The current state of pop music

[BDGeek]

What do you think about popular music of the last year or so? Do you like where it's going as a whole? Are there certain artists or sonic trends that are saving/ruining pop? Where should music go from here?

Feel free to include country, urban, rock, etc. in this discussion as well.

[bornfearless2000]

Britney is coming to save the day...

[skizzo]

Its boring me right now. Too dull.

[peacebone]

Apr 25, 2015 21:35:19 GMT -5 BDGeek said:

What do you think about popular music of the last year or so? Do you like where it's going as a whole? Are there certain artists or sonic trends that are saving/ruining pop? Where should music go from here?

Feel free to include country, urban, rock, etc. in this discussion as well.

Not a fan of most mainstream EDM (Calvin Harris, Avicii, David Guetta, etc.) and DJ Mustard beats.

Also, these two songs represent everything I hate about most "alternative rock"/"indie" songs that have crossed over into the mainstream within the past few years. Extremely generic, derivative, obviously designed for radio play, soulless, cringeworthy, and badly written.

[DJDaveMick69]

I haven't liked much rap since 2000, and there are more rap-like songs out today I just don't care for--harkening back to 2003-2006 era.

[Glove Slap]

The past 5 years have been amongst my favorite years in pop music. In general, I think things are going in the right direction.

[Deleted]

Here's my thoughts on the current state. I like the diversity is been having the past few years after the start of the 2010's have been mostly mindless pop dance songs. I like that there's been a little bit of everything now, and every now and then you'll get some substancial songs more often and I feel like the pop hits from the past couple of years have been mostly better than the ones from the 2000's, however, is still in need of some improvement. I think the genres that are really suffering though are country, rap and R&B. Radio rap is still mostly lacking any substance and I'd have to say the bad songs have been even worse than ones in the 2000's, most rappers not really trying and talking about the same old tired subjects, simplistic beats by DJ Mustard and Mike Will-Made-It have also been an issue, also Vine has been one of the worst things to happen to hip hop, making a lot of talentless hacks popular and I would have to say mainstream rap has been at its worst state that it's ever been. However, you'll still get some gems from artists like Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole and Lupe and Kanye and even Drake will release some good material once in a while, and semi-mainstream and underground hip hop is awesome, it really represents how rap should be done, but I think some major changes need to be made in hip hop music on the radio, people need to stop settling for crap all the time. R&B has been mostly lacking in soul when it comes to the mainstream, hardly any new artists break out, the stuff on the radio mostly sounds like hip hop club songs, and while R&B influence is starting to come back, is still not near the same as it was during is golden years. And country has been awful with all the bro country and lack of major female country stars (aside from Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood), if any genre needs a major overhaul and cleanup, is country music. Other than that I wouldn't really pop music is in a bad state, I just feel that it needs to be less about the image and more about the music to be honest.

[BDGeek]

My take is that established artists are releasing subpar music that pales in comparison to the great tracks that solidified their careers. Meanwhile, newer artists put out the occasional good song, but fail to make me want to invest in them. The last time I got really excited about a new artist was Gaga. The few times I've gotten excited since then, it's been fleeting.

Take Ariana Grande for example. When her first album dropped, I was really digging it and played it quite a bit. I was pumped for her second album, which was preceded by three strong singles. I listened to it a few times, then pretty much forgot about it, as well as her first album. She's quite talented and her songs aren't bad by any means, but they fail to excite me in the way that say, "Bad Romance" or "Since U Been Gone" still excite me to this day. Not trying to shade her, just using her to illustrate my point. I'd say similar things about Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Lorde, etc.

Maybe it's just a symptom of aging. Maybe once you hit your 20s, you crave the music of your youth and scorn the "noise" the kids are listening to these days. Still, I can't help but feel like the overall quality and staying power of pop music took a dip after 2012, arguably even after 2009.

It's also much more difficult to gauge true popularity in this day and age, especially with the growing disparity between pop radio and the Internet. While iHeartMedia forcefeeds the ten hottest pop stars of the moment to the public, artists like Amanda Palmer can use their sizable Twitter followings to fund million-dollar albums on Kickstarter. Album sales have been derailed by streaming and pirating. There's so much oversaturation with music coming from all corners of the globe that it's difficult to define the general trends of pop. It's a good problem to have because it makes for more variety. But it's also bad because the sheer volume and fast pace mean album eras are shorter and nothing is iconic anymore.

[Deleted]

Well we have a 12 year old, a chubby chick name Meghan and some other faceless girls. So IMO to take a page from  The Queen of Pop have been rolling my eyes for a few years now (no not Carly Rae Jepsen) but then again i'm some crazy bitch living in the 90's and my tastes apparently suck they say. Not that yours do nowadays, right.


Now I really don't get care but let me touch on a genre that i do care about deeply and you said we could include urban (thank you for the permission to include this throwaway genre) but yeah even more disgusted by the state of urban music in america. It's drivel with a beat and a snappy two step. It's generic and all the fucking same.

What the fuck happened to actual music? I yearn . So yes the first drag queen to be all up on Adult Urban Contemporary and 90, 80 and 70's shit.

[irice22]

Right now it's a little dull, but this decade is a big improvement on the 00's.

[poplife]

Not very impressed with pop music at the moment. A lot of well established, popular artists are making dull albums, a lot of the pop singles are just bland. Of course, there are many exceptions but as a whole it's not moving me like it did from 2009-2011.

[Green Baron]

Those songs above are not alternative or indie songs, they are both pop and shouldn't be associated with either alt or indie.

[Rocky]

I think you are just old and unable to accept that.

[Relaxing Cup]

Ewww ageism

[Deleted]

The current state of pop music rewards some and discriminates against talent imo
The message it gives is below

[peacebone]

May 9, 2015 19:34:48 GMT -5 Green Baron said:

Those songs above are not alternative or indie songs, they are both pop and shouldn't be associated with either alt or indie.

Are you replying to my post? If so, that's why I put quotation marks between "alternative rock" and "indie". They are neither of those and yet they're being marketed as such.