I was having lunch with some early 50's friends and I mentioned I'd seen the Lisa movie "Always Lalisa" the night before. They didn't know who she was. I tell them she's in Blackpink. Turns out they never heard of Blackpink either. Is that normal? I wondered how anyone under the age of senior citizen could have not heard of Blackpink.

I don't have my finger on the pulse of the current music scene, but I was thinking I've at least heard of the biggest current acts. I asked AI for a list of 10 huge artists that I might be unaware of. Turns out I only knew 5 of them.

The 5 I know: Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Travis Scott, Dua Lipa, Post Malone. I've been aware of all these artists for several years.

The 5 I never heard of: Tame Impala, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, The 1975, Greta van Fleet, Fred Again. Are these five really that big with a worldwide audience on the level of a Blackpink? Are any of these an artist where you'd exclaim "you never heard of xxx?!" Or are they more niche and maybe not a good example on par with the five that I knew?

I consider myself an avid music lover across a ton of genres from raw punk, rock to psych, lo-fi, and older hip-hop (to name a few) I’m usually the last person to judge what other people listen to, or hate on an artist's success. Music is subjective, and I almost always find something to appreciate, even in genres I don't personally listen to. The wave around artists like Nettspend is one of the few times where I genuinely catch myself judging it, and I want to understand if I'm missing something structural or cultural.
Coming from a punk scene in DC, I completely respect noise, anti commercialism, maybe slurred types of delivery, and breaking traditional rules. But this micro underground/jerk scene doesn't feel like rebellious “anti music” to me. it feels like hyper consumerist, corporate backed nihilism. It’s off rhythm vocals over heavily distorted beats, glorifying lean, pills, and high end fashion, driven by algorithm pushes.

For people who fw this sound:
Is this strictly a beat/vibe first genre where the vocals just act as an extra texture rather than a lyric or melody?

Is this just the latest iteration of generational rebellion, or is it a manufactured aesthetic?

Genuinely curious to hear perspectives from both fans and fellow listeners who feel the same confusion.
At the end of the day I guess I’m just trying to understand.

Would anyone be interested in a new subreddit that exists purely to categorically add names of AI music generating fraudsters, so as to battle against these cretins and keep music creative and real?

I would certainly join, but not sure I would like to start it myself because being a 'mod' really isn't my bag.

I worry that too many untalented cretins will soon be over saturating our aural space, and must be held accountable.

I am a guitarist that grew up loving rock and metal music, especially if the music was progressive. In college, I studied classical guitar. In the past month or so, I’ve been going to jazz open jams, which has inspired me to learn and play more jazz.

I feel like a lot of my music professors and fellow students viewed classical music and jazz music as much more difficult than any other genre. I would argue that the genres aren’t necessarily equal, but each one comes with its own unique challenges.

Classical music has more dynamics than punk rock (usually). Jazz music has more complex harmony than metal (usually). Sometimes, the strengths of a genre are hard to find. I used to think rap music didn’t have many talented musicians. A lot of rappers have great language skills, using complex rhyming, word play, etc. Many rappers also have great control of their voice, the diction, and the rhythm. Also, as someone who has had to record rappers and classical music, rap is harder to produce (in my humble opinion).

Classical singers don’t use Autotune in the studio, but the intensity of a good rock singer is notable. Singers like Robert Plant and Mike Patton have great tone, great range, and are greatly expressive. I’d also argue that most rock singers write their own lyrics. Artists like Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd wrote amazing lyrics with all sorts of literary devices. A classical performer is probably singing someone else’s lyrics.

Technical death metal bands have to play fast music that requires a lot of endurance, an understanding of scales/modes, and an understanding of various time signatures. Pop artists might not have to worry about those aspects of music, but the production can be so intricate. Sometimes, a great amount of musicians are needed to make a hit song. “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X needed many producers/musician.

Like I said, each genre comes with unique challenges. It’s easy to say your preferred genre is superior, but I’d argue that’s shallow thinking.

Ok they could kinda sorta be described as nepo babies, although the dad is not a huge star or anything (he’s a producer in music biz). But they don’t seem “manufactured.” These kids have real talent and a passion for the music. At least that’s how they strike me.

Are they “pop?” Not exactly. Some of the songs have a mediocre teenage angst aspect to the lyrics, while others are obviously political. On the latest album, some seem to have double entendres, and could be taken as political.

Anyway, Hayley Williams likes them (a couple of collabs) and so do I. So … guilty as charged I guess.

The question I want to raise in this post first occurred to me when I first started approaching people at my University regarding their taste in music. I was somewhat surprised by how often people recommended favourite albums to me instead of individual songs. I have always unconsciously approached music on a song-by-song basis; it is a semi-rare occurrence for more than 2 songs from the same album to make an appearance in my playlists.

So to discover that many people will listen to entire albums from artists was somewhat of a surprise, to say the least.

This discovery raised a number of questions in my head regarding the nature of albums. Do albums play a meaningful role in how an artist's music is listened to and interpreted, or do they simply serve as the packaging in which said music is delivered? Perhaps the purpose served by albums differs by artist; for fans of large pop icons like Taylor Swift, a new album is something to be anticipated and, when it arrives, celebrated or sometimes decried. In any respect, this could create the interpretation of an album simply serving as the delivery vehicle through which anticipation is built, and her new songs are released to fans.

However, I have also heard that Albums are more thematically and conceptually focused groupings of similar songs; this raises the question as to whether these artists intend for their songs to be listened to in groups and whether this method improves the overall impact of the music.

I apologize if this post has come across as being somewhat rambling, and I would be interested in knowing what purpose, if any, you think the concept of the album serves in the world of music.