My Vote on Idol

Since the address of this blog is "Pop Culture Snob" I have been remiss in my inattention to probably the biggest Pop culture phenomenons of our time. I don't think it needs more publicity, but don't worry I come to bury it not to praise it my friends.

I hate American Idol. No I haven't really watched it, but promise me, my disdain goes very deep. I'm not going to give it a chance and see if it grows on me. I've never been poked in the eye either but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it. What I hate is how it dominates the media world. It has become so popular that other TV shows have to report daily on what is happening on "Idol". I like to watch the local Fox affiliate morning show sometimes because its done locally and they have a cute traffic girl- but I change the channel immediatley when they "tease" that coming up are "Surprising results from last nights Idol" or "We have a preview of tonights American Idol - boy that Paula sure is crazy." All they are doing is a commercial for their own network's show.

I was dismayed the other day when the Philadelphia Inquirer announced in a huge font, in a colored box , not just above the fold - but above the title - "PARIS VOTED OFF 'IDOL'" To make matters worse the line underneath read "As expected, 17 year-old is sent packing" So not only do they print "news" about a TV show in a very prominent place , they admit it wasn't so surprising. Here's the huge news of the morning - just as we expected. (Oh - and apparently Paris is not Paris Hilton or her former boyfriend named Paris- now THAT would have been news).

Of course I also figure that many radio stations are jam packed with "songs" by former idol winners and runners up, plus morning banter among the DJ's about what Simon said about so and so last night. Of course I don't listen to those stations so I don't know. There are live tours of stars from American Idol too - in case two to three hours a week isn't enough.

I guess my main reason for hating Idol is the music. They sing bad versions of both new and old schlocky pop songs in the most annoying ways possible. Sometimes I catch clips of it if I can't change the channel fast enough. The women all try to sound like Mariah Carey or Celine Dion and they men sound like a bad impersonation of a Las Vegas lounge singer. Thank god American Idol is there to find this "talent" or we would have a devastating lack of mediocre pop stars.

I love TV - probably too much- and I can usually find something redeeming in most popular trends and hit TV shows. I liked Survivor in the beginning and I still like other top rated shows like Desperate Housewives and LOST - hell I even like some Britney Spears' songs, but Idol gets me very upset. I'm trying very hard to ignore it but I still can't- I'm sure things will only get louder as the season comes to an end and the winner is crowned. We can only hope for some real news - like say the Vice President being indicted for murder- to push the Idol news a bit further from the spotlight.