My Birthday Gift to Miley Cyrus: Lessons on How to ROCK
Miley Cyrus is on top of the world. She's celebrating her 16th birthday at Disneyland, she's got a(nother) hit album, and every girl wants to be her. Only one problem. SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO ROCK. Miley Cyrus represents everything that's wrong with current pop music. It's fabricated, phoned-in, self conscious, soulless, board room created product. It's style over substance and has no ability to generate feelings other than the urge to buy a matching Miley Cyrus lunchbox.
On Miley's new album she covers Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Instead of taking a cue from Cyndi's '80s thrift shop soul, Miley turns the song into a hopped up, cut-and-paste exercise. Not one bent note. Not one hiccup. Not one strip of pink in the hair. The girl doesn't swing.
Miley could learn a thing or two from the great '80s rock chicks; artists who weren't tied to a teleprompter or afraid to let their mascara run. Miley needs a serious primer. So here are some singers I hope Miley has in her iPod while she's standing in line for Space Mountain. Consider it an early birthday gift. No thank you card is necessary.
CHRISSIE HYNDE
The grande dame of '80s rock chicks. She was sultry and cool. Plus, she written some of the best rock songs EVER! Chrissie Hynde is the blueprint for any teenage pop star wannabe looking to have some real cred.
PAT BENATAR
Probably the best singer of the bunch, Pat Benatar brought barroom grit to the big stage. Say what you will about her questionable fashion choices, Pat was purely authentic. No focus groups were polled in the making of her records.
TINA TURNER
Okay, a litle unfair since she started her career in the 1960s but Tina Turner's biggest success came in the '80s with her Private Dancer album. She's everything a female pop star should be: sexy, soulful and spontaneous.
CYNDI LAUPER
Her makeup, hair and general quirkiness overshadow the fact that Cyndi Lauper was one the most soulful chicks to come out of the '80. She could hang with Aretha Franklin and sing Marvin Gaye tunes (check her cover of "What's Going On"). Let's see Miley attempt that.
THE BANGLES
The Bangles are proof that short skirts and electric guitars go hand-in-hand. They are one of the great all-girl groups, backing up their looks with a serious pop-rock pedigree. Plus they had harmonies and guitar jangle for days.
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I was not able to create a iMix to share on the website but get her video and songs at the link iTunes.
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But I also think that she is also at an age where she (and her management) need to start thinking about and grooming her for the real world of mature music business, soon to come in her adult years.
So it is time for her to start weaning herself from the ooy-gooy-candy-pop, and start becoming a true mature performer.
It would be very sad to see this successful child star become a lost soul adult star, like Britney Spears, and a number of others like her.
And her cover makes me want to cry.
if she started playing guitar on stage.
supposedly she knows how to.
She's 16 and she DOES have a unique and lovely voice. I listen to her every night with my daughter as she drifts off to sleep.
Give her a chance to grow and develop. Of course she doesn't have the edge of the singers mentioned in the article. She's about 10 years younger than the youngest of that group when they became a hit!
Sheesh!
She is not comparing them to the likes of Tina Turner. If you actually read the article, it told her to take some lessons from those people.
The problem is that her fans grow up. They'll stop listening to her music. They'll move on. So unless Miley starts to mature in her music, it won't survive.
Perfect example? Hillary Duff.
LOVE you milEy! i'll pray for you!!