There are a few big problems with a lot of what currently passes for popular music.
1. Too many "musicians" prefer to copy, rather than create. The plagiarism laws that surrounded George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" have disappeared to the point that every "hook" or bass line is fair game.
2. Musicianship is almost nonexistent. When was the last time you heard a song with a great bass line or a killer guitar solo? One can argue its value, but remember when they used to do actual polls about who was the best guitarist or drummer? Whether it was Rolling Stone or Playboy. Today we would be polling to see with company makes the best drum machine.
3. Literacy has deteriorated to a point that many people do not possess a vocabulary that contains enough words to create engaging lyrics. "Like I met this girl and like I think she's hot and like I want to bounce her booty."
4. Basic song structure consists of an intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge. Song structure has now been supplanted by repetitive crap. Songs used to be like musical movies. Like poetry set to music. The Beatles "A Day in a Life". Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". Bob Dylan's "A Simple Twist of Fate". Al Stewart's "Road to Moscow". Songs should take you on an emotional or intellectual journey.
5. Finally. Music has become all about how you look and act, instead of the quality of the music you make. I am old enough to remember a time when you could go weeks before you saw a picture of the band who's song you loved. Would Taylor Swift, Beyonce or Katy Perry be recording stars if they looked like Janis Joplin or Geddy Lee?
