A 2

That spastic decoupling from reality; 'Air Guitar' seems to me to be what ambition has become, as talent really disappears from our world propelled by the electronic 'feature creep' of every device offered to elevate our enjoyment of life's experience. OK; Imogen Heap, maybe pulls it off; Tom Waits pulls it all back again. I love music and musical instruments; a Buffet Crampon bassoon, in pearwood, is a thing of absolute joy and beauty, and a Bruno guitar, with its plain wood body painted in 'trompe l'oeil' rosewood grain, adds remarkability to a very plain thing, but to have the talent and sheer ability to get a decent sequence of notes out of either is being drawn away by the electronic marvel of the keyboard/synth, to the detriment of my children, and yours, too I expect. (I see the 'progress' in Korea and shudder for that view of life.) I have more guitars than children, and my children have always been given a copious supply of instruments to enjoy/investigate, but despite being thus encouraged, the violin, cello, oboe, and guitar tuition they have asked for and received has gone nowhere; (I'm told that putting down the violin, doing better at school, and being rewarded with a windsurfer is the way to go...) Now in the fullness of life, they play nothing. Did they really drop this pleasurable study to improve their education? I regret I have more qualification than all but one offspring, and so I regularly address this issue, as a natural observation of the youth of today and society's continued evolution. 'Popstars' is of course a different sort of talent quest, and I leave it to the proponents. My admiration goes to the pair of bods who dreamed the concept up in the first place, and there goes the truth of it; dream something up and make a global hit of it; there will be a short attention span for such stuff, but you'll get your fame better, with a bigger chance, than that clever, clever lady with the cello 'twixt her thighs... Nuff said.