any of you ever notice the "hot" music these days? you know, that punk shit and rap and nu metal and especiially EMO. my friends, that is the music that represents America, and that is the music that SHOULDNT represent us, because it just plain sucks monkey ass. see.. its bands like dashboard confessional and the all american rejects that makes us white guys look like pussies. because when other people from different countries look into american music, they see the popular trendy shit, and they think... "god damn those americans listen to pussy music....so they all must be pussies!!!" and the non pussy music is the music that mtv is just too fuckin scared to play on tv. i hope shit will change in the future and more people will see the true American music. METAL \m/
(popular) american music
- Thread starter cephalic laceration
- Start date
Emotional music is not our problem. Nor is the world thinking we're pussies.
The problem is the finances and the marketing.
Shit IS changing thanks to the internet.
The problem is the finances and the marketing.
Shit IS changing thanks to the internet.
Life Sucks
and then you die
Hip hop is the worst. A few times when I was in Europe people asked me what kind of music I like, and when I told them they were stunned and said something like: "Wow, you mean you don't listen to hip hop??? You're American!" It is terrible that talentless morons like Nelly, 50 Cent, and Ja Rule represent American music.
I listen to hip hop, but I agree. It's not a lack of talent that irritates me so much. It's a lack of substance in the mainstream hip hop scene. It's already a wide-spread stereotype that Americans are a bunch of arrogant, greedy assholes. Mainstream hip hop, for the most part, flaunts this stereotype, among others, like it's a badge of honor. With all the shit going on in the World, are we supposed to be impressed that some guy spends more on rims for his car than most people make in a year? I'm not impressed, I'm disgusted.
To make things so much worse, people eat it up. All you need is a catchy hook and dominating mass media repetition and the people buy it in droves. Looks help a hell of a lot, too. I guess they want to listen to music to help them forget rather than inspire.
It also drives me nuts that so many people in the World think that this is a good representation of american culture. They complain that our culture is dominating their own. This mass-produced, meaningless feel good music is not our culture. It's a cold, heartless business which drowns out our true culture as well.
"mtv is to music what KFC is to chicken." - Lewis Black.
Long live the underground in all its forms.
To make things so much worse, people eat it up. All you need is a catchy hook and dominating mass media repetition and the people buy it in droves. Looks help a hell of a lot, too. I guess they want to listen to music to help them forget rather than inspire.
It also drives me nuts that so many people in the World think that this is a good representation of american culture. They complain that our culture is dominating their own. This mass-produced, meaningless feel good music is not our culture. It's a cold, heartless business which drowns out our true culture as well.
"mtv is to music what KFC is to chicken." - Lewis Black.
Long live the underground in all its forms.
MightyDrynwhyl
Funeral doom is my life
the only popular music band i like is afi only because they have nice melodies, i hate all of the other popular crap though, pop punk, pop, emo, mainstream rock, nu-".....", hip hop, etc, i dont hate it because its popular, i hate it because its so fucking boring. it all sounds just like everything else stupid fucking mtv ruined the country with all the uninspired bullshit they put on and all the fads they change
Anti-pop is just as bad as pop itself, in my oppinion. Sometimes a band comes along doing their own thing and they just happen to catch onto a trend. What should they do?
I understand getting frustrated with trends. I understand having no patience for soft, and by soft I mean weak and soulless, music.
When it comes to "pop" music, my main concern is the kids. A thirty year old listening to Madonna is no big deal. A twelve year old listening to 'N Synk is a big deal. Life is not all pretty and it's time that the parents in the suburbs stop trying to shelter their children.
People want to blame metal and rap for the problems of society, (high school shootings especially, in the suburbs). The problem is on the other side of the coin. The problem is this bubble gum pop bullshit which dominates their schools.
It does nothing but support everything that's wrong with the high school social structure.
Emo? That's a great trend. Helping kids deal with their feelings of being an outsider... a "loser". Highschool's a tough time. If you want to sit in your room and cry about it, who can blame you. Those who do blame you have the same problems. They just deal with them differently.
As for this hip hop factor... there's a great and diverse underground to hip hop. It's the most political musical movement in our country today. The problem is that the only way you can find out about it is through the internet.
These inner city kids have such shitty role models. They've got racist preachers and parents, more often than not. They're recovering from a crack epidemic which turned their neighborhoods into a war zone. They don't have the internet. If they don't have cable, though, one of their friends does.
There is the occasional video with a social conscience. I bet older brothers of these kids watching these socially conscious videos make fun of the videos and call them soft.
I have no good segway, but fuck hating on bands like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. A band comes through this mess of a music business with a heartfelt message and gets dissed by metal fans everywhere. It's called working within the system and it's the best way to get your message across.
I understand getting frustrated with trends. I understand having no patience for soft, and by soft I mean weak and soulless, music.
When it comes to "pop" music, my main concern is the kids. A thirty year old listening to Madonna is no big deal. A twelve year old listening to 'N Synk is a big deal. Life is not all pretty and it's time that the parents in the suburbs stop trying to shelter their children.
People want to blame metal and rap for the problems of society, (high school shootings especially, in the suburbs). The problem is on the other side of the coin. The problem is this bubble gum pop bullshit which dominates their schools.
It does nothing but support everything that's wrong with the high school social structure.
Emo? That's a great trend. Helping kids deal with their feelings of being an outsider... a "loser". Highschool's a tough time. If you want to sit in your room and cry about it, who can blame you. Those who do blame you have the same problems. They just deal with them differently.
As for this hip hop factor... there's a great and diverse underground to hip hop. It's the most political musical movement in our country today. The problem is that the only way you can find out about it is through the internet.
These inner city kids have such shitty role models. They've got racist preachers and parents, more often than not. They're recovering from a crack epidemic which turned their neighborhoods into a war zone. They don't have the internet. If they don't have cable, though, one of their friends does.
There is the occasional video with a social conscience. I bet older brothers of these kids watching these socially conscious videos make fun of the videos and call them soft.
I have no good segway, but fuck hating on bands like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. A band comes through this mess of a music business with a heartfelt message and gets dissed by metal fans everywhere. It's called working within the system and it's the best way to get your message across.
BodomPrincess
bunnies rock my socks
Popular American music is just whatever little teeny boppers can copy off of so they can be "cool". (I should know, it's exactly how kids in my school are). If nu metal is popular you see everyone with Slipknot or Limp Biskit shirts on, if Avril is popular they go around wearing ties, if Nelly is popular they go around with baggy jeans tied around their legs below their asses and oversized sport jerseys. It's just all about the image these days. Images sell, that's all the music industry cares about.
But I defintely give props to the bands out there that aren't as popular and maybe have a couple of music videos but they have more than an image, they have the music, and why isn't the music all that matters? Why is image always piled on top of what should actually be noticed?
But I defintely give props to the bands out there that aren't as popular and maybe have a couple of music videos but they have more than an image, they have the music, and why isn't the music all that matters? Why is image always piled on top of what should actually be noticed?
Great point.
Suburban teenagers are the main marketing target these days. They're young, naive, and have too much money.
Suburban teenagers are the main marketing target these days. They're young, naive, and have too much money.
oceanqueen44
Sofa King Cool
I got sort of the same reaction too! - only this one was from my dad's friends...... Whenever my parents entertain or whatever, Everyone gets to hear what they want, so I'll bring down my metal cds and what not to play... and then they're like: "I can't believe you are a teen and you don't listen to rap!" ... It's ignorant and funny ( in some ways) at the same time! and then I got a marriage proposal from a guy who is way older then me becuase I'm one of the few women he'd met that dosen't listen to rap!! how ridiculous!!Life Sucks said:
I'm like everyone else on this board... I just don't like rap.. I decided when I was very young that I didn't like it and I still don't... It does nothing for me!
NFU
I like pie.
Lyrically, metal isnt that much better than Hip Hop. Theres exceptions in both genres...but both lack a lot of substance in most cases. Metal has a lot more to offer musically, but it kinda bothers me to see people saying how bad Hip Hop is for "being nothing but money, bitches and cars"....when most metal cant touch upon more than 3 topics either these days.
Holy, my school is filled with teeny boppers and posers..i cant stand it. *dies* I think I want to live in Sweden when I'm older 
Sweeden's got plenty of the same kind of bullshit.
Right on Hypnos.
I'd like to expand a bit on the marketing factor. I remember, when I was in highschool, the grunge scene exploded. I had been wearing flanel my whole life. (It was practical in MI as it was in Seatle. It gets cold up in this bitch.) Within a year, the flanel shirts at my local store went from $10 to over $30. I'm sure they were selling a hell of a lot more of them, too. I remember further back, when hair metal was big, they sold pre-ripped jeans.
It's all a part of this nasty ploy to turn our children into consumers. It's worked like buttah for 50 years. We are, now, a nation of consumers, living fat on the products of slave labour.
Now, with the export businesses having so much freedom, often downright governmental support, these same companies are using the same tactics on other countries throughout the world. Naturally, it's working. People are people, after all.
Did anyone see the "special interest story" about the Afghani who loved America and they showed him dancing to the backstreet boys? The guy was at least 18 years old. Are we supposed to feel good about that? Incidentally, I remember back in '91 they got some guy to dance around to Micheal Jackson.
I think this could be a very interesting thread. Give your full opinions and reasoning. Remember, a forum is what you make of it. :]
Right on Hypnos.
I'd like to expand a bit on the marketing factor. I remember, when I was in highschool, the grunge scene exploded. I had been wearing flanel my whole life. (It was practical in MI as it was in Seatle. It gets cold up in this bitch.) Within a year, the flanel shirts at my local store went from $10 to over $30. I'm sure they were selling a hell of a lot more of them, too. I remember further back, when hair metal was big, they sold pre-ripped jeans.
It's all a part of this nasty ploy to turn our children into consumers. It's worked like buttah for 50 years. We are, now, a nation of consumers, living fat on the products of slave labour.
Now, with the export businesses having so much freedom, often downright governmental support, these same companies are using the same tactics on other countries throughout the world. Naturally, it's working. People are people, after all.
Did anyone see the "special interest story" about the Afghani who loved America and they showed him dancing to the backstreet boys? The guy was at least 18 years old. Are we supposed to feel good about that? Incidentally, I remember back in '91 they got some guy to dance around to Micheal Jackson.
I think this could be a very interesting thread. Give your full opinions and reasoning. Remember, a forum is what you make of it. :]
I liked nu-metal from its beginning, before fred durst turned it into rap rock. Then bands were about the music and making something different. But after limp bizkit it got commercialized (no rock band should sell dolls and lunchboxes) , and tons of new bands appeared that were just in this to make money. This is when tenny-boppers and posers began to like it only becasue it was popular. There are still good numetal bands now, it is just harder to find them. But i think numetal is dying out now and a new trend will emerge and will replace it. I think the new trend will be more people listening to mainstream rap (which sucks cuz all they sing about are bitches and money) and to bands that use gothic imagery, even though they are not really goth. I hate what pop does because it takes away from music and makes music dull. And i hate how so many people are willing to listen to stuff just becasue at the time it is "cool." That is what happened to Cobain, he hated pop and couldnt handle the fact that his music became what he despised. Let me know what you think?
I think that rap/rock will be replaced by rap/country and people will look back to the good ol' days when there was sensible music like rap/rock.
segaszivos
Member
Every country has crap music too and its mainstream there too. The only problem is that our country happens to be the one where the crap mainstream music is made.
Krigloch the Furious
Pants full of poo
MTV sucks, they dont even play music videos anymore (unless your watching at 4am). Most of what they show is stupid shows that have nothing to do with music. And the shows that do show music (*coughTRLcough*) show shitty music and dont even show the whole video. I cant stand watching MTV.
MTV2 claims to be all about the underground, but they play the exact same crap as MTV, except they show the whole video. The only thing i ever watch on this channel is headbangers ball, because occasionally they play a good video, and i watch the old episodes of bevis and butthead when they are on.
MTV U shows different music than MTV/MTV2, but most of the music on this channel is underground emo/soft rock that i cant stand listening to.
Therefore all MTV stations are TERRIBLE and nobody should have to listen to them. I dont understand how they are all so popular....
MTV2 claims to be all about the underground, but they play the exact same crap as MTV, except they show the whole video. The only thing i ever watch on this channel is headbangers ball, because occasionally they play a good video, and i watch the old episodes of bevis and butthead when they are on.
MTV U shows different music than MTV/MTV2, but most of the music on this channel is underground emo/soft rock that i cant stand listening to.
Therefore all MTV stations are TERRIBLE and nobody should have to listen to them. I dont understand how they are all so popular....
Ok. Here's how I see things. DBB, I applaud your convictions in that it's not the genre of music that is at fault, it's those who exploit it. Whatever replaces this rap/rock trend, and whatever replaces that down the line, I hope you'll remember the time when the music you liked went mainstream and everyone bashed it.
Segaszivos, I agree that every country has similar problems. I don't think that it's so much that we manufacture the 'pop' music. I think that the problem lies more with the fact that creating a 'pop' culture, of which music always was and always will be a major part, has worked so well in our country. It's all about manipulating the masses to yield to social norms, the center of which, for the marketers who control the airwaves, is measured in the purchase of material goods.
Krigloch, you've hit on a great frustration of mine. There's no variety in the mainstream. We live in the most culturally diverse country in the world while the radio and tv portray something completely different. Damn near every radio station focuses on either country, rock, or rap/r&b. It's a big deal that there's a Latino sitcom on now. The lack of variety is rediculous. We need a cultural revival as much as anyone. On the streets, you run into all kinds of people. This mass media distortion of reality is a truly serious problem.
DBB, once again, you're right about mtv and the fact that it's not even about music anymore. I don't get cable, but my friend gets the digital hookup. I like to watch mtv jams when I'm over there because sometimes they play some videos that I've never seen. I was watching the movie Bullworth on vh1 today at my parents' house. I wanted my parents to watch it, so I kept it on the same station through the commercials. From the commercials I saw, vh1 may as well change their name to E!2. It's all about fashion, celebrities, and sex. It's all about feeding the masses their daily allowance of bullshit while making them sit still through commercials so that they won't miss what's coming up next.
Segaszivos, I agree that every country has similar problems. I don't think that it's so much that we manufacture the 'pop' music. I think that the problem lies more with the fact that creating a 'pop' culture, of which music always was and always will be a major part, has worked so well in our country. It's all about manipulating the masses to yield to social norms, the center of which, for the marketers who control the airwaves, is measured in the purchase of material goods.
Krigloch, you've hit on a great frustration of mine. There's no variety in the mainstream. We live in the most culturally diverse country in the world while the radio and tv portray something completely different. Damn near every radio station focuses on either country, rock, or rap/r&b. It's a big deal that there's a Latino sitcom on now. The lack of variety is rediculous. We need a cultural revival as much as anyone. On the streets, you run into all kinds of people. This mass media distortion of reality is a truly serious problem.
DBB, once again, you're right about mtv and the fact that it's not even about music anymore. I don't get cable, but my friend gets the digital hookup. I like to watch mtv jams when I'm over there because sometimes they play some videos that I've never seen. I was watching the movie Bullworth on vh1 today at my parents' house. I wanted my parents to watch it, so I kept it on the same station through the commercials. From the commercials I saw, vh1 may as well change their name to E!2. It's all about fashion, celebrities, and sex. It's all about feeding the masses their daily allowance of bullshit while making them sit still through commercials so that they won't miss what's coming up next.
MFJ
Active Member
Sweden is indeed full of some of the same pop bullshit (not to dis), but surprisingly a lot of their pop music really isn't that bad. I plan on spending heavy time in Scandanavia (possibly even the rest of my life) when I'm done with school- but its not because I have the false idea in my head that there are billboards for Opeth and Vintersorg all over Gothenburg, its because I'm fascinated with the mythology, folklore and nature... and its what I want to study.
