Pop Tart

Every now and again I come across yet another voice in the wilderness decrying the banality, vulgarity, and general "bad art" of pop music. I can sympathize with that point of view to a point. But I can almost guarantee that anyone who says that has never tried his or her hand at it in a serious way. It is quite an art to write good pop music. To be sure, there is a lot of banality, vulgarity, and "bad art" that is available in the pop music genre, but that's to be expected since pop music by definition. . .or at least, by "market forces". . .is "popular". That is, it gives people what they want and we generally want things that aren't very good for us, if food and sexual practices are indicators at all. But still, I find the "all pop culture is crap" point of view tiresome and suspiciously elitist. Perhaps my opinion is worthless because I'm in a pop band and therefore need to protect my turf. OK, there is probably some of that in my remarks, but let's face it. . .I don't have that big of a turf to protect. I think there is more to my feelings on the subject that that.

For example, one of my favorite pop songs written by a friend of mine, Mike Roe, is Ache Beautiful. It is a deceptively simple melody that is able to carry the grief expressed in that song perfectly. I wish I'd written it! Not really. . .I could never have written that song because it was Mike's to write. That is, his life was the seedbed for that song and it could have only come from his broken life and heart. If I'm attentive at all when I listen to Ache Beautiful, my heart fills and spills over into tears. Every single time. Is it just sentimentality? I don't think so. It just connects with my experience of life. It's a nightingale's song piercing the twilight of paradise lost and it re-connects me to the reality that I am part of a fallen world. It softens my heart, and if I don't get distracted by cheeseburgers or laundry too soon thereafter, it causes me to reflect on things much, much bigger than "me". If that's not good art. . .then I don't know what good art is.