'Stripped' & 'Back To Basics'

I have a friend is more than likely to extol the virtues of South Korean punk if you talk music. He's also sort of a dork when it comes to music.

He loves him some pop music. Bad pop music. Pop music is popular. Thus "pop" music. It is full of basic lyricism and insanely catchy hooks. Songs without either are not popular, typically.

I was shocked one day when my friend -- Mr. Punk Rock -- said that Christina Aguilera's albums were not as bad as you might think and that they have value.

"Pshaw," I retorted.

And I was right. I'm not right often (just ask my wife!) (please!), but I'm right here. Christina Aguilera sucks. Her songs suck. The albums suck.

Let me tell you something about good-looking singers: They are a dime a dozen. They are every where. Are they all necessarily as polished as Aguilera or do they sing as high? No. But what difference does it make whether she can hit a high "C" and someone else can hit an "A"?

Go into any church on a Sunday morning. Watch "American Idol" some time. Those kids that don't win are all good singers and a lot of them are good looking. Slap some double Ds on them, inject some botox, dye the hair and run those vocals through enough processing to stun a mastodon and you have Christina Aguilera.