A review of Richard Brookhiser's article "All Junk, All the Time" criticizing the boyband phenomenon.

Essay by yateswpUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, May 2002

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Yates Phillips

Writing 1320

Dr. Wu

April 23, 2001

All Money, All the Time

In Richard Brookhiser's article "All Junk, All the Time", Brookhiser explores elements of rock music which will never change because as he states "it is so easy to do well enough" (Brookhiser 607). He claims that popular culture rock music, or pop, is inferior to the musical stylings of classical, jazz, and show tunes. Contrary to these superior forms of music, rock music requires no talent, it uses repetitive lyrics to play to listeners with inferior intellect, and above all there is easy money to be made.

Brookhiser's viewpoint may appear haughty or altruistic, but in reality his statement is fact. This type of satirical commentary has existed for generations and will for many more. His claim that drumming is easy and can be faked mirrors Voltairian commentary of long past. He argues that the guitar is not a refined instrument and in support offers that this instrument does not require years of training and is not used as curriculum in university musical studies.

Unrefined instruments beget unrefined music, which begets unrefined dancing. This idea elicits sighs of relief from men around the world. After all, who has time to take dance lessons? Rock lovers can do well enough by gyrating in place, bumping and grinding. Come dance, it's easy!

Perhaps Transcontinental Records CEO, Lou Pearlman, accentuates the most egregious offense of the pop music industry. According to Jim Slotek of the Toronto Sun "Pearlman is, in short, the guy who created The Backstreet Boys and Nsync in a blimp hanger in Orlando, Fla., and watched his bright ideas generate more than $2 billion in sales" (Slotek 1). Since his creation of the two most profitable cookie cutter boybands Pearlman's boyband factory has, in concert...