Referring to any human made stuff as slop is appalling. "This person made something that the majority of people like so it's crap" is such a weird take.
Ummmm, what's your problem with songs about sex, drugs, alcohol, or partying? Some topics are more meaningful than others but... Cmon, every genre of music covers those topics in some form and that is not an exhaustive list of topics in pop music.
What music do you find meaningful? What music do you consider to be art and not "slop"?
I mean, I'm definitely a metalhead but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy folk, pop, rap, rock, gospel, blues, or whatever else. Songs about sex or partying can be fun (often being meaningful because the artist is making a point beyond a surface level understanding) and songs about political or social oppression can also be inspiring and beautiful. Art encompasses all of human experience.
Also, just off the top of my head "born this way" by Lady Gaga is about none of those topics and that's far from the only example.
The genre is, by definition, designed to appeal to the widest audience possible instead of having artistic intent. It's extremely repetitive, unoriginal and overdone. Songs too often carry the exact same vibe.
Lady Gaga does do things wacky and that's fun. Even when she's singing about Alejandro, it really stands out from the crowd.
Oh, I agree to a certain extent. Pop is inherently going to be popular and that does lead to some absolutely uninspired garbage (my opinion, music is subjective and there's nothing wrong with liking what you like). But, there's a ton of other genres with repetitive, unoriginal, and overdone stuff. Punk, numetal, metal core, death metal, thrash, edm, rap, you fucking name it and there's going to be a ton of artists that just churn out a mash up of what has been popular within that genre. Even prog or incredibly technical stuff can be just... Uninspired.
I guess my point is that all music has this phenomenon. A lot of pop is great and a lot of it is bad, just like everything else. I just feel like some people like to feel superior because of what they listen to (even if it's gatekeeping a niche genre) and it always bothers me. Sorry for the rant, I may have lost the thread lol
That's just not true. Ionna Lee, Bjork, Dorian Electra, and so many other great really art forward pop acts aren't striving for mass market appeal. They're artists and don't deserve to be categorized as not having artistic intent just because of their genre.
I listen to a lot of pop and a lot of metal. Is metal a genre with no artistry just because of recurring motifs like death and hell?
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u/Ulexes 10d ago
Referring to actual art as "slop" is telling, isn't it?