what you've got to realize, what we're doin' is not a trend

Lately, I have really been embracing the fact that pop music makes me happy. Those who know me know that I really love the separate entities of music. Good lyrics, impressive guitar work, solid bass and drum lines. Basically, I love the parts as much as I love the whole. With pop though, it's all about the catchiness, the simplicity, being able to get away from overthinking and just giving yourself over to the fun of it. I am a firm believer that a song doesn't need to be all that well-crafted to be fun, in fact, sometimes it's more fun when it's NOT that good. Sometimes all it needs is a hook and some not-too-deep lyrics, but, of course, I also appreciate the fun, catchy songs that do have a little more than meets the eye as well. Basically, if it makes me want to roll down the windows and blare it and sing along, it's good.

My friend and I went to see Jonas Brothers 3D on Friday. I think when I first heard this was happening, I wanted to go to laugh at it. My place with the Jonas Brothers is a little weird, mostly because I think I am too old to like them as much as I do. I actually put off listening to them because I was afraid I would like them and then would have to figure out what to do with that like. I finally did it anyway and from the first day I was familiar with them, I could not begrudge them. Say what you want about their voices, their image, their corporate Disneyfication, they are three guys who write their own songs, play some of their own instruments and put on a damn good show. I started to love certain songs of theirs because listening to them made me happy. I spent so much of the actual age of boybands listening to Fleetwood Mac and REM, but I also spent an awful lot of time listening to Middle of Nowhere and N'Sync and it would be a lie if I said that I didn't buy Millenium the day it came out and even have a Backstreet Boys poster up in my room for a short time. That little bit of pop fan that lived in me when I actually was 15 is still a part of that 15 year old that refuses to exit my system and can't deny the Jonas Brothers.

And yet I still went to this movie with the mindset that I was only going because I was curious. Like, oh my God, this movie exists and I can go and pretend I love them and dance around to all the songs that I happen to know because I only like them ironically. It only took a few minutes for me to realize that I may actually legitimately love them. I think it was around the third laugh at Kevin Jonas. The first two were closer to the camp of ""OMG KEVIN JONAAAAS!" because he was being hardcore dork and I was like, seriously, what are you doing? Then they just started to be closer to "OMG KEVIN JONAAAAAS" because he was being hardcore dork and I was like, omg, I love you, the pop world needs more of you, marry me. Then Joe and Nick started doing back flips and when they pounded drums, water came flying up into our 3D glasses-wearing faces and then I almost got hit in the head with Nick's drum stick and I reached out to touch Joe's hand and Kevin spun around four times fast while still playing guitar chords and I kept realizing what a freaking frontman Joe is (and how he can sing better than I thought) and then they all stood around in Central Park and Nick played a white piano and Joe wore a red bowtie and pigeons flew at me and I think that's when I declared that I was having the most amazing experience I'd ever had in a movie theater. Totally cheesy, I'm going to act like I'm twelve years younger than I am, fun.

What's really great about a movie that takes place at a concert is that because you kind of want it to be an actual concert, it starts to become one a little bit. We'd clap along when Kevin told us to, sing when they pointed the mic in our faces, cheer when the best songs started up and cheer some more when they ended. By the end, there were even a few people who would stand up and dance for a few seconds before sitting back down. I can see this thing becoming a little out of hand as far as the participation goes, yet if it does, I'd want to be there for it! My favorite was when one little girl in the front stood up to touch Joe, as if he was really right there, prompting all these people to yell "sit. DOWN!" Amazing.

And I mean, there is a reason why these guys have the devotion of the amount of people that they do. People put down pop acts because of a lack of depth or musicianship but that's not what it is about. These are performers. If you're lucky, they happen to write their own music or play an instrument and be more than just a pretty face. Sometimes they dance and harmonize, sometimes they play their own guitar parts, sometimes they really do just run around the stage looking good and getting people psyched up, but they put on massive, entertaining shows. It's funny too because I've seen fans of classic rock acting like this concept of people who have limited writing/playing experience and mostly just sing and perform is purely generational and this wave of it is so baffling. This genre of music has existed for a long time, maybe not as corporately pushed as it is now, but the quality and style of music is nothing new. Leif Garrett, the Bay City Rollers, David Cassidy and the like all existed at the same time what we now consider classic rock was being created. Tiger Beat was launched in the 60s and it's main purpose was to give teenage girls/fans more info on their idols. So the concept has been kicking around for awhile. And really, if the worst thing a 12 year old girl is doing is finding singing/songwriting/purity-ring wearing Nick Jonas to be the best thing since sliced bread, well, that's better than a LOT of other things.

If only my weekend of pop music ended there, but no. I went to a friend's for the weekend and we ended up watching N'Sync's PopOdyssey in its entirety, which just furthered my love for the genre and proved even more so how powerful it can be. I mean, these guys knew how to put on a SHOW. By this point in their career, it was bordering on ridiculous, with the set changes and the costumes and props (and mechanical bulls?), but even aside from all of that, they do not stop the entire time. Just running around, full out dancing, singing and sounding great. That moment where Justin falls to his knees during "Gone" is one of my favorite moments in entertainment history. It's just a world of its own. A world that I am happy to visit from time to time.

While I'm on the topic, if you like insanely catchy pop songs, check out Tinted Windows' "Kind of a Girl". It took me a few listens to decide how I felt about this song but I have settled in with "Holy crap, this is a catchy song!" and I've even started my usual deconstruction ("this guitar solo is so crunchy!") But at the end of the day, a catchy, fun pop song and I'm digging it!