Why Pop Music Sucks

[Judas Priest]

I found this pretty interesting; hope this hasn´t been posted here before:

 

[nj pheonix]

Never saw this. I never analyzed it but the suckage was clear.

 

[DaveVoorhis]

There's that.

And this:


You can replace "trite love" with "pop music" for equal truth.

 

[Route 66]

I knew it wasn't just my imagination!

 

[Bodyblue]

I find that the voices are still as good as ever, but a lot of new music I dont care for. I love it when younger stars sing the old standards or even the old rock songs.

But since it is so subjective I dont worry about what sucks and what does not.....I just listen to what I like.

 

[tubed]

 

[imral3]

Book-marking so I remember to watch later... when I'm NOT listening to music.

 

[restorer-john]

I found this pretty interesting; hope this hasn´t been posted here before:

Thanks for posting that. I'll play that video for my boys.

 

[jdmccall]

A lot of good points, for sure. I mostly agree with him, but a couple of things to remember:

Ever since the first piece of music was recorded, every recording made reduces the number of original recordings left that can be made by precisely one. Eventually there can be nothing new to hear under the sun.

The other thing: Not all good or great music is appealing at first listen. In fact, in my experience, the opposite if more true. Elvis Costello did not appeal to me at all at first. I bought the album "My Aim Is True", based on a review in Stereo Review. I listened once and put it away. Something pulled me back to it months later and a couple of things clicked. Then the listens got closer and closer. Today, I own practically every EC release.

On the other hand, some recordings I really liked right away, have grown tired or dated to me.

In a nut shell, good music is good music, period, and good sound is a big part of the equation. It's hard to separate the two, IMO.

 

[tubed]

 

[nj pheonix]

i always felt in some way music videos led to the demise of the quality music . To be honest, i like music videos. I'm also sure many other factors were involved. I just felt that the visual presentation lent itself to appealing to viewers as opposed to just listeners and the medium change. I also think that's the first video i ever saw. My local cable company used to run them between features on what was then HBO (i think at the time it was the only movie channel). They called it video jukebox. Years before MTV happened.

 

[tubed]

 

[spicer]

I found this pretty interesting; hope this hasn´t been posted here before:

Thank you for the link. Something I knew from experience but without the behind the scene details. Despite the genre and allowing for exceptions the general sameness is unmistakable among the most successful artists. The demonstration of compression is exactly the affect I find most annoying, and they used to do this long ago with 45's mixed for small portables or AM car radios... some more some less. It is kind of ironic that never hardware and media allows for much higher dynamic range and headroom yet it is often the most compressed. One can sometimes hear the compressor breathing, or pumping. I do not believe my opinion is a generational issue... but I agree with the link, modern pop music is increasingly vapid, lyrics and music. My opinion.

 

[Condorsat]

I can still find "pop" albums I like via Tidal. Last night I played Ed Sheeran album / (pronounced divide). I've seen the YouTube video below (like it) but never played the entire album till last night. Must say .. I liked it all .. every song. Definitely modern .. but I still liked it.

Not that many for sure .. my favorite recordings/mastering was the Classic Rock era .. but I still find some new stuff I like that I save on my album list on Tidal.

 

[tubed]

 

[Cactus Bob]

i always felt in some way music videos led to the demise of the quality music .

I agree . . . People need to be entertained, I was never in that boat.

 

[kirk57]

I found this pretty interesting; hope this hasn't been posted here before

It has. Just can't find the thread.

I'll say it again: this is not something you are going to hear from most people under 30.
I remember my dad saying the exact same thing about the music I liked.

 

[tubed]

i always felt in some way music videos led to the demise of the quality music . To be honest, i like music videos. I'm also sure many other factors were involved. I just felt that the visual presentation lent itself to appealing to viewers as opposed to just listeners and the medium change. I also think that's the first video i ever saw. My local cable company used to run them between features on what was then HBO (i think at the time it was the only movie channel). They called it video jukebox. Years before MTV happened.

Most music videos were rather corny imagery-wise but had nothing to do with the quality of music.

 

[musichal]

I'm a Loser, Baby, So Why Don't You Kill Me? is new to me. Just heard it a couple weeks ago for the first time, on FM. I do listen to newer music than that sometimes.

Reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago with a twelve-year-old boy who liked music. I played something new I thought he'd like, and he did, but corrected my error, "That isn't new - it was released six months ago."

Well, when you're twelve, six months is a long time - represents much more of your life experience than it does when you're in your sixties. New is relative.

 

[SoCal Sam]

Record executives, producers, mixers who fancy themselves artists, and commercial imperative have all combined to dull artistic clarity and individuality. The result are pop stars who look the part but can't sing. The vocals are over-processed and accompanied with the formulaic wall of sound, all mixed to sound decent on ear buds, clock radios, and the worst single speaker car radios. FM dictates 3 minute format which limits artistic freedom and indulgence. Seriously, when was the last time a top ten track made you marvel at the artistry and talent of the vocalists and musicians? For me, the era of artists ended around 1990.