The End Of Pop

What is pop?

Not generally believing in categories, I'm not sure what is considered pop. I thought pop was short for popular, no? I don't know that it matters terribly, but we should get our words straight.

Does it have to do with when something is popular? If a release is widely popular when it's first released, is it pop? If a release becomes popular over time, is it not pop?

Or does it have to do with the perception that a release is meant to capitalize on the style of music that is currently popular?

Or is it just the style of the music or theme of the lyric?

The folks at Wikipedia seem to have difficulty nailing it down too, talking about how the meaning's changed and how it refers to the musical structure, the themes of the songs, the intent of the musicians, and the commercial and critical success of the release. Yikes. Even Wikipedia's editors are looking for someone to do some "cleanup" on the article. And popular music, which is distinguished from pop music, appears to be about as vague.

Maybe we should throw pop away.

No no, the word, not the music.

What do you think?

Peace.

Kate Bush 09/16/08

15 From Across The Pond

Since The Beatles have had the biggest impact on my musical taste, it's natural that I like any decent Brit pop, prog rock or metal. Getting to see the Verve in London is going to be extraordinary for my wife and I. It seems that most of the music I've listened to over and over, especially recently, is from the UK:

The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
Queen
Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Pink Floyd
Genesis
10cc
Nick Drake
Oasis
The Verve
Stereophonics
Gomez
Kasabian
Arctic Monkeys

A couple people have suggested I paint Nick Drake, so if anybody happens to have an LP of his on vinyl that they're looking to get rid of, please let me know, ;) Right. Sure. But here's hoping! If you want to see more of what I do with old LPs, scan through more of my blog and also:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

I'm not adverse to shipping oversees either. UK galleries particularly seem very hip.

Freddie Mercury 09/27/07