Dear Producers of American Idol,
I found last week's theme to be fucking bullshit. Was there some specific reason for making it "the Lennon-McCartney Songbook" as opposed to the more general and inclusive theme of "the Beatles"?
As I recall, there were 4 members of the Beatles, all of whom wrote songs (yes, even Ringo penned one or two). I also recall that George Harrison underwent years of creative frustration during which the songs he wrote never got the consideration that they deserved. He wrote beautifully-crafted songs that were, for the most part, on par with what Lennon and McCartney were creating. They may not have the technically-perfect melodies of Paul's songs, or the apeshit-alienated lyrics of John's, but they have a simple sincerity, a level of humanistic connection that makes them very special. Not to mention his amazing guitar work and--this is a recent observation--he for some reason brought out the best in Ringo. Listen to the drum-work in some of George's songs compared to the others', it has generally stronger and more complex rhythms. George was also the first of the Beatles to release a solo album after their breakup, which also happened to be the first triple-album released by a single artist in rock history.
For all of the reasons above, this exclusion is both incomprehensible and unacceptable. I cannot fathom a reason why you would have chosen to show such disrespect intentionally, nor can I imagine that this was a forgetful omission. Whatever the reason, this neglect is despicable, as is your decision to extend the theme to next week's episode (not to mention redundant).
Most sincerely disgusted,
Jessica Filippi
I would really like to actually send this to the producers of American Idol, however, I can't seem to find any contact information on the website. The only forum that seems available to me is the message boards at americanidol.com. Given their typical content, which consists of bitching about Simon Cowell's attitude, various trivial injustices, and unpunctuated comments about the contestants' relative abilities, I don't think this is the appropriate place for my letter. So, it's here, because I have to unleash this rant somewhere.
People who I think look like other people.
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3 comments:
Try to email it to Ryan Seacrest directly through his radio show... don't give up... this rant deserves to be heard!
Just tried to do that. I went to the website for his radio show. First off, it doesn't include a phone # to call. Secondly, you can write Ryan a message or leave a comment, but you must register to do so. I tried to do that, and you can't unless you live in CA. These fucking people. They just put stuff out and there is no recourse! We have no voice!
I couldn't agree more. After watching this episode I got so angry I vomitted on my tie (I also had the flu, which was a contributing factor). George Harrison died of cancer, or a car wreck or something, so the exclusion of his work is especially foul. When you start pretending that people with cancer (or accident victims) don't matter, that their art is forgettable, that maybe they never even existed in the first place, you've really stepped over a line as a society, and that line might be the finish line. Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit again, but I don't think I can.
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