Dang kids…back in my day we listened to Beethoven, and Mozart, and Bach! That was real music!
“Music:” Why today’s popular music is not good
April 24, 2018
I know what you’re thinking: this curmudgeon is an old-school, old-fashioned, right-wing, radical Trump lover who doesn’t understand my music! How dare you criticize what I put on my playlist?
Dear Reader, I do not intend to offend, but to start a discussion. Now, I am no expert on music, but I think I speak for all of us when I say there are some songs that we listen to just for the sake of the sound–the music itself, the beat, the rhythm, the sound of the singer’s voice, et cetera, and not for the content. In my opinion, that is why today’s “Pop” is so popular: it sounds good, but is it actually good music? In my humble opinion, today’s music is as the kids say nowadays, “jank.” Now, why would I say today’s music is jank? Well, let me admonish you, Dear Reader, that lyrics matter. Have you ever stopped to think that songs are basically poems with sound in the background? These songs, or poems, have a meaning. If they don’t, then they can still be entertaining, but they aren’t teaching you anything, and you are just listening to complete and utter nonsense! Let me give you an example with a side-by-side comparison of the choruses of Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” and the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want:
Hotline Bling
You used to call me on my cell phone,
Late night when you need my love,
Call me on my cell phone,
Late night when you need my love
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing,
I know when that hotline bling,
That can only mean one thing.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need.