Pop Music

[invisible]

I like pop music. I like the little stories contained in the crisply sealed emotional worlds of the songs, the lush pristine soundscapes, the infectious melodies, the vocal performances, the instrumental and production details, and the rigid structure of pop song as a form. I like what Brian Wilson said, that a pop song is only meant to be 3 minutes of sunshine on your car radio. I can listen to a really good pop song hundreds of times without getting sick of it. I get lost in it. I think about its cultural meanings. I use it to reflect on unhappy parts of my life and to feel stronger.

I really love listening to pop music so I thought I would create a thread about the pop songs that I listen to.

I grew up playing a lot of piano, but I don't have a good technical understanding of music. I have a good understanding of art in general, informed by an undergraduate arts program in a different discipline, which I apply to music as an art form. I tend to read pop songs as texts when they permit it. I usually think that in general, the better that pop songs are, the more available that they are to textual interpretation.

I think that the most defining feature of pop music is melody. Melody is everything!

I don't necessarily listen to a high quantity of different songs. Since I don't really watch music channels anymore, it's kind of difficult to keep up with the latest tunes. I'm interested for anyone else to contribute to this thread with thoughts on pop songs they are listening to. But please make it constructive and thoughtful.

 

[invisible]

Everything about this song makes it one of my favourite pop songs ever. But I've already ranted about this endlessly. What I wanted to do is define my understanding of pop song structure.

[VERSE]
I'm so into you, I can barely breathe
And all I wanna do is to fall in deep
But close ain't close enough 'til we cross the line, hey, yeah
So name a game to play, and I'll roll the dice, hey

[BRIDGE]
Oh baby, look what you started
The temperature's rising in here
Is this gonna happen?
Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move
Before I make a move

[CHORUS/REFRAIN]
So baby, come light me up and maybe I'll let you on it
A little bit dangerous, but baby, that's how I want it
A little less conversation, and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you
Got everyone watchin' us, so baby, let's keep it secret
A little bit scandalous, but baby, don’t let them see it
A little less conversation and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you, oh yeah

[VERSE]
This could take some time, hey
I made too many mistakes
Better get this right, right, baby

[BRIDGE]
Oh baby, look what you started
The temperature's rising in here
Is this gonna happen?
Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move
Before I make a move

[CHORUS/REFRAIN]
So baby, come light me up and maybe I'll let you on it
A little bit dangerous, but baby, that's how I want it
A little less conversation, and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you
Got everyone watchin' us, so baby, let's keep it secret
A little bit scandalous, but baby, don’t let them see it
A little less conversation and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you, oh yeah

[CODA]
Tell me what you came here for
Cause I can't, I can't wait no more
I'm on the edge with no control
And I need, I need you to know
You to know, oh

[CHORUS/REFRAIN]
So baby, come light me up and maybe I'll let you on it
A little bit dangerous, but baby, that's how I want it
A little less conversation, and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you
Got everyone watchin' us, so baby, let's keep it secret
A little bit scandalous, but baby, don’t let them see it
A little less conversation and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you

[CHORUS/REFRAIN]
So come light me up
So come light me up, my baby
A little dangerous
A little dangerous, my boy
A little less conversation, and a little more touch my body
Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you

I'm more than happy to be corrected. Structure names are just what I have understood through a bit of reading. (I understand that some of these terms, at least "coda", may have different meanings classically.) But when I'm talking about songs on this thread, these names of structure are probably what I'm going to be talking about most. At least until I'm corrected. And at least until I do more reading about pop music and discover how wrong I am.

I love the way that in this song, the different structural elements all have completely different tones. The verse is very restrained. Then it moves into this playfully interrogative style bridge, "Will it be this way between us?" - and after that it moves into the refrain which is filled with certainty statements, almost demands - "I am telling you that this is how it will be between us". The voice is filled with power.

Often in a pop song, the coda just does not work at all. Sometimes it takes over the whole song. But usually, it just doesn't fit at all, it sounds like it belongs in a different song altogether. In this song it meshes really well. I wish I was smart enough to talk about this more technically, and if I looked at the chord structure by fiddling on a piano I probably could, but I don't have a piano. But I guess I will just say that it makes sense and doesn't overpower the other important parts of the song.

All the parts of the song have meaning in this composition. There's no filler. Everything works together.

 

[invisible]

I've been listening to this album "Dangerous Woman" by Ariana Grande a lot. There are a few reasons why I've been listening to it so much. Partly because it has a lot of songs written by Max Martin. Partly because the allmusic critic gave it a pretty good rating. Partly because of a live recording I watched on youtube of Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande singing together. Partly because of the song "Into You". Partly because I could afford to buy it. Partly because it hasn't bored me to death yet. Partly because Grande's voice is very good.

This particular song kind of interests me and I've been listening to it over the past few days. When I first bought the album I listened to it once and then abandoned it, but it's not as bad as I thought it was.

The main interest in this song comes from the synths. I don't know the proper name to describe what is happening. It reminds me of the notation for "arpeggio" on this chart. (I don't know if this chart names notation correctly, I just realised that I never learned the name of what I was playing.)

It is the notes in the background that sound like bursts of bubbles running downwards. This really makes this recording interesting.

In general: 80s themes? Contemporary R&B?

What bothers me about this song is the vocal effects, too much production. The main effect used on the vocals in the song is a sustain type effect, which sounds like a very soft and gentle echo. I don't know the name of this effect (or any other effect used on vocals in pop music now), but this one seems to be used a lot. When used minimally to good effect, it is completely mesmerising, and I can listen to it again and again. It's OK here I guess, don't really care about this application of it, seems like there is just too much of it. But what I really don't like here is the way that there is this "splitting" type effect. I don't know how they make it happen but it is designed to make it sound as though there are two slightly different instances of the voice singing simultaneously. It's different from double-tracking (if that's the right term), where there are multiple vocal recordings of the voice played together. It's when she starts to sing the refrain, and especially noticable on the second repeat of the bridge. I don't like this effect. It interferes in my ability to become involved in the voice. I can't hear the qualities of the voice properly, there's too much interference from the other instance of the voice. What I want to hear is just pure voice, no interference. But maybe the melody here is too boring for the voice to support it properly.

 

[invisible]

An appealing well-written song that I have heard a lot of lately. Great cafe music. Most of Adele's "25" doesn't really grab me at all. Her voice is good, and she is a good voice actor, but I don't feel like she challenges her limits much. But this song is OK. I think it has a vague reggae flavour for me. (I hope that isn't offensive, although I understand completely why it would be, and I'm happy to take corrections that it is in fact not vaguely Reggae flavoured at all.)

The reason why I post this is because I think that the video is very interesting. The first time I watched this video I was annoyed by it. I hate the gown that she is wearing and I found the visually confusing quality of the overlaid images irritating.

Over time the clip grew on me and I think it is really interesting, good enough to be a Lily Allen clip. I think that the image arrangement is an interesting analogue for the multiple vocal tracks that are standard on pop production now.

 

[invisible]

I think that this isn't strictly pop but I heard this in a shop the other day and I thought it's worth sharing on this thread.

I think that the first time I was really excited by popular music was at a party when I was about 16 or 17. I had got a reputation as a pianoplaying person in school by performing in school concerts, so people knew that I love music. At this party everyone was getting stoned, and so was I. Later in the evening, some of the guys were saying "invisible, you need to listen to these headphones". They had some Grado headphones they wanted me to try and they played Massive Attack's song "Protection" for me to listen to. (After that I saved up to go out and buy a set of those headphones. I can't remember what happened to them, I think the lead got destroyed... They sounded great but I never bought them again because they were too uncomfortable to wear.) When I heard this track the other day in the shop I was in, I guess I was kind of taken back to that time in the late 90s, when Mezzanine came out and people were revisiting Massive Attack stuff that came out before.

On "Blue Lines" I can't really stand this vocalist (Horace Andy) (although I admit he could grow on me if I listened more) but I think that on this composition, where the vocal requirements are so limited, he is forced to be restrained and as a result he really shines. It is also the overlapping production technique that makes his vocals sound exceptional in the context of the composition.

The thing about this track that really makes it amazing is partly the percussion (the non-electronic part), but mostly the guitar. The level of determination in pumping out the melodies is almost rage. But it's not; it's a love song. I can really get lost in all that guitar. I can't believe that this is a 6 minute track. I just get lost in the guitar, and by the time it all winds up it seems like only 2 minutes have passed. It's like there isn't any wasted moment in this; every moment is different. It seems as though there is the most total concentration and focus going into the performance, that makes every nuance seem intentional - like every detail is a fresh inspiration.

 

[invisible]

I love this song! I can't believe I missed it before Christmas. But I'm enjoying listening to it just as much now. I describe this song as a sugarcube because it is a pure serving of sweetness.

I really enjoy the melody. It is infectious. This is a case where simple elements are made into something complex. It is only minor and major chords but the chord inversions and the way that the melody weaves through the chord progression makes things more complex and interesting to listen to.

When I listen to this, I compare it to the big pop Christmas songs of the past decades, which is "All I Want For Christmas" by Mariah Carey and "Last Christmas" by Wham!. There's no way to compete with those songs by going heavy, because they're as heavy as it gets. So I prefer that this song goes less heavy, and keeps everything light and fun. The bass is only there to punctuate, it isn't pumping, and it steps aside for the xylophone and jingle bells. Everything about this song is on the lightness and fun.

Although musically this is light and airy, I think this song goes deeper on the emotional dimension, and has genuine positive messages. The speaker is talking about a past where she received a gift for Christmas. I think this is framing what happened in terms of gratitude. But although grateful, the speaker now is looking for something different. She has wised up, but she is not destroyed. She still has all her love to give, but only under the right circumstances. She has learned to value her love and affection appropriately and she won't waste it. This is a story of redemption. The situation that is presented is much more complex and sophisticated psychologically than the situations in "All I want for Christmas" which is bratty and demanding and shallow and acquisitive despite its claims to antimaterialism, and "Last Christmas" which is weak-willed and spineless. The persona in this song displays strength of character and knowledge of self and others.

I think this song has cultural growth potential and will be heard during future Christmas times. I can't remember as original as this since those songs I mentioned by Carey and Wham!.

I hate the clip because it is pretending to be a natural situation, but really it's not. Really, the dancers are pretending to not be able to dance. This is like at the start of "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)", when Adele sings "Just the guitar OK cool", which is total bullshit - really she is not talking to a guitarist at all, she is talking to a microphone, and it has nothing to do with her initiative, it's something that someone in production told her to say to make the song sound more "natural". One of the things I like most about pop is its artificiality, because pure artificiality casts aside restraints of what is natural, it is "unlimited". I think that this sort of posturing ie. the fake natural situation, is part of a desire for legitimacy that is misplaced. There's nothing wrong with artificiality when it is as out and proud as pop music is, but this false shame drags everything about it down.

It interests me that songs by Grande are not charting very well because it seems as though the best material is being written for her (like the fully lyrically and musically coherent pop gem discussed in this post), and as though she is probably the best vocal performer out there right now. There is the clearest articulation in her voice. I like her before hearing this song, but afterwards I think that Mariah Carey really is not able to compete with her anymore. The first time I saw Ariana Grande on a video clip, I thought that she was a Mariah Carey wannabe with no future, but now I think that she has replaced and surpassed Mariah Carey, and made Carey irrelevant and redundant.

 

[invisible]

For a couple of different reasons, I purchased and have been listening to the (2015) album "Confident" by Demi Lovato and so I'm sharing what I think are the two strongest tracks from the album.

The title track "Confident" is kind of cool... I guess. Although it seems to have nothing to do with human connection. It seems meaningless. It is a song about empty gratification. It's like a diluted, generic, pointless substitute for "Bossy" by Kelis. I really want to like it, because the arrangement and production are so cool, but I just can't like it the way that I want to. I could never love it.

"Lionheart" delivers dependably. There is nothing bad about it. But it lacks any truly interesting feature. Apart from maybe the Bminor at 0:56 (and repeated at chorus). But it seems kind of forgettable. Watery. There's nothing to make me really remember it, except that there's nothing bad about it. It seems like a really good song for a big advertising campaign of some kind.

So far I'm really disappointed in the album. Nothing on it is really capturing my attention.

For me, a pop song is like a rigidly defined literary form, very much like a villanelle. I want to hear what can be done with the limits of the form. I also want to see how the limits of the form can be challenged. I haven't been struck by anything in this album that shows an excellent observation of the form, or an excellent challenge to the form.

Parts of the album sound very 1994. Like all the worthless and unwanted wardrobe stuff that Kelly Clarkson throws around in the video for "Since You Been Gone". This album mostly sounds like cast-offs from an old Kelly Clarkson album.

I thought there were supposed to be Max Martin tracks on this album?: WTF, I have no idea what they are. Solid, dependable, listenable, and boring - I don't recommend this album. I reserve the right to retract these statements if I listen to the album more and find something that interests me, but that seems unlikely to happen.

 

[invisible]

This is the current UK #1 pop single - "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran.

Aesthetically successful. Sounds like an ad for those white computers people love so much.

The lyrics tell a story about meeting a person in a bar and becoming infatuated with the physicality of the person through sex. Kind of like John Mayer's "Your Body Is A Wonderland", but maybe with more potentially genuine and deep feelings involved on the part of the speaking persona. I kept hoping that the story would develop into something more substantial. Was "Come On Be My Baby" the new emotional dimension I was hoping for?

 

[invisible]

There used to be this feature on my phone where it would tell me how many times I had listened to a particular track. I can't even remember what phone that was. I think maybe it was the iphone 4 I used to have before I switched to Samsung. I really liked that feature. I remember I listened to "Part Of Me" by Katy Perry some totally ridiculous number of hundreds of times, even more than I listened to "Firework", which was interesting because I loved "Firework", and I thought I would've preferred the song with the more positive perspectives. But it was kind of an interesting insight into my preoccupations at the time.

 

[invisible]

Over the past couple of months I've been sometimes listening to The Veronicas' (2015) album "The Veronicas". It's a solid pop album. There's nothing on it that amazes me... The first two tracks, which kind of like remind me of the first two tracks of Britney's (2007) album "Blackout" ("Gimme More" and "Piece of Me") in that they are kind of statement tracks, seem musically innovative but fall flat in a way that the tracks from Blackout don't. I think that's kind of the failure of this album by The Veronicas... for other people those two tracks might work well, but for me they just don't. But there are a few other tracks that are respectably satisfying listening material, and which make it a decent album.

I think one of the most interesting tracks from this album is "More Like Me".

This is a "rock" track with the recognisable "Veronicas" brand sound. Very 90's! Musically, the arrangement of the verses is lame and uninspired. But the deep roaring guitar line in the chorus is particularly well managed and gives the song most of its hook. The coda is nothing special, very typical, but it holds up, it is not cringeworthy. I wonder what you call the soft segment immediately after the coda that leads back to the main theme? (ie. 2:44 - 2:55) - It's not really coda anymore, but it's arranged differently to the rest of the song - I have heard it in other songs and until I find a better name I'm going to call this sort of structural segment the "rejoinder" (which probably isn't accurate linguistically, but appeals to me).

As a text, this track interests me on 3 main levels.

1. The narrative voice of the speaking persona is kind of compelling. "Homewrecker" archetype. She is explaining her side of the story. This is very romantic in the sense that she justifies herself on the basis of her emotions, which is standard of the fundamentally romantic genre of pop music. This song makes an argument that a "homewrecker" is a person too, with strong emotional reasons for behaving, and meaningful thoughts surrounding those emotions. So this song interests me artistically because it contributes an unusual depiction of human nature that is not usually dealt with in art. (For another interesting depiction of "homewrecker" persona, see Marina Diamandis' song "Homewrecker"):

But back to the topic.

2. The opposing persona depicted through the narrative - the persona who is being spoken to by the speaker of the song - is coherently and realistically depicted through the lyrics. Although the speaking persona articulates credible reasons for her behaviour, it's possible to see that the opposing persona would not in fact want to be "more like" the speaker persona. S/he has her own personality and reasons for own behaviour which can be seen as separate from those of the speaking persona. That's interesting.

3. I think that although the audience of this song is for people who relate to either of these main two personas depicted in the narrative, the place where this song really shines ethically is for people who are the persona who is not the speaker of the voice. I relate to this song through the person who was NOT "more like me". I feel that this song kind of encourages me. Because although I don't want to be like the speaking persona, I can see that I am "waiting around but don't stand a chance". And I can see that perhaps I can learn something about being fierce from this speaking persona, without compromising my basic integrity, which would not allow me to behave in the way that the speaking persona has behaved.

The other (minor) thing I really like about this song is when she sings "If you were more like me you'd have fucked a little harder". At first I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This strikes me as kind of daring in a pop song. It's unmannerly. And I like it when pop pushes back at the boundaries a little bit.

 

[invisible]

I've been thinking a lot about what is the right term to describe a pop song.

"Recording" is wrong because it's not a recording at all. Recording is (basically) what happens when you use a microphone, and that is just a small part of a pop song.

"Production" is a cinematic word that is similar to "film" and "movie". But it's kind of too highfalutin or something.

"Song" makes me think of William Blake. When I think of this, I think of something that is "from the heart". The "song" is something that is the emotional content, the inspiration, and very specific aspects like that. Or, strictly poetic aspects perhaps. That's what I think. It's not the thing as a whole.

I am very partial to "text". This is a word that I learned when I was about 16 that is sometimes used to describe an artistic "product" that is in the context of being "read" or interpreted. Yet I think that there is something ambiguous about it when approaching pop music. It's too related to "libretto", which sort of excludes musical aspects.

"Track" is a very good one. Too mechanical and technological, but all things considered, probably the best word. It's not ambiguous; it is obvious that what is being discussed is all that occours between 0:00 and the end point of the content that is arranged and recorded for that particular composition. So although there are things that I dislike about the word, I'm going to use "track" from now on, because I think that it is the best word available.

 

[invisible]

I love the word "text". "Melisma" is a new word for me.

 

[invisible]

Today in the supermarket I heard this track by Jason Derulo, "Want To Want Me".

The chorus and production aspects reminded me so much of the chorus from from Karmin's "Brokenhearted".

It reminded me so much of it that I thought the hooks had been stolen.

But anyway, this just made me think how superior Karmin's track was to the new track by Derulo (regardless of how related it is). I remember when it first came out I didn't like it that much. But now, I wish there was more pop as good as it.

One of the most notable things about it is how flexible Amy Noonan is in switching between rapping and singing. Iggy Azalea doesn't possess that kind of flexibility.

 

[invisible]

Yeah it is very good. It is totally well written. Adam Levine's falsetto really shines here, way more than Justin Timberlake's ever could. Turn it up loud and soak it up, You will like it.

(I don't know why but this recording reminds me of @Stu. It's probably because he is very masculine and handsome and gentle. Not sure.)

 

[invisible]

I really combed the internet for a better quality conversion of this but couldn't find any. (It's what we used to describe as a B-Side.)

I heard the song in a shop the other day. I was like, "This is catchy". (It doesn't compare for example to the superb slick elegance of the subject of my last post, Maroon 5's "Sugar", but it is still pretty good for what it is.) Afterwards, I got it on Google Play. It's the first time that I have ever paid money for anything related to One Direction. That's kind of humiliating, isn't it? I know I'm not supposed to enjoy their music. (Then again, I know that as a man, I'm not exactly "supposed" to like pop music at all.)

My first thought related to this was "The songwriter is quite good and I would be interested to hear more material written by this writer."

My second thought was "I wonder who the main vocalist is on this". It's not like Spice Girls where on the recordings you can easily distinguish which vocalist is which. On this recording it is difficult to tell that there are multiple vocalists. By which I mean, if you did not already know that there are multiple vocalists in the group, you'd think that this was maybe a recording that could possibly have originated from a single vocalist. I admit, there is a delightful quality about the vocal that was recorded. It's not artistic or technically accomplished, but it's sexually compelling, as a character portrayal of "young man". (Please don't think that it caused me to be sexually aroused, because that's not what I mean at all.) When I listen to it, I think "this portrays young hunk". I imagine, if I were a young girl, this vocalist would be my dream date.

I guess that the thing that really gets my interest about this song is the mystery of the production. I want to know who the main recording of the featured vocal performance belongs to. I know that it can't belong to all of them, I know that it belongs to a specific performer from the group. I want to know which one of them the featured voice belongs to.

 

[dang]

Why do you think this song has persevered as a pop classic? Do you think it deserves that status? How integral is the video to the song? Are the song and video inseparable at this point? How do you think pop music has changed or evolved (or devolved) over the past 30 years? I am 42, so the first pop tunes I heard were back in the early 80's. Like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince. Just curious about your perspective.

 

[sprinkles]

 

[invisible]

Why do you think this song has persevered as a pop classic? Do you think it deserves that status? How integral is the video to the song? Are the song and video inseparable at this point? How do you think pop music has changed or evolved (or devolved) over the past 30 years? I am 42, so the first pop tunes I heard were back in the early 80's. Like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince. Just curious about your perspective.

Hi dang, sorry I think I missed your message here while I was away from forum. Are you still around? Someone mentioned that you're gone. Maybe you will catch a little psychic pulse from me writing this message to you.

Yes, I think this song deserves its pop classic status!

I heard this song a lot growing up (I was born in 83), mostly through worthless cover versions that were played on television advertisements. I vaguely remember the A1 cover coming out when I was 17, but it didn't get my attention at all. I will not bother to listen to it again now but it must have been a very bland production.

The first time I paid attention to this song I was about 19 and I was sitting in a gay bar watching the video jukebox, but I wasn't really paying much attention, I was kind of screening it out because I was absorbed in my beer and checking out the other men in the bar. The first moment I noticed what I was hearing was at about 1:35 on the video you posted, where there is this incredible animation happening where the camera circles the doorframe and Harket is dancing. Suddenly everything that I was listening to in the song just captured me and I was hooked for months, I was going around talking to my friends about the song, asking them if they like it, telling them how much I enjoyed it. I remember my friend who has a respectable vocal talent herself agreed with me, she loves the song too.

What really brings this song to life is Morten Harket's wonderful vocal performance. He is a very polished musician and his voice shines like a star, it's beautiful. He seems to have taken very good care of his voice, it sounds close to pristine, fresh and clean and pure, like woods after rain, there's no grime in it. He probably rebelliously tried smoking a cigarette just 1 time to see what all the fuss is about and then said "Fuck that, I prefer my voice to these disgusting things." His vocal range is captivating with its low lows and its high highs, and it reminds me in this respect very much of Bobby Hatfield's voice (which I have only heard in recordings of "Unchained Melody"). His voice expresses the same idealism as Hatfield's. It's just beautiful, it expresses joy and it's a joy to listen to. Every time I listen to this song I remember all over again how much I enjoy listening to his voice.

Of course the video is totally fabulous. It's difficult to imagine the song without remembering the video. The female lead is so pretty, and Harket has this hunky physique, and both of them act really well and seem to really like each other, so it's really this romance novel type effect that you get absorbed in. Like me, I'm sure that for many people, the video got their attention, and I'm sure that helped catapault the song to fame. But I think that the reason that the song perseveres as a classic is ultimately because of the quality of the song. If it was not this excellent, a video could not ensure the way it is remembered.

Everything else about the song is good and I love it. I love the production and instrumentation, it is light and colourful, it's like coloured helium balloons in a spring sky.

For the composition, I like the way it starts with suspense, and then it breaks out into this little mini rollercoaster of melody, then it quietens down again for this very serious vocal performance. Then the way it builds up and up and then drops and then up, especially through the chorus, is just perfect pop all the way through. One thing that is sensitive about this song is that the coda is softened out as an instrumental, which allows the intensity of the structure of the vocal parts to be lighter, they are so strong that it would be overwhelming for the coda to be vocal. I think the composition, with its rises and falls and releases of tension, is kind of like the structure of a crush, which of course is what the song is about. Which is what makes it so good. And the melodies are filled with compelling hooks.

If I have to name one defining change in pop music for this generation, it is the mainstream crossover of rap into pop. Rap is everywhere now, and pop is changing rap music too, rap is becoming melodic. Now it's even reached the point where I suspect that the word "rap" is on the verge of becoming an anachronism. For me, this change is much more significant than the commercialisation of pop that everyone is always talking about.

But for me in pop music, I hear infinite differences, too many to describe. Another member here posted a thread about how pop music is all too loud and sounds the same. I can appreciate the value of that idea, but for me it's not like that at all. I guess it's like the difference between someone who is really into fashion, and someone who is not. For someone who is really into fashion, they will see all the little changes, every season, in every collection. They know what Narciso Rodriguez "means", they know what the face of his campaign model "means". For someone who's not into fashion, what they will see is just a sort of glut of conspicuous consumerism and "Emperor Has No Clothes". I guess that's what pop music is like for me, although I don't think I'm anywhere near that knowledgeable about it the way fashion people are, and although I have years of musical training I am very ignorant of technical musical knowledge... I just really enjoy it a lot, and sort of get lost in the dimensions of it. For other people it all sounds the same, for me it all sounds different.

 

[invisible]

Hope you don't mind me giving my thoughts on the music you contributed to thread,

The first one restored to me the sense of adventure I felt listening to "Oops I Did It Again" as a teenager except like a more adult, more detailed and involved adventure. I love the explosive dance sensations in the instrumentation, they sound really articulate and they sound very fashionable and current, not recycled and stale like a lot of English-language dance music sounds. I absolutely loved the English in this one. To me as a person who only speaks English, it was "wrong", but also it was more "right" than if it had been attempted by someone like me who only speaks English.

In genre terms I think the second one is called an R&B Ballad but I'm not sure about that. But I thought it was superbly made in every respect. Sophisticated and easy listening. You can't really find a fault in it.

I want to open my mind more to pop music in languages other than English. This year I got really involved with "Despacito" and it was kind of like a revelation for me. I think that my mind is not very open to discovering other languages music because I have been obsessed and engaged with English language throughout my life. But I work for a Japanese business with Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean colleagues and I know they're listening to other-than-english-language pop music all the time so it's really lame of me to not have made more of an effort to ask them about it.

My friend insisted that I listen to this, I understand it is a big hit. I found it cool, but she was so excited about it, and I don't think I could get as enthusiastic about it as she was... but I have heard that it is supposed to get more compelling when you give it a few listens through.

 

[invisible]

During the year I am always so busy that my music listening is really limited, I just hear music that I come across and then at the end of the year I sort of take time to look at what has charted during the year and maybe catch up a little bit. I wish I could be more engaged with what's going on because I always feel behind... everyone was talking about Taylor Swift's new song this year and I was like "yeah whatever I'll get to it eventually", and then I was trying to talk to people about it ages after no one cared anymore.

Also, I'm usually happy to just listen to the same songs again and again and again, so I don't tend to go out of my way to find something new.

This is my current pop song crush.

Always in the past I have heard The Weeknd in passing and been like "what the fuck is the big deal about this person?" I heard this song called "The Hills" and I just could not engage with it. I drew a complete blank. I hated it. Now I think I should give it another try...

Finally with this song I see what the fuss is about. The velvety production is the perfect setting for the crystal textures of this artist's dreamy voice. Lesser male pop voices like Bieber and Timberlake just can't approach the nuances and strength of this voice, which reduces those lesser voices to dust. It's awesome to hear.

The musical aspects of this song are what got to me. I am really enjoying the emotional tone, the determination and finality expressed in the tone. I don't really understand the lyrics, and some of it sounds "not good" in the context of my cultural and intellectual position. But I've decided to refrain from assessing or judging the lyrical content here, I am happy to take it in and think about it and try to hear what it is saying, but I think that it's not my place to make judgments about the utterances of the voice here. But when he claims "I'm a motherfucking starboy", I'm totally convinced, I'm in absolute acceptance of that statement, no part of me can disagree.