FEATURE:
Back to Grey?
IN THIS PHOTO: Lewis Capaldi is one of the most popular Pop artists of the moment/PHOTO CREDIT: Capitol Records
Pop Music in the 2010s
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IT is no revelation to suggest that Pop music…
IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney has been confirmed as a headliner for Glastonbury 2020/PHOTO CREDIT: MPL Communications Ltd
is vastly different to what it was back in the 1980s and 1990s. In fact, since the middle of the last decade, there has been a move away from something more alive and hooked-based to music that is more, well…dull. As we have received news Paul McCartney is headlining Glastonbury next year, I am minded of the Pop of the 1960s and bands like The Beatles. To be able to pen a short song with an instantly memorable hook is what defined The Beatles. I know there was a lot of bad Pop in the 1960s, but there were plenty of artists able to write these terrific songs that we are still singing today. That is true of decades that followed and, even when a band/artist was a bit more sombre or reflective, there was something in the music that was at least exciting or different. I cannot simply write off all Pop music of the decade as being rather bland and terrible. I spent last weekend listening to a load of Pop from the 1990s and early part of the last decade that were defined by cheers and optimism. Maybe the changing political temperament and state of the world means artists are writing songs that reflect their mood. If there was prosperity and a sense of hope years ago, can we expect artists today to smile and write big, shiny songs? There are artists who write optimistic and energised numbers but, even then, there is little in the way of craft and originality; more often, there is this generic sound that could have been made by anyone and, after you listen, the song is pretty much out of your head.
IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift/PHOTO CREDIT: Republic
I do know that artists have to be true to what is going on in their lives but, if all we hear is something rather tame, anxious or sad, what affect does that have on the listeners?! I am not someone who says music from the past was perfect; that Pop was solid gold and it was SO much stronger than today. There were tonnes of novelty acts and terribly boring artists when I was a child, yet that was offset with more than enough anthem and the epic. At a time when there are more artists in the industry than ever before, is it a case that there are just too many artists around? Is it possible to stand out and sound alive when we are exposed to so much music – and how many of us to listen to songs and albums the whole way through? Where there was some very average and lamentable chart stuff years back, you only need to have a quick think and one can rattle off so many songs that are defined by a sense of colour and movement. There is that hook in the chorus or a delicious melody. That has not entirely evaded music, but I do think there is more emphasis on being relatable and emotive, rather than concocting a Pop banger that is new and can unite the people. I am searching my brain for Pop from the last few years that has remained with me and it is a very short list. That might be because of the amount of music we consume and how much in general we retain, though I can recognise great Pop when I hear it and I have my ears and eyes open all of the time.
IN THIS PHOTO: Tom Walker released his debut album, What a Time to Be Alive, earlier this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
I am not going to do a feature on every genre and how it has change in the 2010s, but I am always interested in Pop and, as we head to 2020, are things going to change?! There are definitely some artists who are making interesting and original music, but there is a difference between being original and memorability – artists who can write songs stick right in your head and hit you with a very special force. Maybe autotuned and facsimile female artists and the rather lifeless acoustic guitar-wielding male artist has dragged Pop into a rather drab and depressing state. I saw an article from The Guardian where Alexis Petridis penned his thoughts regarding 2010s’ Pop sound. He did stipulate that every decade has contained bad Pop and maybe, in a way, we do look at the past with rose-tinted glasses. Maybe there are very few Pop songs of this decade that will remain with me in years to come, although I can see some appealing and dynamic artists who are breaking away from the norm and trying to push Pop in a better direction - whether it is the rather grey and forgettable male artists like Ed Sheeran and Tom Walker or mainstream superstars like Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande. They may be popular and command legions of fans, though I wonder whether one can apply words like ‘memorable’, ‘joyous’ and ‘catchy’ to their music.
Perhaps, if you are in their target demographics then you will appreciate what they are putting out. The thing with Pop is, I feel, it should speak to everyone and not be reserved to certain audiences. In the feature from The Guardian, Petridis observed a new normal: a beingness and uninspiring sound that is rooted in the ordinary and repetitive:
“It’s easy to overestimate the dominance of normality in modern pop, particularly if you’re a music hack writing a piece that suggests it has been in irreversible decline since your teens. If you want pop music that looks spectacular, glamorous and aspirational, or suggests an intriguing world outside the experience of its audience, or that terrifies parents, there’s plenty of it. Drugged-out face-tattooed rappers; DayGlo K-pop bands; Lana Del Rey’s LA femme-fatale shtick; Billie Eilish’s gothic sci-fi imagery; the Afro-futuristic fantasias of Janelle Monáe and FKA twigs.
Journalist Peter Robinson suggested that the eureka moment of what he called “the new boring” came when Adele performed Someone Like You at the 2011 Brit awards, an event otherwise packed with explosive spectacle. “Wow,” host James Corden nodded approvingly at its conclusion, “you can have all the dancers, pyrotechnics, laser shows you want, but if you sound like that all you need is a piano.” As if to prove Corden’s point, Adele’s 21 became the biggest-selling album of the 21st century. Six months later, Sheeran broke through, touting an even more austere version of Coldplay’s dressed-down authenticity: one unassuming man, his guitar and a loop pedal. He released his major-label debut to widespread critical opprobrium, yet became not just one of the most successful artists of the decade but one of the most influential, writing for everyone from Justin Bieber to One Direction to Eminem, and spawning endless imitators”.
PHOTO CREDIT: @rexcuando/Unsplash
Once was the time where the Pop charts and radio stations would, yes, put out some rather pedestrian music. There was also swathes of chorus-rich songs and explosions that got under the skin. I can understand how the very biggest artists got to where they are because their music strikes a common vein; it can be appreciated by a young audience and resonates because of its familiar tones. Is the yardstick for Pop majesty in the 2010s those who can appeal to the talent show audiences? Is the mainstream less interested in brightness and classic Pop conventions and more geared towards songwriters who open their diaries and project them to their audiences? Pop has always been confessional, but it seems it has increased and, whereas one used to be able to find plenty of upbeat and timeless songs that concerned love and loss, now there is far less. The Guardian’s article gave alluded to social media and how the scene has changed over the past couple of decades:
“Social media also supplied a new set of stars: influencers, YouTubers, vloggers. Their appeal is invariably baffling to anyone over the age of 25, but the general takeaway is that kids want to watch people who look a bit like nice older siblings doing everyday things, being a little wacky and sharing makeup tips. Their appeal is not dissimilar, then, to that of Sheeran, who – 150m record sales, an estimated £170m fortune and an MBE later – still gives off the air of a mate’s brother just back from a gap year with tales of how sick Goa is. Or, indeed, of Jess Glynne, who’s more glamorous – no record label has yet allowed a female pop artist to take the stage in quite such a dressed-down state as Sheeran or Lewis Capaldi – but still gives off a resolutely ordinary air. At 23, Capaldi is too young to remember a world before social media, and seems like a hybrid of pop artist and social media star: nearly as famous for his extremely funny videos as he is for his music”.
Whilst a lot of the mainstream is culpable of producing a rather generic and insipid form of Pop, there are artists on the periphery who are at least making music that is different. Whilst I love what the likes of FKA twigs, Billie Eilish and Grimes are putting out, there is a lot of darkness and emotion in the music. Yes, the songs are bold and complex, but the best Pop is defined by a simplicity and a happier tone. Even though we have some geniuses in our midst, I feel a lot of the music will be appreciated now…but we won’t necessarily return to it in years to come. If you want to hear music that is deep, different and accomplished, you have plenty of choices. I am a fan of this kind of music, but I look around and ask what happened to Pop that provided these catchy choruses and aimed to get everyone singing along. One can explain away the change as a mirroring of asocial media and modern times; maybe this is a phase Pop music needs to take; perhaps it is impossible to pen anything classic and glorious given the sheer sea of songs that have come before. Maybe people of a certain age will always prefer music of the past regardless. Couple that with a young audience who are looking for relatable and rather uncomplicated music and you have this struggle that artists are involved in. I am never going to suggest Pop is doomed or there is no value, but this decade has bred too many yawn-inducing artists and so many that sound exactly the same.
PHOTO CREDIT: @hamann/Unsplash
There are some great bands and people out there who have a definite kick and energy, yet the majority of the mainstream is dominated by a blandness that makes me wonder about Pop’s potential in the 2020s. I think the next decade will be marked by an increase in artists experimenting with the genre; taking it further away from the commercial and mainstream. I think we will see a few potential anthems of the future emerge, but I do feel like the 2020s will be largely similar to the 2010s. On the one hand, Pop is evolving and moving beyond the radio-friendly. On the other hand, we are moving further away from what made Pop so universal and popular years ago: artists who placed fun and the upbeat above the personal. Too many modern Pop artists lack a spark and are making music that is very beige and tired. There are many more that seem one of the same. I do think artists have naturally moved in response to the rise of social media and, perhaps, the fact that Pop is more about connecting with fans directly, rather than these big songs that do not aim at anyone particular. Also, the proliferation and continued popularity of music talent shows means that hosts of new artists are specifically moulded to sound like whoever is trending or popular - whether that is Adele or Lewis Capaldi or someone else. Whilst there has been a marked change (some would say a decline) from the past couple of decades, there are Pop artists who are at least reacting against the listlessness of a lot of modern Pop. Regardless of where Pop will head in 2020, there is some…
GOLD among the grey