What's Happened To Pop Music?

[andy-hughes]

I am entirely aware that modern pop is not designed to appeal to me, and I have no issue with that.

But even so, most of the pop I hear on radio seems to consist of young women either shrieking at the top of their limited range, or dropping their voices to the bottom of their limited range and then gurgling down their noses with enough glottal stops to start another language entirely, or else they are so produced with effects and noises that they no longer sound even vaguely human.

I know I am getting old, but I still enjoy well-made pop even if it is not something I would listen to from choice particularly - anyone else notice what seems to be a change for the worse?

[Old_Geezer]

I concur, in my day when Gracie sang about an aspidestria you could hear what is was about.

(But yeah, was listening to Absolute00 earlier and you couldn't believe how dodgy it was.)

[anthro-nerd]

OG, listen to this:

My fave song at the moment, no shrieking, or gurgling. Just a great song!!!!!

Listening now!! 'ILL BE RIDING SHOTGUN, UNDERNEATHE THE HOT SUN, FEELING LIKE SOMEONEEEEEEE'.

[douglas9401]

[Guilbert53]

Watched a program about Elvis Presley and his first RCA album on Sky Arts yesterday.

RCA signed him up even though the "older" RAC bosses thought he (and his type of music) would have a limited life (1 or 2 years).

"Then we can go back to "proper" music like Perry Como" said one RCA executive.

Older people have ALWAYS thought that the younger generations music was "people shrieking".

People laughed a girls screaming at Frank Sinatra in the 40s, and screaming at Elvis in the 50s, and at the Rolling Stone in the 60s and so on.

I remember playing my dad the first Beatles album and he took it off after a couple of tracks.

We "olduns" just have to accept that we liked the music we grew up with but don't like the music the "youngsters of today" are listening to.

So it will always be.

[Old_Geezer]

Pleasant song anthro.

Ah, even the screaming girls generation thought the screaming girls were being over the top. The power of the crowd to affect the behaviour of the individual, eh ?

And who invented non-rhyming poetry :-( Opportunists who couldn't think of rhymes I believe.

[Mamyalynne]

Free verse has a long history with some disagreement as to how many centuries it hoes back - others see it as a restriction in itself rather than a freedom.

[Mamyalynne]

^ it goes back (an unintentional rhyme there)

[Islay]

Is it not subjective - when you were a lad and listening to Perry Como I bet your parents thought it was tripe!

[dave50]

I agree and also there are so many miserable songs from the likes of Sam Smith. They are so boring. I like up tempo cheerful songs that you can sing along to and I dont care if they have a meaning or message or not, in fact give me cheesy music any day.

[maggiebee]

My parents hated Elvis, Cliff, Marty Wilde etc etc. You're just all too old on here - pop music is loved by the youngsters eg my 13 year old grandaughter.

[ludwig]

//....But even so, most of the pop I hear on radio ....//

You're listening to the wrong shows andy. There's still a lot of great music being made by contemporary artists, you just won't find it on Radio 1 (for example) or anything that Simon Cowell has anything to do with.

[andy-hughes]

Thanks for all the answers.

In terms of there being masses of perfectly fine music out there, and the places to hear it, I am of course completely aware of both of them thank you.

I am equally aware, as I was at pains to point out, that I know pop music per se is not aimed at me, but that has never stopped me appreciating it, even if I don't enjoy it personally - that is a pre-requisite of my profession as a music journalist.

My point is, that the sound of modern pop is so much uglier than it has ever been previously, it's not that I don't like it, which I don't, it's that the actual sound is unpleasant to hear, with the distorted vocals, nasal singing, dropping and raising ranges, and effects, it simply grates terribly on me.

However, we all enjoy different things, and amen to that.

[andy-hughes]

Theland - // Another sad influence of black culture asserting itself and the Political Correct Brigade falling over themselves to accept it, spread it, and acclaim it. //

Is there a specific reason why black culture should be prevented from asserting itself?

In terms of popular music, which is what we are discussing, there would be no white culture without black culture, and black culture remains a vital and vibrant part of popular culture throughout the world, and ever may it be so.

The notion that it is 'adopted' by people being 'PC' is as lazy an assumption as it is incorrect.