If theres one thing an older generation can be counted on to leave to young people, its criticism of their music. Even in the 60s, when popular music underwent an unprecedented period of innovation and growth, parents overheard their kids listening to that Led Zeppelin 'noise' and wondered if theyd turn out okay. So when we criticise the pop music of today, it's important to make sure we aren't just being crotchety old-timers, making us ask a reflective question; is there something objectively worse about the pop music of today? The answer, of course, is yes. Just listen to it it's terrible. So much Top 40 material is unmemorable and unsatisfying cheap, two-note hooks surrounded by computer-generated noises and sung with Auto-Tune. Even whats not on the radio seems to be suffering from a dismal lack of ideas, retreading ground already covered with better verve 50 or 60 years ago. Its easy to view music from that era as the pinnacle of pop and rock music, and indeed many people do. While there are plenty of good things happening in music today, the trend if you could somehow chart quality over time for top-selling music has undeniably curved downward. How did things devolve so badly?
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
