With almost everything in today's climate I am extremely cynical. There is no greater example of this than my cynicism towards modern Pop music. It's no secret it has not been good for a very long time. 2016 has gone the extra route to ruin the already dirty name of pop music, by having non-songs become popular. It seems like every time I check on the charts songs become less and less songs. "Panda" is not a song. It's a beat to shake your ass too. Which is no great feat.
I think the big reason why this has happened is because nobody has stood up and really taken the thrown left behind by Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Britney Spears. We have only temporary folks to sit on the thrown, only to plummet to mediocrity. Katy Perry used to be the Queen, but the extremely boring "Prism" Album made her uninteresting. Some would argue Taylor Swift, but let's be real. She isn't very good either. Of all her hit songs she has had over the past couple of years, "Style" and "Wildest Dreams" are the only good ones. "Bad Blood" is one of the ugliest and unlistenable pieces of garbage since the likes of Nickleback.
All this being said, there are two people who are constantly churning out good work. The Weeknd is the closest we are gonna get to a modern day Michael Jackson. So, I'll accept him and his crazy hair as long as he keeps putting out great music. The other one being; Carley Rae Jepsen.
Carley Rae Jepsen must look at "Call Me Maybe" as both a gift and curse. It was her biggest hit. Problem is, it was her biggest hit. I think we can all agree "Call Me Maybe" is a deeply flawed song. It's catchy but it really doesn't showcase her strengths as an artist. Sadly, that means she will always be labeled as the "Call Me Maybe" girl. After listening to both her "E*Mo*Tion" and "E*Mo*Tion: Side B" you'll realize how much of a tragedy that is.
Carley Rae Jepsen is the perfect representation of 80's pop. All the glitz and glam and hairspray of the decade encapsulated in her music. Almost every song from both Album's are off the chain. "Run Away With Me" is probably the most underrated song in the history of the world. I feel way more from that than listening to Taylor Swift having beef or Selena Gomez boring me to death.
"E*Mo*Tion: Side B" was recently released. I must beg you all to go seek it out and listen to it from top to bottom. You'll honestly be shocked that you wrote her off after "Call Me Maybe." She is talented from a production and a vocal stand point. Stop looking at her from the lens of "Call Me Maybe" and the "Fuller House" theme. Listen to her sing, she is a rare breed in the pop music world. She has actual talent.
