Pop Don't Preach
Written by Joshua Simon
When I was a kid growing up under the church, there was just 2 kinds of music,
Sunday school music and secular music.
The lines between genres were never really clear to me until later on.
So I guess you can say yes, Jesus found me
…But the Spice Girls were not far behind.
Pop raised me up, and out.
Some kids were raised by the heavy metal bands and the smell of guitar polish.
The funny thing was that my family only realized the existence of Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon way later, we subscribed to those channels when I was like 13 or 14.
But before that, at 6 years old, I had…MTV.
From the flashy music videos to the countless awards shows starting up and raving audiences, pop music was everything and everywhere.
It had begun absorbing little bits and dits from the Hip Hop genre, to the Rock Genre.
It was borrowing elements from every kind of popular sound, and revamping it tenfold, for a much bigger community.
It is tempting to confuse Pop music with, ‘popular’ music, but it came to exist near around the 1950s, when artistes started releasing tunes to evolve out and away from the then-revolutionary, rock and roll season.
Music Television used to be pretty much, ‘Rock TV’.
And over the years you can trace the shift of hands, like to the hip hop community at one point, but Pop music by then had pretty much deaded the old MTV.
In other words, you’d be able to find Britney Spears back to back with a Daft Punk music video, then to a Busta Rhymes video, but you won’t see AC/DC come near that playlist.
Pop music suddenly had this identity and as you may guess, made a few enemies too.
I never understood that exclusivity.
A lot of people just…slam the pop genre on their day to day conversation, commonly calling it ‘music for the braindead’. But those same people, have a Kylie and Prince record on their CD shelf. Then when you catch them, they’d say ‘hey it’s just guilty pleasure’.
I love how fans of the Rock genre are so sensitive and proud of the music they listen to—actually they don’t need my love—the rock family is more than happy being oh so fearless.
We all know a someone in our social circle that wears the black band print T-shirts and is finger friendly every time he plugs in a bass. Yet millions and millions of more people subscribe to Pop music every day, request it, vote and buy all that merchandising that come with it, but aren’t strong advocates of what they listen to. I really want to see a change in that.
I will not apologize for my indulgence in Pop, where’s my parade?
Growing up influenced by the world of pop, heck it even taught me how to speak, like this is weird but since a very young age, I could do a British accent, American accent, African American accent from just the stuff I watched on TV.
That was my exposure for me, my playtime. The reason why I don’t really use singlish a lot is because, I wasn’t often meeting up with the other kids to ‘reauthorize’ the way I’m supposed to sound.
Music taught me how to spell. No kidding.
I would visit the CD stores and memorize as many artistes and their albums and singles, just for fun.
MTV taught me how to sing, how to dance.
I’d pause and play ‘till I picked up Michael Jackson’s dance choreography.
I would tape record Janet’s performances and pick up moves as well.
Kids around me played with toy cars then, I couldn’t care less, I was turning shampoo bottles into microphones and… practice hosting the Video Music Awards.
That was my childhood, that was my school I wasn’t enrolled for.
Is pop music a genre with the verse-to-verse and chorus-over-chorus structure?
Is it a bunch of superficial artistes singing about how hot they look, how warm the summer is, how good they are in bed and how we all ought to hit the clubs as much as we shower?
Or hey, does it contain subliminal messages, and metaphorical references to other issues not crystal clear until reviewed under close observation?
Is this new thing I’m hearing, about pop music being all about mind control and its links to Satanism true?
There are so many questions we have about Pop music.
As much as I’d love to get a go and start answering questions, I’ll let the music do the talking.
We’ve heard so many pop songs, without ever, really listening to it.
Like the jungle book, I was raised by a bunch of wolves.
From Madonna to Gaga, pop music has never failed to capture and ensnare my senses and emotions. I can’t keep still when I hear a good pop record. I can’t fake a smile, when I hear my favorite song. I’m. Not the only one.
In this website, I will be the writer updating you with what’s new today and what’s coming tomorrow. I’ll educate you on the classics you ought to know, to better work your taste buds. You will get to hear a universal sound as well, with songs from all around the world. All the while, tackling the many questions we have about the genre and invite you in to share your thoughts and opinions.
You won’t look at music the same way.
Pop Pride begins today.
When I was a kid growing up under the church, there was just 2 kinds of music,
Sunday school music and secular music.
The lines between genres were never really clear to me until later on.
So I guess you can say yes, Jesus found me
…But the Spice Girls were not far behind.
Pop raised me up, and out.
Some kids were raised by the heavy metal bands and the smell of guitar polish.
The funny thing was that my family only realized the existence of Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon way later, we subscribed to those channels when I was like 13 or 14.
But before that, at 6 years old, I had…MTV.
From the flashy music videos to the countless awards shows starting up and raving audiences, pop music was everything and everywhere.
It had begun absorbing little bits and dits from the Hip Hop genre, to the Rock Genre.
It was borrowing elements from every kind of popular sound, and revamping it tenfold, for a much bigger community.
It is tempting to confuse Pop music with, ‘popular’ music, but it came to exist near around the 1950s, when artistes started releasing tunes to evolve out and away from the then-revolutionary, rock and roll season.
Music Television used to be pretty much, ‘Rock TV’.
And over the years you can trace the shift of hands, like to the hip hop community at one point, but Pop music by then had pretty much deaded the old MTV.
In other words, you’d be able to find Britney Spears back to back with a Daft Punk music video, then to a Busta Rhymes video, but you won’t see AC/DC come near that playlist.
Pop music suddenly had this identity and as you may guess, made a few enemies too.
I never understood that exclusivity.
A lot of people just…slam the pop genre on their day to day conversation, commonly calling it ‘music for the braindead’. But those same people, have a Kylie and Prince record on their CD shelf. Then when you catch them, they’d say ‘hey it’s just guilty pleasure’.
I love how fans of the Rock genre are so sensitive and proud of the music they listen to—actually they don’t need my love—the rock family is more than happy being oh so fearless.
We all know a someone in our social circle that wears the black band print T-shirts and is finger friendly every time he plugs in a bass. Yet millions and millions of more people subscribe to Pop music every day, request it, vote and buy all that merchandising that come with it, but aren’t strong advocates of what they listen to. I really want to see a change in that.
I will not apologize for my indulgence in Pop, where’s my parade?
Growing up influenced by the world of pop, heck it even taught me how to speak, like this is weird but since a very young age, I could do a British accent, American accent, African American accent from just the stuff I watched on TV.
That was my exposure for me, my playtime. The reason why I don’t really use singlish a lot is because, I wasn’t often meeting up with the other kids to ‘reauthorize’ the way I’m supposed to sound.
Music taught me how to spell. No kidding.
I would visit the CD stores and memorize as many artistes and their albums and singles, just for fun.
MTV taught me how to sing, how to dance.
I’d pause and play ‘till I picked up Michael Jackson’s dance choreography.
I would tape record Janet’s performances and pick up moves as well.
Kids around me played with toy cars then, I couldn’t care less, I was turning shampoo bottles into microphones and… practice hosting the Video Music Awards.
That was my childhood, that was my school I wasn’t enrolled for.
Is pop music a genre with the verse-to-verse and chorus-over-chorus structure?
Is it a bunch of superficial artistes singing about how hot they look, how warm the summer is, how good they are in bed and how we all ought to hit the clubs as much as we shower?
Or hey, does it contain subliminal messages, and metaphorical references to other issues not crystal clear until reviewed under close observation?
Is this new thing I’m hearing, about pop music being all about mind control and its links to Satanism true?
There are so many questions we have about Pop music.
As much as I’d love to get a go and start answering questions, I’ll let the music do the talking.
We’ve heard so many pop songs, without ever, really listening to it.
Like the jungle book, I was raised by a bunch of wolves.
From Madonna to Gaga, pop music has never failed to capture and ensnare my senses and emotions. I can’t keep still when I hear a good pop record. I can’t fake a smile, when I hear my favorite song. I’m. Not the only one.
In this website, I will be the writer updating you with what’s new today and what’s coming tomorrow. I’ll educate you on the classics you ought to know, to better work your taste buds. You will get to hear a universal sound as well, with songs from all around the world. All the while, tackling the many questions we have about the genre and invite you in to share your thoughts and opinions.
You won’t look at music the same way.
Pop Pride begins today.
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