Questioning the Quality of Popular Music

Album sales and Billboard top 100 lists don't seem to take into account the artistry behind the music, whether it be writing the lyrics themselves, composing the music with instruments or producing music with a purpose grander than breaking a sweat on the dance floor--Popular music has lost it's purpose!

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This weeks Hot 100 on the Billboard Charts consists of Adele's Rolling in the Deep at number one, followed by the creative wits of Katy Perry with E.T. at number two; and then it all gets questionable to say the least, with Pitbull’s Give Me Everything at number three and a stream of auto-tuned, synthesized, instrument and good lyric lacking “club favorites” including my favorite, ever so talented (heavy on the sarcasm), Britney Spears with Till the World Ends.

The Hot 100 on the Billboard Charts ranks 3-7 week of June 4th, 2011
Bruno Mars being the only artist to play an instrument 

This top-ten list, amongst many others in the industry, genuinely makes me question the current state of our cultures musical interests and the ranking systems that conjure up such absurd top-ten lists. The popularity of music is a never-ending argument on what “good music” really is, but I think it’s time for us to really question the talent of the artists getting the bulk of the spotlight.

First, I’d like to note the headline-hogging characteristic of the show Glee, that has accumulated a myriad of fans, not to mention raking in the cash on iTunes. ABC News notes, "Glee's popularity has also sent it straight to the top of the music charts -- the three cast albums are dominating Apple's iTunes album sales." Granted the original artists see some of the proceeds and the show has had a career boosting impact on such artists as Hey Monday and Gwyneth Paltrow, yet the glory remains in the hands of actors that can sing but don’t actually write or compose any of the music. The show may be funny and some of the tracks may be worth a listen, but for them to outsell the original musicians take on their own song seems downright absurd.

       vs. 
               Candles by the cast of Glee                           Candles by Hey Monday  (Original version)

Glee vs. Hey Monday, you be the judge of the better version!

Secondly, I’d like to propose a battle of the rap stars. In 2011, who would you say has the biggest name in hip-hop music? If I were to answer that question, the first name that comes to mind is Drake. Granted, after taking a listen through his entire collection there are intermittent quality tracks; on the other hand, none of those tracks have made him any money. Again we are faced with the debate that popular music isn’t derived from the quality of the song—quality being good lyrics (preferably written by the artist) that serve some sort of thought provoking purpose…not just something that rings well through the streets of Vegas.

Drake photo: theurbandaily.com, Lupe Fiasco photo: beatboxingmayhem.com

Drake’s first solo album Thank Me Later debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly 500,000 copies its first week; yet it received an average of 75 out of 100 by Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating from mainstream critics. A 75 rating declares a generally positive review and could be considered “not too shabby” when you look at Drake’s overwhelming sales numbers; However, Lupe Fiasco’s debut album Food & Liquor received an average of 83 by Metacritic, and was universally acclaimed for its “lyrical prowess,” according to Chris Nixon with The Union Tribune. Nixon goes on to note that Lupe Fiasco’s appeal is from his lyrical content, even dubbing Food & Liquor as a “modern prayer.” That being said, Food & Liquor only debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, compared to Drake’s top spot, and sold a mere 81,000 copies.

Don’t get me wrong, I like to “get down” at the club just as much as the next, But record sales and top-ten lists seem to be forgetting to tally in the actual artistic talent of the musician. What happened to the times when artists like The Beatles hogged the Billboard Charts, not Britney and her fellow puppets of the music industry?

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