It’s Grammy week, with the actual awards taking place on Sunday, and Bill Maher had a message for the music industry in his “New Rules” op-ed — maybe now is the time to teach kids that you’re only as good as your stuff.
Maher took issue with the material content of much of today’s music, which has shifted from focusing on the perception of lack of possessions to making possession the sole focus of existence.
“When you’re 12, you end your relationship with your parents and start being raised by pop stars,” he said. “Kids rule the charts,” and the words of those formative years tend to get burned into your brain.
Maher believes that the rise of hip-hop sparked this trend, and how the tendency to brag about the things you are deprived of is a human tendency. “But everyone does it now,” he laments, referring to the country song “Rolex on a Redneck” and the Florida-Georgia Line ode to an expensive truck.
The host admitted that his commiseration would likely be dismissed with a “Okay, Boomer.” But he said that the drumbeat that says the only happiness is getting things distorts reality, and Maher recalls that the music of his youth contained a message that what made its singers happy was also available to him.
“Taking inventory doesn’t make you a poet,” he said, urging “getting a second idea for a song.” Maher said that Spotify has data showing that the first searches on its service are for songs that talk about sadness. This might be an avenue to explore, he added. “It has a good beat, you can dance to it, and then you want to cut your throat.”
Earlier, Maher brought in Michael Rinder (aka Killer Mike), one half of the group Run the Jewels, whose self-titled solo album. Michael It was recently released across digital platforms. After some chats about the album and strip clubs, Maher tried to convince Rinder to endorse a presidential candidate.
Render refused to bite, asked his audience to listen to the policies being pushed, and said he would endorse someone who meets his list of policy challenges
The segment of the show featured Governor Chris Sununu, Republican Governor of New Hampshire, and Jessica Tarlov, co-host of the show. The five On Fox News and head of research at hustle.
The meandering conversation focused on the problems of the 2024 election, immigration and inflation. Sununu scored points about how you couldn’t go to McDonald’s with a family of four for less than $35, an issue he felt would be a primary concern for voters.