Looking into the Authenticity of Pop Music in Society Today

Often present cultures tend to look back on the past as something more valuable 0r genuine than the present, modernized era especially when it comes to music. With the influx of new “talent” over the past decade or so, many have criticized whether or not this pop music is “real”. Yet most cultures in history have done the same thing — looking back at music of the past as if it was better or more genuine than the music that they were experiencing.

For example, when Rock and Roll first became popular there were many individuals who claimed that it was not “real“ music because it did not compare to its predecessors. The same can be said about rap, hip hop, and techno just to name a few. Perhaps those that are alive and engaged in the current music scene identify more with the traditional values or style of older music and therefore deem it more “real“ for themselves. 1 think the fact that there are so many famous musicians today also has an impact on what people consider to be “real” or “genuine”.

When we look at the past there are just a few big names that stand out as stars or legends of the past that are still popular today such as Elvis, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, and Michael Jackson. These individuals were sensationalized and often were the only artists in their particular genres that were on the top of the charts and definitely remembered for generations. 0n the other hand fame has become such a commonality in modern times that there are hundreds of popular and recognizable artists in various categories.

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As opposed to the list of musicians above, our generation can name: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Fall Out Boy, Blink 182, Dr. Dre., Eminem, and many others without even thinking about it.

As a society we have been surrounded by so much musical “talent” that often times in order to find something more genuine we must look back at the simpler times in the past. With regard to the article about the show Pop Idol and other shows like it, there are various reasons why the author criticizes the main premise of the show. With industrialization and modernization, we have become a society reliant upon the idea that we can create whatever we want, whenever we want it in some type of factory. Shows like Pop Idol take this one step further by putting vulnerable and impressionable human beings into the show-business “factory” and trying to produce something great.

As the author mentions, there is so much “raw” talent out in the world and the show’s creators clearly ignore this in exchange for creating a new breed of entertainer: By trying to exploit and judgmentally seek out and mold singers the producers are taking away a key element associated with the beauty of music and the population has seemingly picked up on this, In terms of music, there is rarely something more beautiful than discovering a “raw” singer with true talent and musical genius who can create moving ballads, Unfortunately, as rare as this is it is even more rare for this singer to not be exploited by producers or the media who have both been taught that they can make a pretty penny from sensationalizing and mainstreaming such talent.