In a Better World...There Would Be More Good News

Ever wonder why the Étudiant is so sarcastic all the time? We writers have become so disillusioned and skeptical of the people in power, and have turned this site into a place to vent and joke - to deal with it by writing. You know, a blog.

Not that we're a bunch of sad sacks - in fact, Glen and DeCarlo must be Morrissey's most upbeat fans - it's just that the news media's top priority is to turn all its consumers into Holden Caulfield. Bill O'Reilly gets you to hate Bin Laden's driver while the FOX News ticker constantly reminds us that the terrorists might strike. The corruption in China has made this year's Olympics the most controversial contest in a while.

The media has taught us how to look at the good grass on the other side of the fence and wonder why the grass on our side is a grayish shade of brown. The nation of Iraq is making so much progress, making us wonder if the mission is truly accomplished and if we can withdraw. Barry continues to inspire the world with his favorite words - hope, change, and unity - only for his chief opponent to compare him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Harsh, John.

Our cynical society doesn't want us to look forward to the future, but we try anyway. We try to help each other by writing what not to do at an airport, or by adding music to the day. We try to remember that whether things get better or things get worse, we'll always have our friends around to cheer us up.

All in all, we just have to remember that, no matter what the news media would rather have us believe, life is good. There's good people all around, and plenty of good things happening, and we Americans are especially lucky to be here. In a better world, the media would remind us of that.

In a Better World...Pop Music Wouldn't Suck

One of my life's defining moments occurred when I was only four. I don't know how many fathers would play Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for their four-year-old, but my dad sure thought it would be a good idea. Today, I thank him for playing that CD and shaping my musical taste for the rest of my life.

Otherwise, I might be listening to the same junk the other people my age love. Call my play list grandfatherly, but I hope I'm not the only one who'd choose The Who and James Taylor over Lil Wayne and the Jonas Brothers. After all, the media would much rather expose America's children, the most powerful demographic, to "artists" whose appeal is in the image, not whatever merit their music contains.

Just look at that joke of a magazine, Rolling Stone. Look at their big, glossy cover shot of the "Jo Bros" and long for the days when pop stars didn't need a backing band to hide their lack of talent. THIS is the gold standard of music journalism?

It's not that no good music is being made today. It just doesn't get as much exposure as the crap. You don't hear Radiohead on Kiss 108, you don't see No Age on the cover of Blender, and nobody outside Wakefield knows that Zephyr is keeping the classic rock sound alive.

To be fair, all those music outlets I've criticized are commercial ventures - the need to make money compromises credibility. But is a cover shot of the Jonas Brothers REALLY the only way to keep Rolling Stone alive? In a better world, Jo Bro fans would keep themselves busy with the latest issue of Tiger Beat while the grownups enjoy Rolling Stone's cover story on Zephyr.