"I Love the [INSERT DECADE HERE]s!"

I shudder to think of what people will say about the music released during my teenage years. Those years would of course be from between the late 1990s and the early 2000s. I am not necessarily saying that all of the music released during this time period was bad; on the contrary, there has been quite a lot of good music released. However, very little of it has filtered over into the mainstream media. The music which has crossed over onto television and radio, however, has been mostly crass, vapid, and commercialized. People 20s years from now will generalize the time period between the late 1990s and the early 2000s to be almost an update of the 1980s generalization: good music will be overlooked by the mainstream, music with very little substance will be remembered (and mocked), and the pop songs of today will be used to market future products because of their nostalgic and/or ironic value.

People often generalize musical trends. More specifically, they remember the things which were either the most renowned or the easiest to mock. This is certainly true of the 1980s, where synth pop, pop metal, and bad hair are what most people remember from that decade. There is no mention of bands like the Talking Heads, R.E.M., the Smiths, the Cure, X, or even the “Biggest Band of the 80s”, U2. All of these bands fight the 80s stereotype (except for maybe the bad hair part), but they are very rarely brought into the mainstream consciousness. Even a band as big as U2 is separated from the decade, and they have sold millions of albums! The same will most likely apply to today’s music. People typically revere such artists as Bob Dylan and the Beatles for their art, integrity, and message, and some of these people also claim that there is no longer any music being made that is socially conscious or artistically profound. This is, of course, not true. Artists like Mos Def, Bright Eyes, Ani DiFranco, and Guster have all showcased a social awareness, and also a musical ambition that is both enjoyable and admirable. These artists will continue to make good music, and they will be remembered by people 20 years from now. However, they will not be part of the mainstream American consciousness.

Although the advent of the Internet has helped to splinter music trends, there still remains a market for mainstream pop/hip-hop. I am of course referring to such artists as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Lil Jon, and Jessica Simpson. These artists have saturated pop culture to such an extent that is impossible to remove them from one’s mind. I do not own a single CD put out by any of these artists, nor do I actively pursue to listen to their music, but I still know practically all of the words to songs like “Oops, I Did It Again.” This music will most likely not be enjoyed by people in the future, aside from maybe the top of the pop charts, like Britney Spears or *N’Sync. This music, although of little interest to me, still has proven to be capable of stable market dominance. Going further, this music, because of its renown, is therefore easy to parody. Pop culture has grown increasingly narcissistic in the past few years, and it loves to both exult and mock itself. If this trend continues, pop music will be perpetuated for years. Meanwhile, other music trends which have been successful for a time (nu-metal, pop punk) will most likely fade into obscurity, with only well-known bands like Blink-182, Limp Bizkit, and Korn remaining known to a select few, if at all.

Going further with the now inherent narcissism in pop culture, the songs which have come out over the last few years will, inevitably, become the themes to countless disposable commercials in the future. Much like “I Melt With You” for Burger King, these songs will be turned into ads. The result will spark nostalgia in some, but most likely will be sneeringly ironic. This is another growing trend perpetuated by MTV and VH1. I predict that pop culture, although it will remain very much as small minded and forgetful as ever, will continue to grow self-obsessed and will use the past to market the present. Pop culture will become self-perpetuating.

The mainstream is incredibly fickle, but it also grows nostalgic very easily. The popularized songs of today will fade from people’s memories, but they will also be rediscovered within 20 years time. At the same time, music which exists outside of the mainstream will flourish and be remembered. Thanks to the Internet and the rise of independent labels, it is possible to make a decent living off of music without signing to a major label or getting heavy rotation on MTV or the radio. The mainstream pop culture discussed here will always have a market and people to keep it afloat, of course. But subcultures are gaining prominence, and will continue to do so. It will be interesting to see what happens to the musical landscape in the coming years, because I feel that the mainstream music industry will be in for a few surprises.

"Atlantic City

“Christ, its cold out. This kind of weather makes me hate Norristown even more. Norristown is exactly like Philadelphia, only without an art district, entertainment complexes, or any other sort of thing that would redeem the area’s existence.

I lost my job at the Times Herald yesterday. They said they needed to cut back on distribution, on account of the rising gas prices. No more delivering the paper.

I have no job, I hate this town, and it’s freezing.

Jenny doesn’t even bother to make eye contact with me these days, not that I blame her. She pretty much knows we’re in it now. I don’t think she hates me for being me; she hates me for not being someone else, if that makes any sense. She walks slowly, but not sluggishly, around the kitchen. She pours herself some coffee into that mug of hers, the one with Jesus on it. She never goes to mass, but she always has a cross around her neck. I wish she would come with me to church, just once. They have a new priest-in-training, and Father lets him say the masses. He used to be in the Marines. Everyone knew that part about him before he told us. You could just tell by the way he walked, which words he chose to emphasize when he spoke, the look in his eyes when he spoke at all. The man was crazy, and all he could do was go on and on about the Old Testament. You know, the one where God hates everyone and everything. The one where he smites us by making us live. This new guy is making me hate God.

The bills! I forgot to mail the payment for the utilities! Geez, they were already like two weeks late. My head has just been so gone; I can’t focus. So many problems have just popped up at once.

I forgot to pay the bills, I hate the Roman Catholic Church, I can’t connect with my girlfriend, I have no job, I hate this town, and it is fucking freezing.

We need to get out. We need to go somewhere far. Coast City is pretty cheap… Maybe we should go visit Jen’s parents out in Bergen County… wait, no. Fuck no; she hates them. I know that. Why didn’t I know that?

But Jersey does sound like a good idea. We need to get out of here, out of Pennsylvania. We need to go somewhere bright and vibrant.

I remember when I was a kid, my parents used to always go to Atlantic City. That place was so grand and alive. Beautiful people watching beautiful people toss away chips and sip their drinks. I haven’t a drink is a month now. Yeah, we should go. Atlantic City isn’t too far. We could both use some fun in our lives. Besides, I want to be gone when the paper realizes that I took some money. Oh, the phone…

…that was Johnny. He says somebody nailed the “Chicken Man.” He thought he was hot shit, and now he’s blown to exactly that.

Johnny is kind of a weird guy. He used to give me extra tips whenever I stopped by his office building with the paper. He says us Italians need to stick together, whatever that means. I’m an American, man. So were my father and his father. I’m sick of all this race bullshit. Skin color doesn’t matter, because I get discriminated against because of my wealth, not my race. Besides, what’s so great about being Italian? The last time we were important, we were tossing Christians to lions.

So Johnny wants to know if I would be willing to a “little favor for him.” Guy is real shady, but he kept talking about how much he was gonna pay me… shit, he is going to give me a lot of money for whatever it is he wants done. I could pay off all of the bills, maybe take Jenny out a couple times. Shit, we could maybe even be a romantic couple again.

Jenny seems interested in going to Atlantic City. She smiled at the idea, at least. I missed that. I miss feeling like we’re soul mates and that we could have kids together, maybe even grow old and die together. To die with the woman you love… seems rather romantic.

The folks at the paper definitely know about the mone.

Jenny looks so good in those stockings. Some women just are meant to dress beautifully, and Jenny is one of those women. She could live somewhere really fancy if she wanted to, maybe out in Ambler or something… but she stays with me. Some people are just too stubborn to leave. God, I love her for that.

We are going to be the two most beautiful people in Atlantic City. We are gonna drink, and we are gonna dance. Heh, Jenny is gonna wear her hair up, maybe style it a little bit. We’ll find a cheap motel and get changed into someone else. We’ll become beautiful, happy people. We’ll be happy. Happy. Haha.

Here she comes, and she is divine. I don’t care about the bills or the Roman Catholic Church, I love my girlfriend, I have a job to do, I’ve already forgotten this town, and the weather doesn’t matter. Right now, I don’t care about money or death. Everything dies, that’s a fact. But maybe everything someday comes back.”

"i was raised on pop punk, so you know it's bad when i think its derivative."

Hey, remember the 80s? What’s that, you weren’t even born until ’86? Well now it doesn’t even matter, thanks to bands like Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, and the Killers! I don’t know how it happened, but it seems that oft-mocked decade has suddenly become “hip” and/or “cool” again.
The music that will always be remembered from the 80s is also the most easily parodied, and that is of course pop music (or, if you prefer, “new wave”, whatever the heck that was). Alternative, metal, hardcore, and goth all went through lush creative periods during the 80s. But they all take a backseat to the Diabetes inducing powers of pop music. The bad hair, the bad clothes, and the horrible songs will always be remembered. I remember listening to a lot of ABC, Berlin, and Soft Cell with my friends in high school, but it was always on a pseudo-ironic level. ABC’s “The Look of Love” is such a horribly goofy song, complete with spoken word breakdown, that it demands repeated listening. This song puts anything William Hung ever performed to worse shame. Of course, bit by bit, my 80s pop sugar intake became less and less ironic. Songs like “I Ran” by Flock of Seagulls or “Hungry Like the Wolf” are fun, carefree, and occasionally sexy (especially if you’re listening to a song by the almighty Prince).
While I know quite a few people who have also gone on to really, really enjoy the likes of Rick Springfield and Cyndi Lauper, it still seems bizarre to me that this kind of music is suddenly being recreated. The later 90s were saturated with lame boy band/solo girl pop crap. When punk, emo, and indie became “cool”, I thought that maybe pop music would go away again. I was wrong.
While many people seem to enjoy Franz Ferdinand and the Killers, I myself do not. Granted, the Killers wrote a song that I do enjoy quite thoroughly (“Mr. Brightside”), but then again, so did A-ha (“Take On Me”). Everyone has the potential to write at least one good song. But making a good album is another thing. As for the almighty Franz, I have to be honest: I think that they are boring and incredibly overrated. But whenever one of their songs is played, I still end up listening. I don’t like the band, but their lyrics and posturing are so easy to mock that they become enjoyable for me. But it doesn’t matter to them if I like them legitimately or ironically, because either way I’m still listening.
This is essentially the danger of irony: by enjoying something that you consider “bad” on an ironic level, you basically concede that you secretly like it legitimately. Eventually you break down and admit it. My cousin Dana is about ten years old now. She’ll be just around the right age to enjoy *N’Sync on an ironic level in about ten years. Crap.