Every example in that list? 2007 or older.
The closest we've got to a pop savior in 2009 is the same we had in 2003, and even if Britney has proven as reliable musically as she is troubled personally, we haven't seen any significant imitation in American pop. The startling fusion of styles on Blackout and Circus provides a perfect blueprint for pop in the 21st century – it'd be nice to hear someone paying attention. M.I.A. had a surprise hit with the terrific "Paper Planes," but Kala hasn't gone gold in the
So, yeah, we're at the rhetorical question point. Why do I give a shit? Why should you? No doubt you're familiar with the arguments that pop music is breaking down and apart, and the "good riddance" take on the same. Niche-based cultural consumption combined with the democratizing force of social media and the instant availability of (almost) everything ever recorded means we don't have to give a shit about some dominant pop narrative. Supposedly.
Here's the deal, starry-eyed optimists. The top still matters…and most of our country still hears what everyone else hears and only what everyone else hears. If the argument I outlined above is "decentralized and democratized culture plus accessibility means we all win," the emerging counter-argument is "everything popular gets more popular, and that's scary." The debate has as much to do with the internet and culture in general as it has to do with pop music, I know. Getting to that.
All the way back in 2004, Kelly Clarkson put out Breakaway, a pretty impressive but totally unambitious record. In 2009, Jordin Sparks has released Battlefield. If you've heard the first single and title track, you know it's fucking massive. Not "Since U Been Gone" massive, but as big as anything since. The buried lede: the rest of Battlefield is pretty impressive too. The bonus is that Sparks and her collaborators aren't content to go straight down-the-middle – or more appropriately, they realize there isn't a neat, conventional middle to be found. The arrangements aren't nearly as bold/dangerous as Britney's latest, and the songs aren't as good as Clarkson's, but for a recent American Idol alum – hell, for an American pop artist in this godforsaken landscape – Battlefield is very solid stuff. The album is shot through with slightly edgy beat- and synth-programming, coupled with some nice vocal processing that shows Sparks isn't afraid to subordinate her voice to the songs (like Britney of late, and unlike far too many of our nominally digital-era pop vocalists). When the producers back off, Sparks still sells vocal showcases like closers "Faith" and "The Cure." Additional bonus points for superb guitar session work throughout.
Ok, but if I miss great, ambitious pop, why am I talking about this Jordin Sparks record? The sad truth is that, in 2009, "Battlefield" is a noteworthy song and the album is a noteworthy one too. I'd rather be talking about the next "Billie Jean" or "Hey Jude" or "Lucky Star" or "What You Know," but it's getting rough out there. Decry the musical relativism all you want – I say we need to fight for the records that stand out even a little, now more than ever. We need to argue with coworkers and little brothers/sisters and strangers in clubs (especially fucking DJs). Pop music is still the high ground of musical culture, however low the brow, and if you'll forgive the militant quality of the metaphor, if we care about the music, we should care about control of that high ground. If we all crawl into our tiny market-share caves – Animal Collective here, T-Pain there, Coldplay by the Borders display case – we're renouncing the unifying idea of pop music entirely, which is that we're capable of shared language…even if it's sung or played rather than spoken. Allowing mutually reinforcing biases to fester sounds awful to a musical omnivore like me. Instead, let's embrace the differences and negotiate them.*
*Note: the “you can do it, girl!" undertones throughout Battlefield might have crept in a bit here. The shorter and more restrained version: take the current state of pop as an opportunity to participate in the conversation rather than an excuse to ignore it. Withdrawing from that conversation has consequences.**
**I realize that not everyone cares about pop music. If you do and don't feel satisfied, all I'm suggesting is that you find a way to communicate that. And stop finding your fix (exclusively) with indie pop, please. I can promise you that jj n° 2 is not, in fact, comparable to or better than every mainstream pop record from 2009, however weak the year's been. The tastemakers might be desperate enough to canonize every third group from Jacksonville or Sweden, but you don't have to be dumb enough to follow along. You certainly don't need to pretend that a basement cover of a mediocre Lil Wayne single is a revelation. There's a place for this kind of all-devouring no-boundaries amateur pop, but does it have to be every place? There's my start, now let's continue the argument.
