I am cross about popular music

I was listening to the NPR Planet Money podcast on my way to work today, and the topic was Manufacturing the Song of the Summer (there's a link to the story here). It basically concludes what I think most of us already know; the process of writing most pop music is basically a conveyor belt sort of model, a factory that churns out song after song. The 'musician'/pop star doesn't even come into the studio until the songs are more or less finished, then they chose which will go on the album.

It's not really that much of a shock to find out just how cynical and heartless that part of the process is, but what did surprise me - and I suppose I'm just being naive - is how much radio stations get paid to actually play the songs. I suppose it was silly of me to think that they might be playing music that they thought was the most deserving, instead of the most profitable. 

I bring this up is that we play TripleM in my office. It's actually not too bad, though it wouldn't be my first choice. At least it's not bloody 2DayFm or - shudder - Nova. There's a lot of crap on there, but at least you get a bit of Led Zeppelin, the odd Queen song and such. 

But you also get the new Pete Murray song THREE TIMES A DAY

Now, I don't have a problem with Pete Murray as such. Seems like a nice enough guy, and I haven't ever especially disliked his music before. 

But this song...

Every time I hear it I feel the rage slowly rising. It's just the worst. The first time I heard it I texted Jo 'wow, the Zombie Pete Murray has a new song out. It's OK for a dead guy. What's that? He's not dead? Oh. He....does not sound great'. You've got lyrics as awkward as a jingle from regional TV station ads, and singing that sounds like slowed down Tuvan throat singing, it's so droning and dull.

Basically, it's just a prime example of a song having the absolute fuck marketed out of it in the hopes that people will buy it, and I refuse to believe that anyone likes it. Most of the music TripleM plays really just reminds me of why I don't listen to the radio or watch TV any more, because I just can't stand this mediocrity, and that there is a general, unquestioning acceptance of this mediocrity.

All of which leads me to my wider point, which is basically that I'm angry about the pervasive culture of mediocrity and contempt in our society. I know that sounds funny coming from someone who has just trashed the music of a perfectly nice, well-meaning man, but I don't mean rudeness. I mean the contempt that I feel producers of music, movies and TV have for their audiences, the contempt the mainstream media have for their readers and viewers, and the contempt our politicians have for their constituents. That they obviously feel that they can palm the mediocre off on us, and we'll be too stupid to know the difference, or just too apathetic to demand something better.

God it feels good to get that all of my chest.

You're just lucky that I'm choosing not to rant about the new Eskimo Joe song, or this post would be a hell of a lot longer.