Top 40 songs have always sounded like every other Top 40 song that's on the top 40 list with them. That's sort of the whole point. It was like that long, long before "American Idol" and it will be like that long, long after it. But don't worry, you can still demonstrate your intellectual superiority and uncanny level of sophistication and worldly wisdom by just rolling your eyes anytime the show or popular music is mentioned. Remember, the more you say you hate anything popular, the more impressive you are. The more you presume that anyone who likes anything popular is stupid, the wiser and smarter you become. It's sort of like reverse osmosis.

I farking hate American Idol. Anyone who likes it is stupid.

/rolls eyes

Taylor Hicks dropped from his label after one album. Ruben Studdard dropped after two. Twenty bucks says Jordin Sparks doesn't make another without getting dropped. Hell, the most popular AI laum right now finished in, what 8th place?

Popular music has always sounded the same and American Idol has nothing to do with it. Its just a smart way to market mediocre artists.

Yeah, what Fraggler said.

Croooow!: Hell, the most popular AI alum right now finished in, what 8th place?

Carrie Underwood won the whole shebang.

JerseyTim: Carrie Underwood won the whole shebang.

I was talking about Daughtry, who I realize after looking it up got fourth place. He had the fastest selling debut rock album in SoundScan history and it sounds like Nickelback-lite

Pocket Ninja: Top 40 songs have always sounded like every other Top 40 song that's on the top 40 list with them. That's sort of the whole point. It was like that long, long before "American Idol" and it will be like that long, long after it. But don't worry, you can still demonstrate your intellectual superiority and uncanny level of sophistication and worldly wisdom by just rolling your eyes anytime the show or popular music is mentioned. Remember, the more you say you hate anything popular, the more impressive you are. The more you presume that anyone who likes anything popular is stupid, the wiser and smarter you become. It's sort of like reverse osmosis.

When they talk about "pop", they mean the bubble gum pop stuff like Kelly Clarkson type shiat. Not just what happens to be popular at the time.

Yes, the 'Top 40' has always been the same in a given era, in the 90's it was nothing but grunge and gangsta rap, in the 80's it was new wave, 70's it was disco, etc. The argument they are making here is that American Idol has helped bring this brand of music to the forefront. Look at the example of Carrie Underwood, who was a country singer, now she has bubble gum pop hits they play on Radio Disney and Z100. They're not claiming that American Idol has invented pop music, they just shifted the popular taste towards this crap.

onecanshort: They're not claiming that American Idol has invented pop music, they just shifted the popular taste towards this crap.

bs. Britney and NSync and their ilk were in the Top 40 before you had even heard of Kelly Clarkson (and Clarkson has some good tunes, you hater)

American Idol is a symptom of the larger issue that popular music has been on the fast track to crapitude since the early 80's.

Underground music is where it's at, Yo!

onecanshort: When they talk about "pop", they mean the bubble gum pop stuff like Kelly Clarkson type shiat.

When I hear the words "Top 40," I think "pop." As in, "bubble gum pop," aka "Kelly Clarkson type shiat." I've never seen a top 40 list made up of grunge or gangsta rap...it's the mainstream radio stuff, the fluffy rock and roll that was once played on jukeboxes and is now rolled out pre-packaged by MTV. No, American Idol hasn't invented it. But it is what American Idol is looking for.

Croooow!: onecanshort: They're not claiming that American Idol has invented pop music, they just shifted the popular taste towards this crap.

bs. Britney and NSync and their ilk were in the Top 40 before you had even heard of Kelly Clarkson (and Clarkson has some good tunes, you hater)

That was a long time ago though, the charts were taken over by a wave of new hip hop and a new hip hop sytle (reggaton/crunk?) and even a flash of some sort of indie type rock ( "The _____s"). Since AI has come along we've seen a resurgence back towards stuff like Britney and 'Nsync put out.


And c'mon, Kelly Clarkson...good tunes?? To be fair, I've probably only heard that since you've been gone song, but that was more than I could bear.

Most top 40 pop music has sucked the big one long before that overrated piece of shiat...

I thank my lucky stars that American Idol doesn't pick all of the artists. Imagine the following auditioning for Idol:

Jimi Hendrix
Jerry Garcia
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Bob Dylan
Bob Marley

But then, there's always been manufactured pop and real music.

onecanshort: the charts were taken over by a wave of new hip hop and a new hip hop sytle (reggaton/crunk?) and even a flash of some sort of indie type rock ( "The _____s").

Nonsense, it never went away. Show me one year since 1999 without a shiatty pop album in the top 10 albums of the year.

Pocket Ninja: onecanshort: When they talk about "pop", they mean the bubble gum pop stuff like Kelly Clarkson type shiat.

When I hear the words "Top 40," I think "pop." As in, "bubble gum pop," aka "Kelly Clarkson type shiat." I've never seen a top 40 list made up of grunge or gangsta rap...it's the mainstream radio stuff, the fluffy rock and roll that was once played on jukeboxes and is now rolled out pre-packaged by MTV. No, American Idol hasn't invented it. But it is what American Idol is looking for.

Hmm, I always thought the Top 40 was the top selling albums/singles, guess not, I think that's the Top 200?

Croooow!: onecanshort: the charts were taken over by a wave of new hip hop and a new hip hop sytle (reggaton/crunk?) and even a flash of some sort of indie type rock ( "The _____s").

Nonsense, it never went away. Show me one year since 1999 without a shiatty pop album in the top 10 albums of the year.

Oh I'm not saying it went away, it just got a little quieter. Like you mentioned, NSync and Brittney Spears popped up and were HUGE, then they got much less popular, and now, that stuff is gaining back it's lost popularity.

onecanshort: Oh I'm not saying it went away, it just got a little quieter.

granted I haven't listened to the radio in a long while, but I'm pretty sure if you look at the Top 40 charts for each year, you will find that you are wrong.

Croooow!: onecanshort: Oh I'm not saying it went away, it just got a little quieter.

granted I haven't listened to the radio in a long while, but I'm pretty sure if you look at the Top 40 charts for each year, you will find that you are wrong.

Yeah I don't listen to the radio at all, and I'm actually going through the lists now and don't know any of these farking groups.

Like I said, I think I was thinking of the Top 200 which is the album sales one, the Billboard Top 40 is something that combines sales with radio/music video play?

onecanshort: the Billboard Top 40 is something that combines sales with radio/music video play?

I think thats correct, but at the end of the day we are two dudes who never listen to radio arguing about what gets played on the radio so fark it, right?

onecanshort: And c'mon, Kelly Clarkson...good tunes?? To be fair, I've probably only heard that since you've been gone song, but that was more than I could bear.

That's a terrific song. It's really a great pop tune. Ted Leo did a fun cover of it. It's anthemic and fun and much better than it ever had to be.

JerseyTim: That's a terrific song. It's really a great pop tune. Ted Leo did a fun cover of it. It's anthemic and fun and much better than it ever had to be.

THANK YOU

and you haven't lived until you've seen SoonerGrad sing it to a bunch of too-cool-for-school hipsters on karaoke night and the whole friggin place started dancing and going nuts. Everybody likes that song, even if its aginst their will.

Croooow!: Popular music has always sounded the same and American Idol has nothing to do with it. Its just a smart way to market mediocre artists putrid crap.

FTFY

Croooow!: onecanshort: the Billboard Top 40 is something that combines sales with radio/music video play?

I think thats correct, but at the end of the day we are two dudes who never listen to radio arguing about what gets played on the radio so fark it, right?

Haha very true.

Go to this site though, it's funny:

http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/index.htm

farking J-Lo and Christina Aguliera have been making top alubms for like 7 years now, WTF?

Oh, and there's a farking band called "O-Town". That's hilarious.

onecanshort: Oh, and there's a farking band called "O-Town".

yup, they were produced from the reality show "Making The Band" hosted by Puff Daddy.

God Bless America

I'm sorry, I prefer the "Billy Idol" version of radio definition rather than "American Idol".

/My lawn. Get off it.
//Flesh for fantasy...

Croooow!: Taylor Hicks dropped from his label after one album. Ruben Studdard dropped after two. Twenty bucks says Jordin Sparks doesn't make another without getting dropped. Hell, the most popular AI laum right now finished in, what 8th place?

Popular music has always sounded the same and American Idol has nothing to do with it. Its just a smart way to market mediocre artists.

American Idol is just today's version of Star Search. And these people are all, more or less, Sam Harris.

American Idol isn't changing what people like, its regurgitating it back to them.

Liquid Dreams was/is comedy gold!

Who listens to radio anymore?

My car came with Sirius, a 6 CD changer, and a hookup for my iPod. I don't need radio.

/though I haven't hooked up Sirius because I can't tell if I can just bounce off my boyfriend's account or not and I don't feel like paying for it.

I just came in to say that Top 40 is crap, people who watch Idol are idiots, and the only good music made since 1972 is played at 3:00 a.m. on college radio.

You know. Just in case no one else mentions it here.

Fluff Girl: I just came in to say that Top 40 is crap, people who watch Idol are idiots, and the only good music made since 1972 is played at 3:00 a.m. on college radio.

You know. Just in case no one else mentions it here.

Can't argue with that.

I'm just trying to wait out the current ascendancy of crappy mindless R&B-style tunes. The next wave of pop fluff has got to be better than that.

If you think all top 40 music sounds the same, you lack the ability to hear and understand music.

onecanshort: Oh, and there's a farking band called "O-Town". That's hilarious.

O-Face was already taken.

Oh, and what Fluff Girl said, almost word for word.

Pocket Ninja: Top 40 songs have always sounded like every other Top 40 song that's on the top 40 list with them. That's sort of the whole point. It was like that long, long before "American Idol" and it will be like that long, long after it. But don't worry, you can still demonstrate your intellectual superiority and uncanny level of sophistication and worldly wisdom by just rolling your eyes anytime the show or popular music is mentioned. Remember, the more you say you hate anything popular, the more impressive you are. The more you presume that anyone who likes anything popular is stupid, the wiser and smarter you become. It's sort of like reverse osmosis.

This

/said far better than i could say it

Atomic Spunk: If you think all top 40 music sounds the same, you lack the ability to hear and understand music.

Oh, do explain the subtle differences of songs by Usher featuring Ludacris and songs by Ludacris featuring Usher.

benlonghair: Jimi Hendrix
Jerry Garcia
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Bob Dylan
Bob Marley

That would be a huge improvement to the show - and everyone on that list except Dylan is dead.
=Smidge=

Boritom: Underground music is where it's at, Yo!

UP WITH MOLE MEN!

I heard the auditioning process is total hell.

Bucky Katt
It's sort of like reverse osmosis.

It's closer to fractional distillation.

Funsucker: American Idol isn't changing what people like, its regurgitating it back to them.

Yup. It's like it's taken all the most generically popular music, put in in a blender, and presto! Pop pablum : easily digestible for many, appears to be vomit to others.

I thought it was Clear Channel.

Meh...I don't like most pop music, but I'm not arrogant enough to say it sucks.

/Dar Williams FTW

Smidge204:
That would be a huge improvement to the show - and everyone on that list except Dylan is dead.

So, it's safe to say that every career on that list is dead.

Dont blame this all on Idol. The standardization of radio started long ago, when radio execs lost their spines and stopped actually programming their stations based on what they knew people wanted and started programming totally based on analysts recommendation. Those analysts claimed they could deliver specific demographics which would allow for higher ad rates.

Nearly all stations hire the same group of analysts which tell all these stations the same thing (regardless any supposed subtle differences in format) so they all end up sounding the same.

Radio execs must be the dumbest people in the world because they've failed to see this fact for 20+ years and still shovel money towards these analysts yet get the same crappy results.

For anyone who cares about this sort of thing, this is a good read:

Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation by Marc Fischer

I listen to bands that don't even exist yet.

Top 40 songs have always sounded like every other Top 40 song that's on the top 40 list with them.

Bull. Lots of different sounds way back when.

Top 40 Hits of March 1975
1 Bay City RollersBye Bye Baby
2 Telly SavalasIf
3 Guys & DollsThere's A Whole Lot Of Loving
4 FoxOnly You Can
5 Steve Harley & Cockney RebelMake Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
6 Moments & WhatnautsGirls
7 Barry WhiteWhat Am I Gonna Do With You
8 MudThe Secrets That You Keep
9 Average White BandPick Up The Pieces
10 KennyFancy Pants
11 Frankie ValliMy Eyes Adored You
12 RubettesI Can Do It
13 DanaPlease Tell Him That I Said Hello
14 Barry ManilowMandy
15 Johnny MathisI'm Stone In Love With You
16 SupertrampDreamer
17 SweetFox On The Run
18 ShowaddywaddySweet Music
19 Duane EddyPlay Me Like You Play Your Guitar
20 GoodiesThe Funky Gibbon / Sick Man Blues
21 Shirley & CompanyShame Shame Shame
22 CarpentersPlease Mr Postman
23 Elton John BandPhiladelphia Freedom
24 Jim GilstrapSwing Your Daddy
25 David BowieYoung Americans
26 SladeHow Does It Feel
27 Gloria GaynorReach Out I'll Be There
28 ShadowsLet Me Be The One
29 Wigan's Chosen FewFootsee
30 Peter ShelleyLove Me Love My Dog
31 Hamilton BohannonSouth African Man
32 Love UnlimitedIt May Be Winter Outside
33 OsmondsHaving A Party
34 Mike ReidThe Ugly Duckling
35 Wigan's OvationSkiing In The Snow
36 Alvin StardustGood Love Can Never Die
37 John LennonNo 9 Dream
38 SyreetaYour Kiss Is Sweet
39 LabelleLady Marmalade
40 Al GreenLOVE

Bucky Katt: Atomic Spunk: If you think all top 40 music sounds the same, you lack the ability to hear and understand music.

Oh, do explain the subtle differences of songs by Usher featuring Ludacris and songs by Ludacris featuring Usher.

If all of the songs in the top 40 were done by either Ludacris or Usher or some combination of the two, you may have a point. Otherwise, stick your hyperbole where the sun don't shine.

I hate it when people dismiss whoe genres of music just on principle or because it would be "uncool" for them to listen to it. I love the Minutemen and the Melvins and Throbbing Gristle as much as the next guy, but I also really like Justin Timberlake, Kylie Minogue, "Toxic" by Britney Spears and a host of other pop music.

Hey, I have a wild idea. If it's good, listen to it. Radical idea, huh? If you like it, you shouldn't be afraid to say so.

After this, music sucked, and it has never recovered.