Poll: Is pop music the best it’s ever been?

[Nitefly]

I think… maybe yes?

I don’t really listen to much of it, but my general impression is that there is way more effort put into production and sounds and just the overall vibe of a pop song… everything sounds much less ‘pedestrian’… less ‘heart FM’.

Just for the sake of example, compare these two Kylie mega-hits. Her new single is an absolute banger! Haven’t seen the music video so ignore whatever comes up

Compare this to the pedestrian dross that is ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ - I absolutely hate this track…

Anyone else think similar?

Edit: despite the silly title, I was more intending to refer to what I’d broadly consider ‘modern music’ (~post-80s).

 

[Nitefly]

Hell no. Pop music peaked in the ‘80s and it’s not been so much as downhill as diving off a cliff ever since

Yup lots of great 80s stuff, great and instantly recognisable me sound palette.

I think the 90s was the very worst with its pop group stuff. The 2000s were then quite ‘reactive / faddy’.

Edit: this post has made me realise that I was really intending to refer to ‘modern era music’… so my thread title was silly and misleading - oh well!

 

[Nitefly]

No, you only think it's good is because the radio are conditioning you to think that. I had radio 2 on in the car last week for an hour and they couldn't stop going on about it.

I heard it and thought it was like early 2000s generic euro trash, it sounded as though it had actually been written for the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest. I actually had to go and check to see if it was the same song they'd been going on about. It's utterly awful.

It was more of an example to compare with the other Kylie song, which to my mind is much more reminiscent of the more boring sort of pedestrian pop I was alluding to in the OP.

 

[Nitefly]

PS "Cant get you out of my head", was 2001 which would make in "modern" by your own defintion...

Yes. My proposition (as revised! ) was that today’s pop music is generally better than pop music of what I consider the modern era (90s onwards).

oh and PS it's far better than Padam Padam

No

which is a great example of why modern pop music is so bad - it's all production and little else, which is why everything sounds the same it's the same voice enhancement and sound/vibe on everything, check out from 0.50 - everything sounds like this.

Interesting, the improved production is why I generally tend to like modern pop compared to a lot of what has come before. That and more emotive lyrics… generally.

Modern bands? LOL don't get me started...it was way better them, the last 10-15 years have been absolutely terrible. Like them or not bands like Guns and Roses, Oasis, Metallica (still going obv) and Nirvana took over the World, the were incomprehensively huge at the time, there's nothing even comparable today.

Yup, rock is definitely ‘out’ of the mainstream.

As for an example of a decent modern pop artist I’d probably go with… The Weeknd. Which is interesting (sort of ) as many of his hits have an 80s style soundscape.

 

[Nitefly]

So in your estimation the "modern era" doesn't include today but does include music from 30 years ago? Interesting take on what "modern" means .

I really don’t think it’s a necessary edit, but does this make it easier for you to follow?

My proposition (as revised! ) was that today’s pop music is generally better than pop music from the rest of what I consider the modern era (90s onwards).

I don’t know why you are taking such an antagonistic tone - it’s supposed to be a fun and lighthearted thread for people to discuss their preferred music etc.

 

[Nitefly]

I think you need to separate chart music from 'pop' music.

There's some great pop around at the moment, away from the top10 stuff.

Caroline Polachek is a great example of someone making ace pop music today, catchy tunes, great songwriting and melodies. Her latest album is great.

Great example!!

Yes, you’ve hit on something which I hadn’t properly articulated.

I’m not talking about ‘the best songs from an era vs another’ but really just the ‘general landscape’ of pop.

As mentioned, I don’t really lean towards pop at first instance as a genre, but I tend to find it’s pretty interesting today.

The new Kylie song sounds like it was written by AI, there's just something sterile about it.

I think I like how layered / engineered it sounds - the contrast between ambient, echo-y sounds and staccato (trimmed) percussion. There’s a certain attention to detail with that which appeals to me.

 

[Nitefly]

Pop music as a term I think doesn't mean what it used to mean, so I don't think the question can be answered. Define pop music now today, when we have streaming services and an infinite library of music on tap to a lot of people? We don't have to watch top of the pops or listen to the radio, care about the charts or only buy a select number of CDs that we can afford. We consume exactly what music we want generally. What even is pop music today? The ones that generate the most money to the artist? It's not what is listened to the most because that contains genres that aren't pop?

Good questions.

I guess for leading the assessment you have to dumb it down to its most obvious meaning of ‘popular music’; music that is ‘mass consumed’ relative to other forms of music.

Obviously, that’s not just what pop is though, as you infer. ‘Pop’ as a genre infers its style is ‘readily consumable’ and not overly demanding. Not necessarily a ‘disposable snack’ but definitely not a ‘gormet meal’ that you need guiding through, or anything that’s a particularly acquired taste.

 

[Nitefly]

I think Fergie-era BEP has its place. People like the idea of having a good time / party, it resonates with fond memories of times past; forgetting problems, hanging out with friends, seeking romance… all the good stuff.

For what it is, it’s probably some of the most well liked ‘pop/radio/club’ crossover music there is. I think ‘Pump It’ in particular is great

I would say though that such ‘party music’ definitely feels of another era compared to what I was referring to with ‘today’s pop music’, which I think often has a more personal and comparatively darker shine to it.

 

[Nitefly]

Reverb? Give me an example song or part of the song you are talking about I don't get you?

Reverb is the ‘in a cave’ sound where everything sounds rounder or ‘wet’. It’s not an out and out echo, but more an extended fade out to sounds.

Listen to the vocals on most Lana Del Ray tracks and you’ll hear it.

 

[Nitefly]

Thinking about it and looking back, I think Lorde has been a huge influence in the mainstream shift away from ‘party music’ and towards the more ‘introspective sound’.

This is an old one of course - but maybe it laid some groundwork.

Another example of what I’d say is a more ‘contemporary pop sound’ is some of the more recent Harry Styles material:

Definitely some throwback to prior genres with that one, but it sounds impressively fresh.

 

[Nitefly]

It’s worth mentioning that the four tracks posted by @Chojin were predominantly posted to evidence ‘reverb’ rather than ‘modern pop’ although I wouldn’t say the Ed Sheeran one was a brilliant example of reverb soaked vocals… so is this supposed to be an example of ‘supermarket drive’ material instead?

With reference to the original discussion points, I wouldn’t say that any of those tracks have the ‘new pop’ aesthetic I’ve been referring to in my posts.

 

[Nitefly]

I'd argue no - a lot of originality seems to have disappeared:-

The amount of songs recently that sample songs from the 90's and early 00's is getting annoying, when they honestly don't improve on them in any way (Although I'm equally aware that a lot of the 90's versions sampled previous songs...)

Just off the top of my head recently
Rita Ora - 'Praising You' (Fatboy Slim)
David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray - 'Baby Don't Hurt Me' (Haddaway)
Switch Disco and Ella Henderson '- 'React' (Robert Miles)
David Guetta and Bebe Rexha- 'I'm Good (Blue)' (Eiffel 65)
Nathan Dawe and Talia Mar - 'Sweet Lies' (Shanks and Bigfoot)

I find this pretty annoying too, although it seems to be the case for ‘Radio 1 friendly club hits’ more than anything wider.

My definition of “today’s pop” becomes narrower still

 

[Nitefly]

Listening to what’s on the Apple Music ‘Today’s Hits’ this is currently at ‘number one’:

I’d say this sort of rapping style is my least favourite… where lines repeat the same melodies repeatedly and things don’t sound like they quite ‘fit’. Sounds quite awkward to my ears.

The rest of ‘Today’s Hits’ mostly sounds like a gym playlist.

“… not my tempo!”