Pop music is all alike

For some reason, at midday, one of my neighbors has deemed it necessary to blare the Greek equivalents of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears at decibel levels somewhere between a pig’s scream and the voice of God. This has been going on daily this week, and while I am the last person in the world to begrudge someone the full enjoyment of their tunes, I’d really prefer not to hear it so loudly that I can’t even listen to my own music without getting in some sort of battle of the bands scenario, with both of our stereo systems blasting past a volume setting of 11.

I haven’t blogged much about Greek music because I avoid it like the plague. Sure, I can find some fun in our Eurovision Song Contest winning song and I always support the Greek contestant even if I hate the song. I enjoy traditional Greek music immensely and I adore the Greek Orthodox chants. But I cannot withstand Greek pop music even for a second.

Greek music comes in four basic forms*:

- traditional music, music from villages, islands, and such – which I really enjoy

- modern music that uses traditional music as its base, which isn’t too bad

- modern pop music that uses a blend of things, including rhythms from American or British pop music, creating sounds that make your ears bleed

- modern music that has influences in more alternative, less traditional styles, otherwise known as music that I like

Unfortunately, it is the third type of music that is prevalent in Greek society. This is not to say that I think all of these artists are horrible musicians, some of them have great voices, I just hate their choice of style. I think Christina Aguilera has an amazing voice but I hate her music. It happens. I have the same general objections to the music that is popular in American society so you shouldn’t feel so bad if you are indeed a fan of Greek pop. I just don’t have the stomach for it.

Until recently, I hadn’t really heard much music from Greek artists that wasn’t either pop or traditional. Lately, though, thanks to MySpace, I have discovered a bevy of bands in Greece who play great, original music that is more my style. At least now I can find something local I can enjoy.

Hopefully, my neighbor will learn to turn it down a bit. I’m not really sure they want to hear the likes of Sepultura or Ministry blasting in response. And I’m sure they don’t want to hear Old Rugged Cross Dressers at maximum volume.

My apologies to my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law, and any other Greeks who love Greek pop music. I just can’t stand it, I’m sorry.

*I am purposefully omitting Greek rap music, because I am trying hard to pretend it doesn’t really exist