Pop music ruins generation

I really enjoyed Matt Holsapple's column in June 30th's Exponent. I haven't read a column so well written and methodical since the verse of former Exponent columnist Stonegarden Grindlife.

My problem with pop music is that it's just that — popular music. How can you respect a group like 'N Sync who were created in a pop factory in Florida and who were told what to wear, how to act in public, how to sing and how to cash in on their teen-success by acting goofy on "Total Request Live?"

My other problem with "pop" music is that it negates the hard work of real musicians. Sure, Britney Spears might have sold a few million copies of her album. But, her lyrics — or the ones written for her — are cheap and meaningless. For every great band like Motorhead, there's a worthless one like LFO; for every veteran musician like Jerry Lee Lewis, there's a one-hit wonder like Tiffany.

To add insult to my quest for good music, I recently had the misfortune of watching an advertisement for the Britney Spears Hawaii special. The announcer had the balls to say that Spears was the "voice of a generation." What generation? Certainly not mine. The voices of my generation were Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam. To hell with "Oops, I Did It Again," I want to hear —

"Cause I'm losing my sight/Losing my mind/

Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine

Nothing's all right, nothing is fine/

I'm running and I'm crying

I can't go on living this way" — Papa Roach

Shyam Siriam
Junior, School of Liberal Arts

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Editorial is slanted, reader says

Pop music ruins generation

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