POP SONG REVIEW: “The Middle” by Zedd and Maren Morris vs. “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line

I have to listen to "country" at work and it's all awful. This song at least does not make me actively want to harm myself and other people.

De

Florida Georgia Line are awesome and do not "suck" at all

LifeIsStrange

Television is all anybody cares about nowadays it seems.

Jacqueline Sailer

I'm surprised you failed to mention "Say Something" by Justin Timberlake featuring Chris Stapleton for the second consecutive time. It was huge back when your "Filthy" review came out, and it was also the only single from Man of the Woods that performed decently on the charts, largely because it was a fairly middle-of-the-road pop duet with a country star (though I actually do quite like it).

Jacqueline Sailer

Music in general is just sparse these days, in all genres: I'm a metal head, and new singles are coming out slower, new albums from my favourite artists are fewer and further between. It's like in the movie industry: the producers market their movies to sell as much as possible on the opening weekend that it doesn't matter how much staying power it has. Music is becoming the same: the music is marketed to have as much sensationalism as possible when it's released, sell a load of copies instantly, that it doesn't matter if it's good enough to have staying power. I'm looking forward to music and movies mattering a damn again.

Well, that was not a very international episode. All that bullshit that spills over from the US, but I don‘t know any of those people in the review. And I have to listen to pop radio all day at my job.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that the pop hits seemed a little sparse

I think some of the reason that Pop feels 'less' is because over the past several years it's just become so much less relevant... and yeah, less widely popular, so. It's a backwards mess now. The Middle feels like ear candy. I felt similarly about Stay, but I think Stay has better, like, emotional tension than The Middle... Also Honestly, to me now if you want authentic sounding country, you're better off in the Appalachian/Americana folk scene.

Deanna Banana

I haven't listened to country music in over a year... along with pop music. I had to avoid Sam Hunt at all costs, and I still have yet to find a reason to return. Nashville isn't country anymore. All the stuff that is even remotely what we consider classic country, ran its ass down to Austin. I've listened to country music my whole life, and started listening to Pop when I was a teenager (six years ago???) and by God, how the mighty have fallen.

Funny, I thought the Middle also sounded exactly like another Zedd song. But not “Stay”. I think it sounds exactly like “Starving”

Andrew Lenahan

Given that Todd once put Bleed American in a list of his top five albums of all time, I'm always waiting for Jimmy Eat World to make an appearance.

Gordon Stearns

Well, Country do have a future. Mixing it with chill Ambient and thrilling Old Skool Jungle that is. Just listen to Machinedrums ”Room(s)” and ”Vapor City”. Some tracks even sounds like the missing link between Country and Retrowave/Outrun.

Emanuel Alfredsson / Lemanic

I am so glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Zedd copied himself. I literally said aloud "Thank you, Todd" at that part lol

you can only imagine my disappointment when I realised you weren't talking about the Jimmy Eat World classic

sweesbees

The two most mediocre songs of the year going head to head, I like it.

Will Seamon