I have always wondered why, when there is so much powerful and artistically driven music in the world, are we left with the pop music we have? No one I talk to listens to top 40, but there continues to be over-saturated music that is shoved down listener’s throats. I am by no means denouncing all popular music or trying to attack certain genres of music. Everything under the sun can be held up to a particular light and shine with some merit . I have just always found it strange that while everyone I know listens to music, no one listens to the top 40. Do children have that much say in what becomes “popular music?” Are the big wigs that poor at learning the demographics of their industry, or am I the crazy one?
Well an interesting development happened to me the other day. I stumbled upon some pretty spectacular music (which isn’t really out of the ordinary at all) and the funny thing was that these were all cover songs by “top 40” artists. The kind of music that just has no connection to the real artistic community of music and is more of what I like to call “corporate-pop/hop” than actual pop music. When I listened to these covers, it brought a whole new light to the melody and the lyrics. It got me wondering: are these artists really not artistic or have we just lost the ability to produce music now that we can do it so cheaply with computers? Was the real magic behind the artists that controlled the charts 25-40 years ago the fact that real musicians had to come into the studios and lay down tracks for the album? Were the producers just that much more vital to the process? Is Quincy Jones just that good? Probably.
Check out a couple videos that I found that completely redefined their originals.
There is just something about the way this music is recaptured with an honest sound instead of a couple poor synth riffs and a drum machine. Maybe there is some hope for the music community, even if the world of popular music is continuing to head in the wrong direction.
The Music Court 