(A quick note: I don't listen to popular pop, or much popular music at all for that matter. Most popular music is terrible, but that is a different discussion. )
Anyway, this is my question(s) that I find myself asking myself: how do i tell if music is good and genuine. How do i tell if a certain musician isn't good, or if its just me not liking them.
This question is easily answered with a genre like death metal. I don't listen to it, and i don't like it. Death metal, and metal in general, is an extremely artist-populated genre with a strangely selective fanbase. With any living genre, there are quality artists in it, and I just don't feel qualified to speak good or bad about them; its an untouched genre for me.
Back to the original question: How do i tell if an artist is good? Since the number of types of music i've been listening to as well as my in-depth knowledge has expanded exponentially over the past couple years, I’ve rewritten my concept of music as a whole. I am more knowledgeable of the processes that are involved in music making because of the bands I've been in, so I no longer have the perspective of the "average listener". I think about the production, the different musicians involved, the lyrics (more than I used to), the artists’ public persona and more. Whether this is a good thing or not I don’t know, I’m sure it makes me quite biased, but it is what it is.
I just thought of a great example of my evolving music tastes, and how my thoughts towards artists has changed.
My opinion of Portugal the man, a popular alt rock group, has changed drastically: I used to listen to them a lot, but as i began listening to their entire library as well as their latest album, my opinion of them lessoned. The original appeal was that they were catchy, which is all fine and dandy, but as I grew as a listener, I’ve noticed a major change in my tastes. That is that “hooks don't hold me no more”. When a band's work feels like it relies on almost strictly the same rising chord progression, with an enormous sounding synch pumping out a repetitive hooks, they don't have much staying power in my opinion. They’re a group with not much grit or meat to offer. Also, all their songs sound the same.
Nearly every musician or band that I like, I am constantly doubting if he or she is good or not. Good meaning valuable. Good meaning of importance and not just a fad. Many artists that i have once liked have “gone bad”. When I notice a multiple album trend in a band’s discography where it feels as though they have lost their original spirit that they had in early releases. Once I notice this, the group usually sells out, which i think is the worst crime of all.
Luckily, though, when a band sells out, that means at one point they were great. That’s what just so dandy about music and art, no matter what happens to someone as an artist. On that point, here is a little food for thought for anyone who might get this. Have you ever sat down and thought, “Hey maybe I’ll go listen to the new Weezer album again”, hopefully the answer is no, unless you are somehow you live in the early 2000's.
So maybe this IS my answer! Most band’s creative spirit doesn't last forever, and neither do my tastes and I suppose I need to accept that.
(More like.... BADITUDE! hahafhfehhehe)