At its worst, pop music is stereotyped as being commercially-driven, overly commoditized and produced, inauthentic, monocultural, superficial, formulaic, uninspired and banal, having traded aesthetic integrity for the sake of mass appeal. This claims may be warranted in many instances, but while value judgments about what constitutes 'good art' are always subjective, there's no question about pop's lucrative appeal and its unparalleled ability to attract attention to itself.
Take Katy Perry as a case study. Forbes' Zack O'Malley Greensberg notes that she is 'America's top pop export', raking in the highest earnings ($135 million) as a singer on Forbes' 2015 Celebrity 100 List, with over 60% of her income coming from outside the US: "Her hits translate–they’re short on subtlety, long on universal appeal, with a focus on partying (“Last Friday Night”), love (“The One That Got Away”) and celebration (“Birthday”). And her bright, breezy videos match: “Dark Horse” and “Roar” are the third- and fourth-most-watched YouTube videos of all time, with nearly 2 billion views between them worldwide." Nothing spells global financial domination like pop, and as Ms. Perry demonstrates, it's not exactly emotional and intellectual depth that gets you there.
Musicians outside the shere of lucrative mainstream pop might understandly be somewhat sour about these industry trends. In American alt-rock band Weezer's 2008 single 'Pork and Beans', for example, there's some lamentation being expressed about being outside the mainstream (although the song is on a decidedly non-conformist note):
'Everyone likes to dance to a happy songWith a catchy chorus and beat so they can sing alongTimbaland knows the way to reach the top of the chartMaybe if I work with him I can perfect the art.'
Eminem, on the other hand, takes a more scathing approach in 'Syllables', a track that was leaked in 2010:
'If we gotta dumb down our style and A-B-C it, then so be it
Cause nowadays these kids just don’t give a shit 'bout lyrics
All they wanna hear is a beat and that's it
Long as they can go to the club and get blitzed
Pick up some chicks and get some digits
And the DJ's playin' them hits "Oh, this my jam, this my shit"
We don't know a word to a verse, all we know is the chorus
Cause the chorus repeats the same four words for us
And the song's ginormous, the whole formula’s switched
Cause we don’t know anymore, what are hits?
Is it the beat, is it the rap?
Is it a finger snap or the same 808 clap?
And how do we adapt and get TRL votes
When 13-year-olds control the remotes?'
But my favorite lyrical response to pop's dominance would have to be Boston-based electronic band Freezepop's 'Pop Music is Not a Crime', a track off their fourth studio album Future Future Future Perfect (2007). The version behind this article is actually an up-tempo remix, which delivers the message more effectively, while staying true to the band's aim to have their music being "sweet and cold and fruity and plastic-y".
The self-referential lyrics begin by with a slightly guilt-ridden recognition of some of pop's banal and shallow conventions:
'Another song about dancing
What is it that you want from me?
If I wrote a song about more serious things
Would you take me seriously?
It's just that I really like to dance
Do you feel the same way that I do?
Would you dance to a song about dancing?
If so, I'd like to dance with you
Pop music, pop music/ is not a crime
Pop music, pop music/ we write it all the time
Pop music, pop music/ is not a crime
Pop music, pop music/ dancing to my stupid rhymes'
While acknowledging that the desire to 'dance to a song about dancing' is 'pretty trite', the synth beats soar after the second chorus, just as the next verse fleshes out pop's earwormy-ness: the very quality that makes it so easy for so many people (popularity is a numbers' game, after all) to tune in:
'Listen to me/ give me a minute of your timeListen to me/ and sing along with what you knowListen to me/ pop music is not a crimeListen to me/ now I'm on the radioListen to me/ the drumbeat makes us starry-eyedListen to me/ and dance along at our next showListen to me/ pop music is not a crimeListen to me/ now I'm on the radioCome dance with me/ we've got a beat you can't denyCome dance with me/ and you just can't tell me no'
Is lead singer Liz Enthusiasm being sarcastic, or merely paying tribute to the pop genre's distinguished crowd-pleasing abilities and unparalleled track record for going viral? Her pleasantly monotonous vocal delivery makes it unclear, so the interpretation is left to the listener. I suppose there's no real way to overturn pop's dominance over the music scene, so you might as well dance along to the next engineered catchy tune to rule mainstream airwaves, as opposed to getting furious about it. Is there really a point in getting angry about the logic of the free market, especially when it comes to trends of aesthetic consumption? Can criticism of pop be devoid of envy for its lucrativeness? Consider American poet June Jordan's poetic response to the irony of Eminem's permanently angry rap persona in her poem 'Owed to Eminem':
"I’m the Slim Lady the real Slim Lady the real Slim Lady just a little ole lady uh-huh uh-huh I’m the Slim Lady the real Slim Lady all them other age ladies just tryin to page me but I’m Slim Lady the real Slim Lady and I will stand up. . . I assume that you fume while the dollar bills bloom and you magnify scum while the critics stay mum and you anguish and languish runnin straight to the bank."
Source: PoetryFoundation.org
With that said, its almost certainly true that most musicians would like to have their cake and eat it too: earn universal critical acclaim while going multi-platinum, topping the charts, selling out concert seats worldwide and becoming the face or spokesperson for a Fortune 500 brand (or a few). But its almost impossible to achieve both ends at the same time.
