Another Sign Religion is Dead

This is Pride season in the land of the Gays and with the return of Pride returns the annual murmurs that Pride has devolved into just another excuse to sell alcohol and other varied products. Whether you agree that Pride is still necessary or should be cast to the Gay dumpster, let's take a look on the other side of the spectrum, shall we?

Introducing Virtue, the first "Christian" perfume. I know it sounds like something from The Onion, but this one is real. From Virtue's website: "In practically all religions and Spiritual practices, persons of high Spiritual attainment are known to give off a fragrance, attributed to their Virtue. Christ, many of the Saints, and numerous others with highly developed spirituality, are, historically, known to have given off such a fragrance."

Classic! "Buy this perfume and you too can be holy!" That ranks right up with, "Buy this beer and these large-breasted identical twins will want to sleep with you!" I don't mean to suggest that all religious people are somehow insincere. That said, I can just picture Jesus buying a bottle of "Virtue" perfume for Mary Magdalene. Or was that what she used when she dried Jesus's feet with her hair? Maybe the Three Magi brought a bottle to the Virgin Mary at the birth of Jesus.

The gold cross isn't enough... nor is the "Real Men Love Jesus" bumpersticker on the back of the SUV... really, even though my kids are all decked out in T-Shirts with biblical quotes and we can do all our shopping at the megamall church we attend and listen to religious gansta rappers for Jesus, I really must wear Virtue perfume as a sign of my faith. Yes, once I have Virtue perfume, I will be holy.

So, let's just say that commercialism is commercialism, whether its aimed at the gay community or anywhere else...

(via The Daily Dish)

State of the Music Industry

Perhaps its not a shocking revelation, but like 95% of the gay men in this country, I LOVED Dreamgirls. And through the course of the film/show, you can't help but feel for Effie, whether played by Jennifer Hudson or the original Jennifer Holliday, who loses her chance at stardom despite a killer set of pipes... even after the feel good reunion at the end, there's just no doubt that girl got screwed.

Of course, the music industry has always been about marketing. There are countless talented musicians (and DJs) out there you've never heard of -- the industry, however, has always decided who you were going to listen to, what the look and sound would be, just like you'd market a bag of potato chips. The difference today is that, in my opinion, things are getting worse... much worse.

A recent article from CNN.com examines this phenomenon with female singers. "The music is not about just music anymore, it's about the look, the 'it' factor if you will ... it's marketing," states an industry insider. While looks have always been a factor, in the past there was at least some room for performers with exceptional talent - Aretha, Mama Cass, hell, even Wilson Philips had Carnie. Not anymore. The future, it seems, is the Pussycat Dolls.

The Pussycat Dolls, with only one member (Nicole Scherzinger) who really sings, are really just a label controlled entity. As explained by Wikipedia, "Interscope lawyer Darryl Franklin said, during a panel discussion, that the contract with the group specifies that its members are salaried employees of the record label and, by design, interchangeable..." Yes, they're essentially a female boyband, although it seems like they're even a step below... PCD are essentially just a brand.

Again, it gets back to marketing -- and on one level, it would seem that they're doing a bang up job of it... or are they? As the RIAA is quick to point out, CD sales are plummeting. They'd like to blame it all on those evil people who are downloading music illegally... but studies suggest that file sharing has virtually no affect on music sales. Instead, let me posit another theory -- the music sucks. Yes, the music industry might be able to take one song and forcibly embed it into the nation's collective consciouness and sell millions of copies, but overall, they're turning out a crappy product and the proof is in the sales.

Now, people are deciding they only want to buy the tracks they want, instead of being forced to buy a full album in order to hear the 2 or 3 tracks they want to hear. Our current distribution system is on its last legs, I hope. I'm ready for it to die as soon as it possibly can.

Commercialism

"Hey, are those JustUsBoys briefs you're wearing?"

"Actually, no, they're AussieBum. Do you like them?"

"Well to be honest, they look a little too much like panties to me. What ever happened to wearing a simple pair of tighty whiteys?"

"Yeah, you've got a point. This commercialization of gay underwear has gotten pretty out of control. Hey, what brand of underwear do you wear?"

"I stopped wearing them, as a profound and yet personal form of social protest."

"I see the beginnings of a social movement!"

"Oh, is that what they're calling them these days? I remember when we'd just say, 'Damn, that's a nice cock.'"

"You read WAY too much porn."