Ben's Bits

I recently saw two videos which poke fun at pop music. The first claims that many pop songs utilize only four chords. The point is illustrated by playing and transitioning through many songs over the course of the video. The second points out that many pop songs are based on the meledy in Pachelbel's Canon in D. It also does this by playing segments of the songs where the meledy appears.

Of course there are a few problems. First, the key of many of these songs is changed in these videos to make it more obvious so it's not really the same chords but the same chord progression. Secondly, it's important to remember that while these songs may incorporate the same chord progression or meledy these are only parts of the song and not the entire basis of the song. There's a long tradition in the arts of reusing others' work so I don't see this (especially the Pachelbel one) as a criticism of pop music so much as a fun and humorus exercise.