Can these women really rock?

by Amanda Stutevoss
Editor in Chief

Christina, Britney, Jennifer Love and J. Lo. They sound relatively the same, they dress somewhat the same and they all represent the sexier side of the music industry.

With low cut shirts, barely there skirts and what Rolling Stone calls "reverse cleavage," these divas are promoting sex and music synonymously.

But is it really necessary? Yes, we know sex sells, but have we really lost sight in what is important here? Unfortunately the top selling artists are those who reveal the most skin, but does a tight body and implants warrant talent?

It seems as though the music industry has lost sight of one simple fact: musical genius.

It seems magazines such as Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly have been blindsided by women's sexuality and, subsequently, have lost sight of what it is all supposed to be about.

What is going on in the music world? For instance, in the Oct. 3 issue of Rolling Stone, the cover featured Jennifer Love Hewitt scantily clad half-naked in her underwear.

But can she sing? Can she act?

Well, according to their reviews of both Love's movie and CD, she, like many of her female counterparts, cannot. So why, then, is she on the cover?

So while, Beck, Ryan Adams and John Mayer are putting out critically acclaimed and commercially successful material, they still are nowhere to be found on the cover of any magazine. While the so-called "Women of Rock" are just putting out.

These men are producing and writing their own music, leaving them in charge of their lives and careers.

While the debutantes of the music industry are barely able to sing their music, let alone produce and write it. These men deserve respect where respect is due.

They wear their hearts on their sleeves and aren't afraid to sing about it.

Unfortunately however, the talent of these men is being completely overlooked. Instead of John Mayer on the cover of Rolling Stone, we see Christina Aguilera barely covered by an electric guitar. I wonder why a guitar? Its not like she knows how to play it.

Mayer is one of the great artists out there right now. Although he is gaining recognition from audiences, his talent traveled strictly by word of mouth. No front-page publicity for this boy - he did it on his own.

Why? It is not because he has no sex appeal, but rather because he chooses to keep his clothes on.

Mayer's name even graced Rolling Stone's "10 Artists to Watch/The Next Wave." However, there is still no cover photo for the artist they call "a song slinger with a seriously light touch."

Beck is another great example. Rolling Stone raves about Beck, saying that he is an amazing musician who has been successful in fusing rock, folk, hip-hop, the blues and country.

"Simply put, Beck is one of the most critically acclaimed musicians of the 1990's." However, his face has only graced the cover once in 1997, after his first No. 1 hit, "Where It's At."

And the list goes on. So let's review. Between Beck, Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Adams and Jack Johnson, we have only seen a them on the cover of Rolling Stone a combination of three times. However, between Jennifer Love, Britney and Christina, the number of cover appearances stand at eight.

Giving these woman the title of the Women in Rock is hardly accurate. These ladies do not rock, not to mention they do not write their own music.

Yes, I will admit that when a Britney song comes on at a club, I will bust a move.

However, I realize that their music fails to provide any true, valid or sincere meaning.

So maybe it is time that the music industry stop implying that these women are changing the face of rock music when in all actuality they are casting shadows over the real and revolutionary male rockers that are out there.

Enough said.

Amanda Stutevoss, a senior broadcasting and journalism major, is editor in chief of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at astute4@aol.com.