Why can't the music speak for itself?

People magazine is running another country music edition this month and there are two stories that struck my interest. First, a quick reminder of what People magazine is all about. According to Ted Casablanca in a CNN special about four years ago on gossip, People is a publicist’s wet dream. Nothing gets in those pages without it being cleared by a personality’s paid staff. So do you trust People? I tend to not take everything said there literally, nor do I trust that everything written in the pages is accurate. It is what they want you to read and to believe; true about any magazine? Yes, it is.

Another forum that I tend to not take seriously at all is a blog sponsored by a newspaper or a cable network such as CMT. Let’s face facts; the people that blog on CMT are there to promote CMT and those who bring big ratings to CMT are butt kissed. Thus the explanation for a blog that appeared earlier in the week that said that Keith and Nicole appeared to be like everyone else when they were at a local Nashville bar the other evening. Well, no, they aren't like everyone else because you violated their privacy by telling the world you saw them. If that was the goal, then mission accomplished. There is a reason things appear when and how they do.

Back to People and the two stories. First a photo spread of Dierks Bentley and his newborn daughter. It is sweet, it is nice; lots of pictures and a quaint story about the pressure on Bentley because he has the family now and how he is going to work that out. It’s exactly what you see in People and it came out just as he is starting his tour and his new record is released. It was planned and understandable. And Dierks speaks like a normal, down to earth person. The second article is about the young boy who played Keith Urban in the Start a Band video. People sought him out in Nashville. Turns out this acting thing is a career and the kid likes it. However, the article also talks about Keith and that the kid got to meet some woman named Nicole Kidman. Yeah, right. The video was for a Brad Paisley song and there was another boy who played Paisley but that was barely mentioned. Why? Because Keith Urban is the one with the record coming out and he is the one that needs the press. It’s funny but both of these artists are good, both can put out good music. Why the need to use other means to sell records? Well, that's what we expect, isn't it? The music is an afterthought. Too bad, because that is where we may be missing what is really important.