I would have never thought that I would be in agreement with Madonna. I don’t espouse her ideology, don’t particularly care for her music and certainly do not agree with her political inclinations. Since someone took the time, however, to write about her opinion of current music trends -- a concern that few, if any, would care about -- I find it even more interesting that I actually agree with Madonna’s take on today’s music in the United States.

No one can claim that Madonna is or has been a copycat in her music and in her performances. One cannot say that about so-called singers and musicians today. I was at a bowling alley with my family the other day in which the monitors on the empty lanes were blasting some type of noise or music with people in weird costumes and very little talent, as it were. As the songs changed, the weird people and their clothing changed, but after the fourth song we were all commenting that every song sounded just like the last one. Clearly, there was no skill being displayed for unique style, unique messaging, unique rhythm. The only unique display throughout the videos focused on how strange someone could look, almost to the level of bizarre. If a person wasn’t engrossed in watching all the psychedelic and strange visuals, though, that person would think it was just onelong-play of the same song. There was no difference in how the music was being presented.

We have demonstrated over the past generation that there is nothing new under the sun. This decade seems to be all about movie remakes, bringing back old stars to revive their old shows and somehow believing that a single music style of the same rhythm, same beat, with a remake of the drug-induced 60s hippy movement with psychedelic visuals splashed in is what everyone wants. We are creating robots who cannot think for themselves nor have enough imagination to want to think for themselves.

Ever since the creation of the sound of the “boy bands” in which we had numerous groups spring up we have been on a steady decline in talent, sound, beat and rhythm. Music has been overtaken by no-talents that simply mimic everyone else. Creativity is gone. Originality is gone, just a poor attempt to copy. Imagination is gone. A desire to be unique is gone. And somehow, for those of us longing to listen to real talent and who do not agree with this trend and call it like we see it, we are the ones who are ostracized.

Most of today’s music displays zero talent. Rap, hip-hop, Christian, alternate -- whatever category selected -- we are finding it all sounds the same. There is no melody or tune. There is no display of creativity. I hope there is more to it than having no talent and no ability to create anything on their own. Yep, on this topic, Madonna and I are totally aligned.