by Rob Greco
Fear of PoP
�And you were not the same after that,� rings the lyric off of the new Ben Folds album, due out in September. Because, all of us, were not the same. (Editors Note: The album came out on September 11th, 2001. You were right Ben. We weren�t the same.)
When I talk about PoP, I mean every little aspect of culture that affects the way we act, be, do, talk, walk, react, and live. Advertising, pop-up or the old way, music, television, peer pressure, etc and so forth, all roll up into one huge wave that sweeps people of all ages off there feet.
I usually don�t write rants. I think of myself as somewhat of a �real� journalist, so shooting for the hip inaccurately doesn�t float my boat. However, the PoP idea stuck me the other night. In our area of New Jersey, the Route 4/17 strip of stores in Paramus is only second to NYC in the densest retail population. It is covered with stores. I was coming home, dazed in the neon lights, pulling up to stop lights while people are blaring the music the radio tells them to, otherwise depressed after an enjoyable evening. I ponder, �What has PoP done to us?�
As self confident or independent any person tries to claim they are, every decision we make is influenced by PoP. Putting aside the painfully obvious area of entertainment, go back to your childhood, as young as 2 or 3. How could kids that small get PoP at such a young age? If you ever heard a kid finish the sentence of �Mommy, can I have ____ for my birthday,� or �I need this breakfast cereal!�
Ever see a kid walk to school with a lunchbox in hand? That 10-year old didn�t naturally come to the conclusion that Pokemon was the thing for him, it was there for him.
Middle school. Damn. Those hormone-injected 13, 14, and 15 year olds go through 3 separate changes along the battlefield of PoP. 13 year olds: �Hey, look! Lockers with locks on them!� 14 year olds: �Hey, look! She�s taller than I am and has more curves than I do!� 15 year olds: �I can�t wait to get to high school�It has to be better than this.� Now, granted, all of these changes are natural. The thing is that all of these occur while people jump from �group� to �group�, style to style, completely different personality to the next. Raise your hand if you could recite that �Biggie� song back in �98. Different styles?
People use music to tug at other people�s hearts. One instants comes to mind where a friend of mine (Loop) was going after the girl and he thought that the best chance of getting her was to use some Oasis lyrics to toy with the emotions. The song in question, Wonderwall had the lyric of �I don�t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now� In the end, it didn�t work and he didn�t get the girl, but its another valid example in which PoP did the talking.
I read a great book earlier this year. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. Went on to be made into a movie, but the book is the masterpiece. To paraphrase a quote from the book, �Your life really does go down hill once you are introduced to pop music. The despair kills you.� I think there�s a lot of truth to that statement. The first album I ever bought was �Urban Hymns� by The Verve. I primarily bought it because of the single �Bittersweet Symphony,� not knowing how great the rest of the album was. Honestly, it was the most depressing and sad thing I had ever listened to. During that time, it was a rough period with friends and relationships. Every time I listen to Richard Ashcroft strum on his guitar, I am reminded of the tears that hit the tub and the keyboard in 7th grade. Which came first, my problems or the PoP?
I remember lying in bed, at crazy hours of the night, anguishing to try to figure out what it meant:
�No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people
from one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no�
Now, I still don�t know what that means because my feelings are too jaded about the whole thing.
Well, that was my first battle wound of PoP. They have been others, but like most things in life, the first hurts the most. If I could give advice to some kid on some playground somewhere, I�d tell him to throw his radio, VCR, computer and TV out the window and wait �til you hear a crash. Don�t try to be like everyone else, because they don�t know who they are. At that point, try to do some soul searching. God knows it gets worse.