Simon Cowell has said (probably more than once) that he produces hits. Er, you put the 's' at the wrong end of the word, Si. I don't like most modern pop but I wouldn't say it was worse; it does nothing for, or even annoys, me but there are loads of old songs that do that too. There are certain traits some artists or whole genres have which leave me wondering "WTF was that?" on the occasions that I do hear it; but many would think otherwise.
I'm not keen on modern r'n'b having been brought up on Wilson Pickett, Motown, Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones.
There has always been a place on the charts for disposable pop music. Here's some gems from 10th October 1968:
Leapy Lee: Little Arrows
Vanity Fare: I Live for the Sun
Cliff Richard: Marianne
Des O'Connor: I Pretend
Amen Corner: High in the Corner
Number 4 was one of the greatest singles of all time.
How many of today's hits will be bought in 30 or 50 years time?
Remember Paul McCartney is still collecting royalties from Buddy Holly's songs.
I agree with both points, I don't see much resemblance between modern R&B and what it represented when I was younger. Don't think much of Des O' Connor & can only remember one other hit by Amen Corner, but the other two, especially Cliff, had a number of hits Regrettably, IMHO, Vanity Fare's best single' 'Better by far', didn't do that well.
If a band or musician has that 'magic', it is immediately apparent (especially if you catch them live): I saw Vanity Fare live a few years ago and their [spot-on] harmonies blew me away); and a great song is a great song, whatever genre it's classed as, (even if the artist never repeats it).
