Relative Arguement

Hiya Grandma,
So u found out how to work it then! My fav dinosaur in the whole wide
world can now be my fav dinosaur on the world wide web! Only joking,
grandma, I'm in fact v.impressed with ure attempts to join the rest of
us in the 21st century&;#8230;ok, I think I've run out of zimmmer
frame jokes&;#8230;.for now&;#8230; &;#61514;
Ne-who, thanx for the b'day pressie, much appreciated! And, for future
reference, the 'Backstreet Boys' r'nt a charity for homeless men, and
although some may argue, r not connected to the YMCA&;#8230; they r
instead the best band in the world ever!!! And thanx to ure luvly gift
I shall be going to see them live in concert at Wembley!!! YAY!! Thanx
again grandma,
Speakcha soon
Rosie
X
(ps. If u squint hard enough at the screen, :P ,u will be able find an
attachment (look it up in the help index) open it and u will be treated
to the delights of the gorgeous BSB!)

Dear Rosemary,
I'm glad you liked your present, although I am not entirely sure if I
approve of your taste in music, young lady! Your helpful instructions
enabled me to sample the 'delights of the gorgeous BSB'. To be
perfectly honest with you, dear, I was not particularly fond of it.
There seemed to be a particular lack in any description of musical
talent. Undoubtedly, it sounded like that these 'boys' had reasonable
voices, but I can not see mediocrity as a quality that would be
possessed by 'the best band in the world ever!'
Keeping true to my status as a pensioner, I would like to take this
opportunity to remind you of how it was in my day. Firstly, when a
person wanted to become part of the music industry they would have to
put some graft in to getting there. Years spent trying desperately to
get a gig in any smoky, run-down pub would create more than just a
nasty cough. It created gratitude, it created modesty and, most
importantly, it created soul. Passion. A fire in their bellies, that
poured out into the songs they sung.
It appears that, now, the music world is content with meaningless
drivel as long as it's presented by some pretty girls and boys. The
only requirement to join the 'band' is that you must be under
twenty-one, or at least look it. If that entails plastic surgery, then
so be it. Anything as long as you're beautiful. I'm not blaming the
people in the group, is it their fault that they have nothing to sing
about except the trials and tribulations of dancing school or a poor
nose job? Well, partly, yes it is. A desire to be a cardboard cut-out
'popstar' inevitably leads to a two-dimensional personality. But the
record industry's leading men should be shouldering the majority of the
responsibility for the current, dire situation. Somewhere along the
line, someone has decided that beauty is more important than voice, and
in an industry interested in selling music?
What makes it harder to grasp is that this tactic is becoming more and
more proliferate, and worse still it appears to be working.
Secondly, it seems that the ability to play a musical instrument is
also not required by 'the best band in the world ever!' While some
people found the distinctive voice of Mr. Louis Armstrong a bit too
unique, they could not question or fail to be impressed by his mastery
of the trumpet. The emotion that most found in his voice was only
surpassed by that found in his playing. I have to say that the
Backstreet Boys only hope that they could do the same with a musical
instrument is due to their singing being so wooden Once again, maybe it
is not their fault. Few people would turn down the chance to travel the
world, earn millions of pounds and have equal numbers of fans. But do
they really deserve this adulation? Does their talent warrant such
attention? The answer to both these questions has to be a simple no.
Beauty, some regard may be a 'talent', and I have no qualms with people
using that beauty to make money. Hundreds of thousands already do, but
that is in the fashion world. Why should the shallow values of humanity
in that industry be allowed to affect the music world, where soul and
emotion should be king.
Lastly, I would like to say I hope you have a wonderful time at the
concert. There is without doubt something about a band playing live
that just adds another dimension to the music. However, that this will
happen with the particular boyband in question is debatable. Would
their manager really allow them to be let loose on a track which so
much time and money has been spent in the studio tweaking their voices?
I think not. Besides, they have more important things to concentrate on
such as their choreographed dance moves. Sure they may be 'putting on a
show' but it will have been prepared, arranged and processed, just like
the band themselves.
I would now mention the spontaneous eruption in emotion that James
Brown experienced on stage, caused by that soulful, powerful music of
his. But there is no way on earth that the 'BSB' could encounter such
feelings, or any feelings at all for that matter, while listening to
their emotionless music. This is undoubtedly why weeks are spent on
creating aesthetically pleasing yet energy-draining dance moves. The
result of which is that, even if they wanted to, the boys would find it
even more difficult to sing than they already do. Perhaps this is for
the best. When looks is what their success is based on, it becomes
logical to see that take pre-eminence over what should really count,
the music.

Love, Grandma.

MIAAAAAAOOOW! I know old ladies are supposed to be fond of their
handbags, but u seem 2 have taken it a leetle bit too far! And worse
still ure handbag is ageing and falling apart at the seams! The
Backstreet Boys have more talent than the rest of the musicworld put
together! And that is why, grandma, that they are not a boyband, but a
vocal group. Their voices r some of the most beautiful and
emotion-filled today. This is why they have been compared to a group u
r much more likely to know, the Bee-Gees. Now i know that they had
voices equal in uniqueness to that of Louis Armstrong (who sounds as if
he's a 350-a-day man!). It follows, therefore, that the BSB are equal,
and IMO better, than Mr.Armstrong.
Also u said about them not being able to play any instruments so did
not deserve their success. I would like to remind u of some other
favourites of ures, Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire. Now
none of these were famous for playing any musical instrument were they?
And I'm also pretty sure that it was no coincidence that all 3 were
'rather dashing young fellows', just as the BSB r! And, of course,
there is the last name in that trio that seems have based on his
success on singing and DANCING. Now, I may be relatively young,
grandma, but I'm pretty sure that Mr.Astaire's dance steps were not
entirely spontaneous&;#8230;..they were probably choreographed, just
like the BSB!
Another thing, u strangely seem to have chosen to foreground ure
weakest argument! BSB, NO EMOTION!!?! Obviously u haven't listened well
enough to find the diversely heart-wrenching, powerful, and
energy-pumped songs that they do.
Some of their songs r sooo beautiful that I can't stop myself from
crying every time I hear it! Music with soul should undoubtedly convey
an emotion. All of the BSB's songs do this, and do it v.well
indeed.

Cya,
Rosie
x