Even though "pop" is such an ambiguous term, marred by the stigma of it's association with commercialized music, I must admit that I am a sucker for a good pop song. Avril Lavigne is a "pop" singer, and she's horrible. Complete rubbish. But then, there's that London Bridges tune by Fergie that I can't get out of my head. Commercial "pop" music permeates our society at every turn and lulls the insipid consumer with it's homogenized hooks and melodies. Like television, Top 40 pop music has a tranquilizing effect on the public. It is the exact opposite of food for thought.
DON'T THINK! (Rock and Roll, Man!)
But that's that other pop music. Not at all like the melodic zeal of a song like, Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio? by The Ramones, or the lily-white melodies of The Cardigans. The kind of pop music I'm hooked on is pure, catchy, and un-pretentious. At times, it is the stuff of guilty pleasures. Yes, sometimes these simple songs are so perfect in their formulae that their appeal crosses over to the mainstream, and they truly become popular. It's inevitable, and no matter how betrayed we feel when the little groups we adore break free from the underground, secretly we can't help but root for them in the hopes that one day they might tip the balance of the popular music's vapid state in favor of music with spirit and originality. But seriously, FUCK THE RADIO, and have a taste of the candy my ears have been sucking on;
