In the mid-’90s Alanis Morissette released a legendary album Jagged Little Pill in which she held nothing back; expressing life from a very ‘real’ perspective.

A lot of people seemed to sympathize with her through her music, and subsequently she sold a “bazillion” records. She laid down her soul, bare and true to all to absorb some “good” music for a change – music that meant “something.”

One of the big singles off that album was “You Oughta Know” which contained the following lyrics (speaking angrily talking to an ex):

‘Is she perverted like me, would she go down on you in a theater?’

Now, bare with me for a moment, and try to imagine Britney Spears, circa her “Baby One More Time“ days, singing Morissette’s lyrics…not easy to imagine, huh?

Well, that’s because back then, Spears’ image image was so “squeaky clean” with just a little a touch of sexy, but in a good way…if there is such a thing. Or consider Miley Cyrus, the girl who currently holds the squeaky clean pop champion of the world title, would she ever sing “would she go down on you in a theatre?” Again, probably not. The squeaky clean image generally lacks passion, and frankly that is what sells; leaving the passion and the gritty lyrics as a part of “The Climb” which people prefer not to talk about.

So why is it there are more mass marketed popular generation y music which adheres to the ‘Britney’ rather than ‘Alanis’ idiom? Why does shallow, shiny teen-pop music rule our airwaves over the deep, emotion-felt lyrics that are seen as all but “taboo” for the public?

Well to start answering that question, we need to consider a bit of “economics,” if you will.

You start a business selling a product with the intention of making money off of your deepest convictions that it will be good for people. If your product meets a need and there is not much competition, you become successful. Thereafter, naturally, others get in on the act, competition increases and it becomes more difficult to make money.

If you are unable to keep up with the change, reinvent or redouble your passions in your product – you will succumb to the competition – and despite the sincerity of your passion/product, you will fall under the radar.

Now, if economics isn’t your thing, think of it this way.

You have two friends, Ally and Betty. Every time you speak with Ally, she’s real, she just “tells it like it is.” She asks the questions that have no answers, tells you about all the very difficult situations in her life – she’s passionate. You love her. But…sometimes, you are reminded of your OWN dark secrets you would rather not think about whenever you talk to her. Basically, you really need to psyche yourself up whenever you strike up a conversation with Ally.

On the other hand, there is good ole Betty. She is a bit shallow, kind of aggressively positive and preppy  (in an annoying way but only at times), and yet it’s not difficult to like to her. She CLEARLY lives in a fantasy – sometimes you need that. Betty is the kind of friend who is incapable of seeing complexity in the world and everything is “just gonna work out,” and when people take advantage of her, she doesn’t even notice. No matter what happens, she always has a positive attitude.

So who would you rather talk to when you have a problem? Or rather, in this instance –who would you rather have sell your business to the public?

This is essence to the inescapable truth that is the “Pop v. Passion” conundrum that we are still experiencing.

Spears has sold, and will continue to sell, a lot of records because the record company bigwigs will put out anything that sells. People bought her sugary lyrics and bubble gum pop appeal – thin, shiny, and easy to replicate and mass produce.

Whereas Morissette was deep and one-of-a-kind. She had her success, and copycat artists came along trying to mass produce her complexity. In the end, however, the complexity and sincerity of Morissette could not even be replicated by even herself, and the genre fell short to the mass-produced pop sound. Hence, why we see Miley Cyrus and other numerous Britney clones who have come along making pots of money since the ’90s.

So even though we want to have music and artists who have the courage to “tell it like it is,” they have to be able to sustain and offer a valid solution to what they are preaching about. Otherwise, their passions become more destructive than constructive – more harm than good.

Once in a while, an Alanis-type artist comes along and helps society breathe out, to look at itself honestly again, helping us spit out the bubble gum pop that we’ve been chewing on repetitively in our generation. However, if they don’t provide a solution to the problems they raise, we being to breathe in the happy gas again and pass it on to the next generation.

So what’s my conclusion to all of this battle royale of the music genres over the ages? Essentially, I don’t expect music to change, at all. We’ll have our waves of sincerity – but it’s really just a ripple in the ocean of pop music.

UNLESS…

There is an artist who comes along and is able to tell it like it is and  provide cures that work. This artist will take their place with Shakespeare, Da Vinci and the writers of Scripture. I can only hope that we will be privileged to be alive when that happens.