Wonky Pop

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2277201,00.html

Guardian piece on the "Wonky Pop" tour (Alphabeat and some other people) making an assortment of points:

- Grass-roots pop is coming back
- A desire for pop stars to be individual eccentrics rather than production line stars
- Pop marketed to adults not kids
- Buyers and fans who grew up on Busted and who like performers writing their own material.
- An increased UK openness to European pop*

I get the impression the bulk of the community here are into this kind of thing, with some notable dissenters (of whom I might well be one). So what do we think - are thinks really looking up for pop?

*if you yourself are feeling open to European pop, go and VOTE in Europop 2008: France v Holland and Italy v Romania [/hype]

Comments

[poptasticuk.livejournal.com]

I alway say that Busted are absolutely crucial to the redefinition of pop. I am happy that it's OK to like jolly music again, but at an ideological level it's terrible, as it's implanted this idea (that only songs written by the artist and involving guitars are worthy of success) in kids from a very young age. This is in total contrast to the music I grew up on, and I think it will lead to quite a close-minded new generation of music fans, who are incapable of seeing the value of music that doesn't fit this criteria. I think this affects middle class kids more than working class ones though, as the pressure to like good quality music is much stronger there, whereas with the working class the emphasis is more directly on being cool, without this mediator of supposed authenticity.