What is acclaimed music?

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markhamil94
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What is acclaimed music?

Post by markhamil94 »

I'm having this discussion because, while I do get that there is a bar that separates absolute trash from good music, there seems to be this kind of mono directional porosity that, in the course of time, allows songs that received fairly positive contemporary reviews to be elevated to retrospective acclaim. I'm basing this on a variety of factors, the biggest one being 'Best of 2010s' lists by critics.

I most certainly did not expect to see songs like Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), Levels (Avicii), I Love It (Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX) peppered in the list among masterpieces like Royals (Lorde), Rolling In The Deep (Adele), and Monster (Kanye West ft. Justin Vernon, Rick Ross, JAY-Z, and Nicki Minaj). Even in the case of albums, Britney's Blackout received tepid reviews back in 2007, yet Rolling Stone called it the most influential album of the 2010s. I get art is subjective, but this change is across the board. While the songs mentioned above are good, I'm want to understand as to what about the song changed to elevate it. Is this nostalgia or is there something else that I'm missing out on?
Harold
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Re: What is acclaimed music?

Post by Harold »

markhamil94 wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:11 pm I'm having this discussion because, while I do get that there is a bar that separates absolute trash from good music, there seems to be this kind of mono directional porosity that, in the course of time, allows songs that received fairly positive contemporary reviews to be elevated to retrospective acclaim. I'm basing this on a variety of factors, the biggest one being 'Best of 2010s' lists by critics.

I most certainly did not expect to see songs like Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), Levels (Avicii), I Love It (Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX) peppered in the list among masterpieces like Royals (Lorde), Rolling In The Deep (Adele), and Monster (Kanye West ft. Justin Vernon, Rick Ross, JAY-Z, and Nicki Minaj). Even in the case of albums, Britney's Blackout received tepid reviews back in 2007, yet Rolling Stone called it the most influential album of the 2010s. I get art is subjective, but this change is across the board. While the songs mentioned above are good, I'm want to understand as to what about the song changed to elevate it. Is this nostalgia or is there something else that I'm missing out on?
One word, although it's a word I personally dislike - "poptimism." There has been a concerted effort over the last few years to critically re-evaluate songs and albums previously regarded (and, more often than not, dismissed) as lightweight, disposable pop music, and to take them just as seriously as more "artistically respectable" forms of rock and hip-hop. In many cases (including all of the examples you note above) these songs and albums are now retroactively canonized right alongside those you would normally expect to see.
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