‘So Bad, It’s Good?’

by Georgia McKirgan

I am coming towards the end of the application process for US Colleges. A bit like the UCAS system, there is one central essay that goes to all the colleges to which you are applying but each college requires you to submit up to three additional essays. One of my colleges, University of Chicago, is famous for its quirky, off-the-wall essay prompts. In previous years they have asked for 750 words on topics like ‘Where’s Waldo?’ And ‘Find X’. True to form, this year I had to write on the following topic:

Fans of the movie Sharknado say that they enjoy it because “it’s so bad, it’s good.” Discuss something that you love not in spite of but rather due to its quirks or imperfections.

It only took me a couple of minutes to work out how to address the question. I love a lot of really complex and dense music but I have no time for the musical snobs who look down on a lot of popular music. While there is plenty of dross, some of the best popular music works unbelievably well by using a number of techniques to really affect the listener. I decided to focus on that dynamic.

I love music. I listen to it and play it every day...it is an important part of my life. My musical tastes are eclectic and I like music from a wide range of genres. I grew up listening to pop, indie rock and dance music but as I got a bit older, I started to listen to hip-hop, classic rock and blues. I appreciate the complexity and musicality of jazz and classical music but with exception of Miles Davis - Kind of Blue, they wouldn’t be on my daily playlist. As people become more musically experienced, it is normal for them to listen to more and more complex music as they can use this as a badge to display their sophistication. When someone says that like the music from a particular band, the sophisticate will reply “Yes, but I only like their earlier work before they became commercial”. In this instance, “commercial” becomes a pejorative word. The band Radiohead show this phenomenon in reverse. In the mid-90s, they issued a fantastic rock album called “The Bends”. The writing and musicianship were off the scale and the band became really popular. Subsequent albums became more and more esoteric and complex but they maintained their popularity. Saying you like Radiohead has become code for saying “I’m sophisticated” and I’m convinced that many fans didn’t particularly like the newer music. This process reached its peak last summer when during a festival appearance, fans apparently started tweeting rave reviews about a new track that ended up being the band tuning their guitars for three minutes, “minimalist, but also complex, emotionally raw, but still able to push the boundaries of what music can be”. Now, there is some doubt about the veracity of these reports but the fact that this is exactly what most new Radiohead tracks sound like shows how the band have developed.

So I am sceptical of people who feign appreciation for complex music as a badge but for me, music appeals on a visceral level. It triggers a whole range of emotional and physical responses. I love a whole range of complex music but to answer the question, I love a lot of basic pop songs that the musical sophisticates would decry as crass and commercial. There are a number of musical techniques of harmony, melody, tone, rhythm and composition that can be done well in a simple song, making that song really powerful and memorable. As an example I give you...”I Want it That Way” by The Backstreet Boys. I have been listening to this song for years and still, every time I listen to it, it gives me a physical thrill and deep emotional response. A good example of the effective techniques used in these songs is the key change. After two rounds of verse/chorus there is an eight bar bridge and an A Capella section during which you can feel the key-change coming. As the key lifts, the listener gets the signposted emotional burst of adrenalin.  Senses turned up to eleven! Another example...”Don’t Stop Movin’” by S Club 7. S Club 7 were a manufactured band put together by a record company in the 90s (reason enough for them to be dismissed by the sophisticates) but I challenge anyone with a pulse to stay completely still as the bridge builds up to the joyous crescendo of the chorus. If the aim of art is to elicit an emotional response from the listener/viewer/spectator, this song delivers in spades.

Musical sophisticates would look down on these songs as simple and crass but that ignores the simple effectiveness of the songs. It is real and powerful. On radio stations, this kind of music gets referred to as “a guilty pleasure” which is way of saying, “I know this is not critically-acclaimed but I really like it”. The fact that the pleasure is referred to as guilty shows the desire of the listener to appear critically sophisticated but I feel no such pressure. These are great songs. Period. Of course, there is a place for complex, layered and subtle music (one of my favourite albums last year was Bowie’s last album, Blackstar) but sometimes simple accessible songs can also be great. Complexity is not an end in itself. These songs may have limitations and quirks but when they come on people can’t help to dance or sing. Imperfections and quirks?...maybe, Perfect three-minute gems? Absolutely.