The Billboard Hot-What ?

[PeterSt]

When we drive the Subaru often some MP3-bruned CD is shoveled in and what we call "the Swimming Pool top 100" is playing. Not sure whether this is Dutch naming, but think of Beach Boys, Beegees and many more that's nice for the songs but not for my ears. So I hate it.

Last week there was a change. Right away I noticed and asked, "so what up today ?". And well, this time someone burned the whole Billboard Hot 100 on a CD except for 12 songs because that did not fit.

After 4 minutes I was sure the lot ran into a loop because it was always and ever the same and I asked whether the car's CD player had an A-B feature. Next I asked whether this CD started with #100 or with #1. It was #1.

Ok strange. Maybe #2 is better when #1 is out of its loop.

To my surprise #1 was not in a loop. It was just 4 minutes or whatever of all over the exact same. "Happy".
So on to the next one.

Was that better ? was it worse ? I could not make it up because of so very very (very [...]) poor. Unbelievable.
#3 the same. #4 the same. Then we reached our destination.
Phew.

http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100

A few days later someone came home and announced that it never got better and the CD could be re-used for frisbee. Beach Boys frisbee perthaps.
Swimming Pool top 100 is not so bad at all you know.


Personally I don't listen to Top-xx radio music since I-don't-know and the only radio we have in the house is one which was won with some contest. It is never on.

Maybe I must ask this to the US collegues ... but is THIS the representative of today's "top whataver" music ? Or is this Hot 100 dedicated to 20$ self electronic recording devices - those our kids receive for birthday when they turn 1.

If THIS is what the modern music industry produces, then music will be dead forever from now on, or however long it is going on like this.

Any comments ?
Peter

[boleary]

according to the website this is how songs get on the list:

"The week's most popular current songs across
all genres, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and streaming activity data from online music sources tracked by Nielsen BDS. Songs are defined as current if they are newly-released titles, or songs receiving widespread airplay and/or sales activity for the first time."

I haven't listened to the radio for music in years cause there's never anything "new" that I like. So I guess it is as bad as you say. However, my wife's daughter, Carsie Blanton, a musician, has introduced me to a whole world of unknown singer/songwriters out there that never get "radio play," but if they were born in the 60/70's they'd be stars. So it seems that the current radio play "system" is broken (in the US not enough competition).

[Jud]

It does seem to be at least a momentary nadir.  The only music that is really hard for me to listen to is "easy listening," stuff with all the edges filed off, and it seems that's what's dominating.  For a while we could rely on hip-hop to keep some fire and rhythmic interest going, but most of the complexity that might challenge and interest a listener has gone.

Stuff with a single "hook" that teens can get addicted to and constantly hum (like movie soundtracks specifically made not to distract attention from what's on the screen - lots of those in the Hot 100 these days) is what's big right now.