The rule of thumb when it comes to rock fans is that you shouldn’t like pop music. You should only like nasty riffs, raging against the system, and not liking anything polished. Pop music has gotten a bad reputation for many years, most notably in eras following the 1990’s and spanning to now.
You’ll hear many people talk about how pop music has ruined music or how pop music is just too perfect, or even how auto-tune has ruined the entire spectrum of music. Today, I’m telling you exactly why pop music isn’t as bad as you think and why you’re actually already a huge fan of pop music.
First, let’s ask ourselves, what is pop music, by definition? Pop music is just that. Popular music. Nothing more and nothing less. If you find yourself listening to Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, or Oasis – then you’re already in love with pop music.
Even deeper, rebelling against the system is huge and in the ethos of many rock fans. If you like Rage Against The Machine or System Of A Down – you also love pop music. That’s right – two bands who are all about anti-capitalism and anti-corporate are exactly that. Pop music acts signed to major labels making millions a year.
The next issue that many have with Pop music is the auto-tune feature. Auto-tune, in different forms, has been used since the advent of music, honestly. When you hear a recorded track, let’s even say a recorded track from the 1940’s – what you’re most likely hearing is someone who took multiple takes to hit the perfect notes. Auto-tune does nothing more, but speed up that process.
Did you know that pitch correction was used on albums like ‘Nevermind’ by Nirvana? Yes, that’s right, outside of multiple takes, Nirvana used pitch correction, which is apparent when listening to in studio tracks versus live tracks, vocally.
Another thing that’s usually said about pop music is how manufactured it is. Surely, no one wants a fake band to just take over the world, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but Linkin Park were a band made by a label to sell albums. Yes, much like the Backstreet Boys, Nsync, and BTS – Linkin Park were a band made to sell albums with people auditioning for the roles of each member.
This is all to say that there’s nothing wrong with any of the above. Auto-tune has been here, bands have been mushed together to sell albums, millions have been made, and singing about lost love have all been topics of rock music and music in general since the start. There’s nothing wrong with pop music at the end of the day. Actually, your favorite bands fit the bill pretty well.