The release of a new Taylor Swift record — and she has given us 31 new songs this day — is an occasion for many conversations. One of those is a discussion of the ways in which popularity and quality intersect. My father was many wonderful things, and one of them was an amateur cellist. While I got my love of folk music from mama, my delight in rock n’ roll from my peers, and my passion for country from the ranch hands on my grandmother’s place, it was daddy taught me to love classical music.
My issue is that the music industry "machine" of which Taylor is an integral cog, plays a part in guiding the public's taste. And the public's taste has deteriorated in the last 2-3 decades. Melodic variety, texture, and other qualities are all simplified in modern pop compared to pop from the 70s and 80s. There's a study on it I'll try to find later. Anyway, it's harder than ever for a quality indie band to make it mainstream, meanwhile we're spoon fed more and more musical pablum like Taylor Swift all the time.
My issue is that the music industry "machine" of which Taylor is an integral cog, plays a part in guiding the public's taste. And the public's taste has deteriorated in the last 2-3 decades. Melodic variety, texture, and other qualities are all simplified in modern pop compared to pop from the 70s and 80s. There's a study on it I'll try to find later. Anyway, it's harder than ever for a quality indie band to make it mainstream, meanwhile we're spoon fed more and more musical pablum like Taylor Swift all the time.
As the timeless refrain goes, “I liked R.E.M. before they were cool.”