manufactured-pop « WordPress.com Tag Feed

The Day The Music Was Resurrected

Tio — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:21:41 +0000

For four years in a row Simon Cowell’s X-Factor has dominated the Christmas number one slot in the charts. He’s certainly not the first person to send bland, manufactured porridge masquerading as music to the top of the charts but he is the first to insist year on year that there is no alternative.

Year after year he unleashes all the corporate power at his disposal, including a prime-time TV show which acts as a long-running, dedicated advertising campaign that puts QVC and the Shopping Channel to shame, all in the service of his ever-burgeoning fortunes.

Stacked against him were a married couple in Essex, Jon and Tracy Morter, who decided that enough was enough and launched a campaign from their living room to depose the dictator.

How were they going to do it? By backing Killing In The Name by rap-rock band Rage Against the Machine (RATM).

Leaping beyond all their expectations the campaign, based mainly through the internet as the song was no longer available in the shops, became a mini-movement with almost a million people joining the Facebook group and over half-a-million people buying the single in a week.

Joyously it topped the charts with no corporate backing nor even, initially, with the knowledge of the band itself.

This is not the first time a counter-cultural song has made Christmas number one. In 1979, Pink Floyd’s anti-establishment anthem Another Brick In The Wall made it to the top spot and in 2003 the melodic but extremely unchristmassy Mad World, about suicidal thoughts, also benefited from a similar campaign.

However, we probably cannot include Ernie (The Fastest MilkMan In The West) in this list unless Benny Hill’s anti-capitalist pretensions were buried pretty deep.

The RATM campaign encouraged those buying the single to make a donation to Shelter, the homeless charity during this particularly cold winter. There have already been around £70,000 of online donations to the charity and the band chose to donate the unexpected royalties to the charity, with guitarist Tom Morello saying: “We graciously extend the same invitation to Simon Cowell.”

Cowell was having none of it however and said it “feels like a little kid being bullied,” presumably referring to his protege rather than himself. It was an extraordinary thing for him to say when his show, the X Factor, thrives off the humiliation of applicants. Cowell has never been averse to making children cry on live TV and he seems an unlikely champion against bullying now.

However, he topped this astonishing remark when he claimed the RATM campaign was “cynical” – as if anything could be as remotely cynical as his dominion over the music industry with overmanufactured pap and the millions he has ploughed into a four-year campaign to own the charts.

As Morello says, “Simon is an interesting character who seems to have profited greatly from humiliating people on television. We see this [campaign] as a necessary break with his control.”

After expressing how privileged he felt about his song being chosen as the anti-corporate anthem by the grass-roots campaign, Morello stated that whether it is a “small matter like who’s the top of the charts, or bigger matters like war and peace and economic inequality, when people band together and make their voices heard they can completely overturn the system as it is.”

Here we come to an important point. While most of the media have focused on the fact that the song has a feisty beat and strong language, the band themselves were always far more than just rockers with a rebel pose.

Rather than being content with just writing anti-capitalist lyrics, they were committed to participating in struggle, mainly in the US.

Over the years they have taken part in many protests and campaigns, including the time that, together with radical film-maker Michael Moore, they managed to shut down the New York Stock Exchange, or when Morello was arrested on a trade union-organised protest in defence of garment workers.

While Cowell lives in an obscene palatial mansion in Los Angeles it was RATM who in 1999 released an album The Battle Of Los Angeles in direct response to the rioting in their home city dedicated to celebrating working-class resistance.

When asked whether they were hypocrites for being signed up to the big music corporation Sony, which Cowell also works for, Morello said: “When you live in a capitalistic society, the currency of the dissemination of information goes through capitalistic channels. Would Noam Chomsky object to his works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that’s where people buy their books. We’re not interested in preaching to just the converted. It’s great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it’s also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart.”

Of course it’s a small victory, but it’s a victory nonetheless, and one which demonstrates that left-field ideas are far from dead. It will have given hope to every socialist who feels isolated or believes that the forces ranged against us are too great, and hope can be a powerful thing.

From this moment on, every Christmas office party will have the excuse to play this official Yuletide song where employees will get to scream in front of their bosses the song’s refrain – “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!”

Cowell and the X Factor assumed that they owned us, that they know our tastes better than we do. Then they had the gall to complain when RATM managed to get any airplay at all – as if it was their right to go unchallenged because of their wealth, power and prime-time TV.

RATM’s victory was a warning shot in a week where Cowell had announced that he was going to take on politics and show the politicians how it was done in general election year.

It’s almost as if they realised that this single event was more than just a rejection of one song but of the whole practice of their industry. An industry that thinks of music as units sold rather than something that speaks to their sadly missing souls.

In a different context, Morello said: “What are they so afraid of? It made me think about what scares them. Is it really four musicians from Los Angeles who’ve got a point of view? Is it really just this music and these rhythms and these words? Is that what they’re scared of? I thought I’d think about it and you know what? My conclusion is this: nah, they ain’t scared of us, they’re scared of you!”

Source: The Morning Star

Music Review: The Naughties: A Decade of Manufactured Crap - I Mean Pop

ncerbolles — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:00:12 +0000

During the latter half of this decade, there have been several movements in the music scene and industry. R&B, hip hop and rap now becoming staples in the top 40 – replacing the techno, Britpop and eletronica of the 90s; apocalyptic decline of physical sales and in turn, the soaring ascent of downloading (and lets not forget illegal file-sharers all around. You know who you are); the emo generation in the form of Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance; the soft, epic rock of Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Keane; the nostalgic revival in the form of Take That (success), Spice Girls (fail), All Saints (fail), Boyzone (fail) and last but not least, the scourge from the underworld that is Simon Cowell and his lackeys of yes wo/men.

Thanks to Telegraph music critic Neil McCormick, he managed to trawl up these statistics:

Most Purchased Singles Since 2000 (UK)

1. Will Young – Evergreen
2. Gareth Gates – Unchained Melody
3. Shaggy – It Wasn’t Me
4. Tony Christie/Peter Kay – Is This The Way To Amarillo?
5. Band Aid 20 – Do They Know It’s Christmas?
6. Hear’Say – Pure And Simple
7. Shayne Ward – That’s My Goal
8. Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head
9. Bob The Builder – Can We Fix It
10. Atomic Kitten – Whole Again

The 1950s was the rise of rock ‘n’ roll; the 60s brought us the Beatles and the Swinging Sixties; the 70s brought us disco music; the 80s brought us sweeping rock, Michael Jackson, synths and hip hop, where the lyrics were political and demonstrated their emotions of oppression; the 90s brought us a spoilt-for-choice selection of new rock genres – particularly grunge and girl power.

The 00s? As Neil rightly says, it is filled with “reality TV stars, novelty records, charity singles, cover versions, manufactured pop and Kylie.” Wow. How embarrassing is that? To be popular, you either had to meet Timbaland, dress up as a Teletubby, have at least one lyric that has some form of innuendo (kids as young as 4 listen to this stuff!) accompanied by a video with women wearing nearly nothing but their skin or join and hope you will be the one that won’t be “humiliated” (as Sting said) on national television by Cowell.

Compare this description with the past. It looks wrong. Just a bunch of revivals and recycled beats.

Oh and Kylie.

19 November (1990)

todayyesterday — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:54:48 +0000

The day of the mighty fall from grace for Milli Vanilli. 3 US number ones, an album entitled The Hits that Shook the World, and a Grammy for Best Newcomers. They were as big as Banaramama, Mel and Kim, Bros, all those greats of the late 80s. What a time.

Turned out- on all their hits, those cultural milestones- they hadn’t written the music, didn’t play any instruments, they didn’t even sing. And they were found out live in concert. Watch below.

The Grammy was taken back on the 19th November 1990. Yet the decision of the judges didn’t stop talentless people making money from others’ music. The 90s was a decade dominated by lip-synced, manufactured pop. What’s the difference between this and some glamorous puppet of the noughties, mincing their way through someone else’s lyrics and an auto-cue? Its still ‘fake’.

Anyway, music is about the pleasurable experience of listening, not the talent that has gone into the making of it. Better to judge Milli Vanilli for their shit-piss music they agreed to mime along to, than the fact that they were miming.

Why the X Factor is a crime against humanity.

rwaldron — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:36:40 +0000

Weekends are a great time for most of us. A chance to unwind and relax after a long five days of toil. It gives us a chance for leisure and recreation. So why, in God’s name, are people choosing to spend some of their time watching this awful homogenised, soul destroying drivel? Many muscians such as Moby, Calvin Harris and Sting have criticised it and its dire influence on the music industry. The following link demonstrates that they are unhappy with the programme, Moby describes it as ‘de-basing music’ and Sting states it is nothing more than ‘TV karaoke’ and that it has put the music industry back by ‘decades’. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/2734292/Moby-The-X-Factor-is-awful.html.

This programme is a heinous crime in more ways than one. Firstly the hosts of the show have collectively brought us some of the worst music known to humanity. Between them they have created un-avoidable monsters such as Westlife, Robson and Jerome, Girls Aloud, Boyzone, Five, Shayne Ward and worst of all Dannii Minogue. I think you will agree a play list created by Satan himself. Anyone that claims to like anyone of these artists, is either lying, deaf or insane. The creators of these aural offenders make up the team of judges who clearly have no interest in music. They are only looking for one thing; a characterless pop star that they can leech off and add to their list of evil committed against human kind. Simon Cowell is a complacent, unbearable tyrant, who seems to perpetually disappear into his trousers. The smugness and arrogance of the man is enough to drive anyone to commit GBH on him. Louis Walsh has systematically destroyed British pop music by delivering manufactured pap to the mainstream radio stations and ensuring that it remains there. Cheryl Cole is an annoying orange wench, who sings like a poor Sham 69 imitator. And the less said about plastic-faced Minogue the better.

Now on to the contestants, proof that evolution has not worked in some areas of the planet. Everyone says that it is “their dream” to be a professional singer. Why don’t they go to a music school then? Or build up a live reputation? No. None of them want to work for their career. As this link suggests http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091119115037AAKTvJL, all they want is a quick fix solution and hopefully a record contract at the end of it. The sob stories they deliver are even more vomit inducing. Telling us of the hardship many of them have faced in life. It all seems pre-meditated and an attempt to inspire sympathy from the judges and the people stupid enough to vote for them. The way they explode when they are told they have no talent is also annoying. If you have never tried singing in public before do not let your first attempt be at the hands of a smug monster such as Simon Cowell, who will tear you apart.

The phone in voting system is also a scam. It is just an attempt to make as much money as possible. It shocks me that people are so apathetic that they cannot be bothered to vote in a general election, but are willing to waste money on a talent-less talent show. Spend your money on worthwhile things please!

Perhaps, worst of all is the fact that every one of the main contestants sound the same. The previous link sheds light on the issue. The reason being is that the judges want an easy to manufacture pop star, who won’t question anything. Or disposable clones as the previous link described them as. There is no variety in voices. Everyone has that homogenised, soft, soul-pop voice. There is no diversity, you rarely see any rappers or any rock vocalists on the show. The artist (if I dare use that word) that wins is just a tool to increase the bank balance of ITV and the judges’ already gargantuan incomes.

If you have any intelligence you will avoid this circus/freak-show of a programme. This dismal, dire, shameless, vomit inducing show should be banned from the air. It is just following that contemptible line of many America programmes. This country should be above such cheap tricks, yet this soul-less programme remains top of the most viewed list. It is turning its viewers into unthinking droids. Free your mind and avoid this with extreme caution!

It’s not a band, it’s a brand – Keisha leaves Sugababes

extremelisteningmode — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:55:43 +0000

All good things come to an end. A rather pointless thing to say, really, because bad things rarely d

90s baby.

onyxparadise — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:07:56 +0000

Okay, I confess, I was born in the 1980s. But apart from a few songs, the majority of what I grew up with was 90s music. As you know, Mariah Carey is a massive influence on me, and my mother bought her very first single, “Vision Of Love”, on vinyl back in 1990. Right through “Dreamlover”, “Without You” and “Fantasy” to the Butterfly and Rainbow albums which closed the 90s, she was an epic atom bomb dropped on my life. But if you know me, or you’ve read certain previous entries, you already know that and I’m not going to delve into it further here.

As a preteen and young teenager bearing the combined musical influence of my mother and my school friends, I would listen to songs by the Honeyz, En Vogue, Shola Ama, Backstreet Boys, No Doubt, Solid Harmonie, Peter Andre, Blur *shudder*, Aqua *cringe*, Aaliyah, Monica, Brandy and Usher, to name but a very select few. The magazines I read (Smash Hits, TVHits, Top Of The Pops) were aimed squarely at teenagers who were of a sunny pop disposition, and although I was much more aware of the charts then than I am now, I still felt a little bit like there had to be something more. Beyond straightforward manufactured pop (however good a product it may be), I started to lean towards more urban music. I discovered garage (2-step) music, R&B, rap and hip hop. Ms. Dynamite, Shola Ama (and the remixes), Honeyz and Kele Le Roc represented British R&B to me, while the American singers such as Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, Brandy, Usher, Monica, TLC and Jennifer Lopez were an emblem of something smoother, sexier and edgier. Janet Jackson’s Velvet Rope opened my eyes to how well an album could be constructed, seguing effortlessly between different moods, concepts and tempos. Missy Elliott’s Da Real World smacked me upside the head with a combination of weird bassy dark production and super-explicit lyrics that I wasn’t familiar with. Jennifer Lopez’s video for “If You Had My Love” left me with the undeniable impression that a star was born, from her ridiculous beautiful looks to her insanely polished and expressive dancing. Brandy & Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine” ended up on my cd player before it dawned on me just how much of a classic that song was going to be. TLC’s Fanmail sounded like the future. Aaliyah’s One In A Million album sounded like effortless sexuality, and sounded like nothing and nobody else.

All the aforementioned artists, albums and songs still hold that exact same resonance for me. Perhaps it’s just the fact that I was growing up and those singers played an integral part in my adolescence, but music just isn’t the same anymore. Show me a singer as effortlessly sexy and sophisticated as Aaliyah. Show me a group as fiercely cool as TLC. Find me a singer with a voice, body and songwriting skills like Mariah’s. A rapper as off the wall as Busta Rhymes, as influential as 2pac or Notorious BIG. I mean no disrespect to all the musicians and artists in the game today, because they have a hard job living up to these stars, who to me represent the golden age of urban music. Ciara, Beyoncé, The-Dream, Electrik Red, Robin Thicke, Pitbull, Lil’ Wayne, Black Eyed Peas all hold down the front line. Perhaps it’s just that I’m older, but despite their best efforts, I can’t help reminiscing.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because I’ve found music in the last 3-4 years to be somewhat dry, I’ve discovered music from that golden age that passed me by the first time round. Unbelievably, until 2 years ago, I had never listened to a Jodeci song. Obviously I’d heard of them and their songs must have played very occasionally on the radio or tv, but I’d never really listened. Now I know where Dru Hill got their ideas from! R. Kelly and his protégée Sparkle crafted some classic 90s R&B. SWV and Total were some bad-ass girl groups! Listening to the Notorious BIG’s albums and Puff Daddy’s older output allows me to see where Diddy, Lil’ Kim and Bad Boy Entertainment stand today and plot the journey and progress in between. The joy of this has been that it is an entirely personal quest, because nobody else, in my past or present, is into the exact same music as me. I’ve managed to convert some of my friends to some urban music, but I don’t really know anyone in person who’s into in the same depth. The people who seem to understand most where I come from musically are on the internet, in forums and on urban music blogs. Quite often, different posts educate me.

And that’s why I get so frustrated at the state of music today. For one, every song seems to be a recycle of something else. Beyoncé’s “Halo” = Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” = Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone” = Jordin Sparks’ “Battlefield”. Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face” = Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” = Eva Simons’ “Silly Boy” = Rihanna’s “Shut Up And Drive” + “Umbrella” = a large part of The-Dream’s subsequent output = Electrik Red. LeToya’s “Not Anymore” = Ciara’s “Never Ever” = Monica’s “Still Standing” = Nicole Scherzinger’s “Happily Never After” = Ne-Yo’s “So Sick” = Rihanna & Ne-Yo’s “Hate That I Love You” = Ne-Yo’s “Because Of You” = Ne-Yo’s “Sexy Love” = Ne-Yo’s “Mad”. So damn formulaic. And as Jay-Z has finally noticed, auto-tune is everywhere.

Another thing: why does music being released right now sound like it is 20 years old? Aaliyah’s self-titled album sounds like an edgy, modern masterclass nearly 10 years on. TLC’s Fanmail sounds more futuristic than Keri Hilson’s In A Perfect World…despite the former being released in 1999 and the latter released in 2009. Whitney Houston’s latest “greatest” “comeback” album I Look To You is an utter mess, because instead of a graceful attempt to keep up with the times as on My Love Is Your Love (a burnished masterpiece) and even Just Whitney (which has held up surprisingly well), she decides to go time-travelling. The ballads fare well, with “Call You Tonight” a classy modern song, while “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” and “I Look To You” are classic ballads which are strong, even without the power of Whitney’s old voice. ”Salute” is the best song on the album for me, because it is pure timeless R&B. But the uptempos…. oh no. ”Million Dollar Bill” revisits old-school R&B and falls asleep, “Nothin’ But Love” presses the 90s synth button repeatedly, “Like I Never Left” should be titled “Like I Never Left The 80s”. The major disaster is “A Song For You”, which was performed sublimely by Herbie Hancock and Christina Aguilera a couple of years ago. Here, the first half of the song is typically piano led, but Whitney seems to jump through the hoops a little bit. No matter, it’s not a problem compared to what happens at 1:30. Hex Hector and Peter Rauhofer must have cried a river when they heard this tepid 90s-dance mess. I listened to this and had to skip to the next track, because Whitney was done a pure disservice with this song. Words fail me…

Whitney Houston is not the only victim of this dated-modern fad… even on Trey Songz’ fantastic third album Ready, the melodically lovely “Love Lost” boasts a musical backing that sounds like it was created in 1987. And Monica’s latest leaked song “Betcha She Don’t Love You” sounds like Missy Elliott vomited up an old record and told Monica to sing over it. (Aaliyah would never have stood for it, I’m sure.) I have no problem with being inspired by the past and appreciating heritage and history. You can honour the classics in a tasteful way. But when it seems that it’s so difficult for artists to be forward thinking that they recycle old songs and pass them off as ‘new’ or ‘retro-cool’ when in reality they are just lazy, that really pisses me off and makes me rifle through my older CDs, listening to music that is forward thinking, doesn’t sound at all dated, but is timeless. There’s a big difference between the two that a lot of today’s music industry (both A&R honchos and artists alike) would do very well to learn.

Whitehead Bursts Onto Music Scene - Pus Everywhere

tragicether — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:52:20 +0000

What makes an uninteresting TV host think he should pursue a singing career? Who the hell knows, but the unfortunately acne-esque named, Axle Whitehead thinks the world (or at least Australia) needs its very own half arsed Chris Martin, by releasing the single ‘I Don’t Do Surprises’ from his forthcoming album ‘Losing Sleep.’

He is right though – the song is no surprise. It’s the kind of general radio friendly steaming pile of disposable commercial tripe that few people, who aren’t either giggly 16 year old girls or 45 year old women entertaining hopeless toy-boy fantasies, will bother with.

Is the Australian Recording industry so insecure about itself that it has to wait until someone is in the public eye enough that they will ‘risk’ a recording contract?

Have some balls and get out to the pubs and clubs of this great brown land of ours and have a look at some of the kids that leave a pint of blood on stage every Friday and Saturday night, then roll the dice and sign some of them!

I don’t fucking care if they’re pop singers or boy-bands or metal heads or dance acts or hardcore punks or whatever – but don’t insult our collective intelligence by constructing and force feeding us manufactured flavourless music by ‘artists’ without the runs on the board.

Can New Up-and-Coming Artists or Labels Afford to Give Away Music For Free?

Jakomi — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:19:16 +0000

With the proliferation of large megastar artists giving away their music for free, think Prince, Oas

Cultural Stagnation

Culture Vulture — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:35:19 +0000

John Harris is whinging about the state of popular culture again. Let’s see what he has to say about pop music.

The idea that the people’s music was ever defined by built-in obsolescence now looks absurdly quaint. Last year’s highest-earning US tour was by the Police, while over here, the world was seemingly tilted off its axis by the reunion of the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin. The new year brought news that an end-of-the-pier extravaganza known as Here & Now is on to its seventh tour, filling the UK’s indoor arenas with crowds eager to see 80s throwbacks such as Bananarama and Rick Astley. Should you want to relive the 90s, take your pick from back-together bands such as the Verve and My Bloody Valentine, or look at the lists of this year’s most eagerly awaited albums – among them offerings from Oasis, REM, Madonna and Lenny Kravitz.

The point he’s making is that the recycling of popular culture has now reached such a state that reunions and re-releases now make up an increasingly large proportion of industry output, with original content becoming increasingly scarce. I think he’s correct. Let’s take a look at the best selling albums of last year.

1. Amy Winehouse, Back to Black

2. Leona Lewis, Spirit

3. Mika, Life in Cartoon Motion

4. Take That, Beautiful World

5. Westlife, Back Home

6. Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden

7. Kaiser Chiefs, Yours Truly Angry Mob

8. Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmares

9. Timbaland, Shock Value

10. Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad

Topping the list we have three albums of commercial pop. Leona Lewis is the most obviously manufactured of the lot, seemingly constructed in a factory somewhere in Essex and given the gift of life by the godlike touch of Simon Cowell. Amy Winehouse’s album sales were driven by a cynical record company re-release to capitalise on her front page spiral into depression, drugs and self-harm. I’ve heard people speculate that she’s not really in trouble and all her antics are contrived by her record company to increase sales. I think this is bullshit, but the fact that the allegation is being made is an interesting reflection on the suspicion in which the industry is now held by the general public. I don’t think anyone could manufacture Mika, as it’s hard to manufacture something that shit. ‘Big girl, you are beautiful’ he sings, like a drunken middle manager leering at his secretary during the office Christmas party.

After that, we have two re-formed nineties boy bands, and one re-formed seventies dad-rock band. Then, two commercial indie bands, one general pop album by a producer with the help of guest vocalists (a la Mark Ronson’s Version) and one commercial R&B act.

So what does this tell us about the record-buying public? Well, albums 1 to 5 will have been purchased by pre-teen/early teen girls, or their parents. 4 & 5 will also appeal to those who were pre-teen girls ten years ago and want to re-live their obsession. Number 6 is clear middle-aged man fodder (the album itself is atrocious, by the way.) 7 & 8 will also be aimed at middle-aged men, but also boys in their early teens and a smattering of other demographics. Number 9 I’m not so sure about, as I don’t remember ever seeing anyone purchase it at all. Number 10 will again be the preserve of pre-teen or early teenage girls.

The point is that the records which sell the most are those purchased by kids or their parents, despite the fact that the people who listen to the most music and regularly go to gigs are late teenagers, students, young workers and young professionals- say, 16-25 year olds. Because the aim of the industry is to make money, they promote music which appeals to the demographics which do have money (middle-aged parents) or have pester power over those who hold the purse strings (pre-teen kids.) This is the music which makes up the end of year charts, which consequentially under-represent the people who are most obsessed about music.

So where are the 16-25 year olds getting their music from? The answer is, the internet, and usually illegally. This demographic is the most computer literate as well as the poorest, so when faced with the choice of going without music in order to pay off the student loans or jumping on a bitorrent site, the answer is obvious. This is what the industry are talking about when they say that illegal downloading is killing music. More accurately, illegal downloading is killing the music industry. There are still plenty of great albums being released (I recently highlighted a whole bunch of them) but these are rarely albums which sell well and therefore rarely albums which are promoted heavily by the industry. To a certain extent this has always been the case, but the effect is becoming more pronounced as downloading becomes more popular.

Thus the impression that the industry is in stagnation is created by the industry itself. To get a better picture of what is happening in popular music we need to look outside the industry and find ways of measuring popularity other than sales. Last.fm is a website which tracks the music people listen to on their computers. Because we can assume that the majority of people who use the site use their computers or MP3 players as their primary listening devices, we can also assume that such people are computer literate, in the core 16-25 demographic and therefore probably pirate a lot of music.

Let’s take a look at the most listened to tracks last week on last.fm for an idea of what is popular but missing from the industry charts. The conclusion is obvious- the new Radiohead album is fucking massive. But although it was released last October, it’s nowhere to be seen on the end of year lists produced by the industry, because it was released by the band themselves through their website and not through the music industry. If last.fm gave us suffecient data we could work out a list of popular albums from last year which far better reflected the public’s taste in music. We can’t do that because last.fm wont give us data by the year and it only records individual tracks rather than albums. But we can use it to to get a rough idea of the albums which people are listening to at the moment, and it paints a much more positive picture than the album charts released by the record industry. Out of the albums released in 2006 or 2007, Radiohead are joined by Muse, Foo Fighters, Amy Winehouse, the Killers and Kanye West in the popularity stakes. This list of artists indicates much less musical stagnation than the industry’s top ten album chart.

Until the discrepancy between the music sold and the music listened to is addressed, popular music will continue to over-represent the taste of kids and middle-aged parents, and continue to appear stagnant. The good news is that good pop music is not really dying, it’s just not getting the recognition it deserves. The bad news is that there is no prospect of the music industry becoming more reflective of the taste of 16-25 years olds without some major upheaval. As pre-teens and early teenagers they spent their money on whatever rubbish the industry shoved in their faces; now they’re pissed off about that fact. They recoil from the stagnant odour of recycled and manufactured music promoted by the industry, so the industry concentrates on the other more monied demographics, and mainstream music becomes even more stale.

Something of a vicious circle, then. I kinda get the feeling that we’re stuck in the mid-seventies at the moment, waiting for something new and refreshing to come along. What it will be, I do not know.