Justin, Jameson

I think Jameson's discussion of Van Gogh's shoes versus Warhol's can be somewhat paralleled to the development of rock music, especially when it comes to lyrics. I won't try to say that all old rock and roll had profoundly poetic lyrics, but it's certainly interesting to grow up listening to songs like "White Room" or a bucket full of Beatles songs and then realize what they're actually talking about when you're grown. Even songs that didn't necessarily make a habit of making metaphors at least thought of unique and interesting ways to say things. I don't know that the popular rock songs of this generation are going to do it. Not to see that there aren't good lyricists out there. But music as a whole isn't about introspection at all anymore. Who actually sits down in the dark and listens to a full album? Music is for giving you a pick-me-up in your car, or for helping you forgot you're working out when you're at the gym. Nobody wants to think about the music, they want the music to aesthetically influence their mood when they find it's convenient to listen. Who even buys albums anymore? Are there such things as concepts now? There's no room to even be poetic, because people want a single that they can sing along to after hearing it once. It's not to say the music is bad, and part of music is to just be able to listen to something and let it make you smile, or cry, whatever you're into. But it's a common movement of things that I certainly think makes art less meaningful.