Popular Music Essay

In music, it is clear that what is popular is not always the deepest or most meaningful piece of work. Most songs on the Billboard Hot 100 are, when looked at closely, extremely similar to one another. As the listeners and buyers of these songs, it is quite obvious that, right now, most of America appreciates the same kinds of music. The three songs I chose to analyze were: “Like a G6” by Far East Movement featuring Cataracs and Dev, “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj, and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” by Usher featuring Pitbull. Although these are apparently the most popular songs in the country right now, I am not very familiar with any of them. When analyzed, I was able to see the extreme similarities between the three songs: each contains simple poetic devices and in some way involves alcohol. These qualities can say a lot about our culture and what is valued most in it.
I found that I easily recognized an abundance of poetic devices within the songs, which I did not expect. However, it was the same poetic device, repeated in different ways throughout each song, which I was seeing. The songs use simple similes, and not much else, to convey their messages. In “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love,” Usher says to “Dance, dance, like it’s the last, last night of your life, life.” This does show an example of a poetic device, but with nothing more to it than what appears on the surface: Usher instructing whomever he is singing to dance enthusiastically. Trey Songz also utilizes simile in “Bottoms Up.” He brags about his wealth by saying, “Money stay in my pocket/Girl I’m like a walking bank.” By comparing himself to a bank, listeners are able to understand quickly that he has a lot of money, but it is too simple and obvious a comparison; it certainly does not take a genius to grasp the message. In “Like a G6,” the simile that is in the title is repeated in the song a grand total of 28 times, and the song also includes one other simile, “Poppin’ bottles in the ice, like a blizzard,” which is repeated several times as well. It can be argued that these songs are full of poetic devices; however, they are simple, easily understood, and, in some cases, extremely redundant. Since these songs are extremely popular, it seems that, as a culture, we don’t really want to have to think very much or work very hard to search for deeper meanings within songs.
A major theme I found in these songs is that each somehow incorporates consuming alcohol. In “Bottoms Up,” the entire song is focused on that subject alone. With lines like, “Got a couple bottles/But a couple ain’t enough” and “If I go get these bottles we go alcohol insane,” it is obvious that the narrator’s main objective is to enjoy himself by getting drunk. In Usher’s song, he sings “Keep downing drinks like there’s no tomorrow.” And, perhaps the worst of the three, “Like A G6” talks of “sippin’ sizzurp,” “poppin’ bottles,” and “gettin’ slizzard.” For the celebrities singing these songs, this life of clubs and expensive alcohol is probably a reality, but for their listeners, it is far from it. To the young listeners, this lifestyle probably sounds cool and impressive, and could potentially lead them to try to emulate what they hear. If kids’ music is constantly filled with innuendos such as this, it would make sense that it would impact them in some way. These popular songs show us that partying and being intoxicated is something we, at the very least, enjoy listening to and singing about.
These songs explain a lot about our culture. Clearly, we do not value the underlying messages within music or songs that can be interpreted in various ways. We do not want to decode songs or understand deeper meanings; we want clear, straightforward, and typically centered on partying. Although most of us do not go to expensive clubs every night and get “slizzard,” we love songs that tell us how awesome it is to do so. Our music ultimately shows what is important to us: alcohol and simplicity.