12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music

Johnny Abruzzo

Whatever, most pop music is just garbage. The songs are written by a bunch of honchos and I don't find them catchy or good. There are some exceptions, but most of them just suck. I haven't listened to Top 40 radio since I was about 15 probably. When I hear people I work with talk about music (and TV) I feel like I live in another world.

tybird

musicismylife78 wrote:

tybird wrote:

I wonder what would happen if one looked at the average sales of each album by the artists mentioned....how albums has Babs released....and what's the average sales of each compared to say Pearl Jams average per album...not counting the official boot legs, I guess... :twisted:

good question.

i dont wish to diminish or minimize the success of PJ, but unless you are the beatles, elvis, led zep or pink floyd or something, album sales are shockingly low for huge bands.

since 1991, PJ has sold over 30 million albums. thats a ton of albums. But think about it. thats 31 million records in 20 years. spread out over what 7 or 8 albums, countless official live releases, hundreds of official bootlegs and so on. hell Ten alone accounts for a third of the 30 million records.

i think as i said, unless you are led zep 300 million or pink floyd 200 million albums or Elvis and the Beatles 1 billion albums sold each, the album sales numbers really arent that shocking or interesting.

i also think there is a difference between albums sold in terms of pop music like the christinas and gagas and britneys of the world, and albums that mean something to the artists fans beyond background music.

with the beatles, a few years back that Across the Universe film, brilliantly depicted the 1960's world, with a script made of nearly entirely of beatles lyrics. i think that speaks to the importance and impact of the beatles. will people feel that way in 20 or 30 years about britney, or gaga, or shakira? i have no idea, but my gut says no on that, but that doesnt mean they dont make catchy fun songs.

there is a reason the pop songs get stuck in our heads. plus, lets be honest, i love getting lost in emotional, powerful albums when im sad or depressed, but i also think there is nothing better when feeling sad than listening to the radio and hearing a top 40 hit. those songs were written to help me, and the collective us deal with the world. thats the value of pop music. its life affirming. it gets your mind off the world

Excellant points...I used PJ as merely an example

musicismylife78

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

Whatever, most pop music is just garbage. The songs are written by a bunch of honchos and I don't find them catchy or good. There are some exceptions, but most of them just suck. I haven't listened to Top 40 radio since I was about 15 probably. When I hear people I work with talk about music (and TV) I feel like I live in another world.

as i said before, most of the stuff, most of the music you actually hear, is going to be pop music, whether its striaght up pop, or pop with a coat of indie or whatnot. the fact you hear Pearl Jam on the radio or used to soundtrack tv shows and commercials, they dont do that for music that isnt going to appeal to a pop/commercial audience. same goes for any of the "cool" bands right now, whether thats the shins, or death cab, modest mouse, iron and wine, james blake, and on and on. they are radically different in sound, and look and style, but pretty much they all have appeal to the commercial audience.

i think its silly to worry about what other people will think of your music taste. there are no guilty pleasures. just straight pleasure. there is a need to be filled for the emotional and substantial and important music the arcade fires of the world. dylan, bruce, neil young. but just as important, is the music that makes you want to dance, and sing along, and makes you forget your troubles if only by getting a silly and stupid chorus stuck in your head. i see no difference in the importance of either of those. arcade fire, and bruce and dylan serve their purpose, but so does britney and gaga. music that makes you think, and feel, and cry and is your solace when it all goes wrong, thats important stuff. but so is music that makes you tap your feet and nod your head and makes you want to jump around the room

Johnny Abruzzo

musicismylife78 wrote:

Johnny Abruzzo wrote:

Whatever, most pop music is just garbage. The songs are written by a bunch of honchos and I don't find them catchy or good. There are some exceptions, but most of them just suck. I haven't listened to Top 40 radio since I was about 15 probably. When I hear people I work with talk about music (and TV) I feel like I live in another world.

as i said before, most of the stuff, most of the music you actually hear, is going to be pop music, whether its striaght up pop, or pop with a coat of indie or whatnot. the fact you hear Pearl Jam on the radio or used to soundtrack tv shows and commercials, they dont do that for music that isnt going to appeal to a pop/commercial audience. same goes for any of the "cool" bands right now, whether thats the shins, or death cab, modest mouse, iron and wine, james blake, and on and on. they are radically different in sound, and look and style, but pretty much they all have appeal to the commercial audience.

i think its silly to worry about what other people will think of your music taste. there are no guilty pleasures. just straight pleasure. there is a need to be filled for the emotional and substantial and important music the arcade fires of the world. dylan, bruce, neil young. but just as important, is the music that makes you want to dance, and sing along, and makes you forget your troubles if only by getting a silly and stupid chorus stuck in your head. i see no difference in the importance of either of those. arcade fire, and bruce and dylan serve their purpose, but so does britney and gaga. music that makes you think, and feel, and cry and is your solace when it all goes wrong, thats important stuff. but so is music that makes you tap your feet and nod your head and makes you want to jump around the room

It's my own opinion that almost all pop music blows and it has nothing to do with worrying about what others think of my musical taste. As I said above, I'm a Alicia Keys fan. I enjoy Michael Jackson songs, some Billy Joel songs, some Phil Collins songs, blah blah. Every Black Eyed Peas song I've ever heard is horrible. I know a lot of people like them (obviously) but I just think they fucking blow. I'm not trying to be cool (I really couldn't give a shit). That's just how I feel. Obviously they have some sort of talent, since they make a shitload of money (just like people on Jersey Shore make a lot of money, I suppose). Whole thing mystifies me.