Bad opinions • Page 247

They did have potential after the early EPs they put out but like you said, they've basically released the same record 3 times and play it safe because they know the typical "best friend in the front seat, pizza in the back" pop punk kid is gonna eat it up nonetheless.

 

I don't feel the new Joyce Manor album(except 18), I respect the direction they are trying to go towards.

 

The best thing about Popaganda was including the only track you ever need to hear again from Decadence, rendering it completely unnecessary.

 

"Beating Heart Baby" is good but one of the weaker songs on Decadence imo

 

That's the only Head Automatica song I've ever heard and it has to be one of the catchiest things ever

 

Their albums are basically just collections of some of the catchiest songs ever, ha. I'd argue that "Dance Party Plus", "The Razor", "Million Dollar Decision", "Nowhere Fast", "Graduation Day", "Lying Through Your Teeth" and "Cannibal Girl" are possibly even catchier than "Beating Heart Baby".

 

The first three or four songs on Popaganda are fantastic and then it falters. "K HORSE" sounds like the spiritual predecessor to Coloring Book though

 

Taking it back a few pages... I can't listen to pop radio and I never really listen to pop music. It just doesn't sit right with me. Something just never feels right about it. That said, Paramores popiest album, Paramore, is far and away their best for me. I think it straddles the line between pop and rock without being so poppy that I disassociate from it automatically.

 

Something about pop music doesn't sit right with you?

 

That's ...... odd

 

I feel like there are some vocalists in pop rn whose voices sound so hollow and monotone and I do not get that trend at all. they sound bored in their own songs and I never know if it's a conscious choice or if they just lack the ability to emote or are devoid of personality.

 

Yeah, it's not easy to explain but nothing subjective is. I don't go around attacking people who do like though so I don't think it's to crazy a stance. Growing up I used to love it. I saw Justin Timberlake twice, N*Sync once, Christina Aguilera once, I like a lot of Micheal Jackson, and Bruno Mars gets a pass for being so affable and funky. But most everything else... I guess it's like the uncanny valley. Plus you have stuff like the Ke$ha situation.

I guess another part of it might be my fairly liberal views on art and how the pop Music Industry is sometimes diametrically opposed to those views.

Edit: I'm also salty because I used to listen to the alternative radio station here in KC but now, barring an hour or two a day, they play pop music that isn't popular yet. Half of those songs end up on the regular pop station a week later. That's not what alternative means to me.

 

Yeah I mean like I get it. I like a lot of music on the radio, but some of it is so faceless. Gives me the same feeling as eating too much candy

 

I mean there's a lot of bad pop music but there's also a lot of great pop music, and there's pop music that's not as manufactured as you might think. Some artists legitimately enjoy making pop music. Look at the evolution of how to dress well. Point is, making sweeping generalizations about it, or any genre, is weird to me

 

oh I'm not saying there isn't good pop music. But even the good stuff is a lot of the time tainted by the "pop Music Industry/machine for me. My personal political/social opinions are too strong in regards to that to separate one from the other.

 

I'm about as far left as you can possibly be politically/socially. Good music is still good music, and it's not just pop music that's affected by the whole industry. I hate the industry too, but I enjoy good art regardless of where it comes from. I've come to terms with the reality of our society I guess

 

Where's that Sonic picture dammit

 

theresnoethicalconsumptionundercapitalism.jpeg

 

There we go

 

I don't listen to the radio in general because I prefer being in control of the music I listen to but writing off pop music in general is silly. I understand not liking it if you have to listen to shit like Meghan Trainer, Shawn Mendes and Charlie Puth on the radio because fuck that but there's so much fantastic pop out there.

 

God I fucking hate that one Shawn Mendes song

 

I hate the radio but that's a complaint with the medium. I like it as a means of discovery and the industry is so far removed from that now.

 

Could also just generally dislike pop music bc the sound just doesn't resonate with you. I can say there's plenty of good rap but in the end I can't listen to most of it because my brain just doesn't like that style of music, much like how screaming or loud guitars can completely turn people off.

 

I like those two Shawn Mendes songs.

 

But the question should be why doesn't the sound resonate with you? Why doesn't rap resonate with you? Our tastes are just products of our socialization, we've been predisposed to certain kinds of music so we are turned off by other kinds, but I think there is an insane amount of value in undoing that socialization, stepping out of your comfort zone, and diving deep into music you wouldn't otherwise like