The state of Pop Music has to be at an all time low

[JayKeeley]

Anyone watch the MTV VMA awards?

Pop Music now basically includes Hip Hop, "boyband" punk rock a la Blink182 or Sum41 style, and Jessica Simspon. That's it.

Even when pop music was considered to be cheesy and manufactured, I don't think it was EVER this bad was it? Pop music to me once included bands like U2, REM, Phil Collins, and Duran Duran. OK so it was music for the masses, but they did write their own songs and play their own instruments. Shit, John Talyor for Duran Duran was an astounding bass player.

Even in the late 80's, hip hop wasn't being aimed at middle-class white America. It was all Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions. So even more embarrasing now is watching a 50-something Bruce Willis dancing next to Puff Daddy in the MTV VMA theater aisles to some rap group.

Beverly Hills and Hollywood need to sink into the ocean now. The joke is over.

 

[NAD]

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Yeah modern popular music sucks ass and no I didn't watch the VMA's are you kidding me!? I haven't watched them shits since Peewee hosted / opened / whatever it.

Rap and modern R&B is the most stagnant music of the past 20 years. 10 years ago there were some interesting artists or at least ones that had a little talent, nowadays who do we have? All those fucks are clones from 1992 but they forgot to actually say anything so now they just sing about nachos and baby baby baby.

 

[lizard]

Rap and modern R&B is the most stagnant music of the past 20 years.

truer words were never spoken and why I sometimes feel NAD is my illegitimate younger brother. I frequently think this whenever I'm in public and they're playing R&B...it's all so "baby let me love you down" bullshit, the only real change has been the insertion of rap segments into what formerly was just an oily come-on crooning.

I, for one, would rather listen to Wilson Pickett sing Hey Jude, with Duane Allman on lead guitar. Sheer character and brilliance.

 

[NAD]

I love you lizard.

I, for one, would rather listen to Wilson Pickett sing Hey Jude, with Duane Allman on lead guitar. Sheer character and brilliance.

And now I'm humping your leg.

 

[JayKeeley]

What's funny is the audience. I'm not sure if these kids are "planted" there, but they seem to love EVERYBODY on the stage without discrimination. It's not like you have D12 or P Diddy fans that are separate to Jessica Simpson or Cristina Aguilerra fans, no, it's all the same people! And they're all grooving along and singing to all the words.

This is the same audience that goes to MTV shows to watch bands like Metallica perform.

So there are people who listen to the radio and watch MTV all the time, and love ALL the manufactured sounds that are being pushed on to them. Even ten years ago, you had different people listening to different types of pop, but now it's just one big blur of fans.

I'm sure its the same audience of people who go to see American Idol / Pop Idol....white, suburban, middle class in their late teens through to early 20's.

 

[lurch70]

the awards were a joke ... there is no bands with credibility left. those quasy Stones rip-off bands like Jet make me sick ...

maybe we are just getting old ...

 

[NAD]

No I'm pretty sure it's that music sucks now. Ever watch those "remember the 80's" shows with all the pop stuff like Flock of Seagulls and other uber-hair music? A lot of that stuff was pretty clever, the modern equivalent is drivel.

(PS I saw the first American Idol tour )

 

[Demonspell]

I've been proudly turning a blind eye to mainstream culture for at least the past eight years. Pop music has become a sad reflection of the shallowness and greed of our people. MTV has become the opiate of the masses.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

There's good pop music out there... it's just not popular.

 

[Ayeka]

the awards were a joke ... there is no bands with credibility left. those quasy Stones rip-off bands like Jet make me sick ...

maybe we are just getting old ...

I don't mind that song of theirs...that and that Scissor Sisters songs, now I think about it, are an indication that there might be some hope. That and the fact that The Darkness are still popular. It's a pity that the aforementioned R&B/hip-hop deluge still makes up most of the airwaves. It is a sad comparison to the stuff I can find in my dad's collection from ages back - songs that weren't written specifically to drive you insane...

 

[Tribal Praise]

There's good pop music out there... it's just not popular.

Agreed.

 

[NAD]

Alright well would you two mind giving some examples?

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Here's some current pop or pop-rock acts today I enjoy... of course, most of them are very obscure:

The Mayan Factor (thank you Demonspell!)
New Invisible Joy
The Juliana Theory
Omalara

um... there's probably more

 

[JayKeeley]

Here's some current pop or pop-rock acts today I enjoy... of course, most of them are very obscure:

The Mayan Factor (thank you Demonspell!)
New Invisible Joy
The Juliana Theory
Omalara

um... there's probably more

Well, I was thinking more along the lines of how MTV defines pop music. Are the bands you listed played on MTV?

 

[ProgMetalFan]

No.

 

[NAD]

I've heard OF the Juliana Theory, the others I don't recognize.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

well... The Juliana Theory used to be really gay emo... and are quite huge in emo circles... emo kids hate them now because they grew some balls and started cranking out some rather impressive rock music.

Omalara doesn't even have any recorded material... I merely saw them at a club in Pittsburgh and they put on one of the most captivating performances I've ever seen. I hope they can capture that magic in the studio some day... they had such an interesting and fresh sound.

New Invisible Joy is another band that isn't known much beyond the Pittsburgh area. Excellent fresh pop-rock... great live band with a very interesting vocalist.

Mayan Factor is a Baltimore band recommended by Demonspell. I haven't got their album yet... but what I've heard is highly impressive acoustic-based pop rock.

New Invisible Joy and Mayan Factor are both available through everybody's new favorite vendor... CDBABY!

 

[Krilons Resa]

I choose to ignore it all. Have I watched the VMA's you ask....I answer with an ASTOUNDING NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[NAD]

Watching Jessica Simpson and some white dude who thinks he's hispanic on TV right now.

Seriously. Who the fuck told this bitch she could sing? This makes Britney Spears sound like a trained opera singer.

 

[JayKeeley]

She does have nice paps though.

You ever hear that song, "Angel" by Robbie Williams? She covered that at the VMA's and it was soooo bad that she missed all the notes in the chorus, and they decided to cut the song in half.

The whole R&B thing has just gotten out of hand. Notice how the benchmark these days is for all chicks to sing like Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey -- whether they be white or black.

I just thought of a cool pop singer: Dido. Silly name, but very cool, soothing voice I think. And at least she's not trying to do all those gospel runs in every note she sings.