Idle Implications

I can't say I was terribly surprised that Latoya was voted off last night*, considering my previous ramblings on the subject. I suspect they split the vote again.

But I'm glad it was Latoya rather than Fantasia, my favorite all along. Fantasia's cool, tremendously talented, is blessed with a unique voice, and especially recently has displayed some real emotions on stage, something which I really can't say about Latoya. Don't get me wrong, I think Latoya is talented too. She's up there with Fantasia, but she never really appealed to me vocally, only aesthetically.

That said, I'm sure she'll bounce back. Despite all the boos and jeering directed toward the vote she was incredibly poised. I'm sure she'll be on Broadway in no time. That's really her shtick.

I just hope the idiot press and Elton don't scream bloody racism again. That race card is really getting old. I know racism still exists. All I have to do is return to my old neighborhood in Chicago where the folks all share the same brain (one from the 1950s) and just pass it around like a big dirty bong.

In this case, I just think people have different tastes, that's all. Simon is right. Musical preference is extremely subjective. One person may love Bach. Another 2pac. Another the Scorpions.Others prefer Hootie and the Blowfish. Not everyone out there hears and reacts the same. Who are the judges to say what I must like or dislike? Who are they to say what is good music? I find it troubling that the public is castigated for not choosing "their contestants." We like who we like.

This leads to my next point (or comment): was anyone else offended by the implications of that Ford commercial last night? The song was "Free Your Mind" by En Vogue, which is a song I've always liked, but also a song that talks about racism. To wit:

Free your mind and the rest will follow
Be color blind, don’t be so shallow
Free your mind and the rest will follow
Be color blind, don’t be so shallow

I think it's a great and powerful song but what was Idol implicating with it? Are they confirming that the voters are in fact racists thus pressuring them to vote, despite their racism, for those contestants they feel are the most talented? Don't get me wrong, I like Fantasia and Latoya, but I shouldn't be forced to vote for them if my main man is the redhead John Stevens? Maybe I'm tone deaf and really like John's droning voice.

Or was Fox just placating those who feel racism underlies the entire vote?

As others have mentioned before, if racism were so rampant in the Idol vote, why did Ruben win last season and why do African Americans constantly make it to the final rounds? What's more, why do African Americans constantly top the music charts: Beyonce, 50 cent, Michael Jackson (before he dyed his skin)?

Frankly, what it all comes down to is that those decrying racism here are really sore losers. They rooted and pulled for certain contestants and when those contestants don't win, they cry bloody murder. The easiest way they could explain the rejection was the racism just like a "brain drip" college guy labels a girl that turns him down at the bar "a lesbian."

But I digress.

Probably the worst insult you can say to someone without realizing it is that their music preference sucks. Why do children always rebel when their parents criticize the rap they're listening to? "Why are you listening to that crap?" they say. As you get older, it only gets worse:

"Bill, what is this tripe?"

"This is the Blue Oyster Cult; don't you know anything?"

"Well, it blows; it's giving me a headache."

"Go to hell, Steve, I grew up on this. It's better than that Devastatin' Dave you listen to."

"Go to hell, Bill."

"Fine."

Why people are so offended by a musical slight is because musical preference is something that practically defines a person. It cuts so deep into them that it serves as a glimpse into that person's essence, their soul.

The tough thing about it, though, something that in fact eludes the Fox producers, is that it's something we can't control. We can't really prevent. No matter how much you try to sway us.



[*By the way, Idol contestants technically aren't voted off, like Survivor. They are voted on, accentuating the positive, not the negative. But no one really talks that way.]