We, as both a society and as individuals, would like to think that we exclusively value music that we can identify as “good”. Most take, “good”, to mean that it holds some sort of artistic value. If only it was that easy.
We have all had an experience where a song that we wouldn’t normally consider artistically valid becomes stuck in our head. I have myself recently experienced this with the song “Human” by The Killers. Normally, I consider the lyric ”Are we human, or are we dancer?” to be completely boneheaded and the overall song to be terrible. And yet, I still find myself humming it at odd times. If you’re like me, you justify this kind of activity by saying, “Oh, it’s just catchy.”
We see that there are two types of songs that we assign value to, even if it’s only on a subconscious level. Good songs and catchy songs. A good song can be catchy, and a abhorrent song is often neither. To better understand this, it would be useful to look at specific examples. Luckily, there is an artist that can provide us with what we require: Britney Spears. Regardless about how you feel about her ex, her kids, or her hairstyle, you can’t deny that she has produced some monster pop songs over the years. But are they good, are they catchy, or are they both? Depends on which one you look at.
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Can you guess the name of this song? Here’s a hint: it’s repeated more times than anyone should count. One of the easiest ways to spot a song who’s sole aim is to be catchy is to see where it places it’s emphasis. The writers of these songs are often aware that what they’ve composed doesn’t have much value beyond it’s ability to stick in your head. Subsequently, they place all of their metaphorical eggs in an equally metaphorical basket.
In this case, it is manifested through the hammering of the phrase “Gimme, gimme more”. Beyond that, there’s basically nothing here. The same boring bass line and boneheaded drum beat repeat the whole song, with other instruments only being added for the oft-repeated chorus. In terms of composition, tone, and originality, the whole affair is worthless. And yet that damnable phrase refuses to leave you, haunting you like some vile spirit.
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There we go. That’s that good shit. “Toxic” is arguably one of Spears’ best songs, if not a modern pop masterpiece. Here we are able to find real, tangible value. Musically, it’s a rich and full affair, with guitars, strings, and synths all serving to back up the vocal. All of the instruments, voice included, change dynamics with the song, making for a much more nuanced recording. It’s important to note that “Toxic” is just as catchy as “Gimme More”. However, this song is memorable for entirely different reasons. Instead of relying on rote memorization, “Toxic” stays with you due to well-written melodies and interesting sounds, such as the string part during the verses.
Basically, this whole exercise leads us here: “Gimme More” is a catchy song. ”Toxic” is a good song. We have plenty of one, and far too few of the other. And it seems, more and more, that we are confusing these two aspects of popular music.
2 Responses to “The Toxicity of Modern Pop”
Hey Calvin,
You’re dead on with this, and I’d like to take it one step further. The human race as a whole has evolved to perfection when it comes to its own survival. The majority of the people on the planet resist change and crave predictability in their lives. These are the people that keep the human race alive because they fear many of the dangers that tend to kill people off. The remaining minority are the people that push limits and try new things. These are the people that are on the edge of the spectrum, some invented nuclear power while others make Darwin awards.
So how does this come back to music? Catchy songs are popular because they are very simple and familiar. They are easy to grasp and played often until it becomes comforting to hear it. It’s similar to chain restaurants: when people travel they need consistency even more to offset their changing environment, and they can find that in exactly the same food halfway across the world.
This consistent and familiar music is popular music. People sing along to it, it gets stuck in heads and played on radios. It’s criticised for being repetitive but secretly that’s what everyone wants.
Then we have the other artists (call them experimental, or indie) that push the envelope. Most of this music produced is bad, some of it is excellent, but almost none of it is catchy. Ever heard someone walking down the street whistling Mogwai?
The Killers are a very tragic tale. Hot Fuss is easily on my top 5 list of favorite albums of all time. Because they were very good, and a little catchy, they were swooped up and their musical balance was shifted to be less innovative and very catchy. This has made them immensely popular and now their music itself is terrible. The Killers really got me into indie music, because you can still find gems of great music that won’t get stuck in your head.
On a side note, I think you guys should work on more hip-hop. I’m dead serious. There is quite a crowd of people that listen to nerdy hip-hop like mc chris. I’d love to hear an album where you do remixes of classic video game themes (or tv shows) while rapping humorously about the show itself. When I heard Money Bags the first thing I thought of was Duck Tales.
Wow… good comparison, that’s why I don’t listen too much on mainstream radio, it’s just too damn simple and repetitive. I find that most mainstream songs can easily be made by 5 year olds. Good thing there’s alternatives, classic rock and even heavy metal as subtitutes on the radio. But even those genres kinda seem overplayed especially with some songs, I mean I don’t blame them but a little variety would help.
Oh well, thanks for the rant man, as the other guy said, it was spot on. Thanks for reading!
Ian