.MySpace: Hyphy, Friends, and Adult Chat

The only reason we use MySpace is for the bands — we promise. The site is a bastion of streaming audio and tour dates for everyone from Frankie Knuckles to Nickelback (and we mean everyone). Of course, in our travels through MySpace musicland we’ve learned a thing or two about this 21st-century town-hall phenomenon, and some of it leaves us baffled:
#1: Why do so many Bay Area indie rock and pop groups insist upon putting “hyphy” in their list of genres? Okay, we’ll admit, it was funny the first time. But not the 2nd through 1.23 x 10^3rd times. Stop it, people — didn’t you hear? Hyphy’s dead!

Here are a few examples I turned up in about ten minutes:

http://www.myspace.com/mozartfashiste
http://www.myspace.com/sicarmy
http://www.myspace.com/colbymillerlove
http://www.myspace.com/newstylesound

#2: Why do individuals post pictures of more than one person as their main photo? The name will be Kelly and there will be three girls in the picture. Which one is Kelly? Or worse yet, there will be a picture of, like, eight people, with no one receiving extra emphasis of any kind to tell us whose account it is. What’s the point? Are you trying to prove you have friends? I don’t buy it.

http://www.myspace.com/nahduhlee
http://www.myspace.com/deejay_nugz
http://www.myspace.com/drunkoffmyhump

#3: This one really bothers me: All the adult ads. What the hell? Everyone knows MySpace (beyond the music pages) is dominated by teens. Is it really appopriate to have vivid, full-color, sometimes video adult ads of nearly naked men and women — for chat and dating services, mostly — greeting you every time you try to sign into your account? I think it’s kind of fucked up for MySpace to sell so much ad space to these people when it knows damn well who’s gonna view them: minors and crusty old men. And they wonder why the site has turned into a breeding ground for online predators.

Got a rant about MySpace, especially about MySpace Music pages? Share them in the comments section.

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