I’ve heard of the Jonas Brothers. I could pick the Jonas Brothers out of a lineup. But I wouldn’t know a Jonas Brothers’ song if it bite me on the lip. Of course, I’m old and not allowed to listen to their music anymore (nor do the record companies want my money, can we say out of the demo). Still, you would think that the sheer amount of media that surrounds me and the immense popularity of the Jonas Brothers I would still have heard one of their songs—hell, I don’t even know one of their song titles.
In the1960’s an “old” person would have heard at least part of a Beatles’ song—they certainly would have known who Sgt. Peppers was. They same can be said for the major artists of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. But in the 21st century the times have been a changing (that’s a Bob Dylan reference; he’s an artist I’m still young enough to listen to). Now you can be more famous than the thing you’re famous for doing. Hell, you can be famous for nothing (see Paris Hilton).
It’s a unique phenomenon that in our culture saturated with media I have accidentally gone this long without ever hearing the Jonas Brothers' music but yet haven't escaped being constantly told how popular they are. What a strange media we have that can sing the praises of a musical band without ever letting them sing. It seems counter intuitive to what you think should happen; namely I should hear their music every time I turn on my computer and see them every time I turn on my television.
Unfortunately the Jonas Brothers phenomenon reveals less about the future of music and more about the current state of our culture. We now covet celebrity more than we covet creativity.
