Talkin' 'Bout Pop Music
 
It baffles me that “Walking with a Ghost” by Tegan and Sara is not a huge pop hit. Now, I’m not gonna try to claim that I have a real “pop sensibility" -- in fact, most of my favorite artists are not the popular types. Furthermore, I’m not saying that this is the greatest song ever, or even the best single out right now (although I do really like it). It just seems like the kind of song that should appeal to a broad enough audience to be considered a “hit." And maybe it will, given a little more time... but it probably won’t. Besides reinforcing the fact that pop music is undemocratic, it makes me wonder exactly what pop music is.
 
To understand what pop is, we have to distinguish between the terms "pop" and "popular." Popular is, to a certain extent, an objective term. Obviously, if something sells a lot, is on the radio a bunch, and is generally known by most people (or at least people that are somewhat aware of popular culture, i.e. not my Dad), it can safely be considered “popular." This is not a mark of quality. And I mean that both ways: U2 and Jay-Z are definitely popular, and the quality of their work is generally considered pretty high, but then again,  “The Macarena” was also popular.
 
“Pop” however, is a little more sketchy. My definition of pop is something that sounds at least vaguely happy and makes me want to sing along. “Whoa Whoa Whoa” choruses go a long way to achieving this, as do guitar solos that mimic the melody of the song. Somewhere along the way, however, it was decided that it is not cool for rock musicians to write pop songs, so it’s generally called “power pop” -- which is basically pop songs with guitars, so we’ll ignore that term. Some pop groups are actually popular (like the Cars or Weezer), while others, poppy as they may be, are not. This is where the question of real importance -- the Tegan and Sara question -- comes into play.
 
So, why is this particular pop song not popular? Again, it could be the fault of the sham that is the music industry. But in this case, the artists are on an indie label, not one of the majors, so it’s a safe bet that commercial sales is not the goal of the album (which sounds like such an obvious statement, until you really think about it). But let’s say that they were on a major label, and had all of the powers of the promotions department backing them up. Would the song be a hit then? If instead of the “Ashlee Simpson Show” (Ashlee Simpson being the current musical antichrist) we had the “Tegan and Sara Show," would it be a hit then? Would Ashlee Simpson’s audience like real punk rock girls as much as they seem to like fake ones? And that somewhat flip remark begs the real question: Do we, as a culture want our entertainment to be serious?
 
And of course, the answer is yes and no. Again, look at U2 and Jay-Z. Pretty fucking serious. And just as people can’t live on candy alone, we can’t live on vegetables  alone (well, vegans do... but they probably eat candy from time to time, as long as it's not made of animals). We need a mix of the heavy, emotional stuff and the lite, fluffy stuff to stay balanced. So what am I saying? If I’m saying “pop” music is cool, and that it’s cool for that pop music to be popular, what am I bitching about? What do I want? Quality. Authenticity. The goal of music, before it was to sell records and place products, was to express things that are worth expressing. So happiness and liteness and fun are valid things to be expressed. I just want it to be an honest exchange. I want to know that the message being conveyed is just that, a message -- not a manipulation designed to get me fork over my money or attention. Because that is essentially pornography -- or more aptly, like going to a strip club. It is designed to evoke a strong emotional response and suck the money out of your wallet. The thing is, in the strip club, at least both the parties involved know it is artificial. Bad pop music is like sex with a prostitute who you think you love, whereas good pop music is like sex with someone you love and who loves you back. You may never know the difference, but one is meaningful and one is ultimately a hollow act.

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Anthony Eldridge is the footnote's resident guru of the culture of music. Drop him a line and share your thoughts.