Uncle Dave,
I couldn't agree with you more....good post.

First of all the Britney's and dare I say the "boy bands" are merely created products for a market. Perhaps there is a bit of talent amongest them, but they are created and marketed goods like a can of Campbell's soup is.

My support of this point...Menudo, really the 1st boy band that I recall. One guy (Ricky Martin)in all those years of personnel changes as they got too old for a boy band made it.

IMO talent in many cases has very little to do with "making it" whatever that may be for each of us. In the traditonal meaning though, it is more about right place right time, luck and someone who's in the biz to say to themselves...."I think I can make a buck off this act."

I don't know how many of you recall Mark Kastabe (sp)....that's what he was all about in the fine arts, canvas painting. He set out to prove the point of what a sham the art world was built on BS as opposed to talented artists. Anyway he was a master at promoting himself and went from selling no paintings to selling the same work that everyone said was junk to celebrties for up to $100,000.00 or more.

Well, after he made his fortune, then he went on the talk show circuit and basically said what a bunch of idiots everyone was for buying these paintings for so much money as he got to the point where he was not even painting them anymore, but had art students painting them and the buyer was lucky if he even signed them.

Well people like S Stallone hating to be called a dope for spending $30k on one of these sham paintings demanded his money back, which Kastabe gladly gave him and resold for $50k because Stallone had owned it.

So his point was to appreciate art and the artist for who they are and their work rather then the hype and marketing.

I thought him a very arrogant guy but brought to light the plight of those of us in the arts for the right reason...IMO to create art, be it performing or fine, to share with the world.
jam on,
Terry