Pop Music Gets a Bad Rap!!

Recently, I got to read an article on Wired magazine titled "Pop Music is Boring".  The article went on to describe how today's pop music all sounds the same.  And she used the following mashup by vissagan as an example to prove her point.

She also goes on to argue that in today's Pop culture the words "club", "hands", "party", and "alcohol" are used repeatedly in song lyrics.  

Now I produce mashups on a weekly basis for my club gigs and radio mix-shows, so I understand there are relationships between songs that may be predictable but also unlikely.  In the above example, the person who created the Pop mashup just put a bunch of vocal parts on the same beat.  Some elements I can clearly hear that he modified the key of the singer to fit the key of the song.  In my opinion, the entire mashup was a mess.  But if the goal was to showcase how Pop music is so similar these days, by taking different vocals and layering them on the same beat, I have a counter to that argument.

In the example below, I take a well known House track that many may consider a House anthem and layered it with thirteen different vocals from the same genre.  The only exception being "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, which many might consider a classic and beyond pop-bashing.

You can hear that the vocal elements I use fit the melodic progression and key of the song, but they are different.  Different verses, hooks, choruses.  If you listen to the content of the lyrics, many sing about "Dancing", "Clubbing", and "Love".  My point is that based on my mashup example, it does not prove that House music is boring.  And based on vissagan's Pop mashup above, the argument that Pop music is boring also has no merit.  

What is true is that people have opinions.  And at the end of the day you have to qualify your assertion by stating "This is my opinion only".  The writer of the article, Holt Kay, heard the Pop mashup and came to the conclusion "Aha, this means Pop music is repetitive and boring".  It's clear she does not have experience producing music, or creating mashups.  To a mashup artist, we understand that songs have a relationship with one another on some level.  As a result, it's possible to combine songs together and exploit those tonal relationships.  That is what we mashup artists do on the regular.

As for the criticism directed to the lyrics in Pop music today.  it's not that much different than it was 20-30 years ago.  Since when does Pop music have to be so serious?  Pop music today is intended for people to dance and party, not take life so seriously.  That's like criticizing a bar for selling alcohol.  Even the quintessential Hip-Hop song "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by The Sugarhill Gang, is all about partying, sex, cars, money, status, competition, and more sex.  Nothing deep going on there folks.  And to top it off, it uses a breakbeat from the Disco hit "Good Times" by Chic.  

Personally, I can appreciate all types of music and take it for what it is.  I can enjoy Jazz and Classical music, but understand that it may not resonate well at a party or night club.  And I can respect that some songs aim to tell us a story or make us reflect.  And I am present enough to realize that as I get older and as music evolves, I may fall out of favor with the current trends and reminisce of the days gone past when I believed music was "real".  But in reality, that would just signify that I have fallen behind with the times and that is what I think has happened with Ms. Holt in writing her piece on Pop music.  But that is just my opinion on that. ;)