Ashlee Pledge Update
The first in a series of reports from H.O.P.E. operatives distributing
The Ashlee Simpson pledge on Ashlee's final tour.
2/16/2005
The Grove Auditorium
Anaheim, California
{We apologize for the earlier mistake regarding the location}
by Mandy Morgan
It was a different scene than I expected. Even though I went to my
share of bad shows in grade school, and I knew her audience would be
mostly young girls, I guess I just forgot to what extent. The whole thing
had a very strange vibe. Maybe I'm getting old, but I felt more like I
was watching a "Tickle Me Elmo" phenomenon than anything. They just
seemed so young. I got the impression you could sell these girls diseased
diapers with the right marketing.
I mean, her audience was ALL young white girls, some with parents. And
by young I mean like 90% of the people there were girls between the
ages of 10 and 13 (and by white, I mean VERY white.) I remember going to NSync shows and it was much this way, but I guess I fell into Ashlee's
PR people's trick of portraying her as a punk rocker with a wide fan
base of music lovers. In that respect, the night was encouraging to me.
It validates the idea that her fan base represents a very, very, small
segment of the population.
Which brings the bigger question: why are 10 to 13 year-old girls
driving our culture? Why should the rest of us have to be subjected to
their wants and tastes? When I was their age, I sure as hell
didn't think my opinions or tastes were anything special, much less important enough to have major corporations jump up and take notice.
I guess the easy answer for why this happens is that young teenage
girls are a very easy segment of the population to market to. They're very
insecure, very much consumers, and very susceptible to the kind of
"what's hot" marketing the music industry thrives on.
Chris and H.O.P.E. have been hitting this hard, but I really think
it's important for the rest of us not to fall into this trap of believing
that Ashlee Simpson is some huge phenomenon. I can tell you firsthand
she's the exact same thing as any kiddie fad and the media needs to be
more responsible and treat her and her fans as such instead of poisoning
the entire music industry.
Please help join the cause. We're having a lot of fun and need every one of you!
The Ashlee Simpson pledge on Ashlee's final tour.
2/16/2005
The Grove Auditorium
Anaheim, California
{We apologize for the earlier mistake regarding the location}
by Mandy Morgan
It was a different scene than I expected. Even though I went to my
share of bad shows in grade school, and I knew her audience would be
mostly young girls, I guess I just forgot to what extent. The whole thing
had a very strange vibe. Maybe I'm getting old, but I felt more like I
was watching a "Tickle Me Elmo" phenomenon than anything. They just
seemed so young. I got the impression you could sell these girls diseased
diapers with the right marketing.
I mean, her audience was ALL young white girls, some with parents. And
by young I mean like 90% of the people there were girls between the
ages of 10 and 13 (and by white, I mean VERY white.) I remember going to NSync shows and it was much this way, but I guess I fell into Ashlee's
PR people's trick of portraying her as a punk rocker with a wide fan
base of music lovers. In that respect, the night was encouraging to me.
It validates the idea that her fan base represents a very, very, small
segment of the population.
Which brings the bigger question: why are 10 to 13 year-old girls
driving our culture? Why should the rest of us have to be subjected to
their wants and tastes? When I was their age, I sure as hell
didn't think my opinions or tastes were anything special, much less important enough to have major corporations jump up and take notice.
I guess the easy answer for why this happens is that young teenage
girls are a very easy segment of the population to market to. They're very
insecure, very much consumers, and very susceptible to the kind of
"what's hot" marketing the music industry thrives on.
Chris and H.O.P.E. have been hitting this hard, but I really think
it's important for the rest of us not to fall into this trap of believing
that Ashlee Simpson is some huge phenomenon. I can tell you firsthand
she's the exact same thing as any kiddie fad and the media needs to be
more responsible and treat her and her fans as such instead of poisoning
the entire music industry.
Please help join the cause. We're having a lot of fun and need every one of you!