Chill people, Steps will save us

:dance: :dancing: :party2:

I certainly wouldn't call 'I Need A Dollar' biege pop, it's different from just about everything doing well at the moment. Price Tag isn't really in the same category either, it's not quite in the club banger group either but it's closer to that.

 

True, I suppose. I Need a Dollar is quite different actually. I was kind of rushing that list. :lol:

 

But you were right when you said you're more worried about the club bangers than the "beige pop". Looking at those lists, the club bangers have been much more dominant than the "beige pop" this year (not to mention, as songs themselves, I think most of the club bangers are quite poor, but that's just opinions I guess).

 

It's not anywhere near the club banger group. And I'm not sure if Moves Like Jagger belongs there either. I'd put:

 

Do It Like A Dude

I Need A Doller

Price Tag

 

..all in there own group. Don't know if MLJ should be with them.

 

Infact, those three songs, along with probably Grenade, are the closest to RnB from the YTD top 20. And even some of them are not really that close to RnB, which says a lot. :lol:

Edited November 8, 201113 yr by Eric_Blob

Someone Like You is quite overrated, it must be said, her performance is excellent, but lyrically its a rather simple track, there are many ballads that do it much better, I see what they mean by 'beige' though, I wish that a slightly less simple type of ballad would do as well, its not that I oppose them, I really like them, but it would be nice to have something like, say, Video Games in the top 10

 

it can be quite annoying that a club song with a catchy chorus and a dancey beat can automatically get you interest, but its just the popular sound atm and could wel change in coming years

Edited November 8, 201113 yr by C.W

I fail to see how The domination of 'Someone like You', 'The A-team', Birdy's version of 'Skinny Love' (which wasnt even that popular), and mumford and sons? There album hasnt been huge this year and none of the singles have made an impact? Its just a stupid article, when you think loads of the biggest hits this year (Price Tag, MLJ, OTF, Loca People, Mr. Saxobeat, LMFAO, Louder) Tehy are all big pop, dance club bangers, well, maybe not PT, but the others, yes.

I fail to see how The domination of 'Someone like You', 'The A-team', Birdy's version of 'Skinny Love' (which wasnt even that popular), and mumford and sons? There album hasnt been huge this year and none of the singles have made an impact? Its just a stupid article, when you think loads of the biggest hits this year (Price Tag, MLJ, OTF, Loca People, Mr. Saxobeat, LMFAO, Louder) Tehy are all big pop, dance club bangers, well, maybe not PT, but the others, yes.

 

Yeah, that's what I think. I can see his point with the "beige pop" he's talking about, but it's the club bangers that are the problem imo.

 

If music had to follow one of the two routes in the coming years, I'd rather go down the Adele/Ed Sheeran route. It would pave the way for RnB, hip hop, rock and indie to get more popular again, which would be more variety than what we've got now.

Indie and rock will remain marginal in the singles chart as the traditional reasons for that market to purchase singles was to hear the new material or to get the b-sides. Youtube has done away with the first reason and b-sides no longer exist. I dont even dig out cds when I want to hear a song anymore - I head straight to you tube.

The reason this year is TERRIBLE by and large is reflective of the economic crisis in general I'd say - having lasted four years as of September we're getting the worst effects now of record labels being under greater pressure as a result of reduction in album sales (possibly due to the recession, which has led to an increase in cherry picking and thence single sales), hence only what is known to sell gets signed. 2009 was the last year really we saw a LOT of artists signed at the early stages of economic downturn get burned (Little Boots, Marina was early 2010 but signed in 2008, Clare Maguire flopped this year but was signed AGES ago, around about 2008 at least), and since then we've seen an amalgamation of a lot of currently popular genres get big, mainly as that's what sells. It's little surprise that we have a more homogeneous sounding chart as the safer material - be it beige pop, a generic merger of currently popular genres, or failing all that artists who were signed/big before the downturn (Gaga etc.) - dominates and is left with regards to the charts. Save the odd unsigned/left-field breakthrough, but even that tends to be the likes of Ed Sheeran/Birdy etc., or Tinie Tempah (but even then you have the likes of Wretch-32 capitalising on it).

 

The charts will continue to be terrible in the eyes of most for a good while yet, but I don't fall into a default assumption that each year is more horrific than the last. For example, 2009 was tremendous by and large.

I'd just like to warn anyone that this is a distinctly Rustt / Mushymanrob post that will cumulate in namedroping credible artists from yesteryear now. If this will antagonise you then please look away now.

 

At least LMFAO are vaguely exciting! I honestly find Adele, Christina Perri, etc. etc. to be self absorbed drivel. Maybe they have more credibility than generic club bangers, but I find them to be lowest common denominator. They have may have a voice, but the 'talent' seems so forced / out there to sell records JUST as much as your average Pitbull song is. At least the latter would admit to that. When put alongside genuinely talented artists that are interesting to listen to and won't worry about alienating their audience (okay, I won't namedrop, I'm sure that was snobby enough), I fail to see how these 'New Boring' artists have much musical value. Maybe I've just been spoilt.

 

Now I don't have the arrogance to educate anyone, but these are what I'd consider to have musical value, and ultra-mainstream equivalents could easily be picked out.

 

An 'authentic tearjerker' that Adele or Ed Sheeran wished they could write:

A creative 'club banger' (not that you'd hear it in clubs):

 

Agreed with most of this. I find it incredibly annoying when people just generally complain about how bad music has been this year. MAINSTREAM CHART music has indeed been horrific and it's been that way for a while now. However, you only need to look beyond the charts to find some of the best albums in recent years. Sighsighsigh.

I fail to see how The domination of 'Someone like You', 'The A-team', Birdy's version of 'Skinny Love' (which wasnt even that popular), and mumford and sons? There album hasnt been huge this year and none of the singles have made an impact? Its just a stupid article, when you think loads of the biggest hits this year (Price Tag, MLJ, OTF, Loca People, Mr. Saxobeat, LMFAO, Louder) Tehy are all big pop, dance club bangers, well, maybe not PT, but the others, yes.

 

Not sure about that, I suppose the bulk of SNM's success was last year but it has been a very big album and I would say both 'Little Lion Man' and 'The Cave' have made some impact, they've both sold over 200k despite neither making the top 20 and both have been decent sized hits in the USA (their album has been huge there as well).

 

SNM only reached its peak of #2 this year.

Edited November 9, 201113 yr by Bré

The mainstream invariably comes from the underground. 'Club bangers' are simply diluted versions of what is popular in the underground a couple of years later: look at Pendulum's watered-down version of themselves, look at Nero's 'pop' dubstep.

 

This has always been the case, so let's hope the dance music scene finally gets back to some kind of quality and the pop scene will follow suit.

 

As for Adele etc. - the middle-aged have always gone for this kind of tepid stuff - be it Simply Red, Sade or Dido. It's simple music for people who can't really be bothered to take the time to listen out for something they'll really love.

As for Adele etc. - the middle-aged have always gone for this kind of tepid stuff - be it Simply Red, Sade or Dido. It's simple music for people who can't really be bothered to take the time to listen out for something they'll really love.

 

Just a vast over simplification methinks. Yes, it's relatively simple music (but then so is the likes of "Barbra Streisand" or "Sexy And I Know It"), but to have a good song, sung by someone who really can sing, ticks all the boxes for quite a large group of people.