‘Pop’ still means ‘Popular’, right?

American Idol. Admit it, you’ve watched it. Whether it’s the nails-on-the-chalkboard voices and the camera-pandering gimmick vocalists of the early season episodes, or the harsh criticism of the more polished performances later on, some part of the show appeals to us.

Those who become regular watchers immediately become attached to a contestant and cheer or jeer each performance, each misstep and each weekly vote that threatens to oust their favorite back into reality and a 9-5. Mercury News polled readers on their thoughts of the most recent departed Idol, Michael Johns, and the recurring theme of comments was best summarized by one reader:

“How do you handicap this thing? America’s voting has been too often nonsensical.” – Rob Miller, 46

The funny thing about that sentiment is that apparently everyone has lost track of what Pop music (and American Idol) really is. Wikipedia defines pop music as:

“…not a particular genre or style of music, simply that which is the most popular for the tracked period of time. Most commercial music of any genre is composed with deliberate intent to appeal to the majority of its contemporaries, but, unless extremely popular in its own genre, it must to appeal to a wider audience to appear on the Pop charts.”

Pop music generates lots of cash by superficially appealing to a large, general demographic. If America has just neglected to vote for a certain performer and guaranteed their exit from the show, America has just defined the new popular vote. How can the popular vote be ‘nonsensical’ when it is the very definition of how pop music is to be judged?

Feeling frustrated by the choices of your fellow population is the first step in the realization that pop music is no good. Seriously. Even Wikipedia’s definition of pop music inherently admits that it doesn’t even have to be well-written, skillfully played or orchestrated. It’s just slightly appealing to a very large group. A very large group that knows absolutely nothing about music.

That said, here are some bands that are not overwhelming popular in the majority but play really good music:

• KUMI – This is the real stretch. You have not heard of them. You may not like them at first. Keep listening. Here. There’s another song here, low quality.
• Dave Barnes – Popularity is relative, as many of you will call me crazy for Dave not being popular. He is well-liked, but not well-exposed quite yet. Listen here. I highly recommend “Until You” and “Grace’s Amazing Hands”.
  
• Travis – Only one song (that I’m aware of) has made it to a music video, and that was years ago. Again, semi-well known, but never the popular vote. Hear them. “Sing, Sing, Sing”, “Safe” and “Side” are good picks, and yes, they have songs that don’t start with “S”.
  
• What Made Milwaukee Famous - Yes, that’s a real band. Local Austin. Clips here. I recommend “Sultan”, “Sweet Lady”, and “The Jeopardy of Contentment”.