive a record deal, when I know Jonni & his band work their arse off to try & get a deal – and they have talent – and other bands work for what they get. Everyone wants an easy way out.

I watched the news this morning & was most amused by the whole thing. People in America seem very panicky – a plane trip was halted mid-way because people took the prayers of Orthodox Jews to be terrorist threats and panicked. White powder found anywhere these days immediately must be anthrax, when it often turns out not to be. I thought the Americans said they won? I thought they said they would not be beaten by the terrorists & yet everyday they live in fear of something else – that is letting terrorism win. There is a fine line between common sense & paranoia, and the majority seem to have stepped over it.

Until there is a next time…

xx