Each generation usually sticks with the popular music of their time. It makes sense that the popular culture that surrounds someone when they grow up will make a strong, lasting impression on them. Why is this? Why can’t those people who develop an admiration for the popular music of their first 25 years or so, be open to other kinds? Most teenagers follow the trends. If their own generation deems the music popular, then it must be good, right? However, individuals that truly appreciate music will listen to whatever music they connect with. So what are the chances that the vast majority of teenagers in the world connect with current pop music? It’s like candy, there’s no substance to most of it. It’s irrational to assume that the vast majority of any generation is born with intrinsically the same musical tastes. It’s not realistic. So with this information, I don’t believe that most people listening to the popular music of their generation would have picked it if it wasn’t considered popular. There is no genuine interest in the music anymore. Instead, there is a need to fit in, attend the popular events, and recite lyrics of the popular songs. This corruption of popularity and fame has stripped people of true interest.
Also, how come all of the people on the radio fit such a minimal range of style and genre? Why is it that these performers sell merch and participate in other brand manipulation if their passion is music? It’s not like they really have to be taking on those roles to make a living. Thus, not only is the audience oblivious to their own taste in music, but the performers have also lost a certain level of passion. Many mainstream singers don’t even write their own songs. How are they still considered musicians? What is their purpose in art-making? People focus on whoever is having the most success and often don’t realize what the artists are contributing. If the fans really loved the song, then why aren’t they interested in the songwriters?
Artists that perform other people’s lyrics can’t possibly have the same connection with the words that they are singing. Without creative blocks and failures, how are these artists growing? Are the feelings expressed in the lyrics felt by these people? If the artists don’t write down their own thoughts and emotions, then the audience members can’t have a strong connection to the performers either. This is not to say that if you don’t experience something first-hand, it can’t resonate with you. The instruments are even being turned into computer playing beats that just repeat. The artists that are presenting themselves to express feelings, aren’t performinging truthfully. The power of music is diminished when you think of this lack of authenticity.
In the context of music, instruments play a big role and hold significant value. Not everyone has the gift to play and maintain such magical tools. However, instruments are being replaced with computers playing beats. Devices used in EDM (electronic dance music) are spreading to other genres, like pop, and the use for instruments is decreasing. By making it all so easy to perfect, the authenticity of a guitar strum or of someone’s uncorrected voice is now lost.
Would you like the same music if it wasn’t considered popular? Maybe? Exactly. You may be unsure. This insincerity represents your relationship with pop music. If it wasn’t constantly playing on the radio and on media platforms, would you choose to listen to it? I bet all of the other music you listen to is purposeful and valuable. You discovered those sounds. You feel as if they are yours in some way. With young people predominantly liking currently popular music, I don’t know if most people will ever feel like a pop song really belongs to them. When we are all old and hear someone playing Shawn Mendes, will we be excited? Is this kind of music powerful enough to stick with us through our adult years, like how 80’s music stuck with my mom? I think that the music that will stick is the kind that is private to me. The playlists that are dearest to me are the ones that resulted from hours of streaming songs, only to select a few. Those are the songs that hold significance because I feel like I’ve earned them. Just like how my mom had to wait all day to hear her favorite songs on MTV or the radio. It was the only way. When those songs played, they held value. They weren’t easy to access, which made them special.
