Who cares who Madonna supports?
The internet is all abuzz today over the fact that pop singer and fossil-in-training, Madonna, would “support Al Gore over Hillary Clinton,” if Gore entered the race. As usual, the Bay City rock-n-roller has overestimated how much people care about her political views. Sure, it’s a bit eyebrow-raising that she’s not on the trendy Hollywood Obama bandwagon, but ultimately, who cares who Madonna supports? Heck, I don’t even care who she thinks sells the best diet pills, let alone who she votes for.
The fact is, since 2000, Madonna’s been living in England with her hubby, Guy Ritchie. We’re happy for her. But considering she doesn’t live in American anymore, who cares who she’s gonna vote for, she since doesn’t have to live with the consequences?
Much like the Dixie Chicks, Madonna should just shut up and sing. People like singers for their singing voices, their songs, their performances… not their voting history. If they want to make a political statement, at least set it to music and be entertaining in the process.
I’m starting to outgrow my concert-going years, but when I was still active in attending live music events, the performers I respected most were the ones who were all about the music. A perfect illustration was one of the last concerts I went to, a Styx/REO Speedwagon/Journey nostalgia tour.
Styx was the worst of the lot; with Dennis DeYoung no longer part of the band, they assiduously avoided singing their biggest hits - all of which involved DeYoung - and mostly played music from a “new CD” that absolutely no one cared about or had ever heard of. The current Styx band doesn’t seem to realize their time is past and live under the delusion they’re still relevant.
REO Speedwagon was much better. They “got it.” They opened the concert with the entire A-side of their most successful ’80s album, High Infidelity, to get the crowd worked up, and didn’t take a breath until all five songs were complete. Kevin Cronin was a self-deprecating hoot who didn’t mind telling a couple jokes at his own expense. They played to the crowd and stuck with all their greatest hits.
But the capper of the night was Journey. Even without Steve Perry, the band played their biggest hits from their entire catalog and never spoke a word, letting the songs and the accompanying multimedia slideshow, mostly focusing on the band’s history, say everything for them. They entered, they entertained, and they exited and that concert could have taken place in 1985 or 2005. It was as timeless as their music.
That’s the way it ought to be. Madonna could learn a lot from Journey.
Tags: best diet pills, Dennis DeYoung, Journey, Kevin Cronin, Madonna, REO Speedwagon, Steve Perry, Styx
