I was just looking at the most played tracks of all users on Last FM this week and it is SO depressing. Apart from Rebellion (Lies), which is the one Arcade Fire song I like, if I had to pick the next best songs in the top 10 I’d probably go for Coldplay! The chart is actually worse than the UK top 10. I suppose the Last FM user demographic is a certain age group (probably mostly between 15 and 35), mostly male (spend more time on computers and it is kind of the Internet equivalent of ordering your CDs alphabetically) and fairly intelligent (setting up Audioscrobbler does require a few brain cells). Although why intelligent young men are not listening to good music is quite beyond me, this list does look quite representative of what they like.
It’s interesting to also note the almost complete lack of women (highest placed female-fronted act is Black Eyed Peas at 38, with a song that’s totally sexist anyway) and ethnic diversity – the highest placed black person is Kele from Bloc Party, a band who are about as far from urban as you can get, although there is in fact no reason they couldn’t win a MOBO award. In total there is only one properly female act in the top 100 (Madonna) and only 2 female-led (BEPs and Frou Frou). Bloc Party and BEPs are the only acts with black members, although a few of the American acts I’m not 100% sure on.
Most of the music is not horrible. Postal Service for example have a few nice songs, but they are excruciatingly dull. Plus, Madonna, BEPs, Gorillaz and Frou Frou are the only acts who could seriously be called pop, and even then BEPs are more rap/r’n’b and Frou Frou are hardly the jolliest of bands. The rest are either indie or rock, or in most cases both. I presume that most Last FM users are America, but the Brits actually have an equally strong hold over this chart, perhaps because our indie/guitar music is pretty much all that does well from Britain in the US. But with the top British acts including James Blunt and Oasis, there’s no cause for celebration.
It seems that Americans have 2 choices in modern music – urban or guitars. There’s very little in between, unless you count country. As depressing as this is for America, and perhaps our own future, it has cheered me up a little as we at least still get our small share of quality pop and I for one am going to hang onto it for as long as possible (or at least until I can move to Sweden!).