The abuse of words

[fpb]

I have several times said nasty things about Kylie Minogue. Now that she has turned out to be dangerously ill, I am rather ashamed of the language I used on a couple of occasions. No, I do not really her dead or disabled. On the other word, I keep dreaming of a world where real merit (and real beauty) should succeed, rather than mediocre looks and songs laboriously underlain with aggressively sexual posturing.

Comments

[gunderpants.livejournal.com]

I'd probably like to point out that without being callous, she's been diagnosed in the very early stages of minor, benign breast cancer. She's got more money than most Australian women to be able to afford the very best in palliative care, and will probably have more financial and emotional support than many other sufferers of breast cancer as well. I don't mean to denigrate any one who has cancer of any variety, because it's always going to be a frightening thing, but she is coming into this whole thing with an excellent prognosis and excellent support.

Kylie is nonetheless an anomaly in Australian pop: most stuff of this ilk, by 'pretty', young women who don't write or really sing on their own records, fail miserably. Holly Valance is in crippling debt, Dannii Minogue couldn't get together four audience members for a concert, Bec Cartright and Tina Arena were unceremoniously dropped by their recording companies, and Vanessa Amorosi? Putting up fence palings in Melbourne. In all seriousness, we don't know how she happened: normally, the people who get famous here (Neil Finn, Paul Kelly, Powderfinger, The Whitlams) are tremendously talented songwriters, singers and instrumentalists who have stuck around in the music industry long enough and have earnt enough money and respect to be our only commercially viable artists.

I blame England, most likely. England and Jason Donovan.

At the end of the day though, nationality and corporate standards aside, the music that people play to their grandkids, get married (and buried) to, is played in twenty or thirty years time and arouses genuine emotional response in people will be the stuff with the most merit and talent. It's why 'Jesus, Joy of Man's Desire' rings a stronger note in me than 'Shine, Jesus Shine', or why I love Split Enz's 'Message to my Girl' and not Peter Andre's cover of it. If I can remember correctly, apparently the average shelf-life of your singer-cum-soapie actress in the British pop-charts is about six weeks. Where the hell is Billie Piper's music career? What's become of Victoria Adams-Beckham? Why are S Club 7 not releasing anymore? Because people get tired of crap, and when they gain insight, maturity and a more refined musical palate, they look to stuff with longevity and merit.

Fear not about Kylie. She had a grand period of 'indie' (scoff scoff!) music in 1996-1998 which nearly ruined her commercially, and had every single Australian recording exec hurrying to get rid of her. The music turned out to be some of the better pop we've ever released. Then when she releases crap, the companies get excited. It's easier to release crap that takes six weeks to produce than it is to release a gem which may take five years to write and produce. It's not right, and you've read my argument against mediocrity back in ye olde days of FAP, so you know my feelings on how little effort is put into music, film, literature or television anymore. I really don't believe everyone should have the right to be famous or make music: because not everyone is decent at music.

As for Dannii, however... we've long since conceded hope.