“You don't want to be on Electric Avenue when it rains.” HumorSongMusicRainShockLightningElectricityShockingPop SongElectric Avenue Book:94,000 Wasps in a Trench Coat Source: 94,000 Wasps in a Trench Coat
“I've never really gotten into the whole labels thing. There were times I would cover a pop song, and people would say 'You sound really country.' I gave up on that whole thing a long time ago.” PeopleLongCountryWholeSongSoundLong TimePopsLabelsLong Time AgoGave UpPop Song Author:David Nail
“To look for some kind of insight or meaning in pop songs is not really - well there's plenty of other places where you should probably look first before you start looking for it in a pop song.” ShouldFirstsWellsLooksKindSongInsightPopsPlentyPop Song Author:Jason Newsted
“Creating a decent pop song is a challenge - and occasionally, once in every decade - it's kind of fun to do that.” KindSongFunChallengesCreatingPopsDecadesDecentPop Song Author:David Sylvian
“It's a real gift to be able to have the works of brilliant, great people to learn from and build from. It gives you so much more to draw on, and then you don't have to be all about three-chord pop songs. I don't really like that kind of writing.” PeopleGivingWritingKindRealAbleSongThreeDrawsPopsBrilliantChordsGreat PeoplePop Song Author:Regina Spektor
“I'm totally convinced I can write the perfect pop song.” WritingI CanSongPerfectPopsConvincedPop Song Author:Moon Unit Zappa
“My mom and I are very honest with each other, almost to a fault. But that's just the way I am in life. If you listen to my record, I'm just honest about stupid stuff most normal people wouldn't put in a pop song.” PeopleIfsWaySongStuffRecordsHonestStupidMomNormalFaultsMy MomPopsPop Song Author:Kesha
“I think, 'How could anybody mock a good pop song?' It is timeless; it transcends barriers; it breaks down every single type of social barrier that you can possibly have. It can deal with the most difficult subjects, even if it abstracts the subject matter.” IfsThinkingMatterSongSocialDifficultDealsBreakSubjectsTypePopsBarriersTimelessBreaking DownSubject MatterMockPop SongDifficult Subjects Author:Mika
“Do we really have to wander around apologizing for enjoying plot, just because James Wood and a few dozen other arch-aesthetes sniff at it? It's like being careful not to sing pop songs in the shower because some guy in the local alt-weekly is a music snob.” GuySongEnjoyCarefulPopsWoodsLocalsWanderPlotDozenApologizingShowersArchesSnobPop Song Author:Patrick Nielsen Hayden
“I feel like humans are a disease. It's a hard thing to communicate in a pop song. I mean, who wants to hear that?” WantFeelsHumansMeanHardSongDiseaseCommunicatePopsHard ThingsPop Song Author:Zola Jesus
“I don't think I'd be able to flat-out write a pop song and make it satisfying to me. I'm ready to make a consistent sound in whatever way I can.” ThinkingWayWritingI CanAbleSongSoundReadyPopsConsistentFlatsSatisfyingPop Song Author:Leon Bridges
“I wrote 'Lights' a long, long time ago. And I expected it to be on the album, because it was - I wrote it with 'Biff' Stannard. And he wrote every single Spice Girls song and every single pop song of the 90s, basically. So I thought, you know, I was really lucky to work with him, but I didn't think it would be a big song for some reason.” ThinkingKnowsLongReasonBigsLightWould BeSongGirlLuckyLong TimeAlbumsPopsExpectedLong Time AgoSpicesPop SongSpice Girls Author:Ellie Goulding
“I'm really attracted to music that sort of toes that line between pop and avant-garde, that pushes the envelope of what you can get in a pop song.” SongLinesPopsToesEnvelopesAvant GardePop Song Author:Patrick Stump
“The term 'popular culture' always used to mean what the people do - pop songs, folk songs, music in general used to live because people would sing these songs and tell these stories together. Then all of these new technologies came out and it became the work of professionals.” PeopleMeanStoriesTogetherUsedSongCultureTermTechnologyFolksPopsNew TechnologyPopular CulturePop SongFolk Songs Author:Joseph Gordon-Levitt
“You can only write so many pop songs before they all sound the same. I got to a point where something overtly melodic and straightforward sounded sort of cheesy to me. Pop songs seemed too manufactured.” WritingSongSoundPopsStraightforwardCheesyPop Song Author:Dylan Baldi
“My favorite records are by bands where the musicians are all playing like themselves, but those personalities connect in an exciting way and create music that is one cohesive unit. It's not catchy like a pop song, but it's a really cool song.” WaySongRecordsPersonalityBandMusicianExcitingMy FavoritePopsUnitsReally CoolPop SongCatchy Author:Dylan Baldi
“It's so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that's really close to me, something I've been through, it's a totally different thing.” WritingDifferentSongEasyBoysDown AndPopsHonestlyDifferent ThingsPop Song Author:Avril Lavigne
“These pop songs almost feel like tabloid journalism, in a way. It's c**p that people seem to like. And I don't know if it has meaning. I don't know if one of the pop songs of the summer has any fibre in it. People are consuming it, and is it healthy?... Maybe there's some healthy property or some restorative property that I'm not receiving. It seems like it has a really high fructose content.” PeopleIfsKnowsWayFeelsSeemsSongHealthySummerPropertyPopsJournalismReceivingConsumingTabloidsPop Song Author:Eddie Vedder
“To write a love song that might be able to make it on the radio, that is something that is terrifying to me. But I can definitely write a song about that chair over there. That I can do, but to sit and write a pop song out of the clear blue sky, that is very difficult and I admire the people that can do it.” PeopleWritingI CanMightAbleSongDifficultCan DoClearSkyBlueRadioPopsAdmireChairsBlue SkyPop SongClear Blue Sky Author:Barry Manilow
“Doing something that you love regardless when it's a blockbuster movie or you're writing a pop song or trying shamelessly to succeed in something is not selling out. I think that's actually fine, and I would encourage that all the time.” ThinkingWritingTryingSongFineSucceedPopsSellingPop SongBlockbusterSelling Out Author:Adam Levine
“There's a whole range of sources of inspiration for the drawings and stories. They come from dreams, hallucinations, pop songs, or other things I see in the world around me.” WorldWholeStoriesDreamInspirationSongSourcePopsDrawingRangeHallucinationsPop SongSource Of Inspiration Author:Ryan McGinness
“There needs to be structures in place to do something about misrepresentation about hip hop. When awards are given out and the media talk about hip hop, they're confused because they haven't done their homework on it so you have a case where there's an award for the most pop song in the world and it's called 'hip hop'.” WorldNeedsDoneSongGivenCasesMediaHavensStructureHip HopPopsHipsConfusedHopsAwardsHomeworkPop SongMisrepresentation Author:Nas
“I feel like a lot of people look at pop music with a very formulaic perspective in numbers and patterns, but an outsider would think that the process is very natural. It is, but there are a lot of times where people treat it like a sport - there are tricks you can pull, different combinations that make something better. I don't really think I approach it that way, but I definitely have a love for the science that is pop song writing.” PeopleThinkingWayFeelsWritingLooksDifferentSongSportsProcessNaturalNumbersPerspectiveApproachTreatsPatternsPopsTricksCombinationOutsidersSomething BetterPop MusicPop Song Author:Halsey
“It's really hard to fit a complex idea into a 3-minute pop song. And when you're dealing with issues that you're passionate about, usually they have various levels. And within a poem, you can get around the issue of space, and in a song the same way, by simply leaving holes and alluding to what you're talking about.” WayIdeasHardSongSpaceLevelsTalkingIssuesMinutesFitComplexesLeavingPassionateVariousPopsHolesPop Song Author:Jon Foreman
“I love a good pop song. I have no problem with the concept of doing that sort of thing. For me, it's usually what I'm inspired by, what I'm thinking about.” ThinkingProblemSongConceptsInspiredPopsNo ProblemPop Song Author:Jon Foreman
“I always felt like I could combine good pop songs that are easy for people to like with a real person and a real mind and integrity.” PeopleMindPersonsRealSongFeltEasyIntegrityPopsReal PersonPop Song Author:Robyn
“At one time musical theater, particularly in the '40s and '50s, was a big source of pop songs. That's how musical theater started, really - it was just a way of linking several pop songs for the stage.” WayBigsSongStageSourceTheaterMusicalPopsOne TimePop SongMusical Theater Author:Neil Tennant
“There's always that struggle between me wanting to keep [song] new and fresh and then be - I can never get with pop songs being so repetitive.” I CanSongStrugglePopsRepetitivePop Song Author:Andrew Bird
“I'm coming from a place that's more experimental and indulgent already, so for the last 10 years, it's been more like, "How can I defend my own sensibilities by writing a nugget of a little catchy pop song?" That's how I'm stretching myself, by writing something really simple.” WritingYearsLittlesLastsSongMy OwnSimplePopsSensibilityStretchingPop SongCatchyNuggets Author:Andrew Bird
“The first time I heard Bob Dylan, I was in the car with my mother listening to WMCA, and on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody'd kicked open the door to your mind.” WorldWayMindFirstsMeanWholeBodyFacesMotherSongSoundVisionDoorsHeardAchieveRocksTalentCarChangedListeningShotsFirst TimePopsIntellectYour BodySingersWhole WorldBrokeLimitationRock N RollBobNew WaysDylanSnaresPop Song Author:Bruce Springsteen
“I was always one of these people who is irrationally moved by stupid pop songs.” PeopleSongStupidMovedPopsPop Song Author:Will Sheff
“I sing songs from the theater and pop songs. When I say 'pop songs,' I mean from the 90's. And I tell jokes. So it's sort of a stand up show meets a concert - not your traditional lounging across a piano cabaret show. It's much looser.” MeanShowsSongJokesTheaterPopsTraditionalPianoConcertsShow MePop SongCabaretLounging Author:Laura Benanti
“I'm not good at happy, lightweight kind of music. I'm not really good at pop music. "Cars" is probably the only true pop song I ever wrote. I wish I could write more, but I'm not very good at it.” WritingKindSongWishCarVery GoodPopsPop MusicPop Song Author:Gary Numan
“Despite my own doubts of being marketable or crushworthy, my goal was to write a record of peppy pop songs, hopefully without annoying anybody.” WritingSongGoalMy OwnDoubtRecordsPopsDespiteHopefullyAnnoyingPop Song Author:Stephen Malkmus
“With my records, it's just a matter of trying to create something fresh for myself in a very finite context, which is the pop song. I don't know anything about the people who buy my records, and what, if anything, they get out of them.” PeopleIfsKnowsTryingMatterSongRecordsPopsWhat IfFinitePop Song Author:Tom Verlaine
“That's the great thing about being in a band: it's a gang for people who are too wimpy to fight. You can create a gang and have an identity and fight for something and stand up for something just by making pop songs. They're my gang members and gang members are for life, and if you try and leave, we execute you. That's the way it goes. A simple bang, back of the head, into the river, and we keep moving on.” PeopleIfsWayTryingMovingSongFightingSimpleIdentityBandMembersRiversPopsGreat ThingsGangBangsKeep MovingPop SongGang Members Author:Torquil Campbell
“I'm not confident about my appearance, I'm not confident about anything really in my life, I'm a very tortured soul when it comes to self-confidence, but when it comes to my pop songs, if I started to question, I would never stop questioning.” IfsSoulSelfSongAppearancePopsSelf ConfidenceQuestioningPop SongTortured Souls Author:Torquil Campbell
“Britons still commemorate the Battle of Cable Street in London. There are still pop songs in Britain that reference Sir Oswald Mosley and his black shirts.” StillsSongBlackStreetsBattlePopsLondonShirtsBritainCablesPop Song Author:Rachel Maddow
“In the future, women will have breasts all over. In the future, it will be a relief to find a place without culture. In the future, plates of food will have names and titles. In the future, we will all drive standing up. In the future, love will be taught on television and by listening to pop songs.” SongCultureNamesTelevisionTaughtListeningStandingPopsTitlesReliefBreastsPlatesPop SongFuture Love Author:David Byrne
“Growing up, there was only classical music on BBC Radio. We had to listen to the American Forces Network in Germany, which played pop songs, or the pirate radio boats off the coast.” SongForceGrowing UpGrowingRadioPopsBoatGermanyCoastClassical MusicPiratePop SongPirate Radio Author:Michael Caine
“I instinctively want to create pop songs and I think it's really good to challenge that, otherwise it becomes a habit.” ThinkingWantSongChallengesHabitPopsPop Song Author:Gwenno
“I don't try to approach things any differently, songwriting-wise, regardless of what I'm doing. I try to write whatever the best thing is that I'm doing that day. If I'm working on a pop song, I'm working on a pop song to the best of my ability. If I'm working on a bluegrass song, it's the same thing. They're not really different parts of the brain.” IfsWritingTryingDifferentSongAbilityBrainWiseApproachPopsBest ThingsSongwritingPop SongBluegrass Author:Chris Stapleton
“I love writing pop songs and I love the challenge. I love melodies and wanted it to be classy. I wanted it to have some substance because I feel as if I have a lot of things to say and wanted it to have something to it.” IfsFeelsWritingWantedSongChallengesPopsSubstanceMelodyPop Song Author:Courtney Jaye
“At the end of the day, I think that music lovers are going to love me. I think the pop songs that are on my album will be loved by the pop listeners and the R&B songs will be loved by the R&B people. I think that each song has a broad enough sound that I won't be pigeon holed. At the same time I think it is appealing to many different audiences.” PeopleThinkingDifferentEndsEnoughSongSoundAudienceLoversAlbumsPopsThe End Of The DayBroadsListenersPigeonsPop SongMusic Lover Author:Chrisette Michele
“'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,' if you go through the lyrics, is such a haunting melody, and the words are, for a pop song, pretty deep and dark.” IfsStillsSongDarkTomorrowPopsMelodyHauntingPop Song Author:Jake Epstein
“A cupcake is like a great pop song. The whole world in less than three minutes. And it's impossible to have a bad cupcake. In New York you walk everywhere. So I'm always looking, always on the eternal search for the perfect cupcake. I take them very seriously. It's like hunting and gathering for me.” WorldWholeSongThreeWalksPerfectImpossibleMinutesNew YorkEternalPopsWhole WorldHuntingGatheringPop SongCupcakes Author:Laurel Nakadate
“I love fiction. I like reading short stories. Cupcakes, pop songs, Polaroids, and short stories. They all raise and answer questions in a short space. I like Lorrie Moore. Amy Hempel. Tim O'Brien. Raymond Carver. All the heartbreakers.” HeartStoriesSongReadingSpaceAnswersFictionRaisesPopsShort StoryAmyPop SongCupcakesCarverPolaroidsHeartbreakerTim O Brien Author:Laurel Nakadate
“Mimesis has longevity on its side. But Oasis wrote two of the greatest pop songs of all time, each with lyrics that mean less and less the more you think about them. So I'm going to have to go with the Gallagher brothers.” ThinkingMeanTwoSongSidesBrotherPopsAll TimeLongevityOasisPop SongGallagherMimesis Author:Matthew Zapruder
“I am a pop girl! And I'm on a major label. I enjoy singing pop songs.” SongGirlEnjoyMajorsSingingPopsLabelsPop Song Author:Katy Perry