Black-Eyed-Peas, the future of modern music?

Tupac's just an example, no sell out there and his melody and harmony underly the profanity and violence, it a shocking contrast. A black sex pistols maybe? A lot of rap or hip-hop which BEP purports to be ends up selling out. Most 'rap' I cant stand, but there are a lot of great artists in the genre that arent addressing your 14 year old (or in this genre a future gang banger), some of the more 'accessible' being RATM, the Beasties, Cyprus Hill, even emminem.

If you want to hear something interesting, try Super Furry Animals, Mogwai, Fruit Bats, Cat Power, MGMT, Mogwai, Dwight Yoakam (especially his earlu stuff), Mostly Other People do the Killing. How many genres is that?

But what do I know, I happen to think Norah Jones -The Fall may be the best album of 2009. ;-)

"Rap has rhythm but ignores melody and harmony. "

A lot of highly regarded 20th century classical music has none of the above.

I think what one considers art versus pap is largely just a matter of perspective and hubris. Some art can just be fun and even a bit off color and not taken too seriously.

My 30 month old daughters' favorite. She like the long keyboard note with wide off key bending on BOOM BOOM POW. Says it sounds like a doggie. Ya, that's some real fine music.....

Mapman: yes, and I am a huge fan of minimalism, for example. However the aforementioned commercial crap posits no interesting or profound qualities in the wake of the absence of traditional misical elements.

Always a pleasure MM

Bottom line for me is that pop music has lyrics, and lyrics are about something.

That's where BEP is a complete and epic FAIL.
Good music, sure, and phenomenal production...all delivering lyrics which actively, calculatedly celebrate the worst in us without a even the slightest whiff of irony. It's music which is blind and stupid at best - and purposefully evil at worst.

My Humps. Enough said.

IMO. YMMV.