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POP IS DEAD
Articles lamenting the death
of pop music, though not exclusive to recent times, have been appearing
with increasing frequency over the last few years. Up until now I have
always tended to dismiss these as the work of 30/40-something feature writers
with a dearth of original ideas and an unhealthy Beatles obsession. However,as
the Rock n' Roll era enters its second century it may be time to acknowledge
that things have never been quite so rotten in the state of Popland.
Before going on to examine
the reasons behind this assertion I must first qualify it by making it
clear that it is only mainstream popular music which has disintegrated
into a festering cadaver of pap and pus. Out on the margins and in the
underground there is probably more creative and exciting music being produced
now than at any time in the last four decades (mainly courtesy of the evolution
and hybridisation of the dance scene). The crucial point is that none of
this music is making any impression in terms of sales, radio airplay or
public awareness.
Why is it that pop has descended
into this dystopia of boy bands, heavily-diluted R n' B and Celine Dion
? Why is it so difficult for anything radical or dynamic to break through
into the charts and the national consciousness ? Read on :>
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Now that pop music/rock n' roll
has been around for more than forty years it has become almost impossible
for it to retain its pre-eminence as the defining voice of youth culture
and the driving force behind its (r)evolution. There is a pervading sense
that there are no big ideas left; that we are all too sophisticated and
knowing these days for anything to shock or even shake us up. That is why
pop has been relegated to the playground of the pre-teens and the pre-pensioners.
And why it has been supplanted in the affections of what was once its core
demographic, 15 to 25 year old males, by computer games, football and wise-ass
cartoons.
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So just who exactly is buying
pop records nowadays. Well, two consumer types have already been identified.
The singles market is now more or less driven by the pocket-money power
of the 7-12 year old age bracket (predominantly female). Many of the top-selling
albums are also achieving their success by appealing to the same audience;
the rest are produced by artists who pander to the nostalgic sensibilities
of the over-thirties. The former bear the responsibility for the likes
of Steps and Westlife while the latter have elevated such as Oasis and
Travis from the pub-rock obscurity which should have been their destiny.
A third group which deserves a particularly dishonourable mention is the
2 CDs-a-year brigade, a giant herd of sheep-like creatures mainly visible
during their annual Christmas migration to the record counters of the nation's
Woolworths. During 1999 this grim horde was responsible for clearing the
shelves of the latest offerings from the equally gruesome Corrs and Shania
Twain.
The only other people still
buying product are those anoraks or afficionados (depending on your point
of view) who hang around independent record shops waiting for some obscure
slab of 12" vinyl on a techno/garage/drum n' bass/ambient/downtempo/progressive
house type tip to make the switch from white label to limited release.
Unfortunately, these connoisseurs (lets be generous) represent merely a
peripheral interface between the vast canvas that is modern dance music
and the commercial marketplace. Beyond the fringes dance music seems to
have lost the vibrancy and sense of innovation that was once its driving
force. After a decade of providing the shock therapy to keep the body 'pop'
twitching with life it has been thoroughly assimilated into the cultural
mainstream (Cher anyone ?) and at the same time made a sharp right into
the cul de sac marked trance. All the best contemporary dance sounds emanate
from sources too eclectic, too underground and too pure music-oriented
to have any interest in becoming focal points for a new pop paradigm
.
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THE RATE OF DECAY
As we enter the new century
media interest in the future of pop music has reached unprecedented levels.
Unfortunately, this mass debate is focused not on the quality and style
of music that will be produced but on its means of distribution. Much has
been written about the impact of MP3 technology and the possibilities of
artists cutting out the middleman (i.e the record labels) and shipping
their product direct to the consumers. Well, of course, this is already
happening in the case of new (unsigned) artists. And this is good news
for anyone with the time and passion to scour the web for hidden nuggets
of recently-formed musical gold. However, given the volume of material
out there, the likelihood is that anything innovative or exciting will
be submerged beneath the overall dross. The least that can be said for
record companies is that they filter out a large number of would-be aspirants
to production of their work via traditional media.
And let's be honest, most
people aren't going to submit to this particular revolution until they
can get hold of stuff by people they've actually heard of. Which means,
ultimately, that on-line distribution is only going to take off once the
organisations that control established artists (the record companies) find
a way to get consumers to pay for the tracks they download. And once that
happens things ain't exactly going to be a lot different from the way they
are now (especially since it's the aforementioned pre-pubesecents and post-forty
somethings who most likely to have the time to indulge in this pursuit).
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THE TWITCHING CORPSE
Of course its always possible
that the green shoots of recovery are forcing their way to the surface
somewhere. After all this isn't the first time that pop music has had its
back to the ropes and its seconds reaching for the towels even if it has
possibly never been this close to failing to make the count. There is a
surprisingly well-regarded theory that pop tends to re-invent itself in
ten-year cycles - around about the seventh year of every decade. i.e in
'57 we had Elvis and Rock n' Roll, in '67 Sergeant Pepper and psychedelia,
in '77 Punk and New Wave, in '87 Acid House and the beginnings of the dance
music explosion. Well that's all very neat except that 1997 was three years
ago and we're still waiting for the next revolution. And those of you who
just shouted out the word 'Britpop' can go and stand in the corner until
going-home time. Apart from the fact that it was two or three years too
early to fit the sequence it could hardly be classified as a movement of
mould-breaking significance. It was basically just the mid-eighties indie
sound with some sixties style harmonising thrown on top.
So like Diana Ross we're
still waiting. Or perhaps Godot would be more appropriate. But, then again,
as the Pet Shop Boys put it - "just when you least expect it, just what
you least expect". So, if and when the next explosion occurs the fuse may
be lit by some tyro whose ideas haven't been contaminated by the absorbed
influences of four decades of pop history. On the other hand, perhaps the
next be thing will be discovered in some forgotten corner of the mausoleum
of rock n' roll. An idea whose time has finally come. Future retro baby.
Let's
all meet up in the year 2000
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