Stop Ashlee Simpson

[Rick Munroe]

Someone has started a petition to get her management and record company to make Ashlee Simpson stop "singing." They already have like 256,000 signatures. Including mine.

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/StopAsh/petition.html

[OneFinger]

Rick,

 

Which signature number is yours on the petition? I'd love to read your comments.

 

BTW, I did notice that "George W. Bush" has signed. Probably the only time that Rick and the Shrub see eye-to-eye. ;-)

[Rick Munroe]

I was 255,809. I can't believe that I just signed it right before posting about it here, and they're already up to 256,892. One thousand signatures in a half hour...if only we could harness the Ashlee Anger for a good cause.

[Guest ReturnOfS]

Oh come on Rick. Of all the bad singers out there why pick on little Ashlee? I just don't buy her music.

[Guest backbaygayguy]

Hey Rick, you need to start putting a warning (Read at your own risk) on your messages. I was snacking on peanuts when I read this and almost choked laughing. You wouldn't want me to die before I signed, would you?

[BuckyXTC]

Rick:

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I'm always eager to do my part to eliminate pollution, particularly noise pollution. I've signed as well!

[BobbyThompson]

Ugh, I hate Ashlee Simpson. She's such a tag-along little sister.

 

What's with this talent by-proxy syndrome that siblings get. Wait, that's pre-supposing that Jessica has any talent herself. Don't you also love that magazines are trying to use trickery into making us think she's pretty????

 

Let's all get going on that petition :-)

[Guest ReturnOfS]

>What's with this talent by-proxy syndrome that siblings get.

 

How about the Brandt brothers?

[AaronScottDC]

I was actually wondering if there were any Thompson brothers..... }(

 

Aaron Scott DC

http://www.erados.com/AaronScottDC

http://www.male4malescorts.com/reviews/aaronscottdc.html

[Guest rohale]

>I was actually wondering if there were any Thompson

>brothers..... }(

 

 

Nah, more along the lines of the Thompson Twins.

 

But Seriously, when it comes to Ashlee Simpson, I was suprised to find out a while back that there is a petition to ban her from music. Instead of these petitions, unless she really does something stupid and vain, then her record company will drop her from their label.

 

When that happens, she'll find another avenue to release her music. It may not be in the States, she might find a label in Germany. WEA may sign her up for all intense purposes. Her music is really not targeted to adults. It's aimed at the young 16 crowd. The best way to send a message to her management as well as record label is to simply not buy her music or burn her cd's in public. Just as people did years and years ago with Garth Brooks.

 

I wish people had done this with Michael Bolton when he became big. A lot of people hated his music, myself included.

 

Rohale

[+ deej]

I'm the wrong person to respond on this thread because I've been oblivious to pop music since 1974 (or thereabouts), but wouldn't not buying it work as well as a petition? Vote with your dollars.

[Rick Munroe]

>wouldn't not buying it work as well as a petition?

 

And what would be funny about that? :o

[+ deej]

Wouldn't be very funny for Ashlee. :9

[Guest rohale]

I suppose for some people it's fun to join the band wagon for a petition to halt a particular singer's career. There is also another element that a lot of people tend to over look. When Ashlee Simpson makes a record, there are session musicians. Or when she starts a nationwide tour, she has touring musicians as part of her backing band. These musicians have to make a living. I'm sure a lot of these people have mouths to feed, bills to pay, clothes to put on one's back. It's not just the musicians, there are lighting crew, sound technicians, instrument technicians, catering, security, the list is endless. This is their source of income. Their bread and butter, bricks and mortar. For a lot of people in the music business, they'll be lucky if they can find work year round.

 

I know a guy who auditioned for her backing band as a drummer, he never got the job because he was considered a bit too dynamic for what her tour management was looking for. My friend has been one of the lucky ones to find work non-stop. He's built a reputation as being one of the best session drummers in the music business. He's told me many times that a lot of his fellow musicians are struggling to find work.

 

I dont listen to Ashlee Simpson, I couldn't care less for her music. I wouldn't sign a petition for the hell of it. The ones who lose the most are the very people behind the scenes who will gain employment for a period of time. This is the bigger picture that people tend not to realise or pay attention to. I know Tony Banks and Charlie Watts who are both respected and experienced musicans have verbally ripped these petitions. Not because they care for her music, but rather for people who at the end of the day will benefit for her being around the most.

 

Rohale

[Rick Munroe]

I don't understand your point here. We should all love and embrace every performer that the big media conglomerates hoist upon us, merely because people have jobs? What about all the truly talented singers/musicians who can't get a record deal because they don't have an MTV reality show such as Ashlee's, which was basically a weeks-long infomercial which ensured that her CD would debut at #1 on Billboard?

 

I don't think the point of the petition is to, as you say, halt Ashlee's career. How can a petition do that? I think people are merely exercising their free speech rights. It's a statement to the powers-that-be (that is, the huge corporations that decide what we see and hear on TV and radio) that we're tired of the terrible state of affairs in the music world today. Music pretty much sucks now, and part of the reason is that they promote and push untalented amateurs like Ashlee.

 

However, I should note that if they ever make an Ashlee Doll, I will run right out and buy one. Or three.

[+ deej]

>I know a guy who auditioned for her backing band as a drummer,

>he never got the job because he was considered a bit too

>dynamic for what her tour management was looking for. My

>friend has been one of the lucky ones to find work non-stop.

>He's built a reputation as being one of the best session

>drummers in the music business. He's told me many times that

>a lot of his fellow musicians are struggling to find work.

 

First thought ... wasn't it the drummer that pushed the wrong button during Ashlee's lip-synching incident? Perhaps they SHOULD have hired your friend. ;-)

 

Second thought ... musicians being out of work isn't a new phenomenon by any means. I've seen scholarly works that refer to music as the world's 2nd oldest profession, but a lot less lucrative than the oldest profession.

 

I've recently read some correspondence of Franz Joseph Haydn where a recurring theme was "if only I could contact (someone at some court) I know I'd have a gig". (Not the exact wording of course.) Musicians have ALWAYS been out of work, and there have always been critics. There always have been, and always will be, out of work musicians. Which is one reason so many have day jobs. ;-)

[HotdadENYC]

One of the easiest ways to achieve failure is through successful advertising.

 

Sounds counter-intuitive, but one of the best lessons I learned from one of America's best business schools.

 

***************

 

 

"Pimples are disgusting, but left untouched and left untreated and left unmentioned, they often go away on their own, dying a natural death."

 

Quote from someone who read about Ms. Simpson.

 

Oh well.......

 

hd NYC

[Guest rohale]

>I don't understand your point here. We should all love and

>embrace every performer that the big media conglomerates hoist

>upon us, merely because people have jobs? What about all the

>truly talented singers/musicians who can't get a record deal

>because they don't have an MTV reality show.

 

You have a valid point to a certain degree. It would also be fair to say that the big media conglomerates have promoted some really truly talented singers and musicians over the years. Not just the one hit wonders, but also the individuals and groups who have withstood the test of time and are still making music today. Take into considerations that most artists never had an MTV reality show to use as a launching pad or a platform to build upon. Let me give you one example. Peter Gabriel runs Real World Studios in Bath, England. He is on the constant lookout from all five contintents. His organisation discovered a great Senegelese Drummer by the name of Manu Katche. He's worked with the likes of Sting and Lenny Kravitz. Manu Katche is right up there with the likes of Buddy Rich, Phil Collins, Jerry Matola, Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts. Or even singers like Papa Wemba, Yousso N'dour, Johhny Clegg and Paula Cole, she was a backing vocalist to his 1994 worldwide tour. Due to Gabriel she was able to get a record deal. The list is endless. The thing about the music business is timing and connections.

>

 

 

>I don't think the point of the petition is to, as you say,

>halt Ashlee's career. How can a petition do that? I think

>people are merely exercising their free speech rights. It's a

>statement to the powers-that-be (that is, the huge

>corporations that decide what we see and hear on TV and radio)

>that we're tired of the terrible state of affairs in the music

>world today. Music pretty much sucks now, and part of the

>reason is that they promote and push untalented amateurs like

>Ashlee.

 

The person who started the petition wants to send a message to Ashlee Simpson and in hopes of having having her removed from her record label. This is the main reason of this particular petition. Exercising free speech is just part of the process. Every person who has signed have their own reasons for expressing themselves on the petition. Like I said the origination of the petition was precisely to rid Ashlee Simpson from her record label. You point out that music pretty much sucks. I dont think music is that terrible. When I turn on the radio, I listen to particular genres of music. If a song is played that isn't of my taste. I simply change the dial for a more comforting radio station. That's the way I do things. I dont listen to Ashlee Simpson. Her music is not really meant for someone like me. Her core audience are teenagers, not adults. It's just the way it is.

 

Now I dont know if you know of any musicians out there who are trying to make a career of it. I do and some musicians that I've had the priviledge of coming into contact with, their careers span decades. A handful are younger than me. They may not like the artist that they are working for. They've all got bills to pay. When a petitions like the one about Ashlee Simpson begins, where does it stop. Will we see petitions spring up for other artists like Celine Dion. Probably not, but never say never. When it comes to Ashlee Simpson, the people who stand to lose the most are the ones who are part of the backing band. The ones who stand behind Ashlee Simpson. This is how they make their living. I really dont know how to make it any more clearer. Drummer Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones who has been in the music business for well over 40 years has made similar comments. If he can get it, I dont see how difficult it can be to comprehend.

 

I'm not saying that one should love Ashlee Simpson. I certainly dont, all I'm saying is look at the totally of the bigger picture. I suppose to each his own and that's life and I'll end it on that note.

 

Rohale

[PacNW]

>One of the easiest ways to achieve failure is through

>successful advertising.

>

>Sounds counter-intuitive, but one of the best lessons I

>learned from one of America's best business schools.

>

I'm trying to wrap my brain around that one but not having much luck. Can you expand on it a bit?

[HotdadENYC]

>>One of the easiest ways to achieve failure is through

>>successful advertising.

>>

>>Sounds counter-intuitive, but one of the best lessons I

>>learned from one of America's best business schools.

>>

>I'm trying to wrap my brain around that one but not having

>much luck. Can you expand on it a bit?

>

 

 

Sorry, didn't mean to be obtuse. I meant to say sometimes the best advertising and marketing campaigns can backfire, especially when the person they are trying to promote has little visible talent.

 

As, I feel, is the case here.

 

hd NYC

[Rick Munroe]

>It would also be

>fair to say that the big media conglomerates have promoted

>some really truly talented singers and musicians over the

>years.

 

The music industry is very different today than it was years ago. In recent years, labels have been consolidated and it's much harder for "different" or non-commercial (that is, true artists) to get signed. The decisions are now being made by CEO's whose only concern is making hits, not promoting artistry. Years ago, an artist such as Joni Mitchell, for example, was allowed to have a commercial failure and keep recording. Today, if you don't sell millions, they drop you (Eg, Mariah Carey).

 

>You point out that

>music pretty much sucks. I dont think music is that terrible.

 

When the Billboard top ten is comprised entirely of rap, then my opinion (and it's just that: my opinion) is that music sucks today.

 

>When it comes to Ashlee Simpson, the

>people who stand to lose the most are the ones who are part of

>the backing band. The ones who stand behind Ashlee Simpson.

>This is how they make their living. I really dont know how to

>make it any more clearer.

 

It's not that I don't understand your point. I understand it the first time you posted it. But my point is that if people don't like the trash being hoisted upon them (eg, everytime I sign onto AOL, I'm assaulted with images of Ashlee or Hillary Duff or Britney), then they should express it.

 

>Drummer Charlie Watts of the

>Rolling Stones who has been in the music business for well

>over 40 years has made similar comments. If he can get it, I

>dont see how difficult it can be to comprehend.

 

LOL Are you implying that Drummer Charlie Watts is a complete moron? :+

[Candyman]

Tonight might be the only night I'm willing to listen to Ashlee. Her screeching is better than listening to President Bushits state of the Union. Maybe he can send her over to Iraq to help the troops out. You know like the Scots send the bagpipers out to scare the crap out of the enemy

[Guest rohale]

There is an interesting story about Charlie Watts. Before Mr Watts became the drummer for the Rolling Stones. He was very much a struggling musician trying to find work. He worked in various bands.

 

In order for a band or an individual to have a mass appeal worldwide. They need to build up an audience in their home country. In England in the 1960's and 1970's. There were two publications called the Melody Maker and the Merrimac. They were very malicious in their day. Artists were very much in peril. It was a do or die system in those days. If the Meloday Maker liked an artist, the person would instantly find a label. If the publication didn't like a particular artist, then it became virtually impossible to find a label that would offer a record deal. It was the way things were back then. To the best of my knowlege I think only three bands were able to survive the onslaught of negative press releases. Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes. From modest success they achieved superstardom. Charlie Watts was one of those artists who was able to find work, but ultimately saw the bands demise because of the Melody Maker. Until he was able to find a job with the Rolling Stones. To his good fortune he was able to make a very good living. The good thing nowadays it's all changed now, the days of the Melody Maker and the Merrimac are long gone.

 

 

 

>

>>Drummer Charlie Watts of the

>>Rolling Stones who has been in the music business for well

>>over 40 years has made similar comments. If he can get it,

>I

>>dont see how difficult it can be to comprehend.

>

>LOL Are you implying that Drummer Charlie Watts is a complete

>moron? :+

 

 

Nah to your comment about the moron thing. You know I think Charlie can very much hold his own. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be suprised if he were able to make a person feel like a bloody fool and he'd probably enjoy skewering them and make them feel so small. Oh sooooooo sweeeeet