rock and religion

I hope that the creators of VH-1’s new show rock and religion are filled with even more self-loathing than their brethren who are responsible for the rest of the “programming” on their channel. Yes, Behind the Music is crap, but it’s addictive crap that is sometimes able to screw around – albeit briefly – with your short-term memory, occasionally causing you to wander around the house believing that Hall and Oates really were the best musicians. Ever. Luckily, you snap out of it pretty fast and get on with your life. I like the ones where band members stare straight into the camera and say things that are clearly ridiculous but that VH-1 allows to stand as the truth. The smirking looks on the subject’s faces as they go about their business fully aware what BS this is makes it all worth while. (my personal favorite example: members of Metallica looking earnestly into the camera and saying “Metallica was never a drug band.”)

But rock and religion transcends VH-1’s usual triviality. It’s a tired concept, put together in an uninspired way. There’s something about the unrelenting banality of it that makes it hypnotic for about 10 minutes at a time, but the complete lack of enthusiasm on the part of everyone involved soon comes crashing through and you just turn it off and walk away. It’s not even good background noise.