I hate pop music

Here's an essay on why I hate pop music I wrote not too long ago for a weblog. Are there any other people out there who think the same way?

WHY I HATE POP MUSIC

I hate pop music, I hate it passionately and I hate it more and more. I hate its childishly simplistic tunes, lyrics and song structure, its lack of musical invention and its formulaic nature. I hate the superficial lifestyle culture that is associated with pop music and the way it has become an unavoidable part of our Western culture. I hate the undeserved exposure and attention pop artists get in the media, as if there is any news value to the notion that pop singer X has divorced for the nth time or that pop singer Y has shaved her head completely bald. I hate the hype surrounding the release of a new album by supposedly “great” pop artists and bands, as if people are awaiting a new masterpiece in the vein of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.

The older I get, the more I detest pop music in almost all of its subgenres (from mainstream pop and rock to metal to punk to funk to rap and hiphop to techno and dance to reggae/ska to whatever these different pop genres are labeled), which – like all expressions of popular culture – I see as a form of regressive, degenerate culture infantilizing Western society. Never before in the history of Western music, has popular culture dictated people’s conception, definition and taste of music to such a disproportionate extent. Although there has always been a distinction between music for the masses (or “popular music”) and a more sophisticated music for an elite (or “art music”), never before has popular music pushed art music to the cultural margins the way it does nowadays. Even the higher educated and more cultivated people (those who were traditionally more into art or classical music than the lower educated) seem to have lost interest in classical music, preferring the Rolling Stones over Beethoven. Classical music is dying a slow and silent death in a cultural ghetto; long live the stupidity and vulgarity of pop music!

Yes, pop music is simplistic, vulgar, shallow and uninteresting when compared to classical music. The musical talent of so-called great pop musicians is negligible compared to the talent of truly great classical musicans and the creativity involved in pop music compares to the creativity involved in classical music the way a Neanderthal compares to a highly developed modern human: Pop music has nothing of the melodic and harmonic invention, musical variety, structural and formal richness, intricate counterpoint and intellectual and emotional profoundness that makes classical music so great.

I wouldn’t hate pop music so much, if it didn’t have this enormous, widespread cultural influence (these days, even the most infantile pop “artists” with hardly any musical talent at all can become highly influential cultural icons whom everyone is talking about...), if it weren’t so omnipresent and if you could ignore it (which you can’t, because there’s pop music everywhere – on tv, in the supermarket, in restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, gyms, gas stations, airports, etc.). For 99% of the population, pop music is the only music that counts, the only music that exists. For these people, classical music is a museum piece that only exists if they happen to get exposed to it in some way.

Moreover, pop music promotes a way of listening that destroys the ability to appreciate classical music. Generally, you don’t listen to pop music for deep emotions, rich structure, intricate counterpoint, melodic and harmonic invention, etc. Most kids listen to pop music for superficial features, such as “a nice beat”, a singable tune or a lifestyle feeling that is expressed in the music. Listening is perhaps the wrong term here, for most pop music isn’t even actively listened to, it is merely passively consumed. Since pop music is so omnipresent, many people nowadays regard music as nothing but auditory wallpaper: something nice one can relax to and which doesn’t require a lot of attention, something that is passively heard while at the same time engaging in other activities such as reading a book or cooking. This way of listening promoted by pop music is detrimental to the appreciation of classical music. To really appreciate classical music, it is necessary to concentrate, listen actively and make an effort to grasp the deeper intellectual and emotional meaning of the music.

Being a composer of (contemporary) classical music, I am constantly reminded that this great long tradition of classical music, which has evolved for centuries from Machaut to Bach to Mozart and Beethoven to Wagner, Mahler, Schönberg up to 20th century modernism, has suddenly become a dying tradition that has no meaning anymore to most of the people in our culture – thanks to the emergence of pop music as THE dominant musical paradigm of our time – and it sometimes makes me really, really embittered.

I agree completely, have a nice story about that tho, I was just in my schools talent show, and I performed a classical piano piece, Schumann's Aufshwung, my competition was hiphop dancers, heavy metal rockers, salsa dancers, teeny boppers etc. and I ended up winning the show! I'm not trying to brag here. But this is a nice example of how when people are Actually exposed to classical music, because they really don't even get a chance to hear it, they atleast will value it over stupid pop, I was judged by a rocker, hip hopper and an english teacher.. heh well ok not ur typical panel but its promising.. it means we have a chance

sounds to me that maybe you are getting on a high-horse and generalizing.... Can you say which sort of pop artists & styles you are referring to? Believe it or not some very good pop artists exist - although I am not sure you will hear them on the radio much.

The essay kind of falls under the category of "I hate pop music because of a few artists that suck"

Now, surely you haven't listened to ALL of the pop music there is. What about Nat King Cole? If you're simply looking for complexity in pop music, Cole had some very complex harmonic structures and rhythms in his music. What about Jose Feliciano? Feliz Navidad and Malaguena aren't exactly the most simple pieces in the universe.

Seems to me that you seem to be generalizing quite a bit about pop music. I'd suggest you listen to a bit more before you decide to hate it all. You're falling into the old trap of being a rather hateful sounding musician, a good musician should be able to appreciate music for who the artist is.

Not all artists have the same level of understanding of music theory as others do. So what if a piece only has three chords? So what if the melody is simple and easy to remember? If the artist is writing something they love, then who the heck are you to criticize that?

There ought to be room for both in this world. And I'm not convinved classical music is in its death throes. I think I'm right in saying there's something of a craze for Western classical music in the Tiger economies of SE Asia at the moment. Classical music is flourishing in unexpected places.

I believe strongly that if music education in schools is improved so it consists of more than just buggering about on a keyboard in a practice room for an hour you'll be halfway there. The national curriculum did nothing to nurture my love of classical music because it didn't expose me to the classics. Not all kids will like classical music, but at least give them a chance to! Put some Bartok on at full volume, or some Mahler or even some Beethoven: something that will shatter the image of classical music as "boring". And do this at an early enough age, don't wait till the kids are doing a GCSE or A-level!

Creating a broad-base of understanding amongst the population is the way we need to go. Work from the bottom up.

Originally Posted by gianluca

Here's an essay on why I hate pop music I wrote not too long ago for a weblog. Are there any other people out there who think the same way?

WHY I HATE POP MUSIC

I hate pop music, I hate it passionately and I hate it more and more. I hate its childishly simplistic tunes, lyrics and song structure, its lack of musical invention and its formulaic nature. I hate the superficial lifestyle culture that is associated with pop music and the way it has become an unavoidable part of our Western culture. I hate the undeserved exposure and attention pop artists get in the media, as if there is any news value to the notion that pop singer X has divorced for the nth time or that pop singer Y has shaved her head completely bald. I hate the hype surrounding the release of a new album by supposedly “great” pop artists and bands, as if people are awaiting a new masterpiece in the vein of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion.

The older I get, the more I detest pop music in almost all of its subgenres (from mainstream pop and rock to metal to punk to funk to rap and hiphop to techno and dance to reggae/ska to whatever these different pop genres are labeled), which – like all expressions of popular culture – I see as a form of regressive, degenerate culture infantilizing Western society. Never before in the history of Western music, has popular culture dictated people’s conception, definition and taste of music to such a disproportionate extent. Although there has always been a distinction between music for the masses (or “popular music”) and a more sophisticated music for an elite (or “art music”), never before has popular music pushed art music to the cultural margins the way it does nowadays. Even the higher educated and more cultivated people (those who were traditionally more into art or classical music than the lower educated) seem to have lost interest in classical music, preferring the Rolling Stones over Beethoven. Classical music is dying a slow and silent death in a cultural ghetto; long live the stupidity and vulgarity of pop music!

Yes, pop music is simplistic, vulgar, shallow and uninteresting when compared to classical music. The musical talent of so-called great pop musicians is negligible compared to the talent of truly great classical musicans and the creativity involved in pop music compares to the creativity involved in classical music the way a Neanderthal compares to a highly developed modern human: Pop music has nothing of the melodic and harmonic invention, musical variety, structural and formal richness, intricate counterpoint and intellectual and emotional profoundness that makes classical music so great.

I wouldn’t hate pop music so much, if it didn’t have this enormous, widespread cultural influence (these days, even the most infantile pop “artists” with hardly any musical talent at all can become highly influential cultural icons whom everyone is talking about...), if it weren’t so omnipresent and if you could ignore it (which you can’t, because there’s pop music everywhere – on tv, in the supermarket, in restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, gyms, gas stations, airports, etc.). For 99% of the population, pop music is the only music that counts, the only music that exists. For these people, classical music is a museum piece that only exists if they happen to get exposed to it in some way.

Moreover, pop music promotes a way of listening that destroys the ability to appreciate classical music. Generally, you don’t listen to pop music for deep emotions, rich structure, intricate counterpoint, melodic and harmonic invention, etc. Most kids listen to pop music for superficial features, such as “a nice beat”, a singable tune or a lifestyle feeling that is expressed in the music. Listening is perhaps the wrong term here, for most pop music isn’t even actively listened to, it is merely passively consumed. Since pop music is so omnipresent, many people nowadays regard music as nothing but auditory wallpaper: something nice one can relax to and which doesn’t require a lot of attention, something that is passively heard while at the same time engaging in other activities such as reading a book or cooking. This way of listening promoted by pop music is detrimental to the appreciation of classical music. To really appreciate classical music, it is necessary to concentrate, listen actively and make an effort to grasp the deeper intellectual and emotional meaning of the music.

Being a composer of (contemporary) classical music, I am constantly reminded that this great long tradition of classical music, which has evolved for centuries from Machaut to Bach to Mozart and Beethoven to Wagner, Mahler, Schönberg up to 20th century modernism, has suddenly become a dying tradition that has no meaning anymore to most of the people in our culture – thanks to the emergence of pop music as THE dominant musical paradigm of our time – and it sometimes makes me really, really embittered.

Alright, I see that you are obviously biased. Not that I think that you're dumb, mind you- you have set up a very good argument. I don't mean to try to convince you otherwise, but here are some things I noticed-
1) This is exactly how I (and many other people) feel about rap, which is less accepted (and isn't even music) by the educated community.
2) Alright, pop HAS A STRUCTURE!!!
3) "I hate the undeserved exposure and attention pop artists get in the media, as if there is any news value to the notion that pop singer X has divorced for the nth time or that pop singer Y has shaved her head completely bald."
This is just news magazines. This is irrelevant to the original argument- the same things happen in Hollywood.
4) I actually used to hate the genre "pop" the same way you did, but as I got older, I realized that it was music just the same and I shouldn't hate it.

Alright, maybe this argument is weaker than I thought...

5) You're right; Classical music is more complicated than pop music, but that shouldn't be on the listener's mind in context to taste of music. When you start looking at musical styles at that level, you are becoming a snob IMO.
6) [this goes hand-in-hand with 3] Not all people are musically educated! I know plenty of people who have never touched an instrument or learded to read music. Obviously, I am disappointed by these people, but you can't avoid it. If people don't want to take the time to actively learn an instrument, then they won't.
7)CLASSICAL MUSIC IS NOT A DYING TRADITION!!!! That is not true! Classical music is not dead- it is simply not written as much anymore. Times change. So what people may have called a "nicely orchestrated section" in classical times is now "a great rhythm."
8) "The older I get, the more I detest pop music in almost all of its subgenres (from mainstream pop and rock to metal to punk to funk to rap and hiphop to techno and dance to reggae/ska to whatever these different pop genres are labeled), which – like all expressions of popular culture – I see as a form of regressive, degenerate culture infantilizing Western society."
You have a point, but remember when we started out beating on drums, dancing around the fire in loing cloths, shouting and chanting...? If anything, music is going to move in a cycle, because the audience changes, and so does the music. Music has stages, and just because music happened to get simpler doesn't mean it's
9)What do you consider "pop"? It sounds like you have listened to all the talentless pop stars, and generalized about the rest. Pop also includes songs that the general public likes... hence the name pop as in "Popular."

I'll edit this post later for more things... If you ask me, you;re not fully aware of what you're talking about.
Graciously,
Alan

*rolls eyes*

I'm not going to bother addressing anything specific...'cause it's all wrong.

To those who 'hate pop music' - Obviously you're all listening to the wrong artists. It is possible to be creative and artistic in a popular vein - hell Radiohead are possibly the most creative and innovative musical ensemble anywhere, period...and they're WILDLY popular.

Sure, a lot of it is cookie-cutter crap, engineered to suck up your allowance - but, seriously. Before you condemn an entire genre, check it out. Don't be discouraged by what you hear on the radio, on tv, in the supermarket, in restaurants, bars, clubs, shops, gyms, gas stations, airports, etc. That stuff is there for a reason - and not because it's innovative or interesting. Please, think a little more before you say things like that okay, kids?! It makes you sound like an elitist snob.

Gianluca - pretty much everything you said, stems from a very narrow-minded and ignorant view of pop music. So please, put down the Britney Spears and High School Musical soundtrack, and go buy some new CDs... you'll be surprised at how many deep emotions, rich structure, intricate counterpoint, melodic and harmonic invention you'll find; and how seriously talented some composers and musicians really are.
...

*needs an exasperated eye-roll smiley, and almost included a list of 'good' pop artists*

So biased... So one sided on SO many things...

Contemporary concert hall music is dying only because it is full of fools and ignorant one sided people (and no, I don't mean you, although it does seem so. I don't know you so I can't make any such assumptions, I mean some people that I know). Healthy contemporary concert hall music has no complexes against anything, has no trouble enjoying Beyonce and has little problem with popularity!

I'm also part of the contemporary "scene" (although rather distant and not very interested, thus rather invisble...) so don't think that I'm not including myself into it.

On very small specific issues:

1. since when should music be complicated to be worthy? If something is put with effort without ignorance, then it should be ok. I don't mind if Beethoven spent months writing something and I don't care if Mozart made it in secs. The quality is evident! Same with many pop artists, bands, etc
2. Pop music includes some amazing stuff that you wouldn't believe. Sure it is tonal most of the times, but yet there are some pretty fancy stuff, if you consider that they still remain popular!
3. Classic composers as much as anyone else need to be out, meet people, network, go to concerts etc; and f*cking Classic FM has made sure to make starts those morons G4, G5 or whatever they are called! Do you detest those as well? Or Jenkins? Or all those HUGE pianists, who are stars on their own right? Do you think that Richter was less in the newspapers? Maybe chicks didn't chase his car, but he sure was a star. Moreover why should beautiful people be retained from public? If I was beautiful like Jenna Jameson, I'd be sure to hit the pRon industry! Why not after all? (<-of course I'm exagerating, right?)

Were we in a pub together I would agree 90% with you! I can't say that I find much reason for Britney's existance or the come back of Spice Girls, but I sure own more than 300 pop records (rock, pop, even hit 85/86/87 from when I was bellow 10 years old )

Psst. The idiots from my class all love crappy mainstream music and even they know High School Musical sucks.

Your argument, as I understand it, basically comes down like this:

Pop music is stupid and simple because
1) classical music is so much more complicated, and pop music is full with uninteresting, simple features.
2) it is used a lot as background music.

some arguments against these:
1) different kinds of music focus on different aspects of things you can do with sound. Gregorian chant ONLY focusses on one beautiful flowing line that has as less elements of repeat as possible, and little bit on the text it is based on. Even rithem and the highest point in the melody are almost always linked. Yet we call this classical music.
Modern pop music, I believe is mostly homophonic, this means that counterpoint does not play a role. It is not a good idea to even look for counterpoint within pop music, it does not exist. Also, pop music is a vocal genre which produces mosly short songs. The focus here is on 1: repeating harmonic patterns (which are based on classical cadences but ignore most of the rules) with a repeating rithmic pattern repeating each bar.

The rithmic patterns is, nowadays, usually where the complexity is (this is exactly why rap exists at all!), try to listen to some modern pop music to analyse what happens rithmically within one bar. Complex syncopation often plays also a big role. This is why this kind of music is also danced to.

The focus however to me seems to be even more on text and melody. In pop music that is never meant to dance to this plays the biggest role. Even still good melodies in pop music also use heavy sycopation.

Another example I want to give is Indian classical music. It uses no harmony at all. It is however very complex in all the different scales (classical music from baroque to classical, which is very popular uses only 2(!) different scales, even pop music uses more (pentatonic blues scale, jazz scales, church modes etc.).

My argument against 2) is that the concert hall didn't exist at all untill the Romantic period. In the time of Mozart is was normal that people talked during performances, only in the Romantic period it became customary to be silent during performances. So many of the classical music played today was performed as background music, this does not mean that people didn't listen to it or enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading my post,

Niku