That’s what I get for trying to make a veiled social comment on art glorifying unnaturally thin models 
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A: Depends (haha)
In jazz there is a huge catalog of what are considered ‘standards’. I’ve often wondered what constitutes one other than a lot of people copying / covering it, which I think is the requirement.
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in country/folk there are a lot of “standards” too. the origins of the songs are mostly unknown and ofter a standard finishes as a mix of several popular songs.
The case of “In The Pines”/“Black Girl” is interesting, a very good school study of a country/folk standard. at the time I found this article really fascinating. (and it ended by my own version of the song, which is kinda what is expected when playing with standards)
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If it’s popularity that defines a standard, then Taylor Swift is a standard… and so is the gangsta rapper du jour. Egads!
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I wish I could like this comment more than once. 
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Yep. Like I said, “standards” are overrated
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As is the standard of white men deciding whether music that does not center the experiences of white men is “good” or not. 
There is soooo much music by men that is centered on hooking up with as many women as possible. Taylor Swift gets a lot of hate for singing about breakups. I dunno, I kinda see where she’s coming from.
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Excellent point.
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One reason I like the 60s and 70s music. Lots of men were singing about heartbreak back then too.
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Yeah, but if I wrote from the point of view of a woman or another ethnicity, people would be all over me for cultural or gender misappropriation.
Anyhow, that’s neither here nor there. What’s true is that it’s not Taylor Swift’s lyrics that bother me, it’s the musical shallowness of her songs, and of the whole modern vocal-first genre. Same with gangsta rap. It’s not the lyrics, because that’s an experiential thing. It’s the lack of musicality. YMMV.
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I wouldn’t want you to write like that, though. My point is we need more and different voices talking about music and having a say in what a “standard” is. Music can be a conduit to people and lives outside of our own experiences and groups. If we hear music from someone who is different than us, and we don’t immediately connect with what they are saying, or the structure of their music, we should take time to learn how this group’s different experiences influence what they create.
“Musical shallowness.” Maybe I haven’t heard enough of her music to note this (no pun intended). What I do find amazing is the number of people I have met from many different backgrounds who cannot help dancing to this song. So let’s all just:
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I saw her before she was a thing, she warmed up for Rascal Flats (a freind of mine had tickets and couldn’t anyone to go with, as this is not my normal ‘lets go see…’).
She was freakin’ fantastic with a capital F.
I was so completely impressed with her.
It is horribly sad that people react to image and paparazzi and all that crap vs. the value of the music.
Rascal Flatts turned out to be fantastic too btw.
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Sadly, this is what is easiest to sell, no different than Applebee’s in my opinion.
Also why many musicians are broke.
It’s not for want of talent, but of an audience that would take the time to understand.
And there inlies…jazz.
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I don’t buy the concept of “musical shallowness” any more than I buy the idea of “guilty pleasure.” I could find AC/DC to be musically shallow, I guess, if I wanted to be mean, but I still enjoy their music.
Two inches of water is shallow but you can still drown in it.
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Love this!
i was just listening to “Lonely Nights / Angel Face” by none other than the Captain & Tennille. Got it on vinyl last week. AMAZING ‘shallow/guilty pleasure no it isn’t its just awesome Neil Sedaka done Moogy tune’
Thank you, will never use guilty pleasure again.
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Thank YOU for considering this point of view! Now quick - someone post something funny to get us back on topic!
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How can we discuss shallowness in a thread without mentioning Nickleback 
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