Music: The New Reality TV

scripted

Ah, yes, reality. Now that the script writers of reality shows are suing for royalties the question as to what is real becomes murkier though Lennon’s “nothing is real” probably comes closest. And this sense of nothing is real invaded the music world this week.

First, as part of a four song series of songs Jay Z and Beyoncé have been playing on their On The Run tour, Beyonce has been upping the uncomfortable, not to mention bullshit, quota through the roof by changing the words to “Partition” and poinpoint the unfaithful one as being with her 12 years (not the written six0 and thereby fingering (if you’ll excuse the phrase) Jay Z as the guilty party.

Anybody who believes Jay and Bey are having a lovers quarrel in the middle of their 100 million dollar tour, a tour studied down to the very last detail without a breath of improvisation are nutso.

As for Robin Thicke? He wouldn’t be naming his album Paula if Paula wasn’t in on it. Suddenly, she’s upset about infididelity. This is the reality TV of pop, a heavily scripted decline and fall and resurrection of a marriage for profit and not much else.

In a way it is not unlike the days when his manager and lover would fake marriages for closeted Rock Hudson; the same thing, reversed. A sort of living a lie high tailed reality nightmare. There is something so creepy about both backstories, it’s like we are being forced into becoming outliers for TMZ; like you can’t be a fan without a scorecard.

So keep watching folks, this is the future, you can’t be a rock star without a storyline like wrestling or something.