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Severian · 11.16.2016, 10:30 AM

Re: Bruno Mars

Not trying to be a dick here... louder, you know I love you.. but this guy kind of exemplifies everything that depresses me about modern popular music. He's just such a fucking... choad... for lack of a better, smarter word.

There's a tendency in modern pop to use mining from the past as ones only real strategy for making an impression. Like, how the hell did "Uptown Funk" become the biggest song of he decade? It's just a cheap storebought SALAD of pre-fab funk, soul and early hip-hop tropes. Yes, it's catchy. It's also FUCKING TERRIBLE.

Traditionalism can be a great tool in modern music making. When used correctly, and coupled with the right modern -- or better yet, truly novel-- touches, it can really have an impact. This is part of why I love Betoncé's "All Night" so goddamn much. It sounds like the kind of thing you'd hear in a late '60s/early '70s Motown record, but it's got this very modern delivery. It just shines like icking crazy next to most modern pop songs.

Bruno and his lot seem totally content with just being throwbacky. Resistant to evolution. It's a close cousin of the kind of updated traditionalism that Beyoncé (and Kanye and Chance) have used to stand out this year, but it's like it's been casteated... it's missing the ingredient that these other artists have used to make electrifyingly potent music that's both a tribute to their forebears and an unblinking look forward into the unknown.

And the fuck is that guy still doing in that FUCKING hat?! Isn't this his third or fourth album? But still with the hat? I'm guessing that without the hat nobody would recognize him, which means he's doing something wrong. There's a reason why Kanye ditched the polos (and the bow tie, and the tuxedo, and the mirror mask). I guess some "artists" are just totally fine with resisting change on all fronts, but that's never going to be the kind of artist that I dig.

Lady Gaga is stuck too. Stuck in her role as "this generation's Madonna" ... so much so that she is not even that anymore, as Madonna had conquered worlds by her fourth album, and Gaga is fizzling out.

No offense, louder.
Honestly I think I'm just really stoked to have something other than the election to bitch about. Thank you guys for the much needed distraction.

11.16.2016, 10:30 AM	#3460
Severian invito al cielo Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,836	Re: Bruno Mars Not trying to be a dick here... louder, you know I love you.. but this guy kind of exemplifies everything that depresses me about modern popular music. He's just such a fucking... choad... for lack of a better, smarter word. There's a tendency in modern pop to use mining from the past as ones only real strategy for making an impression. Like, how the hell did "Uptown Funk" become the biggest song of he decade? It's just a cheap storebought SALAD of pre-fab funk, soul and early hip-hop tropes. Yes, it's catchy. It's also FUCKING TERRIBLE. Traditionalism can be a great tool in modern music making. When used correctly, and coupled with the right modern -- or better yet, truly novel-- touches, it can really have an impact. This is part of why I love Betoncé's "All Night" so goddamn much. It sounds like the kind of thing you'd hear in a late '60s/early '70s Motown record, but it's got this very modern delivery. It just shines like icking crazy next to most modern pop songs. Bruno and his lot seem totally content with just being throwbacky. Resistant to evolution. It's a close cousin of the kind of updated traditionalism that Beyoncé (and Kanye and Chance) have used to stand out this year, but it's like it's been casteated... it's missing the ingredient that these other artists have used to make electrifyingly potent music that's both a tribute to their forebears and an unblinking look forward into the unknown. And the fuck is that guy still doing in that FUCKING hat?! Isn't this his third or fourth album? But still with the hat? I'm guessing that without the hat nobody would recognize him, which means he's doing something wrong. There's a reason why Kanye ditched the polos (and the bow tie, and the tuxedo, and the mirror mask). I guess some "artists" are just totally fine with resisting change on all fronts, but that's never going to be the kind of artist that I dig. Lady Gaga is stuck too. Stuck in her role as "this generation's Madonna" ... so much so that she is not even that anymore, as Madonna had conquered worlds by her fourth album, and Gaga is fizzling out. No offense, louder. Honestly I think I'm just really stoked to have something other than the election to bitch about. Thank you guys for the much needed distraction.
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