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MUSIC AS AN ART

Not all musicians have given in to the American Idol-based, mainstream pop sensation just because Americans were buying into it. Some remember that there is more to music than having someone write your songs, play all the instruments, or sing and dance back-up for them. There is more than lip-synching, rhyming two words and immediately getting signed. Believe it or not, there are actually more artists than Britney Spears, Soulja Boy, and Daughtry.

First off, music is still considered an art. To pour your heart out in the lyrics and piece ever single note together after grueling hours of work shows real dedication. To have the drive for what you love to do is passion. Music that goes beyond the basic A chord is art. Anyone who would consider Britney Spears an artist must be as insane as she has become.

Some artists refuse to fit in a mold. John Legend, for example, can actually play at least one instrument and sing soul music without going rap. Rap is considered music, but in my opinion should not be considered as art. We have some pianists in this day and age who can play pieces that leave us amazed. You can write your own material and play your instrument of choice and still be popular. If not, you should never conform to what someone else wants you to be.

If somebody told Claude Monet to change his style of painting because it wasn't going over, and he gave in, he would have felt ashamed. But artists don't usually conform that easily and musicians, still being considered artists, shouldn't either. They should write a song about love that means something to them. If they're just handed a song to sing, all the emotion is drained from that performance. You're not an actor; it's not a script.

Celebrities crack under pressure and are constantly worried about their 'image' but if they all cared a little less and gained some self-confidence people like Britney could be seen as an artist and not a joke.

Then there are artists who have a negative energy, like Amy Winehouse. She wants to seem deep but she's only embarrassing herself and getting booed off the stage. It's one thing to be non-conformist and go against the grain but another thing completely to be an irresponsible, bad role model.

I do think music is losing it's depth - at least the music that is always in the spotlight. Anyone thinks they can make it big, without having an ounce of passion, and sometimes they do. There is still music with depth, but that is not as interesting to listen to as it is to watch Britney waddle around or Amy get booed off the stage.

My advice to anyone going into the music business is to stay grounded and true to your beliefs. It's better to be disliked for who you are than to be liked as someone you're not.

Learn more about this author, Mimi Madeline.
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