Why is modern pop music today so terrible?

Schubert I picked up a Kurt Elling CD a while back on your recommendation. Still acclimating. With many years of exposure I proudly now get Elvis though. My wife is a big Elvis fan so no choice. We even did the pilgrimage to Graceland (and Sun Studios) a few years back. Does Elling have any mansion tours? :^)

czarivey

All we hear is Lady ga ga
 Lady goo goo
 Lady ga ga
All we hear is Lady ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio, what's new?
Radio, someone still loves you!

All you get is Lady Ga Ga?
Have you tried changing the station? There's usually a knob for that. ;)

@gdnrbob. I’ll try not to inadvertently violate forum rules.

I don’t know if there are stats on it, but do you think the kids are listening to and playing at a higher percentage than in the US (or Canada, Western Europe, etc.)? Wouldn’t surprise me at all. Just that China has a large population.

I had no idea but just thought it was funny, given a few now-removed comments, when I Googled what’s popular in China, the lists were peppered with music that would probably be considered the topic of this thread.

I suspect there are some good music history buffs, here.  I think we can safely say that going back at least 60-70 years that there was a large contingent that thought the "new" music was terrible.  Bullitt noted that the "parents said the same thing about the Beatles" and theirs the same about Elvis.  Same with the subject of the thread and probably everything in between--punk, electronic, hair bands, grunge, etc.

But how about going back further on folks I think most now can and do consider masters and the greats.  Mozart, Chopin, Bach, etc.  Or when new instruments were utilized.  Did a large contingent view them or  music using the new instruments to be "terrible?"  Was the piano viewed like the autotuner?

@stfoth,
That there are so many talented musicians playing classical music in China and are being recorded should be indicative that the genre is alive an well. 
Though I do agree that the majority of the population is probably listening to something more akin to current popular music, I think the proportion of US kids listening to classical is significantly lower.-Which breaks my heart.
B