Why Is American Popular Music Such a Joke?

Why is American popular music such a joke? The only genre of music consistently releasing top quality material is Classical (and most of the time it's only modern orchestras playing 18th and 19th Century music)... It's quite obvious, when listening to the radio, that the most common Pop styles of music (Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, Rap) are dead. I heard a great Jazz singer the other day and was surprised to learn she's from France (a non-American playing American music better than most Americans). Unfortunately, the 'independent' and 'underground' acts I've heard are worse than mainstream bands (with few exceptions, of course). I can't think of one contemporary band that will one day be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I feel like there are geniuses out there but they'll never make it because average people buy crap like Korn and Britney Spears (would Aretha Franklin be famous in today's shallow MTV Pop consciousness?). What is going on and what needs to be done?!

Why Is American Popular Music Such a Joke?

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I can think of one right off the top of my head that will be inducted...The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Why Is American Popular Music Such a Joke?

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its all the same
aome people have different tastes. but i say pop is the best
Well, I don't agree. For one, you didn't mention the greatness of Bruce Springsteen, which pretty much makes your entire argument meaningless.
I agree (mostly).

it is because it is corporate driven, and the produce what is safe. What they KNOW will sell to teeny-boppers (the ones with the disposable income for record sales and such).

Aretha might still be famous. After all, Missy Elliot is an off-center beauty and has quite a career.
Most popular music is, and always has been, made popular by those who buy and listen to it. Nowadays, thats teenagers and, sadly, teenagers aren't the brightest group. They're mostly followers, who listen to what their friends like and don't take the time to find what they like. They'll buy the music their friends are listening to, which is the music they request on the radio.

On top of that, music has moved on from being MUSIC to being ENTERTAINMENT. It's no longer "So-and-so is a great band with awesome guitar riffs and moving lyrics," but rather "So-and-so is hot and did you hear he just got arrested for DUI! Oh my God!!"

IMHO, if other countries are making better music, like you're French jazz singer, then so be it. Go outside the good ole USA, and don't think of it as American music, but good music. Heck, my favorite band is British!
Why Is American Popular Music Such a Joke?

Whoa ! Chillax bro

Classical ? hahahaha

[edit] International and social impact

American popular music has become extremely popular internationally. Rock, hip hop, jazz, country and other styles have fans across the globe. BBC Radio DJ Andy Kershaw, for example, has noted that country music is popular across virtually the entire world [79]. Indeed, out of "all the contributions made by Americans to world culture... (American popular music) has been taken (most) to heart by the entire world" [80]. Other styles of American popular music have also had a formative effect internationally, including funk, the basis for West African Afrobeat, R%26amp;B, a major source for Jamaican reggae, and rock, which has profoundly influenced most every genre of popular music worldwide. Rock, country, jazz and hip hop have become an entrenched part of many countries, leading to local varieties like Australian country music, Tanzanian Bongo Flava and Russian rock.

Rock has had a formative influence on popular music, which had the effect of transforming "the very concept of what popular music" is [81] while Charlie Gillett has argued that rock and roll "was the first popular genre to incorporate the relentless pulse and sheer volume of urban life into the music itself" [82].

The social impacts of American popular music have been felt both within the United States and in foreign countries. Beginning as early as the extravaganzas of the late 19th century, American popular music has been criticized for being too sexually titillating and for encouraging violence, drug abuse and generally immoral behavior. Criticisms have been especially targeted at African American styles of music as they began attracting white, generally youthful audiences; blues, jazz, rock and hip hop all fall into this category
Talent isn't nearly as important as it used to be. People are more concerned with how hot someone is, or what the latest tabloid scandal is. Who cares if she can sing a note? Record labels and MTV tell us what we like.. so we don't have to think for ourselves.

Aretha wouldn't make it today, unless she had a big *** and a tight stomach.

Unfortunately no-talent embarrassments like The Pussycat Dolls and Fergie have hits because they are good looking and can traipse around on stage in their underwear.

It's not so much their lack of musical ability that irritates me, as much as the absurd lyrical content that they try to pass off as art that is really insulting.

Can we please just take a minute to review the lyrics of these songs? I bet if you all REALLY looked at them, you would think twice about buying that Rhianna album!
The answer is simple, and somebody already stated it. Marketing. The music industry's market is girls aged 12-29. They will promote and release anything that they think these girls will buy, and unfortunately, what they buy is a bunch of ****. Music today will never be as good as it was, and that's a cold hard reality. Somebody mentioned the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but they aren't a new band at all. Anthony Kiedis just turned 45 the other day and they have been recording since the mid-late 80's, so that's irrelevant. There will surely be people inducted into the R%26amp;R HOF, but the ones that make it from today's bands 25 years down the road from now won't even compare to the cultural and social impact that the bands already inducted have contributed...not to mention the complete separation in musical talent. All this is coming from a 23 year old musician by the way, so don't jump all over me for being old...I listen to nearly all genre's of music from the 1940's to music that hasn't even been released on albums yet. The bottom line is big business controls today's music, and it isn't very legitimate. Poppy singers to poppy rock bands to cheesy hip hop...it's never as good as it was.
Wait a minute Korn is not crap. Their new stuff may not be the best but still they certainly should be respected. Try their first cd, can you find any other cd that compares to that originality? The lyrics are so powerful no other band has done that.
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