I hate Pop Music. But I love Gaga. Go Figure.

[Sizzily 14,543]

I feel you sis.  

[Sister 9,907]

I agree about not really loving so much of what is going on in pop music. I will like a current pop song very randomly here and there and I do like a lot of the bigger pop acts from earlier decades, mainly because music seemed to have more soul and better true vocals and songwriting back then and so much focus wasn't on the look that they all had to share and the dances that pulled you away from the song. I treat current pop acts about how in the past, one hit wonders would last.

I did find something great in Gaga when she arrived, she took me back to a kind of melting pot of all that has been good in pop music from prior decades and made it feel fresh, exciting and current, a great mix of the feelings that I always had with Madonna, Prince, George Michael and many one hit wonder songs that felt like synthetic candy to the ears. Gaga brought back an excitement that had been missing in pop music, the things that made it fun and the songs impossible to ignore. I have always liked most popular genres more than pop, but those hits that I have liked have had a lasting power and big impression on things that I have found draw my eyes and ears and a happiness in the entertainment that they offer. I can't actually put down one genre, without bringing up a few artists that stray from categorizing it all as unlistenable.

[Weasel 12,525]

10 minutes ago, wahkeenasitka said:

Honestly, I really don't care. Why? 

Well, mainstream pop music is force-fed to mainstream culture. We are literally INUNDATED with celebrity culture, the latest crap from Britney or Rihanna or Katy Perry, it's played in every store we go to, we are forced to endure listening to 80s Pop Music while we are buying groceries, everywhere we go online (or offline) celebrity pop music is pushed in our faces. LITERALLY. 

BARF. BARF. BARF. 

Seriously. 

Meanwhile THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of independent, underground musicians struggle to make enough money to pay their rent and buy groceries. They struggle to make enough money to put together their next album. They crash on friend's floors while they go on tour. They pour their hearts and souls and sweat and blood into making music THAT IS REAL. And Maybe after 5 years they start making enough money to actually pay their rent from their art and passion. After years of struggling and suffering and barely making it. 

And these people make INCREDIBLE music. 

Where is the exposure to these incredible artists in the mainstream culture? NOWHERE. Why? Because the music industry LOST ITS SOUL a long time ago. They want to support artists / musicians / performers who are the equivalent of the latest blockbuster movie. They want performers (like Britney Spears & Beyonce & Katy Perry) who are the equivalent of the latest Marvel action movie, who are going to rake in millions of dollars. It's all about money. It's not about art, it's not about soul, and frankly they don't care at all how it's affecting people subconsciously or energetically. 

Music AFFECTS us. And so we are swimming in a vast sea of popular culture that is being forced down our throats, while real musicians and artists are struggling and no longer get picked up by the music industry and supported like they would have back in the 60s, 70s and 80s. 

The peak of pop music was in the 80s, when there was a REAL DIVERSITY of artists who were employed and supported by the music industry. Now, you've got to do it yourself. And probably work a real job too. 

Uhm, we live in the age of technology where literally ANYONE can upload a video to Youtube of them singing and everyone is able to watch it. There's tons of musicians on Youtube who make a fair amount of money / get recognition from their vids or even get record deals (Justin Bieber, Greyson Chance, Troye Sivan). 

It's much easier these days to share your passion with others all around the world. Of course an underground artist won't get played on the pop radio. It's called pop(ular) music for a reason. That doesn't mean certain more unknown artists don't have any other means of sharing their work in this day and age. Heck, even Gaga has always been struggling with getting recognised by the radio stations. 

[Harry 26,836]

23 minutes ago, wahkeenasitka said:

Honestly, I really don't care. Why? 

Well, mainstream pop music is force-fed to mainstream culture. We are literally INUNDATED with celebrity culture, the latest crap from Britney or Rihanna or Katy Perry, it's played in every store we go to, we are forced to endure listening to 80s Pop Music while we are buying groceries, everywhere we go online (or offline) celebrity pop music is pushed in our faces. LITERALLY. 

BARF. BARF. BARF. 

Seriously. 

Meanwhile THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of independent, underground musicians struggle to make enough money to pay their rent and buy groceries. They struggle to make enough money to put together their next album. They crash on friend's floors while they go on tour. They pour their hearts and souls and sweat and blood into making music THAT IS REAL. And Maybe after 5 years they start making enough money to actually pay their rent from their art and passion. After years of struggling and suffering and barely making it. 

And these people make INCREDIBLE music. 

Where is the exposure to these incredible artists in the mainstream culture? NOWHERE. Why? Because the music industry LOST ITS SOUL a long time ago. They want to support artists / musicians / performers who are the equivalent of the latest blockbuster movie. They want performers (like Britney Spears & Beyonce & Katy Perry) who are the equivalent of the latest Marvel action movie, who are going to rake in millions of dollars. It's all about money. It's not about art, it's not about soul, and frankly they don't care at all how it's affecting people subconsciously or energetically. 

Music AFFECTS us. And so we are swimming in a vast sea of popular culture that is being forced down our throats, while real musicians and artists are struggling and no longer get picked up by the music industry and supported like they would have back in the 60s, 70s and 80s. 

The peak of pop music was in the 80s, when there was a REAL DIVERSITY of artists who were employed and supported by the music industry. Now, you've got to do it yourself. And probably work a real job too. 

You obviously do care to the extent that it literally causes you to feel HATRED, which is very extreme for something that doesn't actually effect you. That's almost a worrying level of caring.

I am an independent musician. You don't need to tell me about the struggle to get people to hear/buy what you do, I live that everyday. I just had to sell out and get a "regular" job that I don't want in order to support myself whilst I create, otherwise I'd probably wind up homeless eventually. You really don't need to detail me on that. I just think, for example, the use of the word 'real' when referring to music is stupid. What is real? "Real music" is a vague and lazy way of essentially discrediting something that you simply don't enjoy.

What you're saying here isn't really relevant to what I said at all. My comment was more to do with the fact that you're expressing this totally legitimate opinion in a completely snobby and pretentious way by shitting on what people enjoy. Fact is some people don't want to listen to complex and artistic music, they'd rather something quick and digestible... let them.

Again, I'm not disagreeing with this post. Opposite, even. But that wasn't my problem at all... I agree that the industry needs to support and promote a diverse range of self-made artists to spark some imagination and creativity back into the Top 40 instead of manufacturing the same thing over and over, but why can't that point be made without being hateful, condescending and negative? You won't catch me at the store purchasing Britney Spears' new album, I'd rather spend my money on tickets for Björk's upcoming show in London. But I can appreciate that there is room in the world for both kinds of artists as they make different people happy.

[Creyk 17,805]

10 hours ago, wahkeenasitka said:

I don't disagree with you. But there is a difference in her SOUL and her creative spirit. Her heart. There is a vast reservoir of beauty, creativity, love and free-spiritedness in Gaga that has held my attention since the first moment. 

You need to lighten up and be less pretentious. If you like Gaga's music, there is no way you won't find at least a handful of songs you enjoy in Katy/Madonna/Kesha/Selena/Taylor's discography. They are our pop girls and they make music just as good as Gaga. Your attitude is too judgmental it's like you decide you don't like them even before giving them a chance.

[Harry 26,836]

30 minutes ago, djBuffoon said:

Same.

Many people (here and elsewhere) will try to maintain that Gaga is no different than the rest of the pop girls, but here's the thing: 98% of what I hear from them is decent, or even very good, but it sounds like the product of an assembly line. There's no personality, no revealing nuances. Anyone could have written them, and there's no way to distinguish it from everything else.

But even at her most fun and playful (someone tried, unsuccessfully, to shade the lyrics to "Sexxx Dreams" and "Boysx3") Gaga's songs sound like the work of a prodigious songwriter.

This is true. Even people like Katy and Taylor who do have a major hand in their songwriting... The majority of it is interchangeable, for sure. A Gaga lyric is normally quite clearly a Gaga lyric. I get that with Lana, too. She has her own style.

[wahkeenasitka 1,995]

5 minutes ago, Harry said:

You obviously do care to the extent that it literally causes you to feel HATRED, which is very extreme for something that doesn't actually effect you. That's almost a worrying level of caring.

I am an independent musician. You don't need to tell me about the struggle to get people to hear/buy what you do, I live that everyday. I just had to sell out and get a "regular" job that I don't want in order to support myself whilst I create, otherwise I'd probably wind up homeless eventually. You really don't need to detail me on that. I just think, for example, the use of the word 'real' when referring to music is stupid. What is real? "Real music" is a vague and lazy way of essentially discrediting something that you simply don't enjoy.

What you're saying here isn't really relevant to what I said at all. My comment was more to do with the fact that you're expressing this totally legitimate opinion in a completely snobby and pretentious way by shitting on what people enjoy. Fact is some people don't want to listen to complex and artistic music, they'd rather something quick and digestible... let them.

Again, I'm not disagreeing with this post. Opposite, even. But that wasn't my problem at all... I agree that the industry needs to support and promote a diverse range of self-made artists to spark some imagination and creativity back into the Top 40 instead of manufacturing the same thing over and over, but why can't that point be made without being hateful, condescending and negative? You won't catch me at the store purchasing Britney Spears' new album, I'd rather spend my money on tickets for Björk's upcoming show in London. But I can appreciate that there is room in the world for both kinds of artists as they make different people happy.

Point well taken. 

I'm always shocked and genuinely amazed when I see people on GGD who love music other than top 40 mainstream pop music, because that is literally all I ever see discussed on here. 

From my perspective, there is just such a vast expanse of music out there that to visit this site and see people limited in their scope to top 40 mainstream pop music is sad - because anything but mainstream top 40 pop music doesn't get the same exposure in culture. 

[Lord Temptation 11,209]

Same. I respect many artists and pop singers but I only love and admire Gaga.

She is literally the most important person in my life apart from my family.

She's beyond inspiration. She just makes me proud to be human, and unafraid to love pop.

[Saint Laurent 4,862]

1 minute ago, wahkeenasitka said:

Point well taken. 

I'm always shocked and genuinely amazed when I see people on GGD who love music other than top 40 mainstream pop music, because that is literally all I ever see discussed on here. 

From my perspective, there is just such a vast expanse of music out there that to visit this site and see people limited in their scope to top 40 mainstream pop music is sad - because anything but mainstream top 40 pop music doesn't get the same exposure in culture. 

The artists most of us stan are Marina, Lana, Azealia etc. top 40? 

[wahkeenasitka 1,995]

7 minutes ago, Creyk said:

You need to lighten up and be less pretentious. If you like Gaga's music, there is no way you won't find at least a handful of songs you enjoy in Katy/Madonna/Kesha/Selena/Taylor's discography. They are our pop girls and they make music just as good as Gaga. Your attitude is too judgmental it's like you decide you don't like them even before giving them a chance.

maybe my attitude is too judgmental. oh well. 

believe me when i say that - because of my exposure to GGD for the last many years - i have actually given Katy / Kesha / Selena / Taylor a chance. and i find it all quite mundane and trite. 

sorry. that's my judgment. but i'm just not into trite. 

there's definitely moments of being entertained, don't get me wrong. i actually do pay attention to Katy to a small degree, but nothing about her evokes my deep hearted adoration or admiration for what she is creating. she has not yet blown me away. 

[wahkeenasitka 1,995]

1 minute ago, Saint Laurent said:

The artists most of us stan are Marina, Lana, Azealia etc. top 40? 

I like Marina too. 

I appreciate what I think of as underground pop music... Marina and the Diamonds is definitely in that boat, as is most of the music in my original post, and people like Little Dragon and Banks. 

[Saint Laurent 4,862]

Just now, wahkeenasitka said:

I like Marina too. 

Did you omit her from the OP in an attempt to seem more individual and indie or? 

[wahkeenasitka 1,995]

14 minutes ago, Harry said:

You obviously do care to the extent that it literally causes you to feel HATRED, which is very extreme for something that doesn't actually effect you. That's almost a worrying level of caring.

I am an independent musician. You don't need to tell me about the struggle to get people to hear/buy what you do, I live that everyday. I just had to sell out and get a "regular" job that I don't want in order to support myself whilst I create, otherwise I'd probably wind up homeless eventually. You really don't need to detail me on that. I just think, for example, the use of the word 'real' when referring to music is stupid. What is real? "Real music" is a vague and lazy way of essentially discrediting something that you simply don't enjoy.

What you're saying here isn't really relevant to what I said at all. My comment was more to do with the fact that you're expressing this totally legitimate opinion in a completely snobby and pretentious way by shitting on what people enjoy. Fact is some people don't want to listen to complex and artistic music, they'd rather something quick and digestible... let them.

Again, I'm not disagreeing with this post. Opposite, even. But that wasn't my problem at all... I agree that the industry needs to support and promote a diverse range of self-made artists to spark some imagination and creativity back into the Top 40 instead of manufacturing the same thing over and over, but why can't that point be made without being hateful, condescending and negative? You won't catch me at the store purchasing Britney Spears' new album, I'd rather spend my money on tickets for Björk's upcoming show in London. But I can appreciate that there is room in the world for both kinds of artists as they make different people happy.

The point of my original post is - ultimately - to point out that there is a vast amount of amazing music besides mainstream top 40 pop music (cough cough). 

I am always heartened when I see people on GGD talking about people like Bjork or Marina, for example - because it shows me that there are people on here who are actually into MUSIC not just celebrity obsession. 

I'd love to see more and more people on GGD talk about music outside of the realm of mainstream pop culture. Yes, maybe my perspective is pretentious and snobby. Oops. I don't care. 

[wahkeenasitka 1,995]

5 minutes ago, Saint Laurent said:

Did you omit her from the OP in an attempt to seem more individual and indie or? 

No. There's just too many artists and musicians I adore to fight neatly into a dozen embedded videos. 

[brizoda 3,848]

my favorite music styles are : 1 - House music

                                                2 - Pop (but Pop music these last 3-4 years has been really baaad, and 2016 the worst)