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Brad Carl's avatar

Hey Chris - regarding Morgan Wallen, I agree with you about "Last Night." There really is no big hook or high point in the song like "You Proof" and "Thought You Should Know." Both of those songs only reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's odd.

But like Taylor Swift, Wallen is just insanely popular. I've always joked about megastars like them - "they could fart into a studio microphone and it would still be a hit."

I also have always believed that the average listener doesn't have much say in what song tops the chart(s). What really happens is it's jammed down people's throats so much that it gets stuck in their head. And what that happens, people decide they "like" the song.

Radio airplay, I believe, has more to do with corporate politics (between radio and labels) than it does true public popularity.

Does this make sense?

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Songs That Saved Your Life's avatar

I love this quote- “If Billboard is the kid at school who loves everything on the radio, then Pitchfork is the kid telling you that most popular music stinks and you should be listening to “real music” like the Velvet Underground. “

I oscillate between these two modes depending on the day. While the writing at Pitchfork is brilliant, I often find it too exclusionary. The world could use more whimsical rock journalists that focus on celebrating the art rather than criticizing for the sake of elitism. But also, people really should be listening to The Velvet Underground, ha!

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