What on earth am I hearing these days, in 2019, on contemporary pop radio? It is not at all like it was in the past, even the recent past.
Granted, Taylor Swift’s “Me” and the Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker” are fun, but—well, there’s also “Better Now” by one Post Malone. That the lyrics are trivial wouldn’t matter much if the melody was any good. It isn’t. Pink’s “Walk Me Home” is a decent album cut, but as a radio-played single, it too quickly becomes boring. The Ed Sheeran-Justin Bieber song, “I Don’t Care,” sounds like a million other ditties, while Andy Grammar’s “Give Love” is sentimental dullsville. As for Marshmello’s “Happier,” I don’t like the singing on it, and the song has no real hooks. “Dancing with a Stranger,” by Sam Smith, puts me to sleep. ALL of this stuff puts me to sleep. And, I should add, all of it is emanating from a local radio station that was never interested in playing Jewel’s “Two Hearts Breaking” or any of the singles from Kelly Clarkson’s All I Ever Wanted album except “Already Gone.” Thanks, guys.
