hating pop doesn't make you deep
the urge to be individual, unique, & not like the others
I have to say, I’ve been finding myself becoming more fond of Addison Rae. Something I’d never thought I’d be thinking, but since her subtle shift away from her cringe start to fame (‘I need a bad… bleep, Addison Raeee!’) and leaning towards an aesthetic reminiscent of indie sleaze, I’ve enjoyed some of her fits and her remix of Von Dutch with charli xcx.
A little while ago I saw this picture of her wearing a shirt that read ‘hating pop music doesn’t make you deep’ and it got me thinking.
Though I myself have actually been listening to less pop lately (as I expand my music taste), I can’t help but feel as though some (myself included) look at what/who they listen to and think, ‘Wow, I’m so special and quirky! I don’t listen to that basic trash that everyone else likes.’ And then I’ll check how many listeners the artist has on Spotify and am quickly humbled.
This sentiment is similar to some attitudes towards mainstream culture—the one that immediately comes to mind is how film bros will jump on most popular movies are swiftly declare them trash. Even though Martin Scorsese is a very decorated director, his comments on how he thinks Marvel movies ‘aren’t cinema’ (back in 2019, right during Marvel’s peak) ruffled a few feathers. Just because many people enjoy them doesn’t objectively make them bad (although now I’m inclined to agree—I was a huge Marvel fan back around that time, but recently they’ve declined in quality due to their mass overproduction and clear money grabbing ploys—of course they were always money hungry but it’s even more obvious now).
It all stems from the human urge to be unique and distinctive—one might even say that we don’t want to be like the other girls.
‘Martin Scorsese? Like the other girls? Come on!’ you might say. Yes, he probably (definitely) doesn’t think that, but bear with me. What Scorsese is doing here is demonstrating his ‘expertise’ and superiority to those who make and enjoy commercial movies in order to place his films on a pedestal as ‘real art’ that makes you feel something. I’d argue that some Marvel films certainly made me feel things (I sobbed way too much during Infinity War and Endgame, like a fair few did), and some artsy films (though I appreciate many) haven’t had the same effect on my tear ducts or happiness or anything else, really. Scorsese belittles those who enjoy popular culture and praises the true art as a higher form of the human experience, reducing all else to brainless garbage.
I’m not completely against his point, as I stated earlier. Mainstream media is mainstream because it is generally easier to consume and more palatable across different audiences, meaning they may have to deal with less complex themes and the like. I wasted $25 and 2 hours watching Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania—money and time I’ll never get back. But this doesn’t inherently mean mainstream movies are worse than ‘real cinema’. It just depends on what grounds we’re measuring.
While humans crave belonging and acceptance from others, we also want to be able to distinguish ourselves from others. Though we don’t want to be too non-conforming so that we may be rejected from the group, we want to stand out just enough to be an individual. We want our lives to mean something, to have lived and have others like us for who we are.
I believe this is true for all of us to some extent. Others may lean more towards conformity out of the fear of seeming weird if they don’t follow trends, while some ignore social norms almost entirely.
Coming back to pop music, this genre is particularly seen as basic in comparison to others. While liking pop music doesn’t make you deep either, there is often a leveraging of ‘basic’ music against most other styles. I find myself doing this all the time, despite liking a fair bit of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan (some of these arguably the most basic of all).
And again, pop music may be less serious than others, but in the end, isn’t it what the art makes you feel? If you enjoy something, is that not enough? Why must we disparage what others like just to make ourselves feel superior?
Of course, blindly adoring something isn’t good either. It’s extremely important to be conscious of what you consume, which is where media literacy comes into play. We should always be thoughtful of how influential media is on our thoughts, attitudes and values. When some say ‘Why can’t you just let someone enjoy it?’ in response to someone’s valid critique of their favourite work of art, from music to movies to books and on—especially when that critique is addressing racism, misogyny, negative stereotypes and more—this is willingly ignorant to the themes that run beneath these works. It is allowing the work to influence us without thinking about these ideals promoted by those who are often in power—art, particularly cinema, is often made by those who benefit from societal power structures.
In the end, everyone likes different things. Different movies and music, different books and houses and plays and food. Unless someone liking pop is actively hurting another, then I think we should just understand that while you may hate pop, that itself doesn’t make you deep. Nor does liking it. It’s the rest of you as an individual that makes you ‘deep’, or, as I prefer, unique—because all people are objectively unique. We just need to stop trying to prove it so hard.
hi! thank you for reading <3 i’d love to hear your thoughts—agreements, disagree, a bit of both, all of it! it’s you who makes this newsletter possible, thank you for your support.
i think a lot a genres need to learn from pop music and in particular pop artist's approach to music. i saw something recently that was discussing the whole “rock is dead” debate thing and I tend to agree. rock is not mainstream and modern rock artists aren’t doing it like these big pop acts like hozier, roan and carpenter. the video was saying that modern rock artists need to follow the creativity and innovation and to adapt and have fun like these pop artists have; and I wholeheartedly agree.
i also think it’s important to praise the ingenuity of pop music as a genre as it continually evolves and adapts in such an interesting and engaging way. all the decades of pop music continue to influence all kinds of music, the genre itself adapting and taking from other genres to make something unique and special. to reiterate your point: pop music is popular music for a reason! writing it off simply because it’s mainstream is a disservice to urself and your broader appreciation of music and pop culture!