Matters of Meaning: Is Pop Contemptible?

Side A 

Pop music. 
You pimple on the otherwise so brilliantly clean face of the oh-so-great music scene. 

My father loves jazz. 
My godmother can be thrilled by schlager. 
And I myself love the R&B of the late 90s and early 2000s. 

But pop? 
Ah…I don't know. 

Things were better in the old days. 
In the old days "Hubba Bubba" chewing gum kept its flavour for two seconds longer.
And, above all: pop music used to be better back then too. 

Whether it's "Britney Spears", the "Backstreet Boys" or "NSYNC". 

A long, long time ago, even the music at number one in the charts wasn't noticeably better. 
But at least it stood by its annoying character. 

– 

Side B 

Meanwhile, every summer we see at least one Spanish "hit", where anyone 
who dropped the subject in sixth form anyway only knows the chorus. 

But don't worry. 
The German knock-off is already lurking… 

So "Despacito" quickly becomes the desperate "Señorita" thanks to a former DSDS contestant. 

So is pop music reprehensible? 
After all, it's usually neither good nor particularly imaginative. 
Instead, it disguises itself well, only to then strike particularly insidiously as an earworm. 

You can't help but dance. 
And before you know it, your entire body is more or less rhythmically in motion.
And you yourself are embarrassed. 

Is such a thing reprehensible?
Dear Pop, 
You are like food: for you I do things I'm not proud of. And yet: you keep me alive. 

You give me the strength I wouldn't otherwise have. 

In doubt, always for the defendant. 

Or to put it – when I hear you again – in the words of Miss Spears:

"Oops!…I did it again" 

Anita Rezende