Rainard Jalen

Regarding the common tendency to address "pop" as simply a watered down version of "the real thing", so to speak... I find this to be among the grossest of over-generalizations.

I think an important distinction ought to be made. You have, on the one hand, chart pop music, which covers pretty much any really widely listened to (as in, top 30 material) commercial format (with obvious exceptions here and there), such as the usual adult-alternative radio pop-rock stuff you find, most urban-contemporary music, mainstream rap and so on. Generally it is true that this sort of music tends to be pretty simple in terms of song-structure, and pretty unadventurous, derivative even, in terms of melody, chord progressions, sound/instrumental arrangements and lyrical content. It's designed, for the most part, for the consumption of a mass audience and had that in mind from its inception, so creative concerns naturally come in second place to commercial motivations. In that sense, one could say of it that it is, in quite a few ways, a watered down version of something else.

But pop music has another completely different meaning entirely, at the same time. Pop, and various forms that fall under its banner, may also refer to the more fun, lighter, happier side of alternative rock music. That is to say, music that tends to use rock's instruments, but relies more on bouncy, sugary melodies; quirky, perhaps even jocose and playful instrumental ideas; more humor-based lyrical themes; and the like. This sort of music rarely has much in terms of commercial motivations, and isn't even marketed in a way such that it would end up producing chart hits. It can be just as creative and experimental as alternative rock music. It would be wrong to call it a "watered-down" version of alternative rock, because it's not attempting to imitate that - it's something completely different, a unique entity in its own right. A different sort of music. In fact, it could be said that SOME chart pop is a watered down version of the type of music I describe in this paragraph.

Many rock fans tend to scorn at any mention of even so much as the word "pop". My feeling is that this attitude is born as a result of failing to make the distinction between chart "pop", and the pop side of experimental rock.

What do others think on this matter?

tdoc210

the smiths and the cure are good

__________________
We went back there and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms. And I remember... I... I... I cried. I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized... like I was shot... like I was shot with a diamond... a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought: My God... the genius of that.

shiroun

I like pop, as well as rock. Stuff like New Found Glory is on my ipod, Simple Plan also, and Fall Out Boy. Lmao I used to have Avril Lavigne, but i got rid of her so fast :P

sleepy jack

Avril Lavigne is heavier then Simple Plan, New Found Glory, and alot of newer Fall Out Boy.

__________________

Ashlee Simpson Phanatik

Pop is just like basic lyrical content that's repetitive with funky catchy melodies in it. Ashlee Simpson is tha best Pop/Rock Avril is dope 2.

Pop is just underated by sum folk.
they think its 2 girlie or that's just girl pop singers anyway.
But I think their pretty awesome!

__________________

Ashlee Simpson is tha Queen of Pop Muzik 4 Lyfe!
Recognize!

Rainard Jalen

You're understanding of what pop actually is is pretty narrow minded.

Ma Cherie

don't worry alot of people understanding of pop is narrow minded....

__________________
I'm not a freak on a leash, I'm just the freak holding the leash.

http://www.myspace.com/yukiko_mori

Rainard Jalen

Quite, and sadly, that includes many people who say they do like pop music, apparently.

SuperInfinity

What pop "actually is" is described on wikipedia and in various dictionaries and she is pretty much dead on in what she said. If you want to define pop as being something else... that's fine. But for the rest of us, that's not pop.

Rainard Jalen

No. What she described is one sub-genre of pop. The fact is, there are loads and loads of varieties of pop music. Pop could be extended to include things like dream-pop, noise-pop, even wildly experimental bordering-on-avant-garde stuff by bands like Deerhoof. The full range of indie and alternative pop, in fact, can equally be classified as pop. Not just bubblegum, urban and so forth.

With that said, it is true that pleasant melodies are usually important to pop music. But that the lyrical content must be basic is nonsense. Perhaps most chart pop these days, yes. But not pop in all its shapes and forms. And "catchy melodies" isn't really much of a definition, is it. 90%+ of all music strives to have memorable melodies, even a lot of metal.