I love it when hipsters without musical training or experience bitch about pop music, like “oh, it’s such talentless schmuck! How can anyone listen to that unoriginal bullshit, omg the masses are soooooo stupid!”

Without realizing that:

1. Being a successful pop musician, a la Britney Spears, has about the odds of winning the lottery. And it takes a hell of a lot of work.

2. All successful pop singers take music lessons. As in, singing lessons. As in, they probably know way more about singing and music and chord structure than you ever will. Particularly if you are the type of hipster that “rebels against learning music theory, because it’s more important to just feel the music, you know?”

3. Writing a number one pop hit? really fucking hard. Know why? because it’s not necessarily formulaic. Sure, you can complain about “omg all songs have the same 4 chords!” and how it’s all “mindless drivel,” but if that were true, EVERYBODY WOULD BE A POP STAR BECAUSE IT WOULD BE TOO EASY. In reality, writing a catchy song is just as hard (if not harder) than writing the newest “critically acclaimed” indie underground album. Particularly because, let’s face it, do you really think that the Decemberists or Neutral Milk Hotel actually use more chords than, say, the song “Genie in a Bottle”? Hint: Probably not.

4. Also, consider the fact that a lot of rap songs actually do a ton of cool sampling and innovative shit involving horns and classical instruments. Also consider the fact that you will probably never be able to hit a dog whistle type note like Mariah Carey.

5. In the end, bitching about how mindless and uncreative the music industry is, is just a sad attempt to criticize an industry is actually hugely competitive and fueled by what people like.


….And, as we all know YOU know from high school…it’s really hard being popular, isn’t it?

Maybe you should think about why you hate pop musicians and song writers.

…Is it because they’ve figured out how to get people to like them, and you’re attempting to be edgy by being racist, ignorant, and dismissive?

…but maybe I’m just over analyzing here.

http://lightspeedsound.tumblr.com/post/21958239391/i-love-it-when-hipsters-without-musical-training-or

I don't get how grown folks talk about "Man, I wish Beiber would get hit with an 18 wheeler!!!!!"

Really? Outside of work or the club, you don't have to listen to anything you don't like. Ever. Don't like the radio? Get an ipod. Don't like TV? Get netflix, or read a damn book.

I was ignoring the stuff I didn't really care for in 1997 and there was barely an Internet (for consumers) compared to today. now? with Youtube and blogs? Sheeeeeeeeeeeeit.

>I was ignoring the stuff I didn't really care for in 1997 and
>there was barely an Internet (for consumers) compared to
>today. now? with Youtube and blogs? Sheeeeeeeeeeeeit.

Before The Man messed up Youtube, I used to set my playlist and let it run while I did other shit around the house. It was perfect.


There's NO excuse for thinking there's no good music to be found in 2012. you LITERALLY have the world at your fingertips nowadays.

and most ppl who are arent digging for music

lots off ppl just turn on the radio when they want to hear music

>Really? Outside of work or the club, you don't have to listen
>to anything you don't like. Ever. Don't like the radio? Get an
>ipod. Don't like TV? Get netflix, or read a damn book.
>
>


I mean, when people talk about how awful the new "so-and-so" is. I just shrug. Why? Because I probably haven't heard it. I simply don't tune into shit I don't dig, and there's no point in doing it just to complain about it.


Like somebody else said, with internet radio and all that kinda shit, you can listen to whatever you like, whenever you want to.

careers with it ain't complaining. problem with today is that there is too many outlets and also its shoved down your throat and no matter how hype a turkey plays on tv, they are still peeping sideeyed at what is happening beleive that.

alot of people diss pop music as talentless mess without not knowing how much talent is actually involded

Thats how I always looked at Pop Music...Its alot of Pop artist that not only extremely musically gifted and talented, but just like already stated have the technical ability also (knows how to read, understands music theory..ect).

But alot of these artist know and understand how to make art digestible for a wide audience. Alot of people overlook that skill.

Not EVERY artist in Pop are 'got lucky-sellout-no-talent-hacks", there are some, but they usually fizzle out in the end.

like

at all

tons of horrible shit takes skill and talent to do

i just wanted to see the lessons reaction to this, so far i've been surprised, but after these play off games i'll be back to throw a lil' wrench in the prevailing sentiment thus far

Plus the fact that Clear Channel and most of the major record companies have a stranglehold on everything that's played. Not to mention that although not everyone can become a pop star, but the ppl who do become one don't necessarily get there on talent. Most don't write their songs, don't produce their songs, don't pick who produces or writes their songs and are overly produced. It's like you said a lottery. Heck, most already have some kind of connection to the industry (Family, friends, related entertainment career) or are taken under the wing of a mentor.

Is there a set formula for making a #1 hit? Of course not, but doesn't mean record companies don't develop formulas that they throw at listeners until it stops sticking. Radio now has the least range it's ever had.

I don't hate on pop music overall but to say that most of the music on the radio is quality music that very talented ppl worked on is not anywhere close to true.

Yes, it's absolutely right that it takes talent to mak a hit but there's a shitload of things that takes talent to make, including stuff that rarely get any attention whatsoever from mainstream outlets and that's where the problem lie.

Basically, for some reason I never fully understood, people want *their* favorite art to get mainstream recognition.

It could be the indie-snob who's pissed off that his favourite music doesn't get the attention on radio or MTv they deserve in his opinion (Why are they not listening to my favorite band? They must be brainwashed sheep).

It could be the pop-fan who's pissed off that music-critics don't give the credit she thinks her favorite music desreve (They only like No-Groove noise-music. Wh ydon't they give it up for Bruno Mars?)

It could be the pop-fan who thinks the songwriting of contemporary pop is inferior to that of the past (It's just beats! Where is the accomplished melody?)

It could be the R&B fan who wants his/her art recognized by the Rock'n'roll hall of fame...

And so on. Every quarter has their complaints and in the context of music-nerds who are record-collectors and listen to "weird" music that people in the mainstream has overlooked for like 40 years, the pop-music is the easy target. I'm *not* saying it's a smart or rational reaction but it's a *natural* reaction and quite obvious IMO...

Brooklyn, for instance, in Bushwick just hearing people blasting the radio out of their cars, or on the street whenever it's more than seventy degrees outside, you'll hear all the top forty songs a few dozen times before they fall off. And if you work in retail you'll probably hear them a few hundred times, at which point Katy Perry's jeans/dreams rhyme or the oontz-oontz-oontz behind Drake REALLY MIGHT MAKE YOU INSANE. I mean I liked all the adele singles and I can hardly stand to hear her voice at this point.

But yeah, some people go out of their way to make themselves miserable. And just writing off pop as a whole, fuck off. But is that even a hipsterry thing at this point? If pitchfork is the bell weather they were going bonkers over Carter III and Take Care. They love Rihanna. Most of the people I know who "hate pop" are premature codgers who haven't heard the radio in months, and when they did a lot of them liked "Bad Romance".