Why Do You Enjoy Modern Pop Music? - General Discussion Discussion

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

I don't. I hate it. There is not a single current song I like. There are a few singers I like. Adele. Lady Gaga. But neither has produced a good song in years. Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift are arguably the most popular but I don't have any interest in them, except for Swift being attractive. And I don't consider rap to be anything other than really bad poetry.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

the era of good songs died in the 1990s

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[–] trevorh321 (5495) 3 years ago

I would agree with that.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

No, I disagree. 2010 was when pop music really stagnated. People are forgetting that the 2000s brought us acts like Coldplay, The Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkely and that a lot of older acts (like Beck) were still putting out music. And don't shoot me but I did like acts like Katy Perry, whose music was basically on par with 1980s bubble gum. I think if you heard some hit songs from between 2000-2010 you'd be surprised how many you recognise and may have liked.

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[–] samoanjoes (51267) 3 years ago

I don't enjoy any pop music.

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[–] Kowalski (59368) 3 years ago

WHAT QUALIFIES AS POP?...EARLY BEATLES WERE POP...MICHAEL JACKSON WAS THE KING OF POP...WHO ARE MODERN POP ACTS?...THIS QUESTION IS CONFUSING .

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[–] Keelai (32064) 3 years ago

Present day music from 2021 or 2020.

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[–] Kowalski (59368) 3 years ago

THAT MUSIC IS FOR THE YOUNG...THERE ARE NO POSTERS THAT YOUNG ON THIS SITE I DONT THINK.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

It is not confusing. It's any music that is meant to have mass appeal, as opposed to music that caters to niche audiences (rap, country, electronica, etc.).

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[–] jekporkins (1926) 3 years ago

I can't get into it - it's all synthetic and has no soul. The lyrics are blah. No creativity. I think there are a few artists out there that have talent but the music behind them is terrible. I can't think of a single rock-n-roll band out there any longer. Odd.

My 14-year old daughter actually agrees with me. She is getting into 1980s and 90s rock and hip hop now.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Not all of it, but some, for sure!

I love new music and listen to my new release playlist every Friday on Spotify. To be honest there’s only a few songs each week I save for further listening, but there’s definitely still a few pop gems released these days.

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[–] Keelai (32064) 3 years ago

Can you link to one (youtube) that you like and explain why it appeals to you?

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 3 years ago

.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

See below Keelai ☺️

All three I would say appeal to me lyrically, vocally and I think they are extremely well crafted pop songs that don’t sound generic or disposable.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

give me three songs.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

So many to choose from! From the past year or so:

Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky

https://youtu.be/aS1no1myeTM

Alec Benjamin - Match in the Rain

https://youtu.be/uLIvpzsZhi0

Kylie Minogue - Say Something

https://youtu.be/l73FJBnjp28

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[–] Keelai (32064) 3 years ago

I tried.

Out of the three, "Match In the Rain" has the catchiest melody, but I didn't like the opening or the rap.

Two versions of the same song. The first sounds washed out, mechanical and lifeless to me. The second I can't stop singing and moves me emotionally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqeW9_5kURI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5DM23cBCGg

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[–] kukuxu (5409) 3 years ago

They sound well, they're extremely well produced, and... that's it. It sounds like one thousand other songs using the same template. Modern pop, it feels template-made and soulless, it's hard to tell apart between songs. It's like background music sounding all the same.

To compare
Knofler's Brothers in Arms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJgjf66klng
Clapton's Tears in Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPj3GAYYZ0
Nirvana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN74gq__55Q
Bowie's Life on Mars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKcl4-tcuo

No modern pop song can give you goosebumps the ways any of them does.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Each to their own.

I love all music styles, old and new. Have no problem with people who only want to hear stuff from the past. Whatever makes you happy.

That said, the topic was pop. I don’t know if any of the songs you provided would fall into that category. If you’d talked about ABBA, Madonna and The Backstreet Boys it would be more comparable.

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[–] kukuxu (5409) 3 years ago

Have no problem with people who only want to hear stuff from the past. Whatever makes you happy.

And here we go again with the 'you don't like modern western pop, that's because you live in the past so you don't like new things'.

Well, the album I've heard countless times last year is a recent one from a new Mongol metal band. So new, that they are preparing their second album right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZUr0BEfE

Wagakki band (Japan) is simply amazing, and it's a young band
https://youtu.be/ponTbDDMYjw?t=274

Or what has become probably my favorite song. I found it as the ending theme of an Anime (link below), but it's actually a recent song (last 5 years) from another Japanese band called Humbert Humbert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhiU4IAZtug

There's a problem with modern western pop. Don't try to transform it in some 'you only like old stuff'.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Jesus you’re touchy. I was actually trying to be pleasant and say it’s cool if people just like the old stuff. But whatever, enjoy your music.

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[–] kukuxu (5409) 3 years ago

I'm not 'touchy'. You're assigning to me something I haven't said and that is not true.

I don't like 'old stuff'. I like good stuff, no matter it has been composed 4 years ago, 40 or 400. Western music used to be to good stuff back in the day. Nowadays, you get much better one in Asian countries.

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Fair enough.

I have always liked pop music and I’ve been listening to the same complaints about it since the 80s. As far as I see it there has always been good and bad pop and I don’t see a dramatic decline in quality. Definitely an increase in quantity since the streaming age but as I said before, I feel there are many gems still to be found.

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[–] Kowalski (59368) 3 years ago

I'LL BE BLUNT...BECAUSE YOU DESERVE THAT MUCH...YOU SIR ARE A DICK.🙂

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[–] Kowalski (59368) 3 years ago

MIDNIGHT SKY IS MY FUCKING JAM!!!!!....I LISTEN TO THAT SONG ALL THE TIME...AT LEAST ONCE A DAY....MILEY IS THE QUEEN!

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

She’s awesome right? I never gave her a second thought through her whole Hannah Montana period or with her early records, but once I heard her sing Wrecking Ball on the BBC Live Lounge I was sold! She has a killer voice and a keen ear for a great tune. Have you heard her latest album? I had it on repeat for a few months. Love the 80s vibe and the duets with Billy Idol and Joan Jet.

Yes sir, she’s the real deal 👍

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[–] Kowalski (59368) 3 years ago

WRECKING BALL AND HER APPEARANCE IN https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3530002/ (WHICH IS AWESOME) SOLD ME ON CHECKING HER CATALOG OUT...SO FAR I HAVE NOT BEEN DISAPPOINTED...PLUS MY DAUGHTER IS BIG ON DISNEY CHANNEL SHOWS...SO NOW I HAVE SEEN THE ENTIRETY OF HANNAH MONTANA AND ITS VERY LIKABLE AND CHARMING AND MILEY SHOWS HUGE FLASHES OF TALENT.

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[–] sslssg (28214) 3 years ago

There are songs that I like for sure.

I don't know if Driver's License by Olivia Rodrigo is pop or singer/songwriter, but that is one song that came out recently that I really like.

I like a lot of Bastille's songs. I think they are pop.

And....I can actually blame Rick Beato (the guy who did the youtube video about boomers not liking pop music) for turning me on to Justin Bieber's Anyone.

That being said, the majority of music that I listen to is pre 2000s

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[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I really like Olivia Rodrigo too and I would classify her as pop. I there’s a lot of current singer/songwriters that crossover into the pop genre.

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[–] Keelai (32064) 3 years ago

I'm beginning to understand the reason why I don't like the music.

The slow ballads have the singer mumbling, sounds overly depressed and drained of any energy.

The dance music sounds like very bad 70s disco minus a catchy melody and too synthetic with the instruments and auto-tuned voice.

Both sound extremely lifeless.

Bieber can sing so I don't understand why his voice is auto-tuned.

I still don't know why young people like the music.

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[–] DoctorThirteen (10409) 3 years ago

The only modern pop act I can think of that I like is Lana Del Rey. I've got all of her albums.

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[–] zeesha (1760) 3 years ago

Because I'm sick and tired of listening to the same old pop music over and over again.

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[–] kukuxu (5409) 3 years ago

That's the worst possible reason to listen to modern pop music. Modern pop is basically an interpolation of old pop, with the same drum machine track in every song and the usual indistinguishable singer.

For example, recent hit Leave Before You Love Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmUyEDG7Jy0

It's what happens when you copy Last Christmas from Wham
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRNs1yGfbsU
Combine it with elements from another old pop songs, put them with the standard drum machine track and use the 'I sing like I'm about to cry sob sob' singer-template.

You want to see things new? Just get off pop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xZUr0BEfE

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[–] zeesha (1760) 3 years ago

Speaking of Mongolian song, here is a pop song 'Fading' by Sanaa Z:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6CpfPmtbLE

This song probably fits all your "elements from other songs...singer-template" blah blah, yet, I enjoy it. If you can't, that won't bother me at all.

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