Christian Otte
01/22/10, 08:44 PM
... or How Pop/Rock Ain't Necessarily Shitty.
I can't be the only one who have noticed it. Every time I read the unsigned artists section of Alternative Press (fuck the haters), I immediately know which artists NOT to check out. If they call themselves pop/rock bands, I know I'm in for a dull experience in a 4/4 tact with a hook that I've heard a million times before, no matter who they have as a guest vocalist (case in point: Boys Like Girls feat. Taylor Swift or Ten Second Epic feat. Lights - the Boys Like Girls track might be one of the most boring I've heard all year, or my whole life pretty much).
The pop/rock genre is pretty much ruined, for me at least. At the moment, the genre stands for boring mid-tempo songs with hooks that might be catchy enough but are also run-of-the-mill that it's almost despicable. Re: The Right State, Boys Like Girls, Ten Second Epic... I wish I could name more bands, but I have happily forgotten each single one. Check out the latest issue with The Devil Wears Prada on the cover - they have a section with ten of their most hyped local artists. Pretty much every single one fits into this category.
This is where You, Me, and Everyone We Know enters. This band is not pop-punk, let's not fool ourselves. This band is definitely pop/rock. But they are also able to construct songs that have hooks that are new and fresh, lyrics that provoke, and melodies that are familiar yet interesting.
The reason why I made this thread was because I listened to You, Me, and Everyone We Know while on the way home from a night on the town with some friends. When I came home I turned on MTV and who did I see but Boys Like Girls with their "smash hit" Two Is Better Than One.
I have never been more indifferent about a song. And that is pretty much the worst quality you can address to a song. I have never paid any particular attention to Boys Like Girls but I remember thinking The Great Escape was a pretty catchy track. A year and a half later and this is their grab at the top 40? For fuck's sake, have some respect for yourselves.
You can even see it in the way they dress - case in point, The Maine and the video for In Your Arms. In pretty much every "professional" photo taken of them up to that point, they have been in t-shirts and hoodies (Glamour Kills an AA of course), but in the video for In Your Arms - it was like someone gave them 250 dollars each to raid their local Macy's and/or H&M so they could look a bit classy.
So what can we learn from this? Actually, I'm not quite sure. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while pop/rock in a very sorry state, some bands are actually able to create awesome songs within the genre. And I sincerely hope they will continue to do so, even though they are not the ones with the most success.
You, Me, and Everyone We Know? Don't ever chance, and keep make amazing music.
Boys Like Girls? Fuck, I don't know... keep forgetting where you came from, I guess?
Note: I was a bit drunk when I wrote this, but I still stand by everything said. Also, I'm from Denmark (that's in Europe), so everything might not be grammatical perfect, but hey, hopefully the meaning will get through.
I can't be the only one who have noticed it. Every time I read the unsigned artists section of Alternative Press (fuck the haters), I immediately know which artists NOT to check out. If they call themselves pop/rock bands, I know I'm in for a dull experience in a 4/4 tact with a hook that I've heard a million times before, no matter who they have as a guest vocalist (case in point: Boys Like Girls feat. Taylor Swift or Ten Second Epic feat. Lights - the Boys Like Girls track might be one of the most boring I've heard all year, or my whole life pretty much).
The pop/rock genre is pretty much ruined, for me at least. At the moment, the genre stands for boring mid-tempo songs with hooks that might be catchy enough but are also run-of-the-mill that it's almost despicable. Re: The Right State, Boys Like Girls, Ten Second Epic... I wish I could name more bands, but I have happily forgotten each single one. Check out the latest issue with The Devil Wears Prada on the cover - they have a section with ten of their most hyped local artists. Pretty much every single one fits into this category.
This is where You, Me, and Everyone We Know enters. This band is not pop-punk, let's not fool ourselves. This band is definitely pop/rock. But they are also able to construct songs that have hooks that are new and fresh, lyrics that provoke, and melodies that are familiar yet interesting.
The reason why I made this thread was because I listened to You, Me, and Everyone We Know while on the way home from a night on the town with some friends. When I came home I turned on MTV and who did I see but Boys Like Girls with their "smash hit" Two Is Better Than One.
I have never been more indifferent about a song. And that is pretty much the worst quality you can address to a song. I have never paid any particular attention to Boys Like Girls but I remember thinking The Great Escape was a pretty catchy track. A year and a half later and this is their grab at the top 40? For fuck's sake, have some respect for yourselves.
You can even see it in the way they dress - case in point, The Maine and the video for In Your Arms. In pretty much every "professional" photo taken of them up to that point, they have been in t-shirts and hoodies (Glamour Kills an AA of course), but in the video for In Your Arms - it was like someone gave them 250 dollars each to raid their local Macy's and/or H&M so they could look a bit classy.
So what can we learn from this? Actually, I'm not quite sure. I guess what I'm trying to say is that while pop/rock in a very sorry state, some bands are actually able to create awesome songs within the genre. And I sincerely hope they will continue to do so, even though they are not the ones with the most success.
You, Me, and Everyone We Know? Don't ever chance, and keep make amazing music.
Boys Like Girls? Fuck, I don't know... keep forgetting where you came from, I guess?
Note: I was a bit drunk when I wrote this, but I still stand by everything said. Also, I'm from Denmark (that's in Europe), so everything might not be grammatical perfect, but hey, hopefully the meaning will get through.