"You're gonna marry your brother whether you like it or not!"
"I was droppin' a deuce while he was droppin' the diamond."
And my personal favorite: "Nothing says love like a Glock."
Anyway, during the commercial break there was a preview of something called "Crossroads" where 80's rock legend Def Leppard will perform with...are you ready for this? Taylor Flippin' Swift.
Seriously, America? Seriously? I swear this had me channeling Ignatius J. Reilly the rest of the night. "It's an abomination!" It's not even that I particularly care for Def Leppard or think they should even have a spot in the Top 20 Rock Bands of the Century, but they certainly shouldn't be sharing a stage with Taylor Swift. I mean, don't get me wrong. I am happy for little Taylor. Good for her! Country girl power. Congratulations on your new line of tween Wal-Mart apparel. But let's be realistic here. Did Taylor Swift even know who Def Leppard was before her agent signed her up for this gig? According to my calculations, Taylor was -12 years old when Def Leppard began, and she doesn't exactly strike me as the kind of girl who taken it upon herself to learn her rock history.
This is almost as bad as the time some genius at MTV decided it would be a great idea to let Avril Lavigne cover "Fuel" by Metallica during their Hall of Fame tribute.
Oh yeah, wonderful concept! Hey, while we're at it, why don't we have Aaron Carter do a duet with Barbara Streisand, or have Pixar remake Citizen Kane?
What happened to musicianship, people? What happened to skill and talent and paying your dues sleeping in vans and selling platelets in order to earn a gig in a sold-out stadium or a prime-time televesion special? Sure, there have always been the teen idols - Davy Jones, Leif Garrett, the New Kids on the Block, but this whole Disney Channel generation of pop stars are just nervy on a whole different level. I'm all for "crossroads." I love musical collaborations, and I think country/rock combinations are particularly interesting. But please, match the artists properly! If you're going to have Def Leppard, get someone who has at least been alive as long, or has as much musicality. Get Reba. Get Garth. Anyone but Taylor Swift.
I don't know about you, but I think it's a sad day in America when an ugly, crusty old rock star can't outsell a bubbly, pampered 17-year-old who can barely strum chords.
End rant.
:::EDIT:::
Brent brought to my attention that Pantera and Willie Nelson would be an example of a good collaboration. Here are a few more of my own dream duos:
Jay-Z and Rage Against the Machine (think "99 Problems")
Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell
Joss Stone and Aretha Franklin (she's young, but I think she's proven herself musically)
Audioslave and the Foo Fighters
Ani Difranco and Tori Amos....or Stevie Nicks
and one for the Christian music dorks out there:
Lecrae and DC Talk
What about ya'll?
2 comments:
I liked the Mash Up they did between Switchfoot & Grits.
Then the following summer, the two were playing the Main Stage on the same night at Cornerstone. I was like "Seriously, you guys couldn't come out to do that one song together?"
Jay-Z already has a version of "99 problems" with Linkin Park. They've got a whole cd, actually, and it's pretty fun.
Let's not forget, by the way, the Johnny Cash album (I think it's "the man rides again") where he does covers of a bunch of more modern stuff, like Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt".
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