GUILTY PLEASURES

I settled down to watch an episode of Glee last night with Passi Pocket, and it got me wondering. What is it that makes me enjoy this show? I mean, I do actually enjoy it. Even the songs. And I like to think I have good taste in music, so what the hell is going on here?

I'm not gonna try and claim that what Glee do with the songs they perform is some sort of genius, but they must be doing something right. Something about that autotuned sound does grab my ear. Occasionally it sounds like they've taken it a bit too far, and by making everything so fucking pitch perfect they've literally sapped the song of all emotion, but more often than that I just settle into it and enjoy the music.

I mean, I guess sometimes they aren't doing anything that hard at all. They take a big tune, get some 'high school' kids to cover it fucking perfectly and they've got an instant hit. But then sometimes they even manage to turn a song I hate into something I kind of enjoy. Take the Justin Beiber Experience episode. I am in no way a fan of the Beibs, but witnessing his songs being performed by characters I know I couldn't help but start to enjoy it.

honestly not a fan

When I was thinking about this earlier, I was thinking that it was all down to the power of pop. And I do think it's a big part of it, although perhaps not the full story. Like it or hate it, it's pretty hard to deny that there is something about pop which differentiates it from other music (apart from it being "shit", haters). I personally, am a fan. There's just something special about pop which gives it a place in my heart. 

I've never agreed that it's easy to make a manufactured pop star. To write great pop, you do need talent of some sort, and done right it can blow you (me) away. To me, pop music sets itself apart by striving to sound perfect to as many ears as possible. The chords and melody may not be groundbreaking, but damn do they do sound good, and a good producer can take the predictable and turn it into something unique. 

With Glee, they don't even bother to do this. They take polishing to an extreme, with everything in the track sounding absolutely dead on, and it makes it incredibly hard for me to dislike it. Combining that with characters who I have watched for a while, and almost feel I can relate to, they've got a great recipe for success. Hit songs + that personal connection = instant win. I just can't resist that.

Maybe they're geniuses after all?

400+ badly written words on Glee? Damn. I swear I used to be cool.