(Everyone's Talkin' 'bout) Pop Music

I used to watch Much Music and/or Much More Music almost religiously. Sure there were some really crap videos even back then (15 years ago or so), but it was a great way to get exposed to new music. I first saw Daniel Lanois on MM who has gone on to be one of today's greatest producers. Bands like Wheezer, Hawksley Workman, The Trajically Hip, were regulars on the air. Nowadays all I see is kids rapping about their ho's, how tough they gotsta be to make it in "the hood", how they gonna busta cap in yo ass or a steady diet of Brittany Speares, Jessica Simpson and Justin Timberlake along with all the Hollywood gossip on Paris Hilton. How is it that real music artists are taking a back seat to what the untrained ears of 13 year olds are wanting? How is it that our kids would rather hear the scoop on Lindsey Lohan over what David Suzuki is teaching? As a society, why do we continue to cater to the lowest common denominators and wallow in ignorant ecstasy? There are two women who do a bit on pop music today. They sing pop songs of today over each other i.e... "Oops I did it Again" and "Stronger". The point is to show you that they are exactly the same beat just sung in different phrasing. Sung together the each compliment the other. This is the state of today's pop music; that it has become a formula based on a few catchy beats that the music industry has ordained as sellable. There is the odd apparition out there that somehow makes it onto the charts, but overall today's music has become anything but artistic. On the other hand, mainstream pop music has helped to solidify the underground music scene making P2P sharing, University radio, Satellite radio, independent artists and labels etc... more and more available to the masses of those owning more discerning tastes. Bands like Broken Social Scene have had a "do-it-yourself" mentality in guiding their own careers and were pivotal in establishing Arts and Crafts as a viable label which has since added a number of new artists including Feist, Stars and Apostle of Hustle. Bands like The Grateful Dead and Pearl Jam have, with varying degrees of success, sectioned off part of a venue for "tapers" (people who record the live performances) with the stipulation that they not sell copies, but instead distribute the recordings freely. Today's artist understands that money and/or success is not to be made by the selling of CD's, but through developing a strong fanbase which generates success through touring and merchandise. Art shows such as CBC's "Zed" or Bravo's "Bravo!Videos" cater to a more intelligent/arty audience allowing relative unknowns to continue to have a voice in the corporate dominated market. Pop music may have entrenched itself in the mainstream media, but rest assured that the voices of true artists will not be quelled.