Okay, This is going to turn out as more of a rant than anything, But I feel that I would like to express my opinions on this particular genre and the genres alike, because I feel that it's necessary. Again, I'd like to note that this post is entirely my opinion. Lately, I've become increasingly sick and disgusted of the mainstream pop music genre, and for a variety of reasons. One example is the mere fact that musical talent isn't truly needed anymore, and most new artists and bands making their debut in the popular music industry mostly(if not, completely) make their money through their sex appeal. Some examples are Girls Aloud, Pussycat Dolls, Katy Perry, The Jonas Brothers. None of these in MY opinion, have even the slightest bit of talent inside them, yet they still seem to become so popular. What also completely infuriates me is the mere fact that there ARE talented artists out there that sold themselves out purely for the sake of getting noticed more. I'll use one example, as it's partly the reason why I'm writing this thread now. Pendulum, a highly acclaimed Drum 'n Bass act, have been lately on the scene with their album "In silico." their genres vary from ambient/intelligent/dark Drum 'n' Bass to elements of rock music.(Don't get me wrong, I spend the majority of the time listening to metal music) I'd like to ask, who ever heard their "Hold Your Colour" album which was released 3 years prior? And who ever thought that the music that they were producing in the underground scene were of a much better quality than their style now? They did it for mainstream, no doubt. And hey, they got popularity, and alot of it. I don't really blame them for this, I also highly blame major record companies that are completely one-sided and extremely selfish. Underground music needs to be noted so much more in modern day, as most of the artists that work and produce music without the support of mainstream truly do have talent, and do take pride and care when producing music. Rock and Metal's an example of this, there are many, many, very many unsigned bands out there with so much undiscovered talent, which think about music as not something that's fashionable and will make money, but something that inflicts effect on other people, that makes you FEEL something. Bands like My Chemical Romance used to be like this(In my opinion), until they found mainstream with "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge" and became alot more mainstream-friendly, even more so with "The Black Parade" to the point that they sounded almost completely different to their roots. Hell, Even Paramore have sold themselves out. though that really doesn't surprise me. Incidentally, "All We Know Is Falling" still continues to be my favorite album from them. So anyway, I thought I would post this because I needed a place to rant about what modern mainstream has evolved into, and it happened to be here. What do you guys think? Has Mainstream lost the true feeling of music and succumbed to sex appeal and extremely simple tunes that get played to the point that you want to commit suicide? Discuss.
Yes. Mainstream acts, as you said, generally have no talent, but are simultaneously very appealing, which is what gets them signed in the first place (i.e., JoBros, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, etc.).
It isn't the artists fault, it's the general public. I have said many times before the public are ignorant sheep who do whatever the media tell them. I for one think that Katy Perry does have talent, although she certainly uses sex to sell her music. I mean, who doesn't? She (and many other artists) have come into the music industry at a time when image is everything and many artists (like Adele who I thought was pretty good) loose out simply because they aren't pretty enough. But I don't think that artists who do have talent should be shunned simply because they are doing the only thing possible to be successful. I also think there is a life cycle for any musician/band; at first they make music because it is what they enjoy, their earlier music tends to be of very good quality but not very many people now about them. Then, they are discovered and boom they hit the mainstream. They often try to keep the style they had before they were discovered and sometimes that works, people like it enough to keep buying their albums and seeing them in concert. However, many are told by their record companies that they need to appeal to as many different kinds of people as possible in order to make the most money possible. Then they make all their money. They (as you put it) sell themselves out in order to make a fortune. But, I think the mark of a true artist is when after they have made all their money they return to the industry to give something back for the right reason, because it makes them happy. Their music tends to pick up then, either going to back to what it was like before they became popular or something different entirely.
Everything you've said is true, and this is nothing new. It's been going on for years and years, and more and more since the creation of the internet. I've been very affected by it because a few years back, I was completely in love with Paramore. No one knew of them, and while I wished that people would recognize what I thought to be good music, I liked it that way. But then they became so popular, and out-played, and they just completely sold themselves out. Half of the 'fans' these days only know them for the frontwoman, and not for everyone in the band. The people that call themselves Paramore's biggest fans don't even know who Hunter is. It's like that with every band, and it makes me grateful that I like the music that isn't exploited. You said that the bands with talent should be the ones showcased, but if they did, those bands would be forced to sell out. It's like what Bunter said -- there are too many people in the world that will just whore the life out of anything the media promotes, and that's just the way that society works. That's why I keep myself out of it -- I barely ever watch the television, or read magazines, or anything, because it disgusts me that people can't find things for themselves instead of needing the media to spoonfeed it to them. As for what you said about people only being popular for sex appeal, it's completely true. Britney Spears is a huge twit, and she's one of the most famous people in the world -- not because she has talent, but because she knows that sex sells. Every music video you see on television has half-naked people making out, or something along those lines, because sex sells. In my opinion, society is at an incredibly low point, but we just have to deal with it.
