Pop Culture Isn’t Cool

From my point of view, Great pop music is an oxymoron. These days’ people look to the media for the answer to everything, including what music to listen to, or in most cases what music to play in the back round. I’m not saying all pop fans are closed minded to the point where they listen to the music genre that is currently trendy in hopes of it helping them position themselves socially. I’m also not denying the fact, people like that are out there. In most cases, I think people listen to pop because for some reason they’re not involved in another music scene, so it’s all they know exists.

Record labels systematically chose who they want to sign, and then promote them to the public. Therefore, they have an enormous influence on what music America and many other countries listen to. This is bad news because corporate promoters don’t just go out looking for talent to sign to their label regardless of what kind of music it is attached to. Companies use statistics to determine what they think will sell, and sign whoever fits the right criteria. They don’t bother looking for artists who aren’t playing what’s hot; they want bands playing the sound they know sells. Labels also want bands with catchy songs, and I don’t know about you but I think catchy giggles are for advertisements. Real musicians have to be careful where they put their signature, because any one who takes them self seriously wouldn’t stand for a company who censers their art. Also you may have noticed TV is now just as much a source of music as radio, so

you better be an attractive conformist if you want to be promoted as an artist in the business of pop music.

MTV, without doubt, plays a major role in how generic popular music has become. Obviously the birth of music videos gave big business a chance to sell music to the other four senses. The real opportunity for MTV to cash in on the music industry wasn’t just picking up their crumbs. Just luring in those people whose ears are uninterested in music with flashy colors and shiny things is no longer their motive. Quickly MTV figured out eye candy doesn’t sell nearly as well as the fantasy life the right image can supply. There is nothing wrong with having an image, everyone portrays an image whether they like it or not. In this case the problem is, MTV uses image to sell a product where image should be considered irrelevant. The effect of doing this is closing the viewers’ minds; it causes people to listen to music only on the expressional level. This blinds people from the fact that on the purely musical level the product is elementary, and in my opinion more often resembles noise than music.

Maybe you already knew all the things I have said thus far, but you disagree with my views on the issue. Then we see things from a different angle, and that ok by me. You might like the things I’ve said, but don’t totally agree with me because you figure I’m problely just a cynical basterd. I’ve got no credentials, for all you know I can’t back up a single word I’ve said. Just to show you I’m not the only one who has such distaste for MTV and the other big brothers of the music industry, I’ll quote someone with a bit of a longer résumé than I do. Jerry Garcia, along with the rest of the Grateful Dead, holds the record for playing the most concerts ever. 30 years of dedicated fans proves Jerry to be

knowledgeable in the field of music. Incase Jerry’s opinion might be worth more to you than mine, I’ll quote something he said once at Dead concert (I have the tape): “ We were trying to figure out if we were going to sit down or stand up while we were playin’, and I think the industry standard is you sit down.” Then vary sarcastically he said; “ You know that’s the right way to do it because that’s the way they do it on MTV.” After the crowd’s laughter dyed down, he gave giggle that implied MTV standards are a joke and said, “ When you’re playin’ an acoustic instrument you gotta sit down.”

You’ve listened to me insult industry standards imposed by MTV and other music distribution corporations. I also quoted the worlds most dedicated musician agreeing with me. I hope this has inspired you to go out and look for music that really hits the spot, hearing is believing. At one time I didn’t know the music scene I’m into even excised, but once I went to a show I was hooked like a guppy. Now I leave it up to you to enjoy what you listen to for a change.

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