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Here are all of the reasons why I think we should retire the term "Alt Pop"
1. This term is almost exclusively used for artists that are popular with teenage girls. It implies that the music that they listen to is "watered down" when this couldn't be further from the truth. I also shouldn't have to explain the issue with assuming that any music that young women listen to is "less authentic".
2. It doesn't really describe the music. Tell me how Lana Del Rey, Mitski, The Smiths, and Paramore are all considered the same genre. They have almost nothing in common, why are we lumping them together?
3. It's inherently contradictory. Alternative music is anti-mainstream, whereas pop is mainstream. Sure, Alternative artists can be popular, but they can never be "Pop", because that means they are trying to be mainstream and accessible.
Summary:
The term "Alt Pop" is complete garbage because it doesn't help categorize artist's sounds, it implies that music has been watered down for mainstream audiences, and its name is inherently contradictory. I would suggest using more accurate labels to describe individual artists instead. For example, call Mitski indie rock instead of alt pop, or call The Smiths post-punk.
Comments
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Astromoot
I imagine alt-pop would be lyrically written in the way pop music is traditionally written but with alternative elements and untraditional methods of instrumentation. Similar to how Pop Punk is an oxymoron but makes sense once you hear it. I could be incorrect in that assumption though.
OmegaKing6000
Literally my thoughts on complextro and downtempo right there
danny :3
i think a lot of genres suffer this fate. not necessarily the 'watering down' part, but the fact that it incorrectly categorizes music, or the catagorization is too broad.
like, strawberry switchblade and specimen are both goth or post-punk bands, or suicide and talking heads could both be categorized as 'synth music'.
i suppose people do this for the sake of simplicity, but still, it gets confusing and odd at times.
i also agree about the fact that a lot of music enjoyed primarily by teenage girls, or girls in general, weren't necessarily taken as seriously at first, or really ever, when they should've been. it upholds an odd stigma against more popular music, and just generally, things that younger girls like.