People that diss pop music...(rant)

Hubert Stumblin said:
Full disclosure: I also work in the biz. My job covers the music biz since it's been the music biz (this morning I worked with a piece of media that was 99 years old) and over my nearly 30 years in it I've heard at least a little bit of just about everything. Here's MHO- In every genre there is a small amount of really exceptional music, a very large amount of music that runs the gamut from okay to kinda bleh, and an amount in between those two in size that is really just awful. The thing is different people will put different examples from each of those categories into the others. It really does come down to personal taste or, hopefully, what moves you. Be glad music moves you. I think for most people music is just the sort of the pleasant wall paper of their lives. They like it, but not in the same way that we do. Those are the people that classic rock stations are going for. Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of classic rock. But because some of it has been played over and over and over again there are certain songs that I liked by artists I like that I don't need to hear again for the rest of my life. But for those listeners it's "Oh, yeah. I like that song." And then they continue to talk sports over it. I think we're fortunate to be into music on a deeper level. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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VERY true. I know people, that really don't even listen to the music, when they turn on the radio. It's just audio wall paper for them. Something to take up a blank/silent sound space (because they don't like it when it's "too quiet" - they need to have noise at all times [which is why my college roommates would turn on the radio and/or TV when they got home - even though they really weren't listening to the radio or watching TV]), like you put wall paper up, to break up the sameness of color on a wall. So in many cases John and Jane Q Public, don't care if a song is mediocre at best - as long as it's not too intrusive sound wise they're fine with it, since it fills a space.
 
Peen Simmons said:
Fame and marketing are stupid. I am angry because the Svengalis and songwriters deserve more fame and marketing. Think about the children!!!!
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Ultimately, I have nothing against fame or marketing, just the myopic view of what is marketable- I feel like there is a lot of potential for the public to like things that may not appear on the marketing radar, especially for people who aren't 15 years old, which are the majority of the population. I can guarantee that there is someone out there w/ talent, who could very well make someone a kajillion dollars, who will get zero commercial support, simply because they do not fit a narrow model. In general, the ease of marketing on the internet appears to be changing this to some degree though, thankfully. In fact it will probably only improve- it's really leveled the playing field, & maybe the dark ages are ending!

And I do want the people who do the most for creating all those songs everyone likes, to have the recognition they deserve , not just the face in the video. Unless they are happy being anonymous w/a big pile of money, that's ok too. Whatever is fair play- don't just use people. Only dicks use people, which reminds me of Svengalis.

As for them, a name that jumps immediately to mind is Lou Pearlman. He got exactly what he deserved.cop0
 
Peen Simmons said:
I can understand super hating current chart pop when you're a high schooler or college kid--because you're stuck in situations where you just cannot escape hearing the same shit over and over in contexts fraught with emotion and angst and questions about identity and whatnot.

It's a little unbecoming when grown-ass people continue this behavior. If you don't like the current pop chart stuff, appropriate adult reactions are probably dismissal or bemusement or ambivalence. The old "Enh, don't care...not for me" sums up plenty of contemporary chart pop. For example, I get that Beyoncé is almost maniacally good at what she does. But, enh.
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The same could be said about people hating this or that rock anthem because it has been played to death on classic rock radio. That's their problem. I still love listening to Stairway (for example)...every year or so, when I feel like hearing it. It is still as good as we thought it was back then. Disliking something on it's lack of appeal and hating something because you let someone else force feed it to you are two different things.
 
Almost everyone lives within their own cultural sphere, and it can be very difficult to recognize that.
 
"Whatever is fair play- don't just use people. Only dicks use people, which reminds me of Svengalis."

With great respect for the ethics implied, I just don't think that this aligns with capitalism / for-profit enterprise. Dig around enough, and somebody is exploiting someone else. Now, we can debate how much of that is acceptable, but it's pretty much how some folks wind up with more than others.
 
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