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November 15, 2005
Change that funky music
As I glance at this week’s pop music Top 40 list, I realize how much music has devolved over the years. I’d expect the simpleton ideas of pop music from decades ago would have become something better by now.
But sadly, it seems like so much of it is still based upon image, propaganda, and catchy, corny, easy-to-remember lyrics. When will the day come when pure talent and creativity are the most appealing facets of music? By the look of the Top 40, it appears the masses are mainly concerned with love, drugs, and simply being cool.
There isn’t anything wrong with these aforementioned topics, but the world is so much more than this.
Somehow, the music industry has recently gone overboard in re-creating meaningless ear candy. All of the songs available on popular radio are rip-offs of others from the ‘60s and ‘70s. But it’s not the artist’s fault. By this time in our culture, all the genius ideas of professing love and affection have been used before. Every love song has already been written, so there are no more good ideas left to express feelings to that special guy or girl without making it sounding clichÄ and stereotypical.
For example, last week’s supposed top pop song, Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You,” shares its song title with about 40 others from recent decades. While the lyrics of each of these songs might be saying something slightly different from each other, by the looks of it, they’re all about either something wonderful that happened “because of you” or something hurtful that happened “because of you.” Didn’t Clarkson happen to notice that the angle she went about in singing this song was a bit overused already? Maybe she should have just named it “I Need You, Baby,” “I Can’t Live Without You,” or something equally mind-blowing.
I am reminded of the redundant words to a 1960s pop song by Bobby Vee called “Rubber Ball”: “You bounce my heart around (You don’t even put her down)/And like a rubber ball I come bouncin’ back to you, rubber ball I come bouncin’ back to you. (Bouncy bouncy, bouncy bouncy.)” Sounds pretty corny, eh? But apparently the listeners (our parents) loved it. I guess they can look past the horrific repetition and just enjoy the song itself.
Maybe love songs are so invariably appealing to the mainstream because we all feel there are certain songs that really mean something personally to each of us. You might feel that some special song really defines you, hits you at the core or tells your love story. It just seems that way because there are so many love songs out there. So, for whatever romance or love life you’re experiencing, there is a pre-made mantra out there waiting for you to hear it and say “Oh my gosh! That totally describes what I’m going through in my life!” From there, an imaginary connection with that particular song can develop.
Other than love, what is it that drags the youth of our country back again and again to spend our hard-earned cash on this culture? It may seem like a lame excuse to say this, but all of the cool things we associate with our beloved musicians are only amplified by their music. We’re not easily-impressionable high schoolers anymore, but hearing people sing about forbidden, delectable pastimes is still appealing.
It amazes me that with all the artists and musicians across the world, there are still some names reappearing on the Top 40 with a different song every other week, sometimes having a few songs on the list at a time. The masses need to expand their listening catalog a bit and explore a world of music where the instrumental talent is appreciated and the lyrics are poetic and significant.
It might be asking too much to see songs on the Top 40 attacking the self-righteous, questioning religious dogma, or even contemplating the beauty of the clouds. The end of music as a whole will probably come before any of these wishes come true, and I don’t want that either. We’ll all just have to keep on listening to what we’re listening to and hope the mindlessness, self-indulgence, and monotony of pop music will kill itself and let a new, worthy genre rise to power. Pop music will continue to promote numerous aspects of life and pleasure and love that I will never agree with. But there’s nothing that can be done about that.
Posted by msveum at November 15, 2005 12:01 PM
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