When I was younger, for me guitar music was what I was drawn to, rock was king and bands like Iggy and the Stooges, The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd and so, so many others back then were making awesome music. The Dead, The Allman Brothers, Bowie and The Mothers of Invention all had these amazing dudes just killing it on six string. But then things changed as the years went by and other amazing bands took the reigns and churned out tons of great albums. U2, Guns n' Roses, Queen and The Police all blew my mind. Then in the 90's came strong bitchin' acts such as Radiohead, Soundgarden, Nirvana, STP, Sonic Youth and a slew of others. Then came sick incredible groups like Muse, System of a Down, Gorillaz and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Time keeps rolling along and new come along, artists expressoling themselves, the creative filters of that time that they find themselves dropped into, and I enjoy the ones that I resonate with. The names I dropped are just the tip of the iceberg that I love and only just in this genre of what might fall under the umbrella of rock music. My point is, though that song that I listened to while I dropped acid that first time or the album that was playing during my first blowjob that that cute teenage girl gifted me might hold special places in my memory, but there is really no way I could honestly say that the music that I listened as a 15 year old to was better than any other period of my life. Music styles ebb and flow into each other as well as the music that I create and call my own. I am not physically the same person on a molecular level that I was when I started writing this reply, many cells have died while others were created to take their place. The same goes for the music that I have been listening to and as well composing for the last 46 years or so.

 

if we changed the title of this thread to, 'Here's Why Modern Pop Music Is So Trite', would it carry a different tone?

 

there is a lot of marketing power behind popular music

hence why it is so popular, it caters to needs of a majority of people, which is what businesses do

they are selling an image, a dream

people pay for such crap, there is not more to it

 

this pretty dope:

...watch your speakers bounce and have all those feelings...

 

I have a feeling this will be one of those long posts. LOL

I am a dinosaur, but my taste in music is incredibly broad. I see Superliguidsunshine likes guitar music. Or maybe it should be called string music? ;) Well, I like what I like and it's just too much that I like, be it modern or older, to mention here. I might kinda mention a dozen of bands that I like to listen to. Music is a huge part of my life, and a huge part of my philosophy. I don't like it when its dumbed down to just entertainment for masses which we call POP. For me, music is art and it will always be art for me. [wine warning! I've had a bottle and listening to Sisters of Mercy live on YT]

Most of today's POP music looks and sounds to me as "Crazy Horse" show. That's all there is to it. It's a soft striptease crap with no meaning at all. I like it when music and the lyrics mean something, make whatever impact on your mind. It doesn't necessarily have to be political, but I do prefer it to be political. It can be something nice regarding love and relationships, it's OK. But the way it is presented these days... you know we have porn channels, I don't really need to see your tits. I'd like to hear some music, eh? MUSIC! No bums, no tits. I can get that on Porntube.

What I like regarding music is so broad most of the people here would not be able to grasp. Let me start with more modern stuff like Soundgarden, Placebo, Arctic Monkeys and hmmmm... there's not really many that I can mention when it comes to this century's POP. It's also because I'm not particularly a POP fan at all. But I do like some POP stuff here and there. POP is defined as "the music that most people like" ain't it? Well, I must be not a POP fun then. But I do like a thing or two that comes around. As always. I did the same in the 80's and 90's and 00's. I generally hate POP music of any age. Am I being narcissistic for that? No, I just don't like shallow stuff. That's all. I have the same taste in films.

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe I just like different music. I like to be intrigued by it. I like to be inspired by it. Most of the POP music doesn't inspire me at all. Some bring memories. Some are fun to listen to. But some are still running strong with me, like "The Doors", like "Joy Division", like "Pink Floyd", like "Throbbing Gristle". It's the shit that is immortal. Can you say that Katy Perry's hits are like that? Forgettable, 3 minute jerk-offs. "look, there's a sideboob!" I don't give a fuck. Porntube. Besides, women on Porntube look much better, thanks.

Regarding my "vintage", I'm 47 now. I've been around when Duran Duran shit was at its prime. BS. Even DM at its beginning was BS for me. Yes, I'm a fan of Depeche Mode. Why? Primarily because they change. Their music now still sounds fresh to me [regarding POP]. It's because they changed. They don't sound like 80's or 90's any more. That's why they survived as opposed to Human League whom I also like but they are stuck in the 80s and I'm generally pretty bored now with the music from that era. Too much is too much.

If I started to make a list of every band I like to listen to, this post would take the whole page. I really like lots of stuff. But it's primarily either [still] underground or marginally known. But I'm surely not stuck in the last century. I assure you.

 

Last edited: Sep 8, 2017

Well, loads of people like this POS:

Who thinks this is of any value? What value? Circus value? Who will remember this POS 20 years from now? It's a joke. Sad one.

 

The fact that this trite abfall was so damn huge scares the shit outta me. I reckon it to be equal to the velvet painting of dogs playing poker.

 

"Pop music" has its roots in the 1950s and is not to be confused with "popular music", which describes pretty much all music except classic. Of course pop music always had one-hit-wonders, and of course there always was overly simplistic music. But please, compare 1984's "Smalltown Boy" with 2010's "Tik Tok". Both obviously dance music, made for clubs. Both lyrics from the perspective of the singers, who were roughly the same age at song creation. And there it stops. Where Smalltown Boy is a serious reflection about a tough political and social issue of the 80s, Ke$ha just wants to party and ftw.

I can accept that modern youth prefers not to be bothered with reflections and dance to contentless interchangable music. But nobody can seriously claim that modern pop is just as good.

 

Good is subjective, to the listener. Your opinion is illogical. You feel like social and political issues expressed in music are indicative of "good" there are others who don't.

 

Erm, no? But try it next time your spouse hands you a rotten apple and you say "That apple isn't good" and get the answer "Good is subjective". The first lyrics are of higher quality than the second lyrics. And that has nothing to do with a feeling. It is the objective comparison of two texts. Teachers do that all the time, btw.

But I won't go into detail. Your answer is what I expected. The loss of quality simply is welcomed. That's ok. It's just not as artful as pop music used to be.

 

Ok, but is there any problem to this?
I don't want any political or social crap in my music, maybe someone else does.
Keep in mind I don't even know who Ke$sha is, I probably heard the name a few times somewhere: I'm just saying.
Also, as all the times, people pick only the bad stuff and ignore the good stuff

oh and ofc what spacetime said: it's a business. this thing sells? good, since people like trash let's make some more
i really don't see a problem with this. do you want the 80s back? well, i'm afraid you're just in nostalgia mode tulamide, like many others, and rightfully so.

btw are we going to ignore all other countries and focus only on north america? which i doubt its people know anything about music anyway and are more like a flock of sheeps

this sums it up

 

What IS the definition of pop? We are going in circles lIke big wind, each blowing fast and furiously about something that is in the center of the room, phantom-like, taking up psychic energy but is translucent, and so being we have not as yet described what it looks like and sounds like.

 

That which is most popular at any given point in time?

Maybe I'm over simplfying..

Maybe not..

That which the greater bulk of the of the listening population like enough to buy.

That chunk of the bell shaped curve where the majority lie?

 

Last edited: Sep 9, 2017

bad example, Smalltown Boy might be a serious reflection. but the arrangement of the music is soooooo simplistic
that after 1 minute I want to smash my head into the wall, (on the tempo of the track that is)

where Kesha's track at first glance does not have a very spectacular rhythms either,
but what it does have proper build ups, tension builds and the lyrics contain far more words.

after summing these things up I got a feeling a lot more effort went into tiktok.

What also takes away from your argument is that Tiktok kicked Empire State Of Mind from Jay-Z & Alicia Keys from the first spot in the Billboard charts, Far more 'lyrical' then the example u presented.

 

..for me. For Ken the pig, rotten apples were a delicacy. Ken also loved stale donuts, which I gladly fed him (myself, I could take or leave those).

I may posit that my (culinary, as well as musical) tastes are more ...je ne sais quoi ...loftier, more refined, superior to those of Ken the pig. Hopefully you can see the untenability of such a stance. At least as far as getting Ken to choose microtonal expressionistic jazz over rotten apples/doughnuts.

 

Well said.

 

When there's not any logical explanation for a thing, freemasonry daydreaming is remedy:

Conspiracy theory beside Freemasonry are my favorites.

 

I suspect you and I are the same person, masquerading as separate individuals. :D

But saying you don't want "political or social crap" in your music is adopting a political and social position.

Just as saying one doesn't want rationalism, only emotion: it's a rationalisation. Humans are political and social, and there's nothing they can do outside of it. There is no escape. :D

 

Last edited: Sep 9, 2017

i guess me dancing to a 4/4 acid beat that goes on for 10 minutes is also me being political?
i'm in for the music, not for any teachings im supposed to get from the lyrics, or from any hidden meanings about society. i don't need other people's art to tell me their opinion, nor do i care

and yes i know we're talking about pop music and not underground club stuff, but i was referring to tulamide when he said that a song that talks about party is like a blasphemy or something, compared to songs that have -supposedly- a political/social meaning

this is just tulamide being old and nostalgic about his time, that's all really. i too prefer dance music from the 90s, but i don't say that it's better than the todays stuff like dubstep electro crap. i just have different tastes. people, better than me, have already explained in a more precise way this concept in previous posts so there's no point in repeating.

 

Those are really good questions! As I said, I don't see a "problem", other than there's no room anymore for anything else. It's totally fine to not be botthered. But it's also totally fine to admit that there's a quality loss - or let's say a shift in intentions of a song. The examples I gave were for a reason: Smalltown Boy was written and produced by the 3 members of the band, whereas Ke$ha's song is entirely from the Dr. Luke factory (If you saw the video in post 1, you know what I'm talking about). I see the difference in the authenticity of the performers. And I don't pick only the bad stuff. Ke$ha was worldwide #1, Bronski Beat #3 in Britain. Top performances of their times.

I don't want the 80s back (oh heaven no!), and it is indeed a business. And that's my point. It doesn't have to be a business. It was about 'music first' in all times before the millenium, and business kills diversity.

Since I took the Bronski Beat example, I think I answered your North America question