This week's column

Gaga gag me
Can anyone tell me what in the world has happened to the musical taste of the young today?Why do people today like musicians with poor lyrical standards who cover up their lack of talent by over-the-top stunts and crazy performances? Yes, I am referring to the bad romance herself, Lady Gaga.And please, Usher, do you really have a song called “OMG?” What has happened? And a bigger question is why have the youth of today and, even worse, the music industry bought into it.Don’t get me wrong. There are some talented musicians out there, but the ones with no talent seem to be getting all the accolades.I started thinking of this question the other day when the class of 13-year-old girls I teach talked about studying and passed around study tips.I told them I once heard that if you listen to Mozart or Sting while you study you will remember what you studied because their music was written mathematically and somehow stimulates the memory.You won’t believe what they asked.“Who’s Sting?”Who’s Sting? Are they kidding? I told them he was a singer and mentioned he was with The Police.“The E-town police,” they asked.See my frustration.I couldn’t imagine why they wouldn’t know who Sting is but would listen to a performer’s whose lyrics say “Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah Roma-Roma-ma-ah Ga-ga-ooh-la-la.” That doesn’t make any sense. It’s like we’ve reverted to the days when someone put the bomp in the bomp ba bomp ba bomp.Maybe this is how “The Macarena” became so popular?It just seems like the crazier, more perverse or dumber a song is the more popular it becomes. Good songwriting has been replaced by a tempo mix and a wild outfit.Maybe we have Michael Jackson to blame. He started the showcase musical phenomenon, but he was one of those rare talents that could do both. Not everyone can.It could be that I’m getting a bit older. I truly don’t mean to rant. The music is just maddening.It also seems that every musician — and I use that term loosely for some — has some sort of cause or message, but it’s nowhere to be found in their music.Music used to say something. Every generation’s music says something about it. What does today’s music say?Songs used to be about good songwriting. Look at Simon and Garfunkel — great music that’s beautifully written lyrically and musically. But have you ever watched them perform? Kind of boring, but great music. They didn’t need all the craziness because their music in and of itself was good.There are some musicians out there who are still great songwriters, but it seems like they are drowned out by all the “pop” noise. We call Gaga creative and leave the real creativity on the shelves.It’s like listeners have succumbed to the American Bandstand motto of musical taste — it’s got a beat and we can dance to it.But music is more than that. The music you like says something about you. So I guess the real question is, what does your iPod say about you?