Idling Away

Like everywhere else, Australian TV is beset by an endless (do you really mean without end? ed.) procession of reality-style TV shows. I give most of them short shrift, though I confess to enjoying Australian Idol, probably because I like music, sing in a choir and can occasionally be found connected to an ipod.

I'm aware of all the arguments against such a "competition"; the focus on pop/rock, the competence of the judges, the flawed voting system, to name but a few. There' s no doubt that the supposed end product, a dynamic new young pop talent, can hardly justify the huge costs in production and personnel. But this isnt really about that objective. It's more about entertainment and pulling in advertising revenue, all the while hoping that an attractive talent will emerge at the end of the process.

Still, there's something a little compelling about it all. In the initial phases, of course, most of us, if we are honest, get a kick out of seeing so many people making fools of themselves. ("But I am a great singer. I'm gonna prove you wrong!")　I am always amazed at the lack of self-knowledge or the inflated self-opinion. Who is winding these people up, I wonder? Friends, family?

At the present, we are down to the last nine, meaning that we should be seeing performers who can sing well and have a stage presence, or at least, the makings of one. And by and large we do. Notwithstanding the often facile remarks of the judges (with the exception of Ms Hines) and the sometimes wayward voting patterns of a fickle public, there is some serious talent left in the competition. I'm not sure that I want to see or hear a packaged pop product at the end of it all, but I'm happy to sit through the process.

And by the way, my relationship with the ipod is strictly master/slave. It plays music at my command (supposing the batteries aren't flat) and it gets put away in a drawer like any other common item. It has not changed my life, it does not sleep with me, nor do I gaze at it in wonderment. It does the job well , though I imagine half a dozen similar mp3 devices do too. But the guff of an 'IT' obsessed media is the stuff of another blog.