Saturday, December 15, 2007

Why pop music today sucks

Frank Zappa nailed it -
h/t: C&L

The music we listened to between the ages of 13 and 16 is extremely influential. As a career musician, music educator with a music doctorate ... it is my qualified opinion that today's pop music sucks.

I was talking with Bill Kanengiser of the Grammy Award winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and he said exactly that. He said to one of my guitar students:

"the music me and Bill grew up listening to is SO much better than the crap you guys are listening to today."
One of the reasons for this is highlighted by the late great musical genius, Frank Zappa in the interview above.

When I was a kid, I was lucky. I had good musical influences. As a 8 yr old I was listening to R&B, but when I hit those formative years in my early teens, it was progressive rock, jazz-rock fusion, and ethnic music. I was introduced to Baroque music, my first love in the sphere of European classical music by an album called "Switched on Bach," that I got when I was 13. I've been hooked on contrapuntal music ever since.

Remember those bands? Music that refused to fit into a neat little 3 minute pop radio spots. Music that was through-composed, suite-like, orchestral, experimental, used virtuoso musicians, and stretched the boundaries. Starting in the 60's with the Beatles
Sgt Pepper, then Abby Road, and the White Album. Then those crazy experimental albums by Zappa and the Mothers, like Uncle Meat that were improvisational and used experimental electronics. The epic Dark Side of the Moon album of Pink Floyd. The band Yes, with Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. On the Fragile album we heard a classical guitar solo from Steve Howe - "Mood for a Day, " a transcription of a movement of a Brahms Symphony, and later Wakeman releasing his epic "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" with the London Sympony. Emerson Lake and Palmer, recorded their Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, Pictures at an Exhibition albums with rock transcriptions of classical music composers Aaron Copeland, Alberto Ginastera and Modesto Mussorgsky. Their Works album had Keith Emerson's piano concerto recorded with the London Symphony.

On the Jazz Rock fusion side there was John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, his albums with Shakti - virtuoso Indian raga music, Chick Corea, Al Dimeola, and the best instrumental (no vocals) rock guitar album of the era, Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow. Steely Dan's Aja was a revelation, using mostly jazz virtuosos like Wayne Shorter, Phil Woods, Larry Carleton on an album marketed as 'rock'... what a trick! I could go on and on.

Compare this music to what 15 yr olds listen to today, I was very lucky.


Southern Beale said...

today's pop music sucks.

Yeah it does suck, but I have to say ... as someone who is reaching middle age (oh hell, who are we kidding, I AM middle age), I have heard this lament since forever.

The only time I think pop music truly sucked was in the '80s, but even then you could find some good stuff. Now I listen to old '80s compilation CDs and am amazed how good some of it was. Not all of it, but some of it.

Chris said...

I think I agree with the sentiment in your post, if not the conclusion.

Most of the stuff you've listed off from the '60s only barely qualifies as "pop" from the time, and then as exceptions to the rule. There was plenty of crap pop music back then, too, and I daresay it was the rule, not the exception. Conversely, there's plenty of good music today, too -- some of which makes it to the pop charts. You just have to listen for it with an open ear.

William said...

Actually, most stuff I've listed was from the 70's, my teen yrs. Back then there were FM radio stations that would play so-called "album rock" that did not limit themselves to 3 min pop tunes. Much of the music I mentioned was not pop as we think of it in style, but was popular. There was more acceptance of experimentation and virtuosic musicianship. Some of these progressive rock albums got significant radio play and sold enough to make it into the top 10. I guess that would qualify as pop. (i.e. both Yes Fragile and Close to the Edge made it into the the top 10 LPs in '71 and '72).

Jeffraham Prestonian said...

What do you think of Tal Wilkenfeld?

William said...

I saw her with Beck, O MY GOD.

Anonymous said...


You're for sure right about Zappa. I gotta admit thought that "Orchestral" and "Sleep Dirt" don't get me in a happy mood as fast as "Dynamo Hum" and "Yellow Snow".


anthony said...

im 12 and i hate most music today.
all my friends are brainwashed by bands put together by record companies that pretend to be cool. they are taking the art out of music. rock songs today almost sound synthesized and are predictable. everyone at school listens to the same crappy music to be cool.i like old punk,not greenday. everyone is trying to fit in and all be the same. rock n roll is dying. great music is dying. i wish i grew up in the 60's when rebellion was its just a social sect.

Anonymous said...

Anthony: Synthesizers are your friend.

Also, cocks.

Anonymous said...

I must say, I agree with Anthony, which is why I listen to heavy metal and classical (from the classical era and whatnot)

Anonymous said...

There's still plenty of good new music.

Take a look at Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Muse, Incubus, and there are plenty of others.

Anonymous said...

Did someone say Coldplay? Not to pick on them... well.. yes I will.

I have to say, radio is pretty much a dead medium as far as finding new music is concerned. We have a local publicly owned radio station that plays nothing but insipid, uninspired "indie" music. That's as good as it gets. Even the college radio station plays almost nothing but godawful 3 chord pseudo-punk bands. I guess they're trying to be edgy, but I can think of a lot edgier experimental music they could be playing instead. Oh well.

AlphaOmega said...

Here we go, no holds barred telling you little buggers how it is:

Fuck POP
Fuck Coldplay
Fuck Miley Cyrus
Fuck Disney
Fuck Anyone defending new music
Fuck Execs
Fuck Republicans
And last but not least...
FUCK YOU... stop buying shit music please, your perpetuating our spiral down the toilet......

Danny said...

Anthony and AlphaOmega hit the nail on the fucking head

Alan said...

Honestly, at the time I'm 16 and I can't stand new music.

In my opinion the gold lies in the sixties, seventies, eighties, and if you take a second to compare a bit you find that all the 'new' music is horribly uninspired stuff that seems to come out of "Hey, I found two bars that sound good. Let's stretch this out" and it seems like they try to put it all into three-four minutes.

I'd go on but Anthony said just what I was thinking.
The old stuff is dying, the new stuff flimsily tries to fill its shoes.

Lizzie said...

I don't like today's pop music, even though I'm thirteen. In my opinion, it's garbage. Modern music has tried to replace the good stuff. I know it's a bit awkward to many people, but my favorite artists are The Beatles and Michael Jackson. I really hope the music industry opens its eyes and realizes what they've turned music into; a crying shame.

Jeffrey said...

A crying shame that makes lots and lots of money because dumbass 12year old girls spend their parents money on it!

It's honestly all little girls, they like this terrible music that makes their little vagi's tingle because they have "cute boys" like the jonas brothers or whores they can idolize like Miley Cyrus. And since the little girls like them, the little boys decided to dress and act like them in order to try to bag a little girl.

All pop music is uninspired, mindless shit that's easy for little girls to remember the words to. With a beat that makes them want to get loose. The artists that make this music must feel so terrible about the shit they're producing because they would have to know it's utter bullshit. But I guess they've now become super rich since their late stardom.

To see a classic trend of how becoming a pop musician destroys your soul, look at the Black Eyed Peas. Their way old stuff like "Joints N Jams" used to be some of my favourite tracks, and now look at what they're making since they've gotten rich. What a waste of fucking talent.

Rant over.

The only good music these days is Dubstep and Drun N Bass.


Anonymous said...

Hey, guess what. Dubstep sucks. It's just a bunch of electronic loops put together on some fucking software program by some untalented computer geeks and you think it's great music. HAHAHA! It's too bad people like you have lost touch with the concept of what a virtuoso musician is and can no longer appreciate or discern the concept.

Anonymous said...

I have a penchant for strange music, on the metal side. I have to agree that music on the radio these days really suck. Tristania is a nice band that started in the 90's. Their music is just spectacular! Beyonce and all the other R&B/hip-pop clones cannot even BEGIN to match to the complexity and intrigue of the material they put out!

Anonymous said...

A terrible blight upon the music industry, at the moment, is, sadly, R+B. The new stuff. About half the UK top 40 consists of either that, or terrible Hiphop with people who don't so much rap as talk, and it neither makes me laugh (like old Will Smith) or move (like Public Enemy). The gneral weakness of sentiment, and, failing that, fun, is what I think is the problem here.
Hiphop isn't even my thing. I like everything but the above music and opera. And that means most things.

Anonymous said...

The problem also is that the UK top 40 is influenced by singles, which are only bought by the kids with little pocket money, a la, the 8 year old yourself as you spoke about.

The problem then has become that it's become acceptable for people to just never grow out of it, and therefore not support the general art in music.

Is it any wonder that the music industry is doing so terribly? All the music is made for temporary effect, before everybody forgets about it 2 weeks later.

I'm glad somebody said what you've said in your post. It needs to be said. ^^

Scott said...

I remember watching a YES video of the "mood for a day" solo at my friends house. Awsome. I learned a couple lines.
Now I play arabic, turkish, jazz, bulgarian, macedonian, greek, and original music influenced by classical music. I can enjoy some pop depending on the mood I am in. But I also agree with the sentiments here. My favorite types of music are traditional. Do any of the older people here remember the band "Silver Apples" from the 60's? I heard a modern pop group play the same bass line as a silver apples song, but with no soul.

Scooter said...

i wish i could go back to the early 90s san diego punk/ska scene. just hanging out with friends, skating, and seeing great bands every night....perfect

Anonymous said...

Well as for music, it's all opinion based. It's unfair to say that the best music was made from the 60s to the 80s because there were many great songs produced from there on. The simplest solution is to switch off the radio and listen to some music that YOU as a person like. There we go. Don't give some generic comment that it's so bad nowadays. Lots of it may be auto-tone but in twenty years, people will look back and appreciate it more than they appreciate the pop music of their era.

Anonymous said...

No one know how to write a decent melody with decent instrumentation. Even the singing is so banal you want to vomit. No nuance or tenderness. Take any old Antonio Carlos Jobim song like Ella singing Desafinado. Wow they used only flutes as the colour counterpoint. That was actually innovative. There's no innovation in rock music.

My hate list of mindless mediocre bullshit

Justin Beaver, (hermaphroditic puppet wank)
Pink (oooh so edgy, music completely wanks)
Myley Circus (ugly slut face)
Carrie Underwear ( voice from hell)
Taylor Swift (truly a lost soul)
Nickel Back (post grunge nonsense)

The music is so bereft of any true artistry, any genuine sentiment, any genuine message or compassion, we're breeding a generation of fucking automatons

Nate said...

If you're talking about pop music as a genre, then yes it's blown since the mid 90s. If you mean popular music, then yes it 99% sucks nowadays.

I was looking through Wikipedia over the number one singles in the U.S. since I've been born, and I can honestly say that the last good #1 single in my opinion would be Outkast's "Hey Ya!". If you looked at my music collection it would be a surprise to most that I like that song, but it was meant to be a fun dancing song and they did it well. Its last number one week was February 7, 2004. So it's been over 6 years since something good made it to the top of the charts. I was 14 at the time.

Up to the mid 90s, in my opinion, music had the wonderful combination of being popular AND good. Name almost any popular group from the Beatles to Pearl Jam and you'll no doubt find some quality music that actually had soul to it. The artists weren't always super talented, but they enjoyed creating and performing their music. That all ended when grunge died.

We then got this "post grunge" with our Creed and Nickelback, just commercial garbage. Hip-hop was no longer real, and now we get to hear all about their money, hoes, cars, bling, and anything else they own. The pop genre itself got gave us shitty corporate acts like N*Sync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, etc... We got some crappy Nu Metal bands like Limp Bizkit and Drowning Pool. Nu Metal isn't actually part of the metal genre, despite its title. Rock music is trying to be hard and heavy with bands like Godsmack, and Mudvayne, yet these bands are usually just too generic to be noteworthy. There's the soft-rock people like Coldplay, making awful radio-friendly music with no originality or creativity. And what's up with "pop-punk"? Fall Out Boy, All American Rejects, Paramore, etc... They all suck donkey. Don't even get me started on Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, or Justin Bieber. Just so much shit, crap, poo, dung, turds, and anything else that is a word for feces.

I got an iPod just today, and if you look through it you'll find that probably over half of the stuff on it was made before or around the time I was born. Why, you ask? It's because much of music stopped being good around then. I just can't comprehend why the musical taste of the masses has been degraded from pizza and ice cream to mud and sewage. Sadly I used to be one of these people I describe. Not entirely (my dad's music collection saved me from certain doom), but what all the cool kids were listening too was what I was in on as well, in hopes that I'd "fit in". Then I heard Dragonforce (they were pretty much unknown back in 2004) and my whole musical palette changed from an eight box of Crayolas to the huge 96 pack (sharpener included!).

I can thankfully say that despite all this crap on the radio, not every one of us youngsters have fallen into the clutches of the record companies. We don't all try to fit into any image that the industry tries to market us. I looked back on a Kansas video and saw a big ugly guy with a huge beard, but he was talented and loved what he did. Best of all, no one gave a fuck because they were too busy rocking out. No one can be big and ugly with a huge beard and succeed on today's top 40 radio. People are too focused on image rather than talent or soul. A perfect example of this comes from a comedian named Jon Lajoie. He made an awesome parody of today's music industry with his song called "Pop Song". You can view it on YouTube. It’s a perfect example of how bad today's music is, and should be watched for its sadly true lyrics and hilarity.

Popular music today is dying very quickly. Some already say it's dead. That's not too far of a stretch to be honest. Maybe the Mayan calendar wasn't predicting the physical world would end in 2012, but the musical world instead.

William said...

Good comment, you write very well for a young person. Interesting perspective.

Interesting on differing perspectives with different age groups. I remember watching the Grammy award show several years ago, and one of the award winning bands that performed was Outkast. Everybody who was watching with me that night thought that band was total shit, I don't think I've ever watched the Grammies since. That's my perspective.

Jacob said...

Todays music truly is bullshit. I get sick when i even think of the actual lyrics.

For example, Lady Gaga: "I want your ugly, I want your disease, I want your everything, as long as its free." Also: "I want your psycho, I want your vertigo stick, I want you in my rear window, Baby, you're sick."

People hear it in song and think it's good or catchy. Try saying those lyrics in public, or simply to another person and seem serious, assuming they don't really know the lyrics. They'll most likely punch you in the face, or if you're in school and tell that to someone, they'll think you're a freak and then rumors and stuff. Although you can say you got those exact words from Lady Gaga and are spreading the message. Would you want a friend who talks like that and isn't joking? I know wouldn't.

Now, there are a couple artists today, mostly metal bands that i like. Although I do like Eminem, and he's the only non-metal artist I like today. I listen to bands today like Dying Fetus, mostly death-metal like, and Bullet For My Valentine, which is like a combination of metal and hard rock, although i see them as just metal.

Anyway, the artists I previously mentioned have great musical talent. I can actually tell what Eminem is saying, like in Loose Yourself: telling people not to give up. Dying has brutal music, but it is well constructed, mainly instrumentally. They don't just put a bunch of beats and sound effects together, they actually put some thought into how they play and then through the power of metal, blow out your ear drums.

I don't get why people nowadays don't appreciate skill or talent. It's like they don't even have a choice. Record companies just pick people off the streets with a decent voice and freak-like characteristics. (hence Justin Bieber since he: 1) was so young 2) never hit puberty) People are attracted to weird things.

I didn't even know he made music until a long time after he became popular because so many people made a big deal of him not hitting puberty. His fame is gonna die soon, I just know. Remember Backstreet Boys or In-sync? I don't.

Finally, I love Metallica and Slayer. 25 years old, people still listen to them. 'Nuff said.

I know this was a long rant, but this is a subject I truly believe in.

FoodforThought said...

I'm a 16 year old girl from New York, and I have never considered myself one of these "teeny-boppers" or whatever the hell they are. Never (probably because I was raised to never admire mediocrity)! My parents have always loved and exposed me to the 'era' of Ella Fitzgerald (of course, with many, many others), big bands & swing, and triple-threats (such as Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra). However, I love to listen to high-quality music in many genres.

I can't stand when others think that all of the youth are brainwashed by mainstream pop music! That just isn't the case. I've been listening to The Smiths for a while now. Honestly my top favorite. Morrissey's voice melts me and his lyrics engage me in thought. Music should be poetry set to rhythm and beats; to be decoded for a higher meaning. You should be able to relate to it, yet, it should also transcend.

There are people carrying on the legacy of the past greats, but not necessarily in the rock or popular genres. If they are, it's usually 100% underground and independent musicians working their way up.

Everyone today sounds the same because they are all striving to be different. They all want a different sound. They want to differentiate themselves from the past, but it's impossible to do so as everything comes from a predecessor. Though, without any real/solid musical ability to rely on, they turn to technology for the answer; and in this, they all become the same.

Anonymous said...

I'm fourteen years old and I HATE pop music. I remember waaay back in the early 2000's where every song was unique and when I LOVED pop music. Now it just plain sucks. Now I stay away from "mainstream media" and stick with underground music. Electronica baby ;)
Or in other words: Techno, Trance etc whatever floats your boat.

Anonymous said...

You people frustrate me to no end.

Look at these comments! You're all kids!

You're all looking to be "cool," and "unique," and "intelligent," so you bash popular music and type in a transparently-over-intelligent style.

You clearly have never taken any initiative to give popular music the respect it deserves.

Two examples, of two different genres:

Jay-Z, a popular rapper. Do I love the music of his that gets/got radio play? Not really. But he's THE GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME. You have to realize that the radio is paying homage to the genius that he is, though they may be playing only the catchiest of his songs.

Another, John Mayer. I'm not a huge Mayer fan, I think he's pretty gay, to be honest. He gets radio-play for his catchy songs. But is he just bubble-gum-pop bullsh""? NO. He's one of the most technically-talented guitarists of our generation!

So please, think before you post. I don't listen to the radio, because I don't like it. But that doesn't mean I don't respect today's popular artists.

Anonymous said...

i agree with you! ^^^^^

john mayer said himself in an interview that pop music isnt really a genre, it just means popular.

Matt K said...

Whoever said indie music was "uninspired" clearly has not spent time to listen to it. I'm 16 and work at a Honey Dew and they blast mix or whatever pop station it is. And i am forced to listen to it...over...and makes the already awful experience of working there even worse because there is no soloace to be found in the music, only catchy pain. I so look forward to going home and popping on some Sufjan Stevens, the National, Beirut, or some classical music. I love the big band and swing of the 20's 30's and 40's. I love 60's and 70's classic rock -The Who, Rush, etc- even the 80's has some great stuff. To say that there is no good music being made today is ignorant. There is, just, sadly, the majority of people just accept the crap they are spoon-fed by the radio (however I must specify that XM and Sirius Satellite Radios are somewhat exempt from the term radio, as they have stations that actually play good music.)

William said...

Matt K,
Sorry Matt, the music you grew up listening to is shit compared to the music I grew up listening to in terms of innovation, artistry and virtuosity. You are probably unfamiliar with these terms.

Matt K said...

William, I do admit that while there is not the plethora of talented musicians making good music today as there was "back in the day", there are still some really talented people in indie. Did you even listen to Sufjan? It isn't the rock brilliance from the 70's, but its just a different genre involving just as much skill. He's a virtuoso pianist, banjo player and composer, among other things. He has as many wacky time changes as Yes did in their heyday. I want a...I don't know... A valid argument. Not just saying its shit...If you don't like the folk twinges of his music that's fine, but you cannot just dismiss his talent...

Also, been ravaging my pink floyd collection lately....listened to The Wall a solid three times through. Amazing storytelling.

Matt K said...

Also William...thanks for the subtle jab at my taste in music and my intelligence by suggesting I am unaware of the meaning of "innovation, artistry and virtuosity".

Real stand up guy.

Matt K said...

Hey William, one last thing, you realize that you called the music I grew up listening to "shit" when specifically stated I listen to literally the same music you did (ie classic rock). Pink Floyd, Rush, Yes, etc: all the rock innovators, are among my favorite bands, which i had already mentioned.

Okay, now I'm done picking apart your uneducated and derogatory comment.

Back to the heart of the issue: Pop music sucks

John said...

the majority of all artistic endeavor (books, movies, music, painting, etc.) is of an adequately inferior quality that it will be forgotten in several years time; never to be re-examined. yet, a minority still exists. a minority of superior quality which only increases through the function of time. contrasting the music of today with that of previous decades and concluding that today's music is in fact inferior is a parochial way of looking at things. of course it appears today's music is inferior, a quick glance at the top 40 can tell you that immediately, time has not yet had the pleasure of filtering out the bullshit from the stuff of genius. good art is out there. it may be difficult to find, but it's waiting for you. unfortunately we will live in a society where we associate quality with popularity and as long as this remains true good art will never be popular music.

Matt K said...

I agree totally and completely with the comments from John, and the silence from William.

Anonymous said...

Some very good posts here. Since it doesn't matter who I am I'll leave a comment for you too think about. For the most part pop music has topped out with nowhere to go. The innovation of music and keyboards and other electronic wizardry led to this. What today's generation has been sold is a digital lie, cheap MP3's, and fast turn around music that has flooded the market. The industry which has been in trouble for years will continue to exploit itself and anyone that becomes apart of it.

Sara Tiemogo said...

While your opinion is not a unique one, I have to stand by the idea that music is an art form that evokes a lot of opinion, preference, and sometimes displeasure. Saying that one entire genre of music "sucks" is synonymous to saying that you don't prefer that genre...and then you go on to list genres that you prefer. Good job. I prefer the color Red. Greens and browns in my opinion, suck.
Invest your time in creating music that you feel passionate about, rather than trying to raise your preferences to great heights by bashing others' music.
saratiemogo . com

William said...

No Sara, You're right about the misnomer title of this post - it should more accurately read: the musical culture and environment for creative expression and artistry is not what it used to be because of many factors, both industry and educational that have influenced the craft of music making and musicianship and it's marketing.

That is what Zappa is essentially saying in this interview, at least the commentary on the industry.

It's more than just 'pop music sucks' ... more to the point, 'our culture sucks' because it's being dumbed down and the craft of making music has been reduced to the pushing of key strokes on a computer rather than hours of meticulous practicing, theoretical understanding, and hard work.

To be successful in pop music, innovation is a curse, you need to sound like something people have heard before or project an attitude that is rebellious, naughty, slutty, or sexual to become noticed. Pop music is more about image than music.

Where I teach music, we have a major in songwriting that requires very little in the way of music instruction. It's not even considered a "music major" ... I hope you get my point.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hate on the person who thought "Metal" was garbage like punk. WTF are you listing to? Real metal is one of the top styles of music on guitar witht he most skill next to classical and jazz. You must not know what metal is. If its on the radio then it isnt metal.

Metal is one of the few styles thats still writtin in a classical way. It alows creativity and freedom. Examples? Look up Stephan Forte of Adagio Amazing skills, heavly classic based. Nightwish and Epica are heavy Orchrestra based bands. Look at Norther,Children of Bodom, Wintersun, Rhapsody of Fire and a ton of other Finland/European metal bands. That type of music requires skill well above anything.

I agree most music today sucks, its because it isnt written by Musicians, the producers dont know a dime about music and theory. just numbers and money.

William said...

I agree and respect the element of virtuosity in metal but it shouldn't be confused with classical music instrument playing. Classical guitar, for example, puts a huge emphasis on tone production from the acoustic instrument and the different qualities of tone color and nuance that can be created solely by the use of the fingernails, wood and string. Metal does not have this aspect of artistry associated with it.

Anonymous said...

If you think about it, kanye west and Swiss beats have some musical talent. Sure they just use 60's r&b samples but they (in some tracks at least) rearrange it and reconstruct it so that it sounds utterly different than what usually comes out. I guess there are better artists than these guys but they're probably all underground. Sad sad state of today's music

Anonymous said...

Pop is disgusting these days
They use retarted auto tune with every song and use computer crap and have people right there own songs or cover other songs
Down with Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga
Up with AC/DC and Metallica

Anonymous said...

(This is just my opinion, but I am going to say it anyway)
Honestly I feel that music today has completely lost its originality and talent, and its meaning, I personally like rock/metal cause I feel that I can relate to it the most, and the things I look for in music is, good lyrics, good talent. I mainly listen to Rock/metal, but I listen to the pop groups, T.a.T.u, Pink, and I do like Adam Lambert too, I have my reason on why I like those three groups, 0ne, They each have talent (Such as that they all can actually sing, most of them write good lyrics, etc...). So yeah, I have a slightly unique taste in music, but this is my opinion.

Anonymous said...

so true modern pop radio music is complete shit.. i'm 16 and its terrible and the lyrics have no meaning whatsoever that's why i listen to post hardcore(screamo) and metal bands like Dead by April and Adept because there songs have meaning and i love them.... MAINSTREAM MUSIC is complete shit..

Anonymous said...


All little girls? Isn't that a bit too stereotypical? Cause when I was 12, I didn't like those types of music either. Sure, some of them were pretty good, but not many. To me, rock is still the closest to real music. Especially Evanescence. Most people wouldn't listen to their music because they think the songs are too depressing. But to me and most of their fans, that's life.

Tristan said...

Thank god i grew up listening to the beatles, bon jovi, etc.. Im 12 now, and i cant stand the radio, even for a minute. Its all the same crappy songs about "love and shit".. Screw the songs of today, i want the songs of yesterday! If only i was born in the 60s.....

Anonymous said...

I'm 13 (don't hate) and I totally agree. Pop music nowadays is purely getting high, or one night stands and other unethical things. When I heard my sister singing about bondage (rihanna's "S+M") I was very worried.
I myself happen to produce several genres of electronic music on my PC, and like a variety of genres from Ska, classical, house, metal and classic rock. I find it really annoying that these artists don't get as much love as pop artists yet they spend all of their time pleasing their fans, instead of churning out a useless song every week (pop)

Jason said...

The main reason why I can't stand pop music is because the lyrics mean absolutely NOTHING. I mean how does a song like I Just Had Sex by the lonely island get millions of views, yet amazing meaningful bands like Silverstein Enter Shikari and the post hardcore genre itself get no recognition. I mean I know a lot of people dont like screaming but I think post hardcore is the best genre out there today. The lyrics mean something and the albums are great. I sang a few songs to my beautiful girlfriend and she loved them. The people actually have talent and play instruments instead of stupid shit like One Direction. Of you haven't already, give post hardcore a try, I found out about it by accident and ended up loving it. And btw I'm not some emo fag I just love the music

Lot44Music said...

Pop, hip hop, rap, etc is all staring to sound the same. I think our culture has been in this position before, and there's been a musical movement that has changed things. We're at that point again and it's time for a change.

Lot44Music said...


Anonymous said...

She's briliant!!!

olicool10 said...

The Lonely Island are popular (on Youtube, not on the pop charts) because they are a comedy rap group. Basically, what they are rapping about (but I cried the whole time) (doesn't matter, had sex!)is ridiculously desperate from the song's perspective and funny. Don't get the wrong image, The Lonely Island are talented and hilarious.
Pop still sucks after 5 years, although I heard some really good songs on the radio (Gotye, Ellie Goulding, Adelle).

Anonymous said...

The Dick Clarking of our culture is what modern Pop music is built on. If its easy to listen to and Has a beat its good. If music were math Pop music is childrens arithmitic. Before Dick Clark and his deciples Pop music included greats such as Frank Sinatra the Beatles and even Duke Ellington. But short songs rule especially if you need to sell products which. So Sell us Soap and Fear and convince us that we are sooooo cool because we can recite some stupid words and we know some inane gossup about some star that could give a f.....

corey ver Planck said...

I truly cant stand pop, its taking over the music industr..... Pitbull, Niki Minaj, Rihanna, And all the stupid boy bands! Music used to be so fun to listen to, and now all this crap comes on now when im listening to the radio and im so tired of it.... Wheres my rock n roll?