Is there a conspiracy to dumb us through horrible music?
Lets examine the state of contemporary popular music closely. Its almost as if we can see a purposeful trend to dumb it down. In the past twenty years (about the same time-frame of the introduction of the music CD oddly enough) we see a shift towards hype, commerciality, and image over substance, quality, and talent. A serious critic of the current state of popular music cannot refute this trend. How, and why is this happening?
Weve seen an apparent deterioration of critical through in this electronic age. This collective evanescence of criticism lies at the core of the shifting state of the music industry. Or, more importantly, is the shifting state of the quality of music, teaching us to be less critical in general.
A reluctance to evaluate music critically is prevalent. There seems to exist a dichotomy between those who actually evaluate the music scene critically and those who simply accept what is presented via MTV and popular FM radio. Is this dichotomy planned, or simply a result of responding to the culturally deteriorating masses?
To illustrate this odd split, we need only review the two most popular music publications, Rolling Stone, and Spin. In the current February issue of Spin, British rockers Radiohead received Spin readers best artist, album (Kid A), and song (Optimistic) awards, while the Rolling Stones readers gave their best album prize to the Backstreet Boys with their new release Black & Blue. Rolling Stones readers voted Limp Bizkit as best hard rock/metal band, while Spins readers voted Limp Bizkit as worst artist and also honored Bizkit with the worst-album award for the groups latest release, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
Clearly the polarization of the readers of Spin and Rolling Stone indicates a split between those with the ability to analyze critically and those who simply consume what is presented. An analytical assessment of the music of Limp Bizkit or of the Backstreet Boys reveals tracks devoid of any redeeming artistic or imaginative value. However, a similar analysis of the music of Radiohead reveals a better level of depth and artistic ingenuity.
So the question I present asks whether the music has become dumb in response to the populace response to mega-marketing of popular music; or, is there an effort to present non-artistic, non-imaginative music to dumb down the masses?
Lets examine the state of contemporary popular music closely. Its almost as if we can see a purposeful trend to dumb it down. In the past twenty years (about the same time-frame of the introduction of the music CD oddly enough) we see a shift towards hype, commerciality, and image over substance, quality, and talent. A serious critic of the current state of popular music cannot refute this trend. How, and why is this happening?
Weve seen an apparent deterioration of critical through in this electronic age. This collective evanescence of criticism lies at the core of the shifting state of the music industry. Or, more importantly, is the shifting state of the quality of music, teaching us to be less critical in general.
A reluctance to evaluate music critically is prevalent. There seems to exist a dichotomy between those who actually evaluate the music scene critically and those who simply accept what is presented via MTV and popular FM radio. Is this dichotomy planned, or simply a result of responding to the culturally deteriorating masses?
To illustrate this odd split, we need only review the two most popular music publications, Rolling Stone, and Spin. In the current February issue of Spin, British rockers Radiohead received Spin readers best artist, album (Kid A), and song (Optimistic) awards, while the Rolling Stones readers gave their best album prize to the Backstreet Boys with their new release Black & Blue. Rolling Stones readers voted Limp Bizkit as best hard rock/metal band, while Spins readers voted Limp Bizkit as worst artist and also honored Bizkit with the worst-album award for the groups latest release, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
Clearly the polarization of the readers of Spin and Rolling Stone indicates a split between those with the ability to analyze critically and those who simply consume what is presented. An analytical assessment of the music of Limp Bizkit or of the Backstreet Boys reveals tracks devoid of any redeeming artistic or imaginative value. However, a similar analysis of the music of Radiohead reveals a better level of depth and artistic ingenuity.
So the question I present asks whether the music has become dumb in response to the populace response to mega-marketing of popular music; or, is there an effort to present non-artistic, non-imaginative music to dumb down the masses?
