The State of "Pop" in America...

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
...and I thought the cheesy pop music of the 80's had no artistic merit.



Quote:

from the NYT:

Britney Spears's white terry-cloth robe dropped to the floor, revealing a sequin-covered body stocking. She stepped into a bathtub that, like her bodysuit, was see-through. In shadow to her left, like silhouettes seen through hotel room windows, men and women in beds mimed passionate sex with one another.



Beneath them a man wearing only tight white briefs splayed his legs and gyrated on a bed. After her mock bath Ms. Spears, wearing a pink bra and panties, rolled around in bed with him as two male dancers to their left took off each other's pants and danced suggestively together.



So went just a few minutes of the Onyx Hotel Tour, Ms. Spears's first roadshow in nearly two years, which opened on Tuesday night at the San Diego Sports Arena. And for a woman who has said that she's sick of being in the headlines, it's certainly designed to grab more. With a suggestive, racy show that contains very little actual singing, she seems to have outdone even her mentor, Madonna.





The hooor.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    It just means that people are getting tired of her and she has to go further and further to attract any sort of attention.
  • Reply 2 of 27
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    IMO, it means many pop singers today are such lousy excuses for musical talent they don't even sing or perform real music at their concerts. Why? Because if they did, it would sound like crap. They are so studio-dependant and so dependant upon oiled dancers and videos and producers' tricks that they can't stand on their own merit on stage. Not if their lives depended upon it.



    Just like so many others from her genre, the show is about everything BUT musical performance. She sucks, Christina sucks, Justin sucks.... they all do. At least the Eminem's of the world (also not worthy of much respect IMO) actually PERFORM at their shows. They are out there making a real effort and giving their fans a real live performance and not some lip-synced, choreographed BS.



    These losers make older bands like Duran Duran or Counting Crows look like absolute musical geniuses. Seriously.



    What's more amazing is how all the teens these days act so sophisticated with their adult attitudes and cell phones, and yet for all their apparent worldly knowledge they can't discern a total hack from an actual musical talent.



    People like Spears would have zero career without the dancers and the rest. She would be a total zero. See what happens when she sits up on a bar stool with a guitar or tamborine ,and tries to sing her way to applause. Brittany unplugged.







    Yah , sure.
  • Reply 3 of 27
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    These losers make older bands like Duran Duran or Counting Crows look like absolute musical geniuses. Seriously.



    Hah, I've heard this argument before, almost verbatim. I must agree. It's pitiful.



    Quite honestly, though, what annoys me even more than pop music fans are indie-pop fans. The music is no better -- often worse -- yet the fans are extremely pretentious about it all. But there's some good stuff out there too, and every now and then I'm pleasantly surprised.
  • Reply 4 of 27
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    people feel so special because they listen to some obscure music sometimes. It's sickening. Just because you listen to some stuff that no one has heard of doesn't make you any more of a music lover than anyone else, additionally, it doesn't make you open minded.



    Indie music fans are often the worst, so pretentious and 'holier-than-thou" ugh



    So often I hear people talk about this obscure band or that obscure band, and they usually talk about it like "I listen to such a diverse amount of music, like these random shitheads you've never heard of!" then I say "yeah, did you dig Q-tips solo project?" and they say " I don't listen to rap"



    WTF? if you are truly open minded, you would never say "I don't listen to [huge genre of music that is as diverse as you can imagine]"



    oh well, people are dumb



    [/rant
  • Reply 5 of 27
    chinneychinney Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    IMO, it means many pop singers today are such lousy excuses for musical talent they don't even sing or perform real music at their concerts. Why? Because if they did, it would sound like crap. They are so studio-dependant and so dependant upon oiled dancers and videos and producers' tricks that they can't stand on their own merit on stage. Not if their lives depended upon it.



    Just like so many others from her genre, the show is about everything BUT musical performance. She sucks, Christina sucks, Justin sucks.... they all do. At least the Eminem's of the world (also not worthy of much respect IMO) actually PERFORM at their shows. They are out there making a real effort and giving their fans a real live performance and not some lip-synced, choreographed BS.



    These losers make older bands like Duran Duran or Counting Crows look like absolute musical geniuses. Seriously.



    What's more amazing is how all the teens these days act so sophisticated with their adult attitudes and cell phones, and yet for all their apparent worldly knowledge they can't discern a total hack from an actual musical talent.



    People like Spears would have zero career without the dancers and the rest. She would be a total zero. See what happens when she sits up on a bar stool with a guitar or tamborine ,and tries to sing her way to applause. Brittany unplugged.







    Yah , sure.






    I agree with you about most of this, except about Christina Aguilera. Sure, her act has plenty of sex (very much plenty) and plenty of 'show', but she she can sing, and she has some fairly good and interesting material to show off. I think that there is some substance underlying her flash, unlike many of her no-talent contemporaries.



    Or is this just my 40-year-old hormones talking? I don't think so, otherwise I'd like the others as well.
  • Reply 6 of 27
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    nice comments about pretentious indie-rock listeners...that drives me mad as well...a band isn't bad just because they are popular (i doubt many indie-rockers would listen to outkast, but i think they are wonderful, along with how i think a few less-popular bands are quite good)



    yeah, christina can sing. most vocalists cite her as having all the talent in the female pop genre.



    oh, did anyone see jessica simpson on letterman last night? she had the worst performance i have ever seen...it wasn't like, "haha she sucks," it was more like "i feel sad for her" bad. she sang that song from top gun. the slow one with words.
  • Reply 7 of 27
    ganondorfganondorf Posts: 573member
    I love Britney Spears. Toxic is a catchy song. I like the video.



    I also enjoy industrial dance, breakbeats, drum n bass, and several other forms of non-mainstream music.



    Stop the hate.
  • Reply 8 of 27
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    Call me when she poses for Playboy.
  • Reply 9 of 27
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BR

    Call me when she poses for Playboy.



    I think we've got two more years of crappy albums before she starts the coke habit, and then another two before she has to pose in order to feed the monkey.
  • Reply 10 of 27
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    I love Q-Tip.



    i don't eat no ham-n-eggs cuz they're high in cholesterol

    'yo tip do ya eat 'em?' 'nope' 'phife do ya eat 'em?' 'uh-uh, not at all.'
  • Reply 11 of 27
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    Q-tip's solo album amplified is great.
  • Reply 12 of 27
    rampancyrampancy Posts: 363member
    If the pop fads that came before the "Divas" of today are any indication, I'm terrified at what we'll be facing in post-Britney world.
  • Reply 13 of 27
    crazychestercrazychester Posts: 1,339member
    Anybody remember Plastic Bertrand? (Ooooooooow Ca plane pour moi!)



    I had an on topic response but I've just deleted it. Music today is crap. Not all of it but most of it. Music has lost it's way, it's lost it's edge. It's lost it's interpretiveness for want of a real word.



    That's all I can muster. I've just discovered I can't write about this because I think about it too much and there'd be a good chance I'd even bore myself to death if I started going on about it. (But I still wanna know if anybody remembers Plastic Bertrand)
  • Reply 14 of 27
    jimdreamworxjimdreamworx Posts: 1,095member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    ...She sucks, Christina sucks...



    Call me when the Paris-Hilton-style tapes come out!
  • Reply 15 of 27
    trick falltrick fall Posts: 1,271member
    Jet Boy Jet Girl

    First off, pop isn't about musical talent it's about being popular. Second, if what Miss Britney does is so easy to do I suggest you do it. You'd make a lot of cash. Lastly anyone who whines that music today is lacking is either stuck in the past or lazy. There are so many good bands out there in so many different genres and it's so much more accessible than it ever was before. Just because Clear Channel is gonna try shoveling shit down your throat doesn't mean you have to swallow. Why don't you randomly go out to a live music venue and check out something? Listen to web radio. Pick up on stuff people are listening to on the what's on your itunes thread. Beleive me, good, no great music is out there if you want to find it and if you don't you have noone to blame but yourself. So if you're whining that there's no good music out there you are really saying I'm a complacent, pathetic, lazy individual.
  • Reply 16 of 27
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by crazychester

    Anybody remember Plastic Bertrand? (Ooooooooow Ca plane pour moi!)



    I had an on topic response but I've just deleted it. Music today is crap. Not all of it but most of it. Music has lost it's way, it's lost it's edge. It's lost it's interpretiveness for want of a real word.



    That's all I can muster. I've just discovered I can't write about this because I think about it too much and there'd be a good chance I'd even bore myself to death if I started going on about it. (But I still wanna know if anybody remembers Plastic Bertrand)








    Yeah I remember him. One hit wonder from France. Look, listen to whaterver you want to. I listen to almost every form of music. Rock one day...classical or jazz another. The only thing I don't like are the people who put "pop" music on...and sing off-key or earnestly dance with it. Ack. Stoppit. Don't foist your shit on me.



  • Reply 17 of 27
    crazychestercrazychester Posts: 1,339member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Artman @_@



    Yeah I remember him. One hit wonder from France. Look, listen to whaterver you want to. I listen to almost every form of music. Rock one day...classical or jazz another. The only thing I don't like are the people who put "pop" music on...and sing off-key or earnestly dance with it. Ack. Stoppit. Don't foist your shit on me.




    Yay!!! Plastic Bertrand - sooooo bad he was good. Chester does a happy dance a la Plastic Bertrand around the living room while singing "Ca plane pour moi, moi, moi, moi, moi!" hopelessly off-key.
  • Reply 18 of 27
    talksense101talksense101 Posts: 1,738member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by trick fall

    Jet Boy Jet Girl

    First off, pop isn't about musical talent it's about being popular.




    Agreed, lets stop pretending that it is about music and stop buying those damn records when all that we want is a porno flick.



    Quote:



    Second, if what Miss Britney does is so easy to do I suggest you do it. You'd make a lot of cash.




    I didn't get a chance to do sexual favors to anyone significant at RIAA, so I am restricted to lap dances at the local bar.



    Quote:

    Lastly anyone who whines that music today is lacking is either stuck in the past or lazy. There are so many good bands out there in so many different genres and it's so much more accessible than it ever was before. Just because Clear Channel is gonna try shoveling shit down your throat doesn't mean you have to swallow.



    This is a valid point and I wish you had just stated this instead of trying to glorify Britney.



    NOTE: I have nothing in common with Moogs. But stating that people are idiots if they find mainstream music distasteful is not right. The problem is not lack of talent in the music industry. The problem is with mainstream 'pop' as defined by horny old bastards in charge of billion dollar entertainment industries.



    P>S> Sign me up for notification when Britney does the Paris Hilton act.
  • Reply 19 of 27
    I have no problem with britteny spears. she's a burlesque performer that happens to be very popular. if she did her thing in some shit hole on the east village she'd be hailed as an artist. my only problem with pop music today is that the songwriters goet no credit. pop music today is the same as it ever was. Catchy, well crafted and popular.



    trickfall is right there is a lot of great new music. and just because someone listens to music you haven't heard of that doens't make them an indie snob.
  • Reply 20 of 27
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    I'm generally *very* open minded about music, there are few songs or bands I actually dislike, of these, Kelis' Milkshake' song...is quite possibly the most vapid of the vapid pop music ever.
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