Simon Cowell

[DEATH]

I can't say I dislike the guy in anyway, he actually seems likeable and I suppose I am jealous that I am not living the lifestyle he is.

I do dislike what he stands for though, the talent show ******** etc. I mean we had the Gong Show back in the 70s

and 80s and that was hilarious, never to be taken seriously. I am surprised Chuck Barris is still alive after googling it today....

The people from his, Cowell's shows, are put out as some kind of real talent. We are talking people who don't play a musical

instrument, don't write there own songs and probably load up on the auto-tune. I think of it as McDonalds music, junk food.

We had Stock/Aiken/Waterman stuff back in the day and that was sort of the same, you could secretly like the odd song but

you knew it was manufactured and denied listening to it, it wasn't good for you.

I can name only 1 X-Act and zero songs from the show.....

I am not over 40 but I miss the time when bands would write their own songs, about their own lives and experiences, play their own

instruments, work their way up through dodgy university type venues etc.

Does anyone else think the same? Are we just old and knackered? Feel free to continue the rant...

[Migrant Mother]

I can't say I dislike the guy in anyway, he actually seems likeable and I suppose I am jealous that I am not living the lifestyle he is.

I do dislike what he stands for though, the talent show ******** etc. I mean we had the Gong Show back in the 70s

and 80s and that was hilarious, never to be taken seriously. I am surprised Chuck Barris is still alive after googling it today....

The people from his, Cowell's shows, are put out as some kind of real talent. We are talking people who don't play a musical

instrument, don't write there own songs and probably load up on the auto-tune. I think of it as McDonalds music, junk food.

We had Stock/Aiken/Waterman stuff back in the day and that was sort of the same, you could secretly like the odd song but

you knew it was manufactured and denied listening to it, it wasn't good for you.

I can name only 1 X-Act and zero songs from the show.....

I am not over 40 but I miss the time when bands would write their own songs, about their own lives and experiences, play their own

instruments, work their way up through dodgy university type venues etc.

Does anyone else think the same? Are we just old and knackered? Feel free to continue the rant...

I think he's an utter ****

[The Masked Tulip]

I thought this thread was going to be about him allegedly dipping his wick in some other man's candle-holder.

[The Masked Tulip]

I think he's an utter ****

I love playing the asterik game. I think **** stands for hoot.

[Migrant Mother]

I love playing the asterik game. I think **** stands for hoot.

(unt

[Butthead]

I thought this thread was going to be about him allegedly dipping his wick in some other man's candle-holder.

Me too. I was expecting another thread which quickly descends into a collection of misogynistic rants as is de rigueur on HPC these days.

[CrashedOutAndBurned]

I am not over 40 but I miss the time when bands would write their own songs, about their own lives and experiences, play their own

instruments, work their way up through dodgy university type venues etc.

To be honest 'proper' popular music is becoming a bit niche now. Doof-doof-doof nightclub music is what young people are into. There are probably more people in bands than watching them. Doesn't seem bands really 'build a following' these days. Occasionally some posh kids marketed as left-field get thrown out there by the suits as hip young things.

The internet, far from the popular belief, has not helped up and coming artists outside of a few exceptions. The live-off-playing-the-toilet-circuit-and-flogging-a-few-thousand-records days are long gone. There's now a free for all where any talentless person can put a 'track' out there armed with a laptop and some cheapo recording gear. The best indie labels filtering the best innovative music in the 80s and 90s really did a fine job and nothing's really replaced them.

[shindigger]

To be honest 'proper' popular music is becoming a bit niche now. Doof-doof-doof nightclub music is what young people are into. There are probably more people in bands than watching them. Doesn't seem bands really 'build a following' these days. Occasionally some posh kids marketed as left-field get thrown out their by the suits as hip young things.

The internet, far from the popular belief, has not helped up and coming artists outside of a few exceptions. The live-off-playing-the-toilet-circuit-and-flogging-a-few-thousand-records days are long gone. There's now a free for all where any talentless person can put a 'track' out there armed with a laptop and some cheapo recording gear. The best indie labels filtering the best innovative music in the 80s and 90s really did a fine job and nothing's really replaced them.

This.

x 100.

The recording, and appreciation of, "proper" bands/music is now akin to stamp collecting.

We've peaked!

[blobloblob]

Performing chimps that do karaoke.

[interestrateripoff]

I thought this thread was going to be about him allegedly dipping his wick in some other man's candle-holder.

I was thinking the same as well, especially as he's supposedly got her in the family way and named in the divorce papers.

[Saving For a Space Ship]

The Gong show was legendary. Cowell sucks Satans' c...

[okaycuckoo]

Aaaw - thought this was a celebrity death thread.

[Darkman]

I am not over 40 but I miss the time when bands would write their own songs, about their own lives and experiences, play their own instruments, work their way up through dodgy university type venues etc.

Totally agree. And it's not even just that. I think quality songwriting is now dead, because the industry has become such a slick & controlling machine. Unique and individualistic tracks don't really exist anymore. It's a cliche to say it's all about money, but it really is now to a ridiculous extent. Cheesy electronic strings replace a proper orchestra because it saves money to do so. Cold sounding digital recorders replace warm tape because they are cheap to run.

The idea of a "band" has been squashed by the industry. It's more efficient to sign a singer, and use replaceable back up musicians. An individual singer can be controlled more easily, and there's no chance of a band member leaving and destroying a group. That's Cowell's master system.

Music is so weak now, it can only be sold through a TV show tie in. It's become so disposable that it's worthless. I didn't like 80's music personally, but I was thinking the other day that even that stuff was light years better than what we have now.

Oh well. I'm just glad I lived through an exciting time for music. Todays kids have computer games and internet. There is no Top Of The Pops. It's a different world, and it's amazing how much it's changed in this regard. I doubt the 1950's-1980's music revolution will be repeated this century. It'll be seen as a golden age for music.

[Frank Hovis]

The man who brough us Robson and Jerome and it's all been downhill from there. I never watched any of those dire talent shows any more than I would have considered watching New Faces back in the day, although I have been dragooned into watching some of that rubbish the last couple of years.

Can I just lift this thread with real music? I had a joyous moment yesterday when I wanted this played on the radio and two songs later it came on Radio 2 is really good these days.

[happy_renting]

Totally agree. And it's not even just that. I think quality songwriting is now dead, because the industry has become such a slick & controlling machine. Unique and individualistic tracks don't really exist anymore. It's a cliche to say it's all about money, but it really is now to a ridiculous extent. Cheesy electronic strings replace a proper orchestra because it saves money to do so. Cold sounding digital recorders replace warm tape because they are cheap to run.

The idea of a "band" has been squashed by the industry. It's more efficient to sign a singer, and use replaceable back up musicians. An individual singer can be controlled more easily, and there's no chance of a band member leaving and destroying a group. That's Cowell's master system.

Music is so weak now, it can only be sold through a TV show tie in. It's become so disposable that it's worthless. I didn't like 80's music personally, but I was thinking the other day that even that stuff was light years better than what we have now.

Oh well. I'm just glad I lived through an exciting time for music. Todays kids have computer games and internet. There is no Top Of The Pops. It's a different world, and it's amazing how much it's changed in this regard. I doubt the 1950's-1980's music revolution will be repeated this century. It'll be seen as a golden age for music.

None of this stops anyone with talent writing and performing good music.

The issue is how people can access it, and how a musician can market it.

The first mistake people are making here is to assume that old mainstream media such as TV still represents what people are buying and listening to. But much music distribution now carries on outside the traditional channels and does not appear in the metrics. If youare going to listent to TV or Radio (rather than actually buy the music) you may get the impression that everyone is listening to - and buying - a limited range of music.

The mass media have given in to people like Cowell. I do not blame him, he is a businessman with a successful formula, and people buy his product. If there wasn't a demand for it, he would fail.

What galls me is how a state-run broadcaster like the BBC can turn itself over to be Cowell's marketing tool, and pay him for the privilege to boot. The tabloids follow suit, hyping up any wannabe on his show. The fault here in particular is TV's failure to cover anything not controlled by people like Cowell.

Again, none of this prevents a musician with talent from writing and performing good music. It is the promotion and distribution that is the issue.

Music is distributed differently nowadays. More damaging than Cowell is iTunes, which effectively sets the price (and takes a hefty slice) on music distribution. But they are just replacing record companies that would exploit musicians in a similar way.

The Internet provides a means for a musician recording music to promote and distribute their music globally with ease. They do however need to get themselves noticed and this, as always, needs sutable advertising and word of mouth. On the other hand, a musician with talent and wherewithal can promote, sell and distribute their recorded music without the intervention of a record company at all. Where would they appear in the 'official' metrics? Not at all; but they are selling their music all the same.

Pubs and bars seem to prefer karaoke to live music nowdays, but that isn't Cowell's fault, and that change in the market is a quite seperate phenomenon.

Again, illegal copying is doing more damage to music than Cowell. Large bands are finding that performing live pays better now. There is no reason for smaller bands with talent not to do the same. Of course, there are a lot of musicians out there who do not have the ability to perform live, but if they can't make money from selling their music either, then nothing has changed from the past. A musician who cannot perform cannot make a living.

As for 'warm tape' and 'cold digital'. being the downfall of music...please... thats just too silly for words.

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

Totally agree. And it's not even just that. I think quality songwriting is now dead, because the industry has become such a slick & controlling machine. Unique and individualistic tracks don't really exist anymore. It's a cliche to say it's all about money, but it really is now to a ridiculous extent. Cheesy electronic strings replace a proper orchestra because it saves money to do so. Cold sounding digital recorders replace warm tape because they are cheap to run.

The idea of a "band" has been squashed by the industry. It's more efficient to sign a singer, and use replaceable back up musicians. An individual singer can be controlled more easily, and there's no chance of a band member leaving and destroying a group. That's Cowell's master system.

Music is so weak now, it can only be sold through a TV show tie in. It's become so disposable that it's worthless. I didn't like 80's music personally, but I was thinking the other day that even that stuff was light years better than what we have now.

Oh well. I'm just glad I lived through an exciting time for music. Todays kids have computer games and internet. There is no Top Of The Pops. It's a different world, and it's amazing how much it's changed in this regard. I doubt the 1950's-1980's music revolution will be repeated this century. It'll be seen as a golden age for music.

eh, id wager theres more access to original music now than ever, it seems from your post that your problem is you cant be arsed to filter it yourself and hark back to the good old days when you were straw fed it "there is no top of the pops :lol:"

If your idea of music availability is the tv then i can understand that but it seems the problem you have is you dont like whats being filtered to you despite it being a more open market that allows youto bypass filters and borders than ever,

[Nuggets Mahoney]

I thought this thread was going to be about him allegedly dipping his wick in some other man's candle-holder.

According to Max Clifford's testimony to Leveson, Cowell pays Clifford a retainer of £250,000 a year (plus bonuses).

Even with inflation, that would buy an awful lot of smoke and mirrors.

[interestrateripoff]

According to Max Clifford's testimony to Leveson, Cowell pays Clifford a retainer of £250,000 a year (plus bonuses).

Even with inflation, that would buy an awful lot of smoke and mirrors.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2382777/Simon-Cowells-pregnant-lover-Lauren-Silverman-demanded-marry-her-reality-TV-show.html

Lauren branded 'cruel and inhuman' towards her husband in divorce papers

In a carefully worded statement Lauren Silverman said she would 'ensure the well-being of my son'

Her estranged husband stressed their son was his 'top priority'

The married socialite expecting Simon Cowell’s baby was accused of being a ‘gold digger’ on Thursday.

Lauren Silverman has allegedly issued the X Factor boss with a string of outrageous demands, telling him she wants marriage and her own reality TV show before she will allow him access to the child.

She smiled for the cameras as she made her first public appearance since news of the unplanned pregnancy broke on Wednesday morning.

Sounds like someone has started the smoke and mirrors already. TV show to be how she follows Callow around with exciting behind the scenes footage of Britain's got talent? Lots of pouting at the camera.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2382777/Simon-Cowells-pregnant-lover-Lauren-Silverman-demanded-marry-her-reality-TV-show.html

Sounds like someone has started the smoke and mirrors already. TV show to be how she follows Callow Cowell around with exciting behind the scenes footage of Britain's got talent? Lots of pouting at the camera.

The dream ticket for someone like Clifford is being able to bill twice for the same stunt.

Staging a fake relationship between, say, a gay premier league footballer and some Z-list wannabe pop chick would be bags of win all round

[gilf]

eh, id wager theres more access to original music now than ever, it seems from your post that your problem is you cant be arsed to filter it yourself and hark back to the good old days when you were straw fed it "there is no top of the pops :lol:"

If your idea of music availability is the tv then i can understand that but it seems the problem you have is you dont like whats being filtered to you despite it being a more open market that allows youto bypass filters and borders than ever,

Exactly what I was going to say, the medium is different but I listen to as much new music now as I ever did. Things like sound cloud, band camp and so on make it easy to listen to stuff you would never have even heard years ago.

The issue for the music industry is that music is no longer the cash cow it used to be, it's turning in to a truer art form because of it. Production is now cheap as anything, the big music companies are dying, yet trying to claw on to the old ways, that means TV and Radio, those really interested in music never really took much notice of what the main stream was pumping out anyway.

Why should I care if the likes of Elton John can no longer afford to spent £10,000 a week on flowers.

Give these fellas a go...

http://joywave.bandcamp.com/

Also if you want to broaden your horizons I'd suggest the Guardian Music Podcast, some excellent stuff and sent me down some fantastic music avenues and sub scenes I might never have listened too other wise.

[The Masked Tulip]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2382777/Simon-Cowells-pregnant-lover-Lauren-Silverman-demanded-marry-her-reality-TV-show.html

Sounds like someone has started the smoke and mirrors already. TV show to be how she follows Callow around with exciting behind the scenes footage of Britain's got talent? Lots of pouting at the camera.

Blindgossip makes some unsubstantiated allegations about TV shows and things.

[interestrateripoff]

Looking at the press it certainly appears it will be media circus especially if the divorce case ends up in court.

[Darkman]

eh, id wager theres more access to original music now than ever, it seems from your post that your problem is you cant be arsed to filter it yourself and hark back to the good old days when you were straw fed it "there is no top of the pops :lol:"

:lol :lol? ok, that tells me what I'm dealing with.

The idea that working people have limited time and appreciated music being filtered in some way for them is obviously a :lol moment to you. I think it's a reasonable concept personally.

I celebrated the decline of record companies just like any other musician. But looking back over the past 20 years, it's not working out too well for good music. A thriving scene has died a horrible death.

I used TOTP as an example only. During the 80's I didn't like much of it's output, preferring the 60's & 70's. But even that was "filtered" and easily accessible. The demise of TOTP is significant because it's partially shows the decline of music popularity in the UK.

None of this stops anyone with talent writing and performing good music.

The issue is how people can access it, and how a musician can market it.

snip

As for 'warm tape' and 'cold digital'. being the downfall of music...please... thats just too silly for words.

You're wrong. It's a lot more than a marketing and a distribution issue. A thriving music scene feeds on itself. Without a visible scene it starts to fade away.

I hear so many times that there are fantastic bands around, you just have to find them. But then you hear them and usually think "not that great". Why would someone spend huge amounts of time trawling the internet for bands only to be disappointed?

If you're claiming there are the same calibre of bands around on the internet that were around in decades pre-1990 then you're obviously wrong again. I mean it's laughable to claim there are. So where is the new Led Zeppelin online marketing themselves, or Beatles, Stones etc. Where is the new GnR, or Nirvana?

Regarding tape versus digital being "silly". As a trained audio engineer and having had the discussion many times with people probably more qualified than yourself, it's far from silly. I didn't say it was solely responsible. Of course it isn't. But it's regarded as a factor in the changes that began in the 80's. But hey, it's certainly a hotly debated subject. I'll give you that.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

Regarding tape versus digital being "silly". As a trained audio engineer and having had the discussion many times with people probably more qualified than yourself, it's far from silly. I didn't say it was solely responsible. Of course it isn't. But it's regarded as a factor in the changes that began in the 80's. But hey, it's certainly a hotly debated subject. I'll give you that.

One thing I have noticed is that music is getting 'louder'. Or rather, there are fewer quiet bits in songs

Reuters: Pop music too loud and all sounds the same: official

Same with TV adverts. The loud bits are maybe no louder than they were 10, 15 years ago but they are continually loud, all the way through.

[Leroast]

Compression is killing your music