Monday 30 September 2013

Talk about pop music - what's it all about?

In one of the offices where I work, there is a radio tuned to commercial radio and it is on all the time. Without this, the space would be deathly quiet and the only sound would be me, talking on the telephone. I quite like working in an environment with a level of noise, so it doesn't bother me.

In the last few days, it has been quieter than usual. In this quietness the music becomes even more prominent. I noticed it when some singer was pleading to please be allowed to see inside, you're beautiful.  That's how I heard the lyric.  The lyrics are actually "would you let me see beneath your beautiful?"

With the realisation that I was imagining a  non-existent apostrophe, came an even larger realisation about just how ridiculous this song is.  What - or where - exactly, is my "beautiful"?  Do I even have one? How do I find it? What will happen if I do?

I spoke one of my thoughts aloud (if that guy asked to see my beneath beautiful, I'd punch him on the nose) and that led to the silence being broken by a lively discussion about the commercial radio playlist. 

"I wish that girl who's on fire would just burn!"

"I'm sick of Rhianna!"

"And they always play Adele."

"There's a fire burning in my heart...even Adele is burning!"

"That guy will be back wanting to see my beautiful in a couple of hours. I don't think I even want to see his!"

"Do boys even have one?"

I started thinking about the winning formula for current commercial success: angst, whining, some connection to incendiary devices, dodgy metaphors and bad grammar. At the risk of being accused of being a 19th Century grammarian, apostrophes matter!  (As opposed to apostrophe's matter, which is a completely different proposition.)

So my answer to the question dominating the airwaves is "please state your request clearly and avoid the use of metaphor!"

Would you let someone see beneath your beautiful? Can you draw me a diagram?  What songs are driving you nuts at the moment?


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