BROADCASTS.com

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON\n\nWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE\n\nFake. Authentic. Sellout. Integrity. \xa0Judgy, aren\u2019t we? Yes, we are. We all know what\u2019s real & what isn\u2019t. What has value and what doesn\u2019t. What is substance and what is fluff. Except we don\u2019t. It\u2019s ALL an illusion. And ILLUSION is what I\u2019ll be talking about in the next few episodes of BOTH of my podcasts.\n\nAll art is part truth, part trickery. Even the most authentic works \u2013 the ones drawn from direct personal experience \u2013 have artifice to them. They NEED to, or they wouldn\u2019t be art. It\u2019s right there in the freakin\u2019 word. I\u2019ll be getting more into this in Saturday\u2019s podcast. For now, let\u2019s talk about this week\u2019s pick, which might be the perfect entry into this conversation.\n\nIf you remember Milli Vanilli, you probably remember two things, and in this order: 1. They were stripped of their Grammy because the blokes performing the songs on stage did NONE of the performing on the recording; and 2. Their album was a huge success, with several smash singles, including this one here, \u201cBaby Don\u2019t Forget My Number\u201d. It was one of five Top Five US hits, three of which went to #1. The songs were everywhere. I remember being on a bus at the time, and everyone on it was singing \u201cBlame It on the Rain\u201d. I\u2019m pretty sure it was the only time I\u2019ve experienced that with any group NOT in a music venue.\n\nThings you may not know or may have forgotten. The two dudes were Fab Morvan & Rob Pilatus. Fab is a French singer-songwriter, rapper, dancer & model. Rob was a German model, dancer & singer. They attempted some comebacks, the last of which ended when Rob died from an overdose of drugs & alcohol. Fab is still out there doing music, DJ-ing, and a bunch of other things.\n\nThere have been scandals in the music & general arts worlds since forever. Plagiarism. Misplaced credit. Outright stealing. Not paying artists their due. Lip syncs that were supposed to be live performances. Etc. etc. But you\u2019d be hard pressed to find one that was as big as Milli Vanilli.\n\nThere have also been tons of deliberate fakeries. Artists recording music under other names, or writing for other performers under an alias. \u201cClassic\u201d or \u201cvintage\u201d songs that turned out to be completely made up. THEN there are the deeper fakes: artists pretending to be folk or blues or country through their work \u2013 some of them actually turning that fakery into darn near the real thing. I\u2019ll be getting more into the stuff in the paragraph in future episodes.\n\nBut what about poor Milli Vanilli? What are we left with now? As always, you can probably guess my answer: THE MUSIC. I\u2019m not excusing what the record company did, or who went along with it. And I\u2019m quite happy that the real singers got their credit and some recognition (and money!). \xa0What I AM saying is that there hasn\u2019t been one scandal related to quality art that has ultimately taken away from how good or enjoyable the work is. Go listen to this week\u2019s song, or any off that album, and I guarantee the music will get you pumping.\n\nI enjoy a healthy helping of deliberate fakery. \xa0Here's one BIG one. \xa0Everything below is completely made up by me. \xa0Fake history, fake "old" song, fake bands. \xa0All of it.\n\n\u201cMove Ahead, Long Boy\u201d \u2013 https://youtu.be/LBvYPbisxmQ\n\nHistory of Modern Popular Music Using ONE SONG! \u2013 Live Concert - https://youtu.be/vID5aGZPugE\n\n\n--- \n\nThis episode is sponsored by \n\xb7 Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app\n\nSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices