I've heard nothing but crying about the latest Glee landmark. Surpassing the Beatles. How dare those kids. All they sing is COVERS. Good heavens. For shame.
First, let me direct you to this NPR article which I think helps put things a little in perspective.
Second, let me remind all the music history fans of a couple of things. Let's put things in perspective.
1) What harm is there in setting records? Billboard has tons of charts, tons of statistics. IT'S ONLY A NUMBER PEOPLE. Plus, if you look at the details, it took Glee a little over a year to get that record. (Proof there is a great surge of popularity). But let's see if it can last another 30 years like The Beatles did. And let's see if Glee can get as high consistently as The Beatles did. (Most of Glee's hits chart in the 50s-90s, whereas The Beatles were mostly in the top half of the chart). And let's see if Glee can stay on the charts for more than a week at a time (which was a given for Beatles' songs).
[Also, when did it become a crime for the music industry to move forward? Everyone knows how HUGE a Beatles fan I am. But why is it such a bad thing that 40ish years later, someone else took over. That someone else found immense success. It doesn't lessen the impact and the greatness of The Beatles.]
2) We live in a different day and age than The Beatles. One reason for Glee's immense popularity? The immediacy of itunes. You like the song tonight, you can buy it right then. You don't have to wait to go to the record store, possibly forgetting or talking yourself out of getting it. It's pocket change- downloading one $1.29 song. It's a digital file- no space constraints like a record collection. And each week- another 5-10 songs are released- starting the cycle all over again. This process is very different from the time constraints of producing new albums and singles. And all of this is only exponentially raised when you think about the synchronicity for all media outlets- television, internet, music, film-- word gets out fast that Don't Stop Believin' was awesome last night- more people download it the next day.
What I'm getting at is not to belittle Glee's accomplishments, but to ask people to think of the differences in music promulgation from when The Beatles were charting.
3) Yes, I do believe that some of the supporting cast is auto-tuned on their songs. And I'm sure they have other singers do the backing vocals (seriously, there's not enough hours in the day for those kids to rehearse dances, film the show, and record every single vocal track, along with all the extra press events they do). But this whole debate gets us into authenticity in music, and that I shall leave for another post.
4) As stated in the NPR article, Glee is helping to reinvent the Great American Song book. It's not just about Sinatra and Gershwin anymore. This is my generation's music. Why did the Britney episode go over so well? Because the largest demographic of Glee watchers grew up with Ms Spears. 100 years from now, Glee will be looked back as a snapshot of musical tastes of this era. It tells us musical priorities, like a broadside ballad or psalmbook from the 17th century. Why does it matter that these songs are, GASP, covers? Yes, I love it when they rework the tunes, but isn't imitation the most sincere form of flattery? It just reinforces the greatness of these songs. And the ability for songs to take on new meanings under various contexts. Things we, as music historians, study everyday with songs from 200 years ago. (Case in point: Kurt singing The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in the wake of his father's massive heart attack.[I'm sure the video will be taken down soon, but a fan video with audio].)
Look: I do not deny that I am biased. I enjoy the show if for no other reason than a titular message: it's gleeful. It makes me laugh, and I often want to get up off the couch and dance and sing with my puppy. Why is that so wrong? It's escapist television. It's the closest thing I can find to a variety show (song, dance, comedy, etc) that doesn't make me want to hurl something at the television.
And if you need another reason for Glee not being the spawn of Satan, the downfall of the music industry as we know it, just listen to this voice. This girl needed greater publicity (fast-foward to :30ish seconds in the video). She is the greatest voice of our generation.
Bottom line: this milestone does not make The Beatles a lesser band. It does not even really make Glee a greater phenomenon. It's just a number that proves the changes itunes, the internet, and digital media has brought to the music industry. It is just another artifact, a piece of musical history in the making.
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