"Pop-idols" have always been around... folks like Lesley Gore and Connie Francis, were pretty much the Britney Spears and Christina Aguileras of their day. Of course, THOSE women could sing. (Although some people insist that Christina Aguilera CAN sing, but I disagree... all she does is note-scale and over-emote. That doesn't impress me. It's flash over substance.)
So I guess popsters don't bother me as much.
But I'm not a fan of rap. Try as hard as I have, I just can't find any sort of appreciation for it.
I've tried to view it as just lighthearted fun (stuff by Snoop-Dogg, etc.,), and I've tried to view it as having cultural significance (stuff by Dr. Dré & Ice-T, for example), but I still come back to the fact that it's all just monotonal recitations of sometimes corny and often-times crude rhymes, over a repetitive beat. Not to mention the fact that much of it is misogonystic and homophobic.
I prefer a melody and a thoughtful lyric (which don't always have to be ultra-deep, but I prefer them to have some substance), so rap holds no appeal.
