On Amnesia: A Short Essay...

It's very easy, as a popular music consumer or obsessive, to forget things. For example, it's easy to forget that the popular music industry, is just that, an industry: a business. As such, hundreds and thousands of acts get signed to labels every year with one great hope! That they'll make money, or at least enough to break even. Of course, money isn't the only objective when it comes to popular music. That would be to discount the gallons of passion lovingly and sweatily poured into making things tick. That would be to discount the small time music lovers who endlessly bankrupt themselves to keep their cult indie label in business and to keep the bands they've signed touring.

But nevertheless, as a competitive and million-dollar business, the popular music industry sees thousands and thousands of acts signed and dropped each year. Some go on to make lasting contributions, not just to music, but to culture at large. But most don't. This is where amnesia comes in. There is no recipe to perfect pop. If there were one, everyone could have a hit. But there isn't. Through whatever small loophole of destiny, some pop songs end up connecting with the public and music lovers in a way that is almost impossible to describe, document or force. Other times music, despite having all the right ingredients, just doesn't 'click'.

And because of the endlessly revolving wave of new artists being smashed angrily upon the shore that is the public's collective consciousness, songs that don't 'click', or even songs that do, end up disappearing into the abyss forever. Some are remembered fondly by a small group of fans, but depressingly even more are remembered by no one. It's not to say that they are bad, just forgettable... and forgotten.