Pop concerts have become such over-weening extravaganzas that the artists themselves are overshadowed by the production with enormous stages and lighting set-ups, pyrotechnics and echelons of dancers. And then you go home, at least Taylor Swift does, with billions of dollars. Can you believe that when I was a rock guitarist there were NO billionaire musicians? Not even Paul McCartney.
So if we want to get a sense of what this generation of pop stars are actually like, it is better to see them in a smaller, more personal setting. For this the Tiny Desk concerts at NPR are ideal.
Let's start with Olivia Rodrigo's set:
Taylor Swift claims her membership in today's victim culture by pretending to be a sufferer from the "double standard" that always values men higher than women. Honey, there is no musician on earth, or in history, that has a net worth anywhere near what yours will be at the end of your tour. Y'all ain't no victim!
Billie Eilish did an NPR Tiny Desk concert during the COVID lockdown and it was, as you might expect, an exercise in depressive lethargy:
I'm pretty sure popular music used to be better than this...
Thank you for your posts about classical music, I've been learning a lot from this blog. I listen to several music genres, but dislike the artists listed here as representing today's pop scene (which I admit, is bleak). I've found that the most bearable mainstream popular music is the R&B: SZA, Steve Lacey, Frank Ocean.
ReplyDeleteIf I may recommend Sara Bareilles as an alternative to Swift...SB is much more technically gifted, and I'm partial to her lyricism. My favorite songs are her ballads (e.g. Orpheus, Shiny, Saint Honesty), as well as those in the soundtrack to her Broadway musical, Waitress.
Also, on the topic of pop artists gone wrong...Have you seen Justin Bieber "composing" with an orchestra?
https://youtu.be/WTvpmRecoIM?si=kJ3ZbH1xA9ka48sl&t=51
I picked out those three artists because they all had recent NPR Tiny Desk appearances. My own tastes in the diva line run more to Miley Cyrus and Shakira. Thanks for your suggestions! I'll try to give them a listen. I think you are correct, that the more interesting artists are often the less well-known ones.
ReplyDeleteThe Biber clip is, well, hilarious. I'm pretty sure he does actually read music so he could have just written this out. It's not Mozart, is it?
Oh wow that's interesting, I did see you include the Shakira statue in another post. I'm feeling less confident in my recommendations (oops), they still align with the trending aesthetic of dopamine-deficiency. And yes, the Bieber clip is hilarious! It's like using a fancy Japanese chef knife as a letter opener...He does at least look like he's having the time of his life. For the musicians, I'm guessing it's an easy gig.
ReplyDeleteOr a hammer to kill a mosquito.
ReplyDelete