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You wanna know how I know you're gay...you don't like Katy Perry...
CF hit the nail on the head. I'm sure 5/10/15/20/25+ years ago there was someone else ambling around spouting the same bull that midnightpulp is today.
We cannot even imagine what type of stuff there is going to be in 5 years to compare to the that is out there today. You just have to grin and bear it or might I even suggest enjoy it for a split second. I eagerly admit that yes, I have seen Twilight and New Moon but have yet to see Eclipse but will soon. And I sing along karaoke style to Katy Perry songs. I "like" things on facebook at an excess rate to increase my chances of winning things. I have a twitter account....I blog every once in a while.
But, in 5 years will this be the "cool" thing to do? Maybe, maybe not.
Am I going to hide my excess love for an occasional Justin Beiber song? Naw. Because it's funny that I kind of like that damn "Baby, Baby, Baby" song. It's called "popular" culture for a reason. Because it's "popular. "
No one is forcing you to like it, and go right ahead and about it, but I'll continue to roll my eyes at you because the second you proclaim something as awesome is the second it also becomes popular. Remember when Blink 182, koRn and Limp Bizkit weren't pop in the late 90s? Then tons of people decided they were cool and they were "pop." It's just a cycle. And we live in in.
You wanna know how I know you're gay...you don't like Katy Perry...
Last edited by fraga; 07-02-2010 at 10:30 AM.
Of course all this crap is more accessible now it is called progress and the internet and tv have made it more accessible than before. I agree though that crap and popular bs has always been around but if you don't watch much tv, movies or internet you can isolate yourself from all of it. It really isn't that hard. I still don't see what all the hype about Avatar was for either. I couldn't escape all the hype.
movie insults are timeless though
Blink 182 was always pop except in the very beginning before Travis Barker, Korn was never considered pop, and neither was Limp Bizkit (pretty sure to anyone with a brain that was considered hot garbage).
Just sayin'.
Just found my new sig......
Were they not on TRL back in the day? Anything that was on TRL is pop in my eyes.
Last edited by ashbeeigh; 07-02-2010 at 11:54 AM. Reason: fixed the grammar
I do find Katy Perry hot.
You wanna know how I know you're gay...you don't like Katy Perry...
But her looks have nothing to do with the irrefutable fact that she's a talentless hack.
give it up chalupa
I just don't get why people get so torqued about this stuff. I live in the same country and I have absolutely no problem escaping it. Mostly I just ignore it.
Except for movies on IFC and Turner Classic Movies, and basketball, my televsion is on about an hour per day. I don't watch any reality tv, compe ions, or "dramas". Sure if I hear something by word of mouth that interests me I'll check it out usually online. Read all my news online too. I don't listen to hype about movies and wait for their release. I just catch them after the fact if they seem interesting to me.
And as far as music goes, the only way I know what is popular right now is from what you guys write here. I honestly can't say I'm aware of any of the music by any artists that have been mentioned here so far. I listen to a little radio with my kids, but mostly it's just on for NPR. I have Sirius, and I know what I like so that's what I listen to. I find new music thru World Cafe and I download only from a site that features independent music labels. I just find what sounds good to me.
I read and listen to a lot of book reviews and then decide what sounds interesting. I go to bookstores and explore the shelves, not head straight for the bestsellers rack. There's tons of books out there that are interesting to me.
What the masses buy/consume makes no difference to me. I don't care if everyone doesn't "think outside the box". As long as I "think outside the box", the money driven, commercial hype has no effect on me, at all.
I see many of your points, and agree that the self control is getting worse and not better as the generations pass, but you are either part of the solution or part of the problem. If you yourself indulge in these 'guilty pleasures' as you so accurately called them, then you are not part of the solution.
Yes, moderation is the key for unhealthy things that we take pleasure in from time to time.
But the fact that you admit in your second post that you see 'Nothing wrong with "low-brow" fare.' is the foundation of the larger problem altogether.
We know each generation is going to push the limits farther and farther as we grow more and more out of self-control.
The nature of the beast, so to speak.
However, if we don't recognize what is destructive to us in the long haul, and imbibe in these spoon fed bad behaviors, irregardless of moderation, then again, we are at a root cause for some major societal problems. Do not expect for others to show self-control and restraint when we don't do it ourselves.
Zero tolerance for destructive 'pleasures' should be the rule.
I enjoyed kick-ass the first couple of times I saw it. But I changed. I wanted my friend to see it recently, so I put it on, and it was just different. I no longer receive any pleasure for 'cool killing action sequences'. What is so cool about it? A child murdering in the name of justice? It's sick. I won't watch that movie again.
Good topic though. Good luck to you.
Of course there was. I was spouting off "bull " 10 years ago about how terrible Limp Bizkit and the whole rap-metal movement was.
Liking "crap" is not unique to today's consumers. Mainstream consumers have always liked content that is easily accessible. My contention is that said consumers are lazier and more intellectually apathetic than ever before and the crap they consume is worse than ever before.
Agree or disagree?
Blaming pop culture for being popular proves you're not as insightful as you think. For example, why use the Beatles as a way to prove your point? That's a timeless band, and there's timeless groups like them in every era. There were ty bands back then, too, that did well on the charts.
I don't think I necessarily blamed pop-culture.
Why not use the Beatles to prove my point? They were the dominant trend of their time. Now compare them to the dominant trends of today and you'll grasp my point.
No, disagree. I just think you're noticing today's crap because it's today not yesterday or tomorrow's crap.
It makes it sound that just because I enjoy crap I am lazy or less intellectual because of it and I disagree. I guarantee you that there are people of high IQ's and education who enjoy crap to just get away and enjoy it and not have to think so much about it. I don't just watch crap all the time. And to think that one is more intellectual and not lazy just because they find themselves above all the so called crap is just a bunch of crap to me.
We've already had this discussion. I have no issues with the enjoyment of "crap." Like I said, I'm a big wrestling fan and some of the movies I like would make Twilight look like the greatest film of all time by comparison.
My issue is with the people who "watch crap all the time" and have no interest in expanding their horizons, which seems to be the mentality that most of today's consumers have.
This is no jab at yourself JoeChalupa, but more a general statement of our state of affairs.
There is absolutely nothing intellectual about 'enjoying crap'.
It can be watched, studied, evaluated for it's good and bad points.
But 'crap' is 'crap' at the end of the day.
To derive pleasure from 'crap' means something is wrong with our perspectives.
Laziness is another topic, however I can see how it relates. If we accept the 'crap' that is served to us on television and do not seek out value added television, entertainment, what have you, then that could be attributed to laziness, but more likely apathy is the more accurate description of the problem.
We'll just have to agree to disagree then.
I find 80s pop infinitely better than today's pop. Catchier hooks and melodies, and better produced. And I'm trying to be objective here and not let bias or nostalgia color my perspective.
The use of autotune has removed all integrity and merit from today's pop music, giving it a hollow and artificial sound. Do the comparison yourself. Play a GoGos record and a Lady Gaga record back to back and you'll see what I mean. Or compare the ringtone rap of someone like Souja Boy with a truly forgettable rapper like Young MC.
If you still think yesterday's pop/crap is no better than today's pop/crap, I'm not sure what to say about your taste.
Well how do we actually know who is watching crap all the time and have no interest in expanding their horizons? We know the numbers of people who are suc bing to some of the crap because those who produce it count them and tell us a thousand times in a thousand different ways. But who is counting the numbers of people who don't suc b? And of those who do get counted amongst the masses, how is it known if they are constant feeders or someone like yourself who occasionally give in to a guilty pleasure (ie wrestling, movies that would make Twilight look the greatest film of all time)? Would it be fair to label all of them as having no interest in expanding their horizons? It just seems to me that you may one of the ones falling for the hype.
it's one thing to be new edgy or different. It's completely something else when you have stupid people united in their celebration of stupid
Here is one of Debbie Gibson's greatest songs.
Someone feel free to post one Katy Perry's best for comparison.
I make no judgment of which is better, but am interested in what Katy fans think her best is.
Fair point. But the evidence of what consumers are truly interested in is all around us. Nielsen ratings, Billboard charts, box office receipts, IMDB voter numbers, etc.
What those numbers tell me is that people are more of the "constant feeder" variety than of the "guilty pleasure" variety.
In the 80's there was ty synthpop. In the late 90's and and even to date there has been ty Nu-Metal. It's not like this is some recent thing, OP.
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