Is This What Passes For Good Music These Days?

I know it's going to sound like I'm getting old and disgruntled—hell, I am getting old...but hopefully not disgruntled—but I just can't let this slide.

Apparently today Britney Spears release her new comeback single called Womanizer. I'm posting it here so you can give it a listen. Not because I think it deserves a listen...but because I want to find out first hand what you think of it. I want to make sure I'm not going crazy.

This unbelievable example of what is wrong with the music industry today is why I don't listen to the radio anymore. It's blatant attempt to embed it's annoying hook into your skull with its maddeningly repetative chorus is tantamount to Chinese Water Torture. This is so bad, and what makes it worse is the massive marketing drive being made to get this on the radio and into people's heads which will probably work.

Check out this site that is being hosted by a radio station and look at the comments being left by listeners. Not only is there a derth of negativity in the comments, but most of them are resoundingly positive filled with all-caps proclamations of the pop queen's return to prominence.

I realize that I'm not the demographic that this sort of music and/or marketing is aimed at but it just boggles my mind that anyone would listen to the above track and think anything of it other than how awful it is. This led me to suspect that perhaps these comments weren't completely indicative of actual public reaction so I decided to put fingers to keyboard and chime in with my thoughts on the new track. I was careful to refrain from using any kind of language that would be considered offensive thereby giving them an excuse to censor my comment or even omit it altogether.

When I was done, I clicked submit and got a message thanking me for my comment and notifying me that my message would be posted pending some sort of review. Well, 2 hours and dozens of other comments later, my comment has yet to appear on the site.

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised but I guess part of me was holding out hope that there was still some sense of fairness and most of all...taste left in the world.

I suppose that makes me a cynic and yes...a bit disgruntled.

So, for turning me into one of those people who complain about what kids are listening to these days and for releasing such a poor excuse for music, I offer Britney and her team of PR handlers a great big BITCH SLAP...Oops, I've done it again!

Comments

[Jill]

I agree whole heartedly however I caution you to not become the type of parent that used to annoy the hell out of me.
The type that trashes the music that I listened to when I was younger. My father had a real love of music and would spend quality time with me listening, discussing and teaching me about music from a very early age.
I think alot of parents today do not take the time in this fast pace world to dialogue with their children about the music they are uploading on their mp3 players and they are all just uploading what the big music corporations are telling them is hot at the moment.
My husband and I love music and have many discussions with our girls about the music that we always have flowing through our home.....Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens, The Beatles, etc....We also, discuss which of the groups/singers they like and how they were influenced by some of these earlier greats. (Oasis & Sloan) By osmosis my eldest daughter is developing a musical taste that I respect. Everyone once in a while she succumbs to the mass marketing and likes some UGH!!! stuff (Katy Perry) but didn't we all when we were young?

[Al]

You make some good points Jill. I'm always struggling with the idea of how I can teach my son things without becoming the overly preachy parent and thereby losing his attention.

When it comes to music...being a musician myself, I think I can hear value in most music. I'm a fan of most of it, and respect all of it. I'm just so saddened by the machine that used to champion the really talented and now just sells the blatantly superficial.

[Al]

In the spirit of fairness, I am forced to go back a bit on my rant and give a little credit where it is due. While, I still can't find the comment I posted on there last week, I went back to the site and have managed to find a few (very few) negative comments by other listeners. I still think the song is crap, but at least the radio station has redeemed itself, if only a little—after all, they're still the kind of station that would play a track like this.

[Darrell]

That song met with expectation (even prior to your comments). If they threw up a photo of Madonna I would have thought it was her as she's pulled off some similar 're-inventing-herself' type songs. Predictable, yes... bad, in my opinion yes ( I couldn't even listen to the whole thing)... does it matter? not at all, in fact if it sells well I would not be surprised to see awards being won for it. Kinda reminds me of those overly marketed songs of a few years ago - and those overly marketed songs from the 90s, 80, 70s, 60s...

[Nhi]

We live in the Sarah Palin era of embarrassingly low expectations. Anything is good as long as it's not disastrously bad.

[2Shay]

I'm the first to admit when it comes to music, I know nothing, and that will be proven with the following statement - I didn't think the song was that bad. It was catchy pop song, but then what else would I expect from Spears? Political Commentary? Innovative music? No, I would expect exactly this. It's the kind of song one may listen to for a season or two and then never give another thought. I don't believe musicians of her ilk make music with longevity in mind. If one is looking for deeper more meaningful music, find Britney, and then move to the farthest point from her and that where you'll find it.

[Al]

I too think there is a place for just plain pop. I'm a fan of just pop. I can appreciate one-hit wonders, I can listen to a Christina Aguilera and appreciate her vocal talent and admit that she can be somewhat catchy...but this...I don't hear any redeeming quality in this. The repetativeness, the horrible vocal, it's just bad...and that...of course...is just my opinion. I think my point was more about the fact that it isn't about the music anymore, it's about the marketing. This song will get heavy radio-play while other more worthy artists won't, the video will be seen by millions and once it is burrowed into peoples' heads, some will buy it. I just find it sad, that's all.

[2Shay]

True Al - Unfortunately it's the nature of the beast