What has been defined as pop throughout the ages has changed by generation. Between big band, country, the dawn of mainstream rock (from Chuck Berry to Led Zeppelin), new wave, grunge and Brit pop, radio play has recorded the evolution of music before our very eyes. However, to truly grasp the concept of modern pop, I believe we have to go back to the dawn of the boy band: The Jackson Five. Nothing against Michael Jackson, his music was captivating and incredible even before he dominated the charts solo, but the Jackson Five was the start of an exponential increase in materialistic music. All the chart-topping records, their expansion and materialism among the African-American community, they even had their own TV show! All in all, it was the dawn of the boy band as we know it.
From here, where else could we move but to New Kids on the Block? Maurice Starr, accredited with the dawn of the boy band era in pop music, put together catchy, memorable lyrics with supposed heart throb guys (some of whom went on to display Janet Jackson's breast, some of whom went gay, but that's not the point here) and a pretentious approach to seemingly ordinary music. Bands like N'SYNC, the Backstreet Boys, Westlife and O-Town became overnight sensations and sold millions of records.
At the same time, however, another trend started: the pop starlet. While every era of music has had sex appeal, never has the appeal stemmed from such a young age. Artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera took control of the scene with simple songs and schoolgirl outfits. Aguilera even took it a step further, making "whore" seem like an acceptable term (ironically, the controversial Dirty and the powerful ballad Beautiful were both on the same album). This could only lead to the inevitable: pop dominance of modern music. Nu-metal bands like POD and Linkin Park, along with pop punk bands like blink-182, Green Day and The Offspring, all received airplay, but they were nothing compared to the colossus that was pop.
Today, the trends continue. While bands like Nickelback are challenging the pop stereotype and soft rock like Coldplay and The Fray continue to surprise (mostly through Grey's Anatomy), powerful stars like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lady GaGa and various others overpower us with their infectious beats and sex appeal. However, there is also the emergence of the anti-star, beginning with Pink and progressing through Katy Perry and Lily Allen; the beats remain incessant but their situation is acknowledged and enlightened through mockery and some genuinely fascinating influences.
Additionally, between 2005 and 2009, the evolution of "Disney pop" has become apparent in the masses. Incessant tripe such as the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus hit the masses early with family-friendly pop music that parents can appreciate and are more than happy to convert into a Hannah Montana life. If there were anything beyond the ownership of the Disney corporation driving this music, there may be a shred of appreciation, however, this is corporate music at its most refined, targeting those easiest to target. I'll have none of it.
So why do we do it? What inside us sells our soul to the contempt-driven mess that is pop music? Most likely, the biggest culprit is access. The apathy towards music in society is apparent; no one wants to browse the Internet or go to a record store and take a chance on music anymore. We're perfectly content with the mix of incessant beats that blare from the radio into our waiting skulls, who are eager to absorb and retain those melodies. And what receives radio play? The music that generates the most revenue. Today, big budget bands only get bigger while those struggling to make it scratch and claw for even a single time slot; some make it, many don't. Ironically, most of these bands have a vast sense of what music really is, whereas those on the radio barely have a clue.
And so I sit, listening to bands no one's ever heard of in my basement, wondering where the world's music is? We all have different tastes and different perspectives, and I can appreciate all of them, but what perspective can the world have on its melodies when corporate America chooses them for it? The answer, it seems, is sung to a different tune.
Featured Song: "My Girls" by Animal Collective
Off their new spin, Merriweather Post Pavillion, Animal Collective sound more like an actual band rather than an experimental freakshow (experimental freakshow in the best, most critically-acclaimed way). My Girls, the second track, sounds the most like a single I've heard from the band, with an intreguing beat that sounds almost other-worldly over a bizarre, familial set of lyrics. I can't get it out of my head.
Featured Album: "Merriweather Post Pavillion" by Animal Collective
Already dubbed as the best album of 2009 (we're in February, for those who keep track), Animal Collective throws us something the experimental band from Baltimore has never done before: a completely listenable album. Fusing somewhere in between experimental, psychedelic and noise rock, the niche they have carved on critics' Top 10 lists over the past 5 years has been unmistakeable. Yet, where Allmusic and Pitchfork have fallen in love with them, the listeners haven't (I'm still trying to figure out 2004's Sung Tongs to this day) . But fear Animal Collective no more music lovers, they've finally perfected their craft. Between them and TV on the Radio this year, experimental noise rock has grown leaps and bounds in the listenability department.As for the music itself, organized chaos is still the best way to describe it. Primarily, overlapping electronic and instrumental samples hit the listener in every direction, but fuse together with Avey Tare's unique vocalization. Look to songs like My Girls, Summertime Clothes and Lion in a Coma for the album's most hook-ridden tracks; and to In the Flowers, Daily Routine and Taste for a more experimental brand. My personal favourite is the spacey soundscape of Bluish, with My Girls coming in at a close second. All in all, if you can appreciate this genre of music, or even if you can't, this is an excellent place to look for something new.
Overall: 9/10
Sound: 10
Quality: 9
Lyrics: 8
Impression: 8
Production: 10
Tilt: 9
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