i read you essay, and i think you've voice a lot of people's growing frustrations with the music industry. music *is* becoming manufactured and it's really sad to see it lose its essence. i rarely tune into commercial radio. rather than watch mtv, i take a walk down to the pub on a night where a house band is playing and listen to them. it's musicians who start of as unknow and unsigned that usually don't disappoint you.

Ok dude i think that in this essay you come off a just a little bit sorry i lie compleatly furious with music that is "Music by numbers". But i agree with all of it. I also realised that you didn't add Take That to your horrible boybands.

I pretty much agree, except for the part about rap. You aren't missing much, since most rap is also pre-packaged crap. I don't even watch those stupid talent shows anymore, nor do I buy the albums. I like to turn off the radio and just listen to the good stuff again. In short, I agree!

A rock band once said (I can't remember which) during an interview 'I don't support American Idol because to me, it's just professional karaoke singers'. Some people invest their whole lives and wallets into their music, while a couple can just sing a couple of notes, hit a note, and enjoy their 15 minutes of fame while walking alongside the stars. This can also be applicable to the lack of actors in Hollywood and then the rise of these so-called 'stars'.

Nice essay.

Aight! While I agree with what you have to say about putting Gates in the same sentence as Lennon, the bit you wrote about British Rappers should be taken with a grain of salt.

Firstly one cannot forget that the British Music Industry is just that "an Industry." So of course things are going to look more packaged and less authentic eventually, its all about the generation you market to.

Anyway as for British Rap acts, have you ever heard of KANO, hes hot stuff at the moment. Or MIA, she is cool, and making a buzz at the states. Did you know of the trip-hop movement. Have you heard of ROOTS MANUVA, TRICKY? How about Ms Dynamite? She won a mercury award? Or Dizzee? Ditto! Have you heard about Gorillaz? And the noise they made at the Grammy's? The reason why these British Rap acts are hot stuff may do with where they are coming from. Certainly not where the likes of POP IDOL, AND X FACTOR hopefuls emerge.

Check em out.

I agree. Lots of my friends watch all that Pop Idol and X Factor crap, but I'm always like, what's the point? Yeah, maybe some of them have some talent, but they've just ruined it by going on that show. Sure, it is hard to get into the music industry, but if you put the effort in then you can do it. That's better than cheating your way to the top for your 15 seconds of fame.

I like what you say. You don't just have a narrow mind and just blame the pop genre or anything, you manage to get across the point that some of it is alright, if it hasn't been through endless hours of synthesing. Like you say, practically all of the top music is fake.

Very well-written. You captured my disdain with the faux singers created by American Idol and its European counterparts. The British rock scene used to be the best, but lately it's been going downhill. Of course, there's still a flourishing underground metal scene, but still. This was very truthful. Good job!