A side quest exploring some 2024 Pop as an exercise in critical listening. Featuring: Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift, Beabadoobee, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande
Thanks for taking the time to delve into these albums. It's quite an undertaking! Most of them I was already familiar with except for Beebabadoobee. When the first track on that album began I immediately thought of Shawn Colvin's "Sunny Came Home." That fell away once the rest of the song developed out though. Based on a sampling of the other tracks, the artist does have some potential. It seems like a really solid album. The other artists all have their merits (I also enjoy Carpenter's Espresso) but, maybe it's my age and gender, after an initial listen or two I lose interest in the albums. It's hard for me to relate. I'm also not a fan of the many artists of late that sing in a whisper. (We may have Eilish to thank for that.) Generally I tend to like more independent pop/rock. There's definitely a lot great pop music out there, it just takes more work to find it.
Any time! It was pretty fun - I didn't find any true favorites, but it definitely addressed the FOMO I was feeling when I didn't know any of the current pop trends. It's not the kind of music I want to hear all the time, but it's fun to pretend I get it :) Like you say, I'm probably not the target audience. That doesn't mean there's not interesting stuff going on though - I think the target audience for much of this music has been hungering for some great pop music that they can relate to
I was pretty ignorant to most of these pop artists outside of Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande until this year. I invited a guest contributor for my Substack a few months ago who explored Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. It was a good way for me to deep dive into both of them. I ended up really appreciating both after spending some time with them. I’m not the intended audience for their songs, but both write super catchy pop songs and also have something to say, so I did appreciate them way more than I expected.
That's very cool! I like to find the genius in things even if I'm not the target audience, sounds like you have the same approach. Plus it's fun to be able to identify things on the radio!
Thanks for taking the time to delve into these albums. It's quite an undertaking! Most of them I was already familiar with except for Beebabadoobee. When the first track on that album began I immediately thought of Shawn Colvin's "Sunny Came Home." That fell away once the rest of the song developed out though. Based on a sampling of the other tracks, the artist does have some potential. It seems like a really solid album. The other artists all have their merits (I also enjoy Carpenter's Espresso) but, maybe it's my age and gender, after an initial listen or two I lose interest in the albums. It's hard for me to relate. I'm also not a fan of the many artists of late that sing in a whisper. (We may have Eilish to thank for that.) Generally I tend to like more independent pop/rock. There's definitely a lot great pop music out there, it just takes more work to find it.
Any time! It was pretty fun - I didn't find any true favorites, but it definitely addressed the FOMO I was feeling when I didn't know any of the current pop trends. It's not the kind of music I want to hear all the time, but it's fun to pretend I get it :) Like you say, I'm probably not the target audience. That doesn't mean there's not interesting stuff going on though - I think the target audience for much of this music has been hungering for some great pop music that they can relate to
I was pretty ignorant to most of these pop artists outside of Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande until this year. I invited a guest contributor for my Substack a few months ago who explored Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan. It was a good way for me to deep dive into both of them. I ended up really appreciating both after spending some time with them. I’m not the intended audience for their songs, but both write super catchy pop songs and also have something to say, so I did appreciate them way more than I expected.
https://open.substack.com/pub/earworm/p/sabrina-carpenter-please-please-please?r=1046qe&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
That's very cool! I like to find the genius in things even if I'm not the target audience, sounds like you have the same approach. Plus it's fun to be able to identify things on the radio!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the current standard bearers of pop music in 2024! :D