Current Pop Music

[Insider2000]

Yes, the junk food of the music industry. Anything popular you hear on the radio, whether you love it or hate it. If you like it, leave your guilt behind. If you hate it, then ready your scorn.

This year has been weird as hell. Katy Perry gets her own movie, yet all her new songs have been bland as hell. Gavin Degraw makes a comeback to the pop music world after ten years (please god, replace Jason Mraz). For the first time ever, I have a Flo Rida song that I hate (THANK GOD).

But so far, the worst is that Maroon 5 still has a music career after "Moves Like Jagger". Seriously, "Payphone" is an abomination of a song. And yet, it's #1 in the country. At least "Drive By" (which is just as terrible) made a small dip in the Top 10. No, "Payphone" is #1, right above "Call Me Maybe". At least I see something redeeming in "Call Me Maybe". "Payphone" is just... deafeningly awful.

Then again, this is coming from someone who is currently loving "Starships" by Nicki Minaj...

[GuetaMinute]

Guilty pleasure. I have fun playing Starships and Domino on guitar because well they're fun tracks to play lol. I like Maroon 5, but can't say the same about their most recent songs. Their first and second albums are so good, though.

How about current mainstream rap music? It sort of fits in with this thread. Just as trashy and shitty but I admit to listening to Drake and Mac Miller and Wiz (although I think Wiz is the best one out of all of those)

One gets used to music like this at parties and shit. It's not so bad really. I remember when I was one of those OMG POP MUSIC FROM THE RADIO? OH GOD NO KILL ME NOW kids when I was 12 and going through a strict "classic" rock and metal diet. Lol man. Those were some times. (Notice I didn't say good). Being open-minded never hurts, and this kind of music isn't really something to reflect on or anything, I just see it as fun music to dance to or maybe even listen to but on different occasions that you don't really have to go about appreciating its complexities or the talent in musicianship and poetry behind the artists and/or producers

[Insider2000]

Rap is probably the biggest victim of pop music this year. Too much rap is being given techno beats, and we're starting to call R&B musicians rappers.

At least with rock, we've been having good times with fun., Cobra Starship (arguably a rock band anymore though) and Neon Trees.

[The Beast]

I like Nicki Minaj

[GuetaMinute]

Rap is probably the biggest victim of pop music this year. Too much rap is being given techno beats, and we're starting to call R&B musicians rappers.

At least with rock, we've been having good times with fun., Cobra Starship (arguably a rock band anymore though) and Neon Trees.

FTP, Muse, Kings of Leon, Gotye, Young the Giant, My Morning Jacket, RHCP, etc.

[The Beast]

Fun.'s debut album back in 2008 (or 2009 I dont' remember) was great and I really don't like their new album. And I was pumped as shit for it. I loved how their first album was like this silly cleverly written tribute to exuberant acts like Queen and the sheer joy of being theatrical

But their second album felt super soulless and lacking in identity. I don't wanna go SELL OUT SELL OUT, because as much as they did follow that cliche to a T they definitely didn't sellout so much as their second album was just the extra step an already commercial band needed to be Super Sellable and it really suffered because of it

And of course that's the album where GLEE takes a song from it and propels them to stardom. I'm not faulting them for what they did, because making money is always cool and i don't think it was ever their intention to not keep making good music, but by some pure accident they just lost what made them actually fun.

I'm sure to a lot of people think both albums sound pretty similar and they like them. and that's cool because I think We Are Young is a pretty ... okay song? Not even Janelle Monae could beef it up though. And I'm purely talking about my tastes here, but yeah



I will never stop loving this album and they at least deserve to make shitloads of money as retroactive payment for it.

Seriously guys do yourselves a favor and listen to their debut if you haven't

Also is MY MORNING JACKET seriously Top 40 pop rock now, I can never tell when bands who've been around a decade get popular

[GuetaMinute]

No they're not, don't really know why I included them in that list of relatively mainstream top 40 acts.

I'm burnt out on We are Young.. I think it's okay too but I'd definitely listen to more from that debut album.

[Insider2000]

I honestly do like We Are Young. My sister plans on buying their most recent album, but I'll definitely give their debut a shot.

[Hiroy]

I have to admit, I have no idea what the genre is for half of the shit I listen to, but if Leslie Parrish is pop, then consider that my guilty pleasure.

[Leon]

80% of pop is about is about money, fame and all those love trashes. That goes for rap too. And maybe i am biased, but the first name that comes into my mind, has always been Bieber. Most of their songs makes no sense, but if they have a fandom of naive teens, who know nothing about music, what can we do?. Grammy awards have also been utter trash. The singer who gives me some hope is Adele. Rest all, *Facepalm*

[GuetaMinute]

80% of current pop and rap. With rap it's just the top 40 rap, mind you.

I won't even bother with the Bieber part of your post.

[Nobodyman]

I like Party Rock Anthem.

There, I said it.

[GuetaMinute]

So do I. I know the dance steps. Had to do the dance for some event but I like LMFAO. Always have. come at me.

[Insider2000]

80% of pop is about is about money, fame and all those love trashes. That goes for rap too. And maybe i am biased, but the first name that comes into my mind, has always been Bieber. Most of their songs makes no sense, but if they have a fandom of naive teens, who know nothing about music, what can we do?. Grammy awards have also been utter trash. The singer who gives me some hope is Adele. Rest all, *Facepalm*

Bieber really isn't as popular as you'd think on main stream pop. Child's/Teen pop? Radio Disney type shit? All the fucking time. But Bieber isn't even in the Top 20 on Billboards at the moment. I consider myself an avid pop music fan, and I can easily say that I hate..all but maybe one Justin Bieber song. And he's gotten SOOOO much worse since his balls dropped. At least when he was a toddler, the kid had pipes. Now? He sounds like he smokes fifty cigarettes a day.

Pop isn't a genre identified by a particular sound. It is identified by what is popular. So there is no single sound you'll hear with pop music, even if a lot of songs are doing the same thing. Sure, the rap mixed with techno mixed with soft choruses is what's popular now, but we still have massive hits that diversify from that.

Top 20 right now:

Hidden:

1. Payphone by Maroon 5 - Terrible. Maroon 5 has been making an unfortunate comeback since the Voice became a hit show.

2. Call Me Maybe by Carley Rae Jepson - I like this song... But I think everyone on the Internet has been tormented by this song.

3. Where Have You Been by Rihanna - Every year pretty much has at least two very popular Rihanna songs.

4. Wide Awake by Katy Perry - Love Katy, but this song is dull. I think we all know Katy.

5. Lights by Ellie Goulding - .....I have never heard of this song actually.

6. Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye - This is probably the most bizarre musical hit of the year, and I fucking love it. Even if you're not a pop enthusiast, you need to hear this song.

7. Scream by Usher - Standard of having a major Usher hit every year.

8. Titanium by David Guetta ft Sia - Ah. David Guetta. Responsible for "I Got A Feeling", "Club Can't Handle Me", and "Sexy Bitch". I hate this man purely because he makes a shit load of songs I adore. Not big on Titanium though.

9. What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction - One Direction are what people are considering to be the 'comeback of boybands'. Which is honestly bullshit in my eyes. I like this song, but there is no TRL to abuse their existence.

10. Starship by Nicki Minaj - I love this song, but that aside, I can't even identify why.

11. Let's Go by Calvin Harris - No idea who this is or this song.

12. Give Your Heart A Break by Demi Lovato - Demi Lovato is still alive?

13. We Are Young by fun. - Another song I can't explain the popularity of. I like this song, and I'd like to look more into fun.

14. Wild Ones by Flo Rida - Flo Rida, who has had a massive hit every year for the past 5-6 years. I'm shocked that this is beating "Good Feeling", which I think is a far better song. Still, I like this song. Glad "Whistle" isn't doing good.

15. One Thing by One Direction - Hello again, One Direction. Haven't heard this one.

16. The Fighter by Gym Class Heroes - These guys have been around since Fallout Boy. Haven't been big on their most recent works.

17. Want U Back by Cher Lloyd - Not my thing.

18. We Run the Night by Havana Brown - This is a terrible song....that I strangely like. Havana's new I think, but Pitbull isn't.

19. Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk - YAY! She's on the top 20! Sorry, I love P!nk. I like to think in the battle of good and evil in modern pop music, P!nk is a member of good. Possibly the most harmless musician here.

20. Good Time by Owl City and Carley Rae Jeptson - Haven't given this a full shot since I really, really didn't like "Fireflies" by Owl City. I might give it a chance.

Pop music is neither good nor bad. You'll honestly find some good things, and really, going around acting like pop music is the poison of this world is pretty pointless. I love pop music, and I hate plenty of pop bands and musicians, but at the end of the day, listen to what you like. I really don't think pop music is as horrible as everyone makes it out to be.

And Adele is taking a break from music, so everyone's apparent savior of pop music is on break. Shame. I love her albums.

I like Party Rock Anthem.

There, I said it.

I do too.

Despise Sexy and I Know It though.

[Leon]

My problem with pop music right now is that most of the songs are either on love..or are meaningless. There are so many singers out there who deserve much more. But in the end, what we find in Grammy's is Gaga..or Katy Perry, or Bieber. I am not saying that pop is a disease to music, just that it is in its darkest hours.

[GuetaMinute]

You act as if pop has always tried to have meaningful and thought-provoking lyrics. It's pop music, and why are you comparing Gaga to Katy Perry and Bieber? They're nothing alike, even if their music is "pop" music.

[Insider2000]

My problem with pop music right now is that most of the songs are either on love..or are meaningless. There are so many singers out there who deserve much more. But in the end, what we find in Grammy's is Gaga..or Katy Perry, or Bieber. I am not saying that pop is a disease to music, just that it is in its darkest hours.

Pop music survived Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and N'Sync. It survived boy bands. This is far from it's darkest hours.

I know we don't like to think so, but Lady Gaga does have talent and is nowhere remotely near as bad as Katy Perry. And at least Katy Perry, who can't sing, manages to be a decent performer and have some form of a personality. While Justin Bieber is a walking sheet of paper.

We're actually having talented arts like Gotye, fun., and Kimbra getting more and more attention. Not to mention: Lady Gaga is currently on tour and not coming out with a new song any time soon, Katy Perry's new singles are terrible and her popularity is slowly slipping, and Bieber still isn't important to the pop charts.

I'm not saying pop music is meaningful or thoughtful, but I can easily tell you that it is far from it's darkest hours.

[Leon]

Pop music survived Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and N'Sync. It survived boy bands. This is far from it's darkest hours.

I know we don't like to think so, but Lady Gaga does have talent and is nowhere remotely near as bad as Katy Perry. And at least Katy Perry, who can't sing, manages to be a decent performer and have some form of a personality. While Justin Bieber is a walking sheet of paper.

We're actually having talented arts like Gotye, fun., and Kimbra getting more and more attention. Not to mention: Lady Gaga is currently on tour and not coming out with a new song any time soon, Katy Perry's new singles are terrible and her popularity is slowly slipping, and Bieber still isn't important to the pop charts.

I'm not saying pop music is meaningful or thoughtful, but I can easily tell you that it is far from it's darkest hours.

I don't like to think so, but even i agree that Lady Gaga does have talent. We are actually having many talented artists out there, like for example Fun which you have mentioned. I am just trying to say that these artists deserve much more fame, much more recognition. Consider Kimbra Johnson. I can tell you that most of the people out there haven't even heard about her.

When such fandom and fame is preferred to talent, it makes me feel that it's in its darkest hours.


And no, i am not comparing Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Bieber.

[GuetaMinute]

Kimbra's getting up there, especially with Somebody that I Used to Know and her hit single with Mark Foster from Foster the People, hands down my favorite mainstream pop/rock act (some even call them indie due to their focus on sampler, synth and keyboard sounds and styles alongside heavy rhythmic drums and basslines and sometimes guitar).

Bieber, like Insider said, is pretty irrelevant in terms of charts. You see him on media shit all the time but it's rarely about his actual music. And like Insider said, some pop artists like Katy Perry don't really have all that talent but have great stage presence and showmanship.


Also, am I the only one who finds Rihanna's wardrobe tacky? Idk, she just sells so much sex in such a tacky style of clothing it's getting pretty old. Not to mention her lap dances at concerts, like Nicki Minaj. I can't stand that. Beyonce manages to look so much sexier without so much vulgarity. This is more of an E! News entertainment gossip chat sort of thing though so not exactly relevant to this thread :P

[Insider2000]

I don't like to think so, but even i agree that Lady Gaga does have talent. We are actually having many talented artists out there, like for example Fun which you have mentioned. I am just trying to say that these artists deserve much more fame, much more recognition. Consider Kimbra Johnson. I can tell you that most of the people out there haven't even heard about her.

When such fandom and fame is preferred to talent, it makes me feel that it's in its darkest hours.


And no, i am not comparing Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Bieber.

Fandom and fame being preferred to talent? It's kind of been that when since the late 90s. Yes, we still had talented people during those times, but musician popularity wasn't based on talent. Take into consideration Britney Spears vs Christina Aguilera. Britney is known for lip syncing in all her concerts, yet she was more popular and STILL IS. Not to mention, Christina, while a powerful singer, has zero stage showmanship. She's not an interesting person (unlike Britney), and if she's ever had personality, it's always been her coming off as snooty. The Voice really shows this.

But that's always how it's been since then. We've had many bizarre moments where talented artists like the Killers, Florence and the Machine, or Evanescence who managed to have a handful of hits, but then disappear from the charts in obscurity. If there is a main difference now, there's a much greater growth in talented artists. Adele (whom I love) has become a bigger hit than I ever imagined she would ever be. Gotye has managed to create one of the biggest songs of the year. Kimbra IS gaining popularity with many of her singles becoming common on the radio.

Also, am I the only one who finds Rihanna's wardrobe tacky? Idk, she just sells so much sex in such a tacky style of clothing it's getting pretty old. Not to mention her lap dances at concerts, like Nicki Minaj. I can't stand that. Beyonce manages to look so much sexier without so much vulgarity. This is more of an E! News entertainment gossip chat sort of thing though so not exactly relevant to this thread :P

Rihanna's wardrobe? A little. Nicki Minaj? Nah. That's kind of her shtick. She has to be as weird and sexy as possible.