Girl, You Know it's True

 We all should know the story by now.  The late 80's/early 90's pop duo, Milli Vanilli, getting caught out in mid-concert as people discovered, to their surprise, that they lip synced their own songs, only to later reveal that the voices on their albums were completely different singers altogether.  It was groundbreaking news at the time, and sadly, they lost the trust of the fans and the music industry during the backlash.  They even tried to redeem themselves by recording an album with their actual voices, and while it wasn't too bad, the damage had already been done and it was basically over already.

 In a post-MV world, Fabrice "Fab" Morvan would actually pursue a real singing career, and do a pretty good job of it (but nothing big enough to put him back in the global arena), but sadly for his former partner-in-crime, Robert "Rob" Pilatus didn't have a very pleasant life following the backlash, involving substance abuse, crime, and eventually an accidental overdose that led to his death in 1998, which was (as far as I know) a result of the guilt he felt about what happened with Milli Vanilli.

So, why am I bringing this up?  We all know this.  There's got to be a point...

I bring it up because I feel there's a lot of hypocrisy in the music industry, especially today.  The incident in 1989 that led to Milli Vanilli's decline was indeed a shock, but ever since then I have noticed that in 2022, there have been a lot of similar practices that are still happening, and yet nobody is speaking up against it.  Why?  Because it seems to be the way things are these days.

Music TV shows - Think "Top of the Pops" or musical guest appearances on talk shows.  In some cases, the instruments may be live, but the vocals...  There's a backing track involved (most of the time).  We've seen videos on YouTube about music fails on live TV.  For example: Ashlee Simpson on the set of "Saturday Night Live" (look it up).  Honestly, you could pick almost any pop singer from the past 20 years and they're probably guilty of faking it while they make it (another good example is Britney Spears, but I won't go there).

So, what's my point?  The point is that Milli Vanilli were mocked and treated, sort of, like a scapegoat to the point of near-crucifixion, destroying their career in the process...and yet, everyone else that does the same thing (on stage) is still around?  Where is the justice in that?  From my perspective, it looks like this...  "Milli Vanilli didn't sing!?  How DARE they!?  BURN THEM!!!" ...  Almost a decade later, Rob passes away.  Some time after that... "You know what?  It's not a bad idea, this lip sync thing.  Let's keep it going".

Do you think it's fair on Milli Vanilli that they got the treatment they received when these other "artists" are basically doing the same thing and getting away with it?  Shame on them.  One of the MV members died because of all of this, for goodness sake.  Show some respect, man.

So, how do we resolve this issue?  Simple.  Play your own instruments and use your own voice without relying on pre-recorded backing tracks when you're on stage.  If you can't hold a note while performing in front of people, then what are you doing there?  I would never mime or lip sync on stage, unless it was an actual lip sync competition.  You've proven you can play the song in-studio, now take your skills to the next level.  You won't increase them without the experience.

I haven't played music on stage since I was with Supertrip.  My last gig was in December 1998, and I miss doing that sort of thing.  The reason I've never had a gig as n-Somnia is because it's not music I've made, necessarily.  It's a combination of loops and samples I've found here and there that I've mixed together to create something new, and from time to time, I might include something that I have personally made from scratch.  If I were to go on stage with n-Somnia's music today, it would mainly be me up there with a set of speakers and an iPod, sitting on a chair with sunglasses on.  Not much of a show when you think of it this way.  That's why, when I do make my eventual return to the performance stage, it will be in a live band with real instruments, and the vocalist's microphone will actually be switched on.  Because THAT is how it's done, ladies and gentlemen.

It's like being a chef.  You don't fake it until you bake it.  Food for thought.