I wish today's music didn't suck
76She kissed a girl, and I don't care.
Yuck.
Maybe I'm just not cultured or cool, but I think a lot of today's music is crap. I can't listen to the radio without shaking my head or going just a little crazy. Where's the meaning? Where's the depth? What about talent? These days, a hit is anything that a "popular" artist puts out next that is tolerable by enough listeners.
Let's take a look at today's (6/26/08) top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Music Chart:
- Katy Perry - "I Kissed A Girl"
- Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major - "Lollipop"
- Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
- Rihanna - "Take A Bow"
- Natasha Bedingfield - "Pocketful of Sunshine"
- Coldplay - "Viva La Vida"
- Chris Brown - "Forever"
- Plies featuring Ne-Yo - "Bust It Baby Part 2"
- The Pussycat Dolls - "When I Grow Up"
- Miley Cyrus - "7 Things"
Alright, let's start from the top:
- I really don't like this "I Kissed A Girl" song. I guess it's cool to show that it's okay for a girl to kiss a girl and like it, but whatever. I kiss girls sometimes and it's no big deal. What empty lyrics, too! Clearly it doesn't take much to make it to the top; it sounds like it could have been written in five minutes as a joke. I guess you have to write about bisexuality to be No. 1. It's a shame this was the song that was officially the 1000th #1 song of the rock era.
- This song takes the cake. When I first heard it, I thought, "This is the strangest song I've ever heard... and not in a good way." It's like artists are running out of ideas of what to sing/rap/mumble, and so they decided to mush together something completely incoherent. Are our brain cells really disappearing that quickly?
- I have something against things that keep repeating and repeating (kind of like John Mayer's "Say" and Colbie Caillat's "Realize," though I do think she has a beautiful voice), and this one sort of sticks. I only heard it once and it took days to go away. It made me sad. What a bummer song, too... if you've ever heard of hip-hop-emo before, this is it. Not like I've ever had anything against emo music, necessarily, but some emo music can be fun to jump around to at concerts, and this isn't an example of it. She has a good voice, though.
- Rihanna is okay, too; I do like some of her songs. However, the lyrics to this one is terrible, and it's not even a catchy or memorable song. It seriously sounds like something a sixth-grader wrote. Yeesh.
- I don't know why, but this song drives me crazy. It sounds like something made for a commercial for a anti-depressant. I absolutely dislike (I didn't say "hate") her little a cappella bit; I don't like her voice. The lyrics hardly vary through the song. It just annoys me.
- This song merely disappointed me. I do like Coldplay (something you don't hear very often), and I don't know why, but this one just didn't cut it for me. It's not bad, though; it just doesn't rouse emotion or anything in me like the band's other songs do.
- Okay, I love Chris Brown and I love this song. I admit it.
- Does the name sound like something good? This is actually one of the more likable songs on this list, mostly because of the tune.
- I've never liked the Pussycat Dolls, but they talk about wanting boobies in this song. WTF. I wouldn't want my mom to know I made this song.
- Miley Cyrus has done well for such a young age, but this song is still middle-school and I'm not sure what it's doing on this list. It's okay, considering how old she is.
I'm going to continue this rant by saying I don't understand what it is about Maroon Five, John Mayer and other guys with terrible voices. Ugh. I wouldn't want to have a regular conversation with them, let alone have them serenade me. Why don't people like Jason Mraz or Daughtry more? Those are good voices, and for the most part good lyrics. Gavin DeGraw has great lyrics. Carrie Underwood is catchy. And then there are so many people not even mentioned on the Billboard Top 50 list.
It seems there's quite a push for the more relaxing, laid-back songs with less electronics and more acoustic, like Jack Johnson, Ingrid Michaelson and so on. I do like a lot of those songs, and a lot of times the lyrics aren't too bad. It's the Yael Naim song that sounds like it came from a circus or a child's toy, except it didn't, so it's kind of creepy.
Hardly any music today really stirs anything (good) within me. I miss rocking out in my car when I listen to the radio... okay, those times were very rare, and it was usually because I was listening to my iPod, not my radio.
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Comments
I am old-- and I even thought of posting a hub about this subject. I think I will just put some comments here.
All real music from classical to country has some merit some melody some moments that spark feelings imagination and creativity, but aparrently all of the good music has already been written, because much of what is today called music is anti-form, anti harmony, anti-music. In other words, just noise. I don't like it.
This is probably one of the things that officially makes me an old person, because I can remember when old people didn't like the music that I liked. Some of you may recognize this a modern composition that I recently heard It went something like this:Bam-bam crash slam bash groan growl scream crash boombam squeel crashslam shreeeksshreek howl bash thump wail . That was only the chorus . I think.
It was played by a band . . . I think it would be called a band, or perhaps a gang, though all five of them were dressed in widely disparate styles, and did not seem to be paying any attention to one another either in their actions of or in the purported musical things they were doing.
There was a drummer who was making most of the noise, by far. There were a couple of electric amplified guitar players . . . maybe they were guitars. They looked a lot different and sounded noiser than the guitars we used to play. Apparently there is no longer any need to tune these instruments. One player was dressed in a Prussian military jacket , a Greek fisherman's cap and Bermuda shorts that showed off the snake tatoos on his legs, The second one-- oh well, I don't even care to go into the rest. I think. It continued: bellowscream thudrumble bang thump smash. I'm not sure if that was the exact sequence because some of the thudrumbles and bellowshreiks ocurred simultaneously.
I agree with your observations. Hopefully there will be real music . . . good music sometime in the future.
OMG! I am such a big fan of yours but I can't believe you don't like these songs. MY favorite song right now is "I Kissed A Girl". I love the beat and it is so funny. "I kissed a girl and I liked it!" I guess I can continue being your fan because you like Chris Brown! :)And I gotta agree I don't like that song by the PussyCat Dolls. I like them but not this song.
Tayler!
Glass, not liking the top ten list is a major sign of onset maturity. Yes, there is a fine line at which point you fall over into old age, but what's happening to you is simply that your tastes have risen to a point where you are no longer swayed by the movement of the herd. This is good.
This is not to say that all the songs on that list are bad (I don't recognize any of them myself, but I listen mostly classical and metal with rare exceptions of good pop if it happens to become so generic that I encounter it somehow). However, welcome to the precursors of your dotage. What happens now is several decades of opinionated (informed or not as you so desire) such-and-such from you until at last the culture moves completely passed your reckoning and you start yelling at children to get off your lawn.
Welcome to adulthood. You've clipped the last tie to your youth. Grats. Oh, hey, can you rub this BenGay on my back, I have a tight spot I just can't reach.
I guess you would really hate "You're So Gay" by Katy Perry. It is actually Madonna's favorite song. But I don't really like it that much. But I love "I Kissed A Girl". The beat is really awesome.
Tayler!
wannabwestern, I just listened to Depeche Mode yesterday :) Personal Jesus, anyone?
Rochelle Frank, I think your comment could be a hub in itself :)
Tater2tot, I'm sorry to disappoint you. From the sound of it (as much as I dislike prejudging), I don't think I'd like that "You're So Gay" song... But I will always love Chris Brown.
Shadesbreath, thanks for your thoughts, which I will consider compliments. I really don't like the idea of trying to do things just to be different and off the bandwagon... but I REALLY don't like the songs above that I dissed. I can't wait ti yell at kids when I'm older... maybe I'll do it tomorrow. And BenGay comment = :)
Funny Glass, I have that CD in my car's 6-cd changer right now. Since I don't own an Ipod, is that like having an 8-track in the 80s?
I like to think the world has actually progressed and that iPods really are better, but they're probably not :)
Why don't you tell us how you really feel.
I don't think that a lot of today's music is crap, it's just that a lot of music that's doing well on Top 40 radio (particularly in America) is crap. I think it has a lot to do with how radio is programmed in the US. I heard that DJs can no longer play whatever they want, they're limited to those songs on their stations' "playlist", and given guidelines on which songs to play how many times each day. I've noticed that some of the most original pop music that's come up in the past few years have been from the UK -- Amy Winehouse, James Blunt, LIly Allen, Natasha Bedingfield, Lily Allen. Maybe radio in the UK gives more unique artists more of a chance to be played?
I listen to all music. My son just got into music so I like to keep up on the new songs. One of those songs is on actually on his ipod (#2). Some do suck and some are pretty good (#4, #5). Give me classic rock and roll any day!
i'm going to have to agree with you but mostly with Malene_onthewall - its the machine, the pop culture playlists that most stations HAVE to play.. i believe they are paid to play all the new stuff and i hate radio even more now.. oldies have faded out and this new pop is nothing like the old pop - i'm with wannab - DEPECHE! (even the 90s pop was getting pretty bad, 80s for me all the way)
Yes, I should rephrase... a lot of the more poppy music that is on the radio is pretty crappay. A lot of stuff is great, of course, as I listed a few artists. I just had to comment on the stuff in my face.
I agree glassvisage! I usually listen to my own CD's or youtube videos these days. I also like yahoo! radio if I am doing chores around the house.
And the interesting thing is that those are just the top songs in charts all over the world lool... I don't have those on my ipod, insted I have songs from artists that almost everyone around me have never heard of, and they say those songs suck because they're not from I dunno benny benassi or lil wayne lol...
Yahoo! Radio? I didn't know that existed, but in perusing the front page of it, the pop section is very small... and I like it. I like that there is a section called "The Next Big Things," and there are a lot of not-so-well-known bands too. Great find!
And yes, it seems as though liking music that others don't know leads to castigation... but there's also a sort of clique that can talk about that more unknown music and be proud of it! I admire their ability to seek out good music themselves and discover their own niche rather than having one commercially created by the mainstream.
WOW! Glass, you opened the flood gates! What a great hub. I've never heard of these artists but it's been so many years since I've decided to be independent about my music choices. Yes, I am ol-der, like music that is more sedating, than ear drum breaking, and the lyrics/melody is important to me. I walked out of the living room when Ed Sullivan had the Beatles on, I like a lot of their music now, but still can't tolerate 'I Wanna Hold Her Hand', or 'She Loves Me' pure noise!
Great Hub. here's something I just made to help us all celebrate a time when music was great, check it out.
hahah I totally agree... but then again, I'm stuck in the 80's. The Pussey cat Dolls are the worst!
I don't know what is more maddening, the fact that artists are making millions putting out crap music, or that todays youth are eating it! I hate the fact that the line between Rap and Hip Hop has somehow been erased, and now any song about guns, girls, drugs, money, shoes, and rims is labeled and referred to as Hip Hop. Correct me if i'm wrong, but there is a HUGE difference between lil Wayne and artists like Common or Mos Def. I also hate that a lot of this so called "Hip Hop" is all about being ignorant, sexist, and blatantly praises mediocrity.
That said, I do think that every song has a place. There are slow songs, sex songs, party music, sad songs, happy songs, smokin songs(reggae), and even songs to do drive by's and murder people(gangsta rap). To each his own, I'll PLAY WHAT I LIKE!! Great HUB by the way
I don’t think we are the first to go through this.
im 15 yrs old and i dont like any of those songs except like cold play, i listen to like madonna old jams and thats the way love goes by janet just older music not too old but back then when music had meaninng to it..if u know what i mean and i hate lil wayne and soulja soo stupid all they rap about or talk about is sex,money and nothing else
I totally agree with you!! I'm 14 but i feel the same way. My favorite bands are Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. Today's music is just awful.
Good Hub DJ!
Thanks for your comments everyone. Mainstream just doesn't appeal to a lot of people anymore, strangely enough.
Marc, you sound like my brother :)
Hey! I like that Yael Nim song, "New Soul". LOL Actually, I usually like a lot of songs that come from commercials just because of the beat like the Bacardi mojito commercial. As for what you are saying about the state of today's music, I couldn't agree more. I like Coldplay as well and I'd like "Viva La Vida" better if another band did it because I'm used to hearing songs like "Clocks" and "Yellow" from them. Imagination, creativity, and originality have been put on hold on most albums for the sake of well produced beats, catchy hooks, and quick album sales. I still optimistically feel that if music buyers stop buying the unimaginative fluff that comes out every week, then record labels will eventually start making better quality material and "artists" that are only a face and a studio enhanced voice will no longer make records.
Haha, this post was great. I love it when people take jabs at today's pop world because that's exactly what they need! The pop world thinks they can put out any sort of crap that they want, put it on the radio, and society will follow like a bunch of drooling zombies.
Unfortunately, that statement is half true. I know too many friends that don't even consider the idea "Isn't there anything else out there to listen to besides this junk?"
Great post. I am actually dedicating a whole entire blog to reveal the reasons why mainstream music is absolutely terrible. I just started it today and I hope it will spark a lot of debate and controversy.
I hope you will read my new hub about Lil Wayne, I think you may like it: http://hubpages.com/hub/Lil-Wayne-Rant-1-The-Pivot
Also here is the new blog: http://theanti-mainstreammusicblog.blogspot.com/
i know what you are talking about i had to listen to old people mucic all the way to taxas!.....it felt like i was at an 1800's dance mucic party
wannabwestern says:
17 months ago
LOL! I've never heard any of these songs or bands. I must be old! Depeche Mode, anyone?