Alyssa Lopez, Staff Writer
April 13, 2015
Filed under Opinion

In pop music, the central focus is to include numerous sexual references and as a result, cheapens this genre as a whole. For awhile, this narrow definition of pop has been dominating the music scene.

On Billboard.com, “The Hot 100″ which is the top songs of last week, consisted of music screaming about the urge for sex. The number one song is an idiotic, mindless rambling “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. This hit has a catchy beat and flow though lacks any true sentiment with gravely unoriginal, tiresome lyrics. “Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo) [x3]/Cause uptown funk gon’ give it to you [x3]”.

Basically, girls serve his sexual needs and they do so since he is outrageously good looking. Depressingly, this message of unsentimental sexual drive and single-minded thoughts is what most pop artists create, especially if a chosen song is specifically meant to be a promotional single.

Nonetheless, pop hasn’t always been interpreted as solely a sex driven genre. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, artfully wrote unique music by incorporating diverse intellectual and emotional lyrics that cover an extensive amount of topics. For instance, naming a few of Jackson’s numerous hit singles – “Thriller” is a horror themed song about zombies and werewolves; “Rock With You” he is expressing emotional feelings as he is dancing with someone he loves; “Man in the Mirror” a political song about the reflection of oneself who must be apart of the movement to improve the world’s problems.

Overall, The King of Pop has perfectly exemplified that pop music can be a creative and inspiring outlet of emotional connectivity. Inspiring his fans worldwide, continuously ’til this day beyond his death.

Despite his unique approach to pop, this genre grew stale. Nowadays, labeled as sex driven music created by hackneyed musicians selling sexual content as their main target point. Their only purpose for writing these songs is to feel empowerment by gaining self-esteem in feeling sexy, having multiple arousal moments, and superficial unrealistic love.

However, there is a small-scale of pop artists and even fewer well-known ones who don’t entirely limit their pop music to arousal nonsense. Artists such as Kelly Clarkson, whom has never done sexual music, including in her new album “Piece by Piece”. She continues to write her lyrics in a pop genre style and at the same time, embrace good qualities within oneself to build up confidence and acceptance.

The main problem is not the pop genre, rather the overwhelming amount of musicians creating this uninspiring music. Musicians who have real talent, such as Bruno Mars, shouldn’t limit themselves to this simplistic gibberish. They should expand their boundaries and create music that will forever be memorable, touching the hearts of millions of fans.

elpaisanoonline.com/opinion/2015/04/13/tarnished-reputation-of-pop-music/

HAPPYPERSON said:

For instance, naming a few of Jackson’s numerous hit singles – “Thriller” is a horror themed song about zombies and werewolves;

There's no mention of werewolves anywhere in the song, "Thriller", unless you interpret Vincent Price's mention of "the hounds of hell" as referring to werewolves.

Zombies yeah..... "the dead start to walk in their masquerade....."

But I wouldn't go as far as to say the song is ABOUT zombies and werewolves. If you were to try and pin the song down to a specific topic, I'd say the lyric "Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together / All thru the night I'll save you from the terrors on the screen" would infer that the subject of the song is about a guy and a girl watching a horror film together.


Anyway I know that's not what the thread is about but I just felt like saying that.

Just go to say that it's also pretty ironic that the 3 songs listed were not written by Michael Jackson!

Hell yea, Jello Biafra talks about this. How lyrics in pop are limited, because of how corporate America runs the companies and only look for the big hit makers, not people who need to slowly be gleened, like The Beatles or Stevie. Now they have to have hits now, no wait.

Jello talks about how lyrics have to be about love as a carrot on a stick, or how great life would be if we were all rich. Sex as not about mutual satisfaction, but how it turns on the man mostly. Politics is a no no in lyrics. Social issues better be pretty touchy feely. Patriotism, they love that.

Pop music needs to be taken over.

The King of Pop didn't sing or write about sex because writers write about what they know.

This is where Pharell the pop star is the most effective - I feel that his versatility has sort of saved what little humanity is left in pop music. Sure he can write a dirty song but he doesn't HAVE or NEED to, he has plenty of things to go on about.

The industry used to play a game where the really raunchy sex songs were banned from radio airplay. Now, it seems they'll play anything, and basically only the F-word gets a mute or backmasking.

TheGoldStandard said:

The King of Pop didn't sing or write about sex because writers write about what they know.

Should we expand it to gay (closeted or not) musicians who sing about heterosexual sex as well? (*cough* George Michael *cough*)

The fact that the writer references MJ as 'The King of Pop' throughout the article suggests the article is extremely biased.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry can write on a piece on music on the net even if they don't have the credentials to do so.

"Uptown Funk" Dedications on Youtube.com by women and suburband girls:

I've seen a few...real dance teams-pay tribute..... or young suburban girls---even in Europe and Australia dancing with tight and high shorts on....

I was going the road of "Happy" in commercials and ads, but that seems to have slowed a bit..

Clown answer songs too, but they is nothing new..

Why would someone waste their time doing an answer song and video parody?

Maybe, its because of the reference to liquor, bu that stuff is everywhere...

Rock With You is sooo about shagging!

Rich said:

Just go to say that it's also pretty ironic that the 3 songs listed were not written by Michael Jackson!

FrenchGuy said:

MotownSubdivision said:

FrenchGuy said:

Should we expand it to gay (closeted or not) musicians who sing about heterosexual sex as well? (*cough* George Michael *cough*)

George had sex with women though. [Edited 4/17/15 6:27am]

Naaa? Receipts?

I mean that "Wake Me Up before You GoGo"... GM was the most flaming man I had seen since Boy George... I even wonder how people ever thought he was straight lol

it's aaaalll over....milk butter toasted

the root of the problem of why music became "tarnished" is because everything was geared toward pop recognition

but the contradiction is that pop is not a distinguishable genre of music...it has no point of origin, it did not originate from any particular moment of culture

pop is a distinction, that's why when artists of vary of genre of music seeks it, their music suffers, their talent regresses, and they begin to rely on controversies and shock value to gain attention, to sell records.......that's been the formula for over a quarter century

Ain't nothing changed.

"You singers are spineless as you sing your senseless songs to the mindless. Your general subject love is minimal, it's sex for profit." - Public Enemy, Caught, Can I get A Witness, 1987.

HAPPYPERSON said:

Alyssa Lopez, Staff Writer
April 13, 2015
Filed under Opinion

In pop music, the central focus is to include numerous sexual references and as a result, cheapens this genre as a whole. For awhile, this narrow definition of pop has been dominating the music scene.

On Billboard.com, “The Hot 100″ which is the top songs of last week, consisted of music screaming about the urge for sex. The number one song is an idiotic, mindless rambling “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. This hit has a catchy beat and flow though lacks any true sentiment with gravely unoriginal, tiresome lyrics. “Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo) [x3]/Cause uptown funk gon’ give it to you [x3]”.

Basically, girls serve his sexual needs and they do so since he is outrageously good looking. Depressingly, this message of unsentimental sexual drive and single-minded thoughts is what most pop artists create, especially if a chosen song is specifically meant to be a promotional single.

Nonetheless, pop hasn’t always been interpreted as solely a sex driven genre. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, artfully wrote unique music by incorporating diverse intellectual and emotional lyrics that cover an extensive amount of topics. For instance, naming a few of Jackson’s numerous hit singles – “Thriller” is a horror themed song about zombies and werewolves; “Rock With You” he is expressing emotional feelings as he is dancing with someone he loves; “Man in the Mirror” a political song about the reflection of oneself who must be apart of the movement to improve the world’s problems.

Overall, The King of Pop has perfectly exemplified that pop music can be a creative and inspiring outlet of emotional connectivity. Inspiring his fans worldwide, continuously ’til this day beyond his death.

Despite his unique approach to pop, this genre grew stale. Nowadays, labeled as sex driven music created by hackneyed musicians selling sexual content as their main target point. Their only purpose for writing these songs is to feel empowerment by gaining self-esteem in feeling sexy, having multiple arousal moments, and superficial unrealistic love.

However, there is a small-scale of pop artists and even fewer well-known ones who don’t entirely limit their pop music to arousal nonsense. Artists such as Kelly Clarkson, whom has never done sexual music, including in her new album “Piece by Piece”. She continues to write her lyrics in a pop genre style and at the same time, embrace good qualities within oneself to build up confidence and acceptance.

The main problem is not the pop genre, rather the overwhelming amount of musicians creating this uninspiring music. Musicians who have real talent, such as Bruno Mars, shouldn’t limit themselves to this simplistic gibberish. They should expand their boundaries and create music that will forever be memorable, touching the hearts of millions of fans.

elpaisanoonline.com/opinion/2015/04/13/tarnished-reputation-of-pop-music/

Seriously?

The purpose of pop music since the year dot has been sex. Sinatra, Presley, Prince....

The writer really, really, really need to loosen up and get...a life.

leonche64 said:

Ain't nothing changed.

"You singers are spineless as you sing your senseless songs to the mindless. Your general subject love is minimal, it's sex for profit." - Public Enemy, Caught, Can I get A Witness, 1987.

This article conjured the same Chuck D lyric in my head!!

Cinny said:

leonche64 said:

Ain't nothing changed.

"You singers are spineless as you sing your senseless songs to the mindless. Your general subject love is minimal, it's sex for profit." - Public Enemy, Caught, Can I get A Witness, 1987.

This article conjured the same Chuck D lyric in my head!!

The truth remains constant, or great minds think alike...take your pick. Haaaa

TheGoldStandard said:

The King of Pop didn't sing or write about sex because writers write about what they know.

You were saying?!?

thedoorkeeper said:

TonyVanDam said:

TheGoldStandard said:

The King of Pop didn't sing or write about sex because writers write about what they know.

You were saying?!?

Opps...........

MotownSubdivision said:

leonche64 said:

Cinny said:

This article conjured the same Chuck D lyric in my head!!

The truth remains constant, or great minds think alike...take your pick. Haaaa

hehe

In The Closet is a non-specific, ambiguous, soft core bore... a forgettable minor hit that was stamped ridiculous by the video featuring eye-jarring non-sexual tension between Jackson and Naomi Campbell. The song is about desire and repression (ironic). The only convincing heterosexuality on the tune is provided by Mystery Girl, the she's could easily be he's.

[Edited 4/22/15 9:58am]

TheGoldStandard said:

In The Closet is a non-specific, ambiguous, soft core bore... a forgettable minor hit that was stamped ridiculous by the video featuring eye-jarring non-sexual tension between Jackson and Naomi Campbell. The song is about desire and repression (ironic). The only convincing heterosexuality on the tune is provided by Mystery Girl, the she's could easily be he's.

[Edited 4/22/15 9:58am]

In your opinion of course.

Yes of course! It just sounds neutered.

.

I like MJ but sexual he was not.

.

In fact, he was so Disney and pansexual that in my opinion, of course, the idol worship of Mike in the 80s and 90s encouraged the pseudo-sexualization expectation of a pop artist that is so popular now... Establishing sexy/raunchy as a "phase" of an artists career. A normal human is naturally always sexual. "Why would I want to listen to someone sing that I wouldn't want to fuck?"

.

Of course this is also the argument against Madonna's career. Talent is second string anymore as sex sells. Talent might.

.

why would u listen to what youre being driven to listen to??