Why I’m Pissed at Pop Music
Guilty as charged, I love pop music. I grew up making (very literal) dance routines to Taylor Swift and religiously kept up with One Direction on Twitter. I had a Justin Bieber cardboard cutout. My middle school days are soundtracked by Ke$ha, Jason Derulo, Kelly Clarkson, more Taylor Swift. Today I listen to more “age-appropriate” pop, whatever that means, like John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, and Vance Joy. I have explored many different genres and my music diet includes a variety of sounds, but I have always found myself returning to the contagious melodies and warm sounds of pop.
All of this to say, I am by no means a music snob. People who pretend they’re above “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo or “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran because they “only listen to alternative” make me want to rip my hair out.
But, I feel shortchanged by the pop music industry at the moment. Because, as a lover of pop music, I know we can do better. These synthesized, Chainsmoker-esque, EDM/pop fusion, great-beat-but-no-lyrics, popular-for-a-month-and-then-never-played-again songs are flooding every avenue of the music front. Many of the artists I adore have hopped on this train in the name of evolution and growth, when really it feels like they’re striving for quick hits and commercial success.
I realize that, coming from me, someone who has no authority or expertise regarding the music industry or music criticism, this may be irrelevant, but in talking to friends and looking at the landscape of pop music right now, it feels like something’s off.
Let’s look at some examples.
The artist that first comes to mind, the most obvious example to me, is Taylor Swift. Her previous release, Reputation, as well as her latest album, Lover, are far cries from much of her early discography, and it’s almost unanimous among my age group (according to my sampling of friends, acquaintances, and the people I follow on Twitter) that we miss the old Taylor.
Swift’s 2008 album, and the one that is most inextricably linked to my younger teenage years, Fearless, was still characterized, according to Rolling Stone, as a Country album. It features lots of guitars with a little bit of banjo and some occasional fiddlin’. It’s earnest and honest and lyrical and still to this day I listen to that album, as well as her other early records.
“Fearless” chorus (2008):
’Cause I don’t know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me head first
Fearless
And I don’t know why but with you I’d dance in a storm in my best dress
Fearless
“ME!” chorus (2019):
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
I’m the only one of me
Baby, that’s the fun of me-e-eh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
You’re the only one of you
Baby, that’s the fun of you
Maybe it’s not fair to compare these two songs, because “ME!” is arguably Taylor Swift’s absolute worst song and some songs on her recent do contain a little more lyrical depth, but the point stands that both the production and the lyrics of her later song has been simplified for the sake of hit-creation and buzz.
Another blaring example of this is Maroon 5. They’ve basically been releasing the same song over and over again since Songs About Jane, and people recognize this. Just type “maroon 5 same song” into the Twitter search bar and numerous people have called them out. On “The Voice,” singers never fail to compliment Adam Levine on Songs About Jane, their rock-influenced breakout album, but don’t mention the many forgettable hits that have followed.
There are a few reasons for this phenomenon. It’s partly our own fault. We like what we’re comfortable with, and we’re fans of catchy, simple beats. A study titled “Music and Emotions in the Brain: Familiarity Matters,” found that people rated higher the songs that were familiar to them, both songs that they liked and that they disliked (Pereira et. al). We like what we know, and the three big recording companies have figured out what it is and churned out hits like nobody’s business.
“It’s a feedback loop so powerful that, as Thompson notes, radio stations played the top 10 songs nearly twice as much in 2010 as they did a decade ago, and today’s hits have objectively less melodic variety than their counterparts from a half-century ago” (Pollock).
Production is another wheel in this machine that contributes to our current pop landscape. For one, there are three companies monopolizing much of mainstream music: Universal, Warner, and Sony, and they control what gets released. They use sophisticated computer programs, including one called HitPredictor, that pegged 48 out of 50 of a single year’s hits, as well as data from streaming services, to put out songs that fit this mold and achieve commercial success (Pollock).
When artists attain success, it makes sense that the goal would be to work with the most prominent producers in the industry. The problem with this is that because producers are such a significant part of the writing and mixing process, they are artists in and of themselves. When the same producers are dominating the albums and artists we listen to, it shows.
Ryan Tedder, front man of OneRepublic, has producing and writing credits on the albums of the Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, LANY, DJ Khaled, and more. Jack Antonoff has worked with Lorde, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Sia, Troye Sivan, etc. Max Martin works with Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, and Katy Perry. These producers shape the people and albums we listen to.
Many of the hits of recent years lack longevity, and this is a result of this simplified, catchy-beat-dominated, party song genre. Every time Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” a prime example of this type of song, has come on shuffle since its radio rise, I hit skip. But his 2011 songs “Kiss Me” and “Give Me Love,” along with most of his breakout album, “+”, continue to be some of my favorite tracks of all time. Many of my favorite artists, particularly the more acoustic ones, have gotten louder, faster and more generic, abandoning what made them successful at their start in favor of short-lived but profitable singles.
It’s needed and expected for artists to grow and change their sound, but it feels like all major pop artists are on the same trajectory and their recent music is headed to the same place: mediocrity.
Not to discount the hard work of artists and producers, and there is definitely some great music floating around these days. But as someone who loves softer Pop, I don’t want to lose acoustic guitar to electronic dashboards and as someone who craves authenticity, it just doesn’t feel like what’s out there right now is honest.
Sources:
Pereira CS, Teixeira J, Figueiredo P, Xavier J, Castro SL, et al. (2011) Music and Emotions in the Brain: Familiarity Matters. PLOS ONE 6(11): e27241.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0027241
Pollock, Matt. “Why the Pop Music Industry Is Built to Discourage Good Music.” Mic, www.mic.com/articles/104764/the-music-industry-is-less-of-a-democracy-than-ever.
