The Quality Turnaround of Mainstream Music

Several months ago I challenged everyone playing rock music nowadays to try to create a comeback, try to become epic again. Not since the nu-metal days between 1998-2001 has rock become a prevalent force in mainstream music. Whether it’s because of the 9/11 attacks changing the tone, the massive rise of hip-hop, or sheer lack of originality and creativity, the genre has been dying a dismal death in recent years. Gone are the days of the 90s, when grunge ruled, and then it followed with a subtle punk movement followed by new subgenres of metal floating nearby. And after I challenged everyone, a funny thing happened: music started improving in every shape or form—except for rock music. After what I thought was a much poorer decade of music, the 2010s have hit the ground running and have delivered some incredible stuff.

But most unexpectedly, they are coming from the genres I usually complain about most: country, pop, hip-hop, and even rap. Rock music is still the only genre still lagging behind, as we are reaching a musical revolution I could have never predicted, as they come from the most unlikely sources. The most drastic change is coming from pop music. After the boy band battles ceased to exist, pop took a heavy hit and had a tough time delivering anything worthy of listening past a week. And then came Lady Gaga and her extremely unique style vocally, lyrically, and visually.



Lady GaGa hammered a slew of tracks that scream of originality while still having that pop feel. The difference is these are also good dance tracks, and tracks that actually tap into adult contemporary. Gaga is the most original female artist since Madonna, and like Madonna she mixes great singing vocals with minor controversy, high-energy performances, and a relentless lack of care towards what people think of her. While she started before my musical revolution announcement, her style has carried over to this new decade as her music continues to be played heavily in the dance floor and radio stations across America.


Now, we have Kesha, Rihanna, and Katy Perry helming this flower power overthrow of pop music. They all have their very unique styles that separate themselves from everyone else while showcasing decent talent and a knack for good production. And Rihanna is the Unique Queen of R&B, after her start as a teen queen of the reggae scene. She re-invents herself so often, she seems to change looks with every single. To add to that, she is arguably the best featured singer in the past 20 years, as she has breathed life into tracks made by Eminem, Jay-Z, T.I., and Kanye West). This shapeshifting technique in music doesn’t happen often enough, and little things like this keep the music scene fresh. After years of the same artist doing the same thing, it’s good to see these females change it up a little.


But in terms of originality, it has become hard to top the latest to hit the scene: Nicki Minaj. She is the best new rapper in the business in a very long time because she is as original, intense, and confident as they come. She can sing like the best of them, but can verbally rip you apart with a slick spitting of lyrics in a quick pace. She is arguably the Lady Gaga of rap, as she changes looks with every video, and seemingly with every appearance. Her versatility is impressive too, as in a couple years she’s already been seen with Lil’ Wayne, Eminem, Drake, Britney Spears (yes, you read that correctly), Mariah Carey (Keep reading, honestly), Trey Songz, Rihanna, and even The Lonely Island (a.k.a the makers of “Jizz in my Pants”). Throw in some alter egos, some hot rivalries, and the approval of Slim Shady, and we have one of the biggest reasons why hip-hop is suddenly sounding fresher than usual.

Another phenomenon being explored is the lack of borders amongst the rappers, leading to more crossovers and more mix-ups and mash-ups. There isn’t much beef left, especially when compared to the 90s and the 2000s. Even Nas and Jay-Z are getting along. And the best part? No Fat Joe and the Pathetic Squad. So with this we have A-list rappers playing second banana to other, not-as-popular artists, leading to some great results. Lil’ Wayne is the best example, and it’s good to see rappers like him become heavily involved in the genre rather than focus on just himself.


While Lil’ Wayne is practically and arguably on top of the rap world, he doesn’t mind taking a backseat and performing last—with “Look at me Now” and “Let it Rock,” “Forever,” “Give it up to Me,” (He collaborated with Shakira, what rapper can boast this?), “No Love,” and much more. Eminem, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Jay-Z, already veterans, can be seen collaborating much more often these days. These collaborations continuously produce interesting results, with my favorite recent examples being “Roman’s Revenge” (seriously, one of the best diss tracks I’ve heard in a long time) and Baby (Ludacris, what the heck!?!?). The only thing keeping back rap from being even better is prison, as our better rappers tend to screw up with the law, leading to "delays" (Lil' Wayne, T.I., DMX anyone?). So with hip-hop and rap rising, with country and pop even sounding a bit better, what’s going on with rock?


The best of rock music nowadays is coming from overseas. Honestly, the only rock music I’ve actually enjoyed in the past couple years has been coming from Band of Skulls, a garage rock band that seems to have taken the throne from White Stripes, whom have retired. This band, from England by the way, has the variety, talent, and creativity to separate themselves from the really dismal scene of rock we’ve been seeing. And then there’s The Heavy, another group from overseas providing some indie flavor to the watery rock tone of today. Older bands are not sounding the same anymore, very few bands are rising, and there hasn’t been a major push to change the scene. I challenged them a year ago, and nobody has responded. If you honestly disagree, name me rock-worthy examples in the past two years. Honestly.

Bottom Line: This is a cruel critic finally acknowledging that the genres of music I had been criticizing for years upon years is rising up to the challenge and releasing actually good music. It is no longer undeniable pain turning on the radio and turning to the modern mainstream stations. While rock and metal refuses to improve and change their ways, we have pop improving, hip-hip improving, rap especially improving (Lil’ Wayne and Eminem, its good to see you back), and even country (Lady Antebellum and the rise of New-Country isn’t too bad…) seeing better days. I hope this can continue, as the mainstream not only notices originality making a comeback, they are embracing it by turning songs by Gaga and Rihanna into #1 smash hits. So yes, this is me admitting it, but music is getting better.

The 90s is still better though.

P.S. Shout Out to the highly addicting and unique track "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green.