Been thinking a bit about this, popular music (the ones that hit top 100 charts or whatever) never has lyrics that point out real problems or point to culprits and how they’re fucking our shit, which is very easy to find in punk rock and some variations, as well as rap.
Of course, part of the problem are the record labels themselves, which often hold artists “hostage” in order to profit off them. Bigger ones will obviously prefer to avoid having such lyrics become popular.
Still, there seems to be absolute zero songs in certain genres that even come within 10 meters of talking/singing/teaching/bringing awareness about situations that affect a LOT of listeners, even from far away, and would be extremely helpful in spreading some knowledge.
Granted, doing so is easier said than done, a catchy tune that calls out big oil’s many attempts to burn the world, or big pharma’s frequent price gouging, aren’t things “any idiot” can come up with. But that nobody outside “angry” genres seems to be doing it is what saddens me.
You’re right, of course, but my point is that it’s not only metal, punk and other “angry” music, or more precisely, music that is aesthetically an acquired taste. There’s a lot of mellow, danceable and catchy music that has themes other than “Ooh, baby, baby, yeah, aha”. That this sort of music is not played on radio is a completely different problem.
Take a listen to eg VNV Nation’s Tomorrow Never Comes and tell me it couldn’t be a nr. 1 hit on radio and in clubs. It has all the making of a good catchy pop song, yet has some very thoughtful and contemplative lyrics.