Bad opinions • Page 63

Imo Taylor and The 1975 put more of a modern "spin" on the sounds of the 80s with their respective works... they'll borrow *elements*, but will do more to repurpose them for modern listeners, at least in my eyes. Whereas Emotion... most of that album, lyrically, thematically, conceptually, sonically... is just straight EIGHTIES, with very little modern spin. I think a big part of that is how idealistic and free of cynicism the songs are, in a way that feels almost dated if that makes sense. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but it does potentially limit their broader commercial appeal I think.

 

This is just my opinion of course. A lot of the music we love on this site is great, but inherently niche for various reasons, so I'm by NO means saying Carly Rae is bad... I just think even within pop music, it's possible to be niche.

 

1989 has a song that is literally straight out of the 80's dude. It was a marketing / label issue. Your thoughts on 80's music doesn't not represent the general music listening public. Pop stars at Carly's level live and die on marketing and how they get out there. Taylor's marketing team is the best in the business, she is NEVER out of the public eye. She always hits latest trends and she's portrayed as a "normal girl". That plays into how big an artist or album can be.

 

I generally need whatever music I like, even in pop, to have SOME level of cynicism or ambiguity... if it doesn't, it feels insincere to me. That probably ties in to my lack of love for most '80s pop, but it is what it is. I can get down to a lot of pop, but it usually has to have at least some emotions evoked other than just pure bubbly-ness, if that makes sense.

 

I definitely think that's PART of it, but I'm not fully convinced that even with a bigger marketing push, the album would've been a big hit. Bigger than it was... without a doubt. But I still am not sure it would be a huge mainstream success. I personally definitely see a difference in the way someone like Taylor took some elements of '80s music and gave it a more modern sensibility, and what was done on Emotion. A lot of it comes down to more of a thematic/conceptual difference than a sonic one imo. I'm not even a big Taylor fan, but I definitely see a difference.

 

Not to dump on you but I think I'd be way worse off if I couldn't appreciate sincerity.

 

Not saying I can't appreciate sincerity, just that some level of ambiguity or cynicism makes music resonate more with my perspective. Stuff that's too upbeat or bubbly can come across as phony to me depending on the musical context.

 

What?

I mean if this is about Carly, LA Hallucinations is straight up cynicism. Like what?

 

I think a lot of my gravitation towards cyncial/ambiguous music just comes from my personal experiences and perspective... SO many pop songs are about happy romantic relationships between two people where you let your guard down or whatever, and I've never really had that experience of that type of relationship. Pretty much all my "romantic" experiences have been negative lol, and I'm naturally suspicious of people's motivations and thoughts towards me. Stuff that's too carefree doesn't seem real to me because I'm almost never that way myself.

 

Nah I was kind of throwing some other "unpopular thoughts/opinions" in here simultaneously lol, sorry for the confusion. Although I do think a lot of actual '80s pop doesn't appeal to me for this reason... besides the production which I already mentioned.

 

Oh sorry, my b.

 

I mean it's not like anyone else is living this idyllic life of romance presented in those songs, not even the artist or writer...and I feel like there's an equal, if not greater number of songs about disappointment and heartbreak etc by those same artists. Idk I don't get it I guess lol w/e floats your boat I suppose

 

I like CRJ but she's definitely not my favorite 80's pop throwback artist either.

 

Lots of 80s pop is sad , Borderline by Madonna for instance off the top of my head

 

I love Emotion so much

 

Crj can be idealistic which as a cynic I really enjoy.

 

I'm not very good at articulating why that style doesn't appeal to me that much lol, idk... just trying to reconcile people's love for those types of songs with my general indifference I suppose.

 

I actually have a good one that I never thought to bring up in this thread:

Lyrics rhyme in songs wayyyyy too often. And it is played out as fuck now. Bands trying so hard to make every stanza a limerick, and a lot of times it just sounds so corny. Are you trying to write a creative song or are you just trying to get stuck in my head like a repetitive commercial?

You can fit a rhythm without squeezing a specific number of syllables into it. It's not a crime to continue the same line past two measures and just put a comma in the lyric books or something. It's also not a crime to repeat certain words for effect and fill in the space that way. It's also great to have pauses in your vocals and give the listener a moment to appreciate the instruments. You can sing certain syllables faster than others and make them eighth notes instead of quarter notes to still fit the tempo. Etc. etc., just be creative, neither music nor lyrics has to be this assembly line of rigid patterns.

I'm starting to shift where I like lyrics a lot more if they're written like prose. And maybe a few rhymes here and there for the sake of creating recognizable patterns, but not forcing every line into an exact cookie cutter shape and comprimising a better articulated meaning.

A lot of recent rap artists are getting creative with their rhyme patterns and only peppering them in where they have the most impact in the beat. I think pop/rock should take a page from that book and follow suit.

 

lyrical miracle spherical deer are cool

 

i generally sit with rhymes > meaning in hip hop

 

Um Smells Like Teen Spirit rhymes

 

yeah but smells like teen spirit clearly nu metal not hip hop doof

 

I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sang.

-21 Pilots

 

same.

and honestly, i don't like CRJ AT ALL. it's not the music which sounds great, it's what's being said in the songs. it's very jarring (not exaggerating) and i'm more upfront/direct and the overly childish atmosphere/lyrics is overbearing for me. it is just not for me at all. it's why i haven't enjoyed the majority of t-swift's music either. i just can't. i have tried, believe me. i'm just not like that.

i do enjoy the 80s 'sound' though, and i do like a lot of synthpop/electro pop etc like chvrches, purity ring, school of seven bells, st. lucia, gold fields, strange talk, etc.

 

This line makes me really annoyed when I hear it