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Tuesday, September 7, 2010 |
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The Pop Music Commentary
By Jerry Lucky
December 1, 2007 |
I was reflecting on a time many years ago where I went through a period of music appreciation, having just discovered the progressive rock genre. I was struck by how much more sophisticated this music was than the other stuff I was hearing and playing on the radio. During this period I became overly critical of traditional pop music. In my younger days my view was that pop music was inherently inferior and less deserving of my appreciation.
Even today from time to time I’ll read a review or an article about a progressive rock band that is criticised or chastised for writing material that is considered too pop oriented. It’s as if somehow the inclusions of more pop oriented compositions demean the genre’s efforts to transcend what some consider the more mundane. To put it in simple terms it’s an elitist viewpoint. I know because I used to hold that very view. Fortunately age and education provide a more solid perspective on things like this. Since those more naive and youthful days my own terms of musical appreciation have matured and I no longer hold that view. This is not to say that I like all forms of pop music but at least I no longer consider it inferior. Some of it just isn’t my cup of tea.
It’s easy to bad-mouth or malign pop music partially I think because of the personality popularity machine that is always in full gear and it is so easy to confuse the people with the music. Our view of music produced by people who may be making bad-news is tainted. Many of them do make themselves an easy target. Now I’ll be the first to say that a little critical thinking never hurt anyone and that we certainly shouldn’t be liking something just because somebody else does or says we should. But at the same time it’s too easy to get up on a self-righteous high-horse and look down our noses on pop music. Pop music is what it is.
Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the Beatles start out making snappy short little pop tunes? Now some would say, yeah but that was GOOD pop music. Which then makes me wonder who determines that? Being a fan of the Beatles, the Turtles and the Monkees (yes the Monkees) I have more than my fare share of pop music on the CD shelves.
Pop music has been described in one sense as being a more disposable form of music, and to a great degree I think it is. But that’s not to criticise it. It’s disposable in that it comes into our lives and it goes out of our lives, usually building a memory bridge to the time of its popularity. We all have songs or music that we may not listen to anymore and yet when we hear that song it takes us back to a previous time in our lives. It’s nostalgic. And that’s great.
But it’s too easy to simply sweep pop music or its influence aside when in fact it’s not as simple a genre as one would at first think. I remember interviewing Tony Banks around the Invisible Touch era and he said that while he liked writing the longer, epic length pieces for Genesis, it was actually much harder to restrict and condense the best of the elements into a shorter pop song. Which of course leads to the obvious observation that is missed by most critics and that is that pop music is by far one of the most contrived forms of musical writing given its strict parameters.
It is however good to see those parameters loosening up a bit. We are in a musical time where bands like Muse, Keane, Mutemath, Polyphonic Spree, and many others are striving to once again stretch the boundaries of what constitutes pop-rock music. Their music allows for a little more depth perhaps or more complex arrangements which is great to see.
Let’s face it there will always be those easy pop songs, many would call that “bubblegum music” where the song is simply a three-minute catchy throw away piece. But I for one am glad to see these other bands gaining in popularity and starting to cross some genre boundaries. There’s actually quite a bit of really good pop-rock music out there these days. So say what you like, I no longer ‘fear’ pop music and in fact I’m going to enjoy listening to it. There’s a time and a place for all kinds of music.
At least that’s what I think. How about you?
About the Author:
Jerry Lucky is the author of the book The Progressive Rock Files, now entering its 5th edition. Please feel free to send feedback to Jerry at www.jerrylucky.com. |
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