Props to SPIN, one of my favorite music mags, for their online article "Reconsidering 'Roman Reloaded'", an examination of Nicki Minaj's controversial album one month after its release. It's a rare glimpse of retrospection in an industry obsessed with the next big thing. The article covers both listeners' responses to the music and the opinions of music critics, and also touches on one of my favorite truths about music. In his book Love is a Mix Tape, which should be required reading if you follow this blog, Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield called it first:
“Bitch power is the juice, the sweat, the blood that keeps pop music going. Rick James helped me understand the lesson of the eighth-grade dance: Bitch power rules the world. If the girls don't like the music, they sit down and stop the show. You gotta have a crowd if you wanna have a show. And the girls are the show. We're talking absolute monarchy, with no rules of succession. Bitch power. She must be obeyed. She must be feared.”
In other words, bands don't blow up overnight because lonely prepubescent boys or trend-seeking bloggers say they will; the girls buying albums ultimately have the power to decide what sounds good and make it famous. Testify, sister.
You can read the actual article here.
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