Miley Cyrus – a True Musical Genius

I hope the title of this article got your attention.

Welcome to the first edition of “Taken out of Context” (sorry, cheap plug there for my radio show, Thursdays 8-10 pm, wtburadio.org).  Each edition will feature blunt opinions on a given subject.  This week’s lucky victim is Miley Cyrus.  I’ll also be posting the best segment from the previous week’s radio show.

“My tummy’s turnin’ and I’m feelin’ kinda home sick
Too much pressure and I’m nervous,
That’s when the taxi man turned on the radio
and a Jay-Z song was on
and the Jay-Z song was on
and the Jay-Z song was on”
– Miley Cyrus, “Party in the USA”

“I don’t know, I didn’t write the song.  So I have no idea like I I honestly I picked that song because I needed something to go with my clothing line.  I didn’t write it and it wasn’t something that like I even expected to be popular originally.  It was just something that I wanted to and I needed some songs and it turned out to you know turn out for the best you know it was really unexpected so.  I’ve never heard a Jay-Z song.  I don’t listen to pop music and I like it’s not even my style of music that song even like like but it’s just really like I’m really blessed for it to have done as well as it has.  Totally totally blessed and God has definitely put me in an amazing position with amazing people.”
– Miley Cyrus, October 31, 2009, when asked what Jay-Z song she was referring to in “Party in the USA”

Now if you didn’t vomit in your mouth a little, I’m not sure you’ll particularly enjoy the rest of this column.  But I digress.

There are two issues here.  First, is this really what music’s come to?  Artists being so over-produced that they sing ghostwritten songs for a clothing line with lyrics the artist doesn’t believe in?  Second, as my friend Chris said best, “if you’re the under the age of 30 and haven’t been in a coma, you’ve heard a Jay-Z song.”

But for Miley Cyrus to say she doesn’t listen to Jay-Z because she doesn’t like pop is wrong on so many levels.  Jay-Z is pop?  Are you kidding me?  Even if you don’t think he’s the best rapper alive today, Jay-Z being called pop by Miley Cyrus is like David Ortiz calling someone fat – look in the mirror, stupid.

But I can’t blame Miley Cyrus.  If you paid me millions of dollars to sell my soul and sing about things I didn’t like or know about, you bet I’d do it.  That’s why I blame each person who listens to crap like Miley Cyrus.  Tickets for Cyrus’ November 9^th concert at the TD Garden in Boston went for as much as $750 on eBay.  God bless whoever has $750 to spend on a show where the star “musician” lip-syncs songs she doesn’t believe in for a clothing line.  [edit 11/19, 4:30 pm: I was mistaken: it’s Miley Cyrus’ double who actually does the lip-synching.]