What’s Wrong With Pop Music?

Music fans, ima let you finish but Taylor Swift is the catchiest pop artist in RECENT MEMORY! IN RECENT MEMORY!

(Kanye fans, ignore that joke in the caption.  I love me some Kanye West.  You will see this when I inevitably review his album.  I’ll also probably find a way to mention him in this post.  Wait and see).

Here at Nick Reviews, I pride myself on being an average music fan rather than a snobby, elitist blogger.  I freak out over albums.  I post on fansites and forums on a very regular basis.  And unlike the average blogger, I try to only post things that I like.  I mean, if I’m looking forward to reviewing something and it’s horrible, I’ll probably still review it.  But that’s very unlikely.

One thing I notice while posting on forums and browsing the internet is this distaste for recent popular music.  This is especially common among “indie” music fans.  The radio = bad.  If more than ten people have heard it, it’s bad.  (Okay, that’s a definite underestimate and not everyone is like that, but you get the point).  In this post I plan on addressing this point of view and exactly how wrong it is.  I probably just lost half of my readers with that statement (don’t leave, 10 people!  I love you!)  but I’m CONTROVERSIAL!  Not really, but click on “read more” to view my extended opinions on the matter.

Before I really get into this, one thing I want to mention is the classification “pop.”  Aside from the most avant-garde music, pretty much everything has elements of pop music.  From metal to prog, music generally obeys the classic pop music structure of verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus.  Maybe not in that exact order, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many indie artists who don’t have verses or choruses.  “Pop” does not necessarily mean “bad” is my point.

The main thing I’m trying to say, however, is that modern mainstream pop music (even pop music from the past 3 decades or so) is under-appreciated by a lot of people, at least in the online community I’m familiar with.  Pre-teen girls screaming, annoying youtube comments, overplayed songs, asinine lyrics: all things the “hardcore indie” music fans equate with popular radio music.  It’s rather sad that people can’t get over it and just enjoy the intrinsic catchiness and likability of mainstream radio.  It doesn’t have to be the most amazing work of art, or a composition to rival Mozart or Beethoven.

The beauty of pop music is its melody.  Listen to the song “Speak Now” by Taylor Swift, for example.  The melody in the verses is one of the most pleasing-to-the-ear things I’ve heard in a long time (and can you believe she wrote it by herself?).  Of course there is a sort of predictability in mainstream music, but that’s one of its most endearing qualities.  It knows exactly what it wants to be.  It’s not trying to be artsy or “above” anyone.  It’s made to be instantly relatable and accessible.  I also understand that a lot of people don’t like it because they hear it too much, and that’s a valid reason.  However, I wouldn’t recommend listening to the radio that much anyways.  I rarely do.

However, popular music is not without it’s problems.  Not all of it is that enjoyable – some of it is just ridiculous.  Also, I find popular rock music to be one of the most boring things in the world; I prefer listening to “pop” radio because it’s goal is to be poppy.  Most modern rock bands that are extensively played on the radio seem like they’re going out of their way to seem “hip” or cooler than everyone else, and I can’t get that out of my head while listening to it.

A final point in this rant – there is legitimately great pop music out there, even when compared with the lesser known stuff.  Example…Kanye West.  The man manages to write pop music that is experimental and original while still attracting a mainstream audience.  He’s pushing the boundaries, so to speak, of the genre, and I think that originality is noticed more than similar sounding stuff.

In conclusion, give the radio a chance.  You don’t have to love it, but it doesn’t have to be a horrible experience.  I used to think that any song played on radio stations was bad, but it’s just…so…catchy!  Can’t…stop!