What Corrupted Pop Music (expanded)

Something Nasty Happened Behind The Woodshed

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(This article was originally published on January 12th with only seven reasons; this is an expanded version.)
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If you asked the average American "What happened to popular music?", you'd probably get a large majority agreeing that something awful turned the music of our youth into what passes for a tune today.

So, here's a countdown of ten possible reasons, beginning with #10, and arriving at #1, the most likely culprit.

#10: The Decline of Traditional Performance.  We forget that a mere 65 years ago, most music was performed (at school, in the park, in a concert hall, along a parade route, in a place of worship).  What do all these venues have in common?  They all involve music that's approved of, and almost always played competently, with attendees who must listen or be considered rude.  This reinforces traditional social norms and 'accepted' music structure.  Sure, there's music in the parlor on the piano, and music on the back porch, and performance in clubs.  But this unconstrained playing constituted a minority, or involved accepted structure, like practicing traditional forms for a performance.
#9: Unbridled Masculinity.  There's nothing inherently wrong with hard-edged, slightly aggressive music.  The golden age of rock in the late 1960s had its whirlwind of machismo in performers like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, even Janis Joplin and her Big Brother and the Holding Company.  But the Doors, for example, who can be praised for their jazz stylings and revolutionary departures, were nevertheless disturbingly violent and sexist in some ways.  Was the urge listeners felt to break down old, tired formats too great?  Did the slashing, dashing, bad boys of yore allow us to accommodate ourselves too easily to what came later--the johnny-one-notes emphasizing other things besides sound, like on-stage prancing, strident flailing of hair and limb, outrageous costumes and cheesy regalia?
#8: Another Time.  Have we entered another time zone, where music as a form is now all but moot?  Perhaps when anticipating and passing over into the 21st century, we unconsciously began focusing on something else besides the interior construction of geometric shapes in our minds, and instead began responding to other joys, like identity ("That woman speaks to me."), gesture (watch that majesty in motion), and accessories (that video in the background, and those fireworks).
#7: The Collector.  Starting in the late '50s and '60s the number of records sold to the public skyrocketed.  Most of those buying records started from scratch.  Not only was the Baby Boom generation the largest ever, to date, but it was joined by older generations.  Essentially, there was a huge demand for recordings, and that demand eventually became satiated, relative to subsequent generations.  This, even though LPs gave way to cassettes, CDs and DVDs.  When music listeners each had their collection of favorites, they often preferred to listen to the familiar, thus abandoning the current pop scene, leaving behind a younger and younger audience for pop.  Thus, pop became teen-age music, to a degree.
#6: Distribution.  Gone are the days when a musical artist could record and release music to make a living.  Sure, some mega-famous stars can.  But most musicians find that the music download format is impossible--especially when splitting proceeds among 4-5-6 members of a band.  So, it's touring and ticket sales, or bust.  To tour, you need excitement, commercial appeal, and secondarily, good music.
#5: Cleverness, Rewarded.  Aspiring artists in a sea of similar voices feel the need to set themselves apart.  This encourages commercialism (the gimmick that'll attract attention, rather than the song that'll compete with dozens of similar offerings).  Flashy dress, suggestive or explicit lyrics, thundering, captivating shows, easier tunes that hammer away at the basics.
#4: Splintering Market.  The explosion of recording in the last half of the 20th century enabled niche artists to reach specialized audiences.  Thus, those who enjoyed Gospel, or Cowboy poetry, or traditional Hawaiian, were removed from the target audience.  This is especially true for those permanently grossed out by, and never to return to 'pop', who instead adhere to the 'acceptable', conservative, and preponderantly bland Country music realm.
#3: The Rise of Rhythm.  Rhythm is much more visceral than melody.  With the decline in the age of the average pop music listener, the appreciation for geometrically satisfying harmonics gave way to the excitement of the beat.  Example: rap, where lyrics and beat mesmerize, and a few simple movements in tone are all that are often on offer.
#2: Backgrounding.  Nothing will doom something more effectively than to make it so ubiquitous that it's taken for granted.  Because music is heard regularly these days, and because many of us tend to listen to much the same material, it becomes easier to tune out.  When, a century ago, a musical performance was a once-a-week or less affair, we listened, intently.  We focused on committing musical structure to memory.  We then practiced bringing it back into our minds ("Yes, that was the beautiful, unexpected note!"), falling under its spell again and again in our heads.
#1: Averaging.  It's a fact of commercial life that selling more is better than selling less, so the unlikelier the song, the less chance of promotion.  This encourages formulas that are used to hit the jackpot over and over, with pop songwriting now farmed out to the same hands, who work with 'successful' blinders in place.

So, it's no wonder.

The ultimate factor is, of course, that the less interesting popular music gets, the less that more sophisticated music listeners are to stick around when the latest merchandise assails the ear.  So, a gradually eroding 'popular' music is what's left behind.

And, conversely, the smaller the market for finely-crafted, contemporary music, the harder it is for deserving music to attract the needed attention to launch into super-stardom, thus the focus on classics of yore.

And let's not forget, young minds need experiences to share.  If there's a finite universe your friends are able to talk about, well, you're there too.

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For the record, I listen to Radio Paradise (link), with its additional channels that one can move between at will.  Mainly it's thoughtful classic rock, world music, even some popular classical, combined with some obscure numbers, but mainly critically acclaimed.   No commercials, just a mild-mannered voice occasionally pointing out interesting things and once in a while reminding listeners they can donate.

Music on RP can be ranked (if you want), and each song sports an average rating.  There's also a full screen of background material on the artists, plus listener comments on the current selection to look at.  And, you can play slideshows synchronized with the music, for those wanting the full immersive experience.