Can we talk about how Driver's License uses a very similar melody to Billie Eilish-i love you. Not plagiarized, but that rise is very inspired by it.

While every song was underwhelming what's a guy to do. You can only lament the loss of music in a culture for so long. Ya gotta try to find some good right? Our kids end up listening to this crap. My daughter listens to country music which is nearly as mindless and uninspired as this pop crap.

For Ariana Grande : Why is the 6 a Dom 7th chord? Isn't it suppose to be a Dmin?

Can't stand that Billie Eilish pretty much doesn't sing at all. I just won't understand her music. lol

I'd like to see Rick on Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and break down some of the monster hits as they honor these musicians. Wouldn't that be great? Who's with me?

Thanks, Rick!

The world has gotten so ridiculously ignorant that music doesn’t have to be amazing anymore. The masses especially the youth will listen to anything and feed into it as though they are listening to musical geniuses.

That was fun. Thanks Rick!

I’m not really a pop music fan so the top 10*20 doesn’t interest me. Listen to scarypoolparty’s single “Return2Sender”. Much more interesting than these.

The world has gotten so ridiculously ignorant that music doesn’t have to be amazing anymore. The masses especially the youth will listen to anything and feed into it as though they are listening to musical geniuses.

Thanks Rick, interesting, in that I would never have heard any of this otherwise. And it just reinforces my opinion that it's barely "real" music. I think you are trying to make lemonade from lemons, or just find SOMETHING to be positive about, which is fine, but it just shows how low the standards have to be now. I'm going to listen to real music, you #99, The Cars now! :+)

Has it gotten worse? Well there’s no cardi b, so I’d say absolutely not.

First song was fantastic. Ariana Grande is talented put the song is poor. That guitar based song progression has been done to death, ho hum. The Billie Eliish song sounds good production wise but sounds a lot like her other stuff.

Nice deodorant commercial and Kohls elevator music.

Love this - just shows that talent in continuously emerging - never bought the music was better in my day crap

How about having a real base guitar, real drums, real lead guitar, real rhythm guitar and real musicians...wouldn't that be fricking great!

His reaction to driver’s license makes me so happy as a person who loves the song.

Look at how few, if any of these artists, can actually play any musical instruments, and that's why so many people can't stand this garbage. Most of these artists don't even write their own songs. Sure they are listed in the credits as "songwriter" for royalty purposes, but come on, the female singers, aside from maybe mumble-pop Eilish, they write nothing. And the auto-tuning, good lord... yuuuuuuuuuuuuck. You can talk about modern acts and find people who do their own work in house, look at songs from Shinedown, from Breaking Benjamin, Alter Bridge, Avenged, FFDP, etc, to name just a few off the top of my head. Groups that write their own music, play the instruments, etc. But they never get a sniff at the actual billboard or pop charts, other than the genre specific ones. And believe me, it isn't because the music is bad.

love it

I actually enjoyed this a lot better than the last list.

So basically Billie Ellish is the only one on this list w actual unique creativity...Legit

Except she is terrible because she is "mumble pop" and you can't understand her most of the time.

The problem with Billie Eilish is that she's "mumble pop", you can't understand half the words coming out of her mouth in most of her songs. it's like a cheesegrater on the eardrums. You talk about the "production is great" but that's like saying "this is the best icing I've ever tasted" but then it is applied by someone just chewing on it and spitting it onto the cake, production be damned the application is garbage.

As long as number 1 is good, the rest can be trash

As someone who's not musically inclined, I'm just someone who enjoys music, and sounds. I'd have to say, I only enjoyed the first song out of the top 10, but pop is not my main genre. I grew up with a large span of music from my father, Frank Sinatra, The Chordettes, ACDC, Petshop boys, Rise Against, to name a few. Lotta classics, oldies, Rock N Roll, Rock Alternative, I've since expanded into the large major genre of EDM and many of it's sub genres. But, it was a pleasure to hear your thoughts, and see your reactions/enjoyments. Keep on, keepin' on.

Everyone in the comments section complaining about today's new music must be forgetting that their parents did exactly the same thing, as did their parents before them. Pop music didn't just suddenly get bad. We all just got old.

As a boomer, I keep that in mind constantly. But no, today's pop is REALLY just not good. Beats, loops, synths, autotune, tempo fix...it's just not real except the "singing". Some good, some not. All Generations want their "own" music, to be sure, and it's just a shame that this is what Gen Z gets. Maybe Millenials too, but I think "they" listen to a lot of "indie" rock too. No, this is just not good interesting or good music. I think Rick is trying to make lemonade from lemons, or just find SOMETHING to be positive about.

gimme a break rick...the first one is yellow by coldplay..the second is you shook me all night long by ac/dc...gave up listening after that

Goddamn, that Billie Eilish song was properly good.

Maybe it’s just me but I like the chords of the songs a lot more when Rick plays them on the guitar. I think the acoustic guitar gives music a life it’s generally missing nowadays

They all suck. There I just saved you 16 mins.

Side note, Justin Beiber wanted the coffee drop sound from the beginning but he couldn't escape from the option to just be a jingle his entire life.

Setting aside the first track the rest is the same junk phasing and auto-tune that’s been (over) done by many before. Boring boring boring.

Give up, Rick! I gave up 20 years ago haha. Modern music is liquid trash.

Loved the songs and opinions.

Wow, this video is NOT lit well. Youre in the dark Rick!

Hey Rick I think you might really like the video Beautiful Dangerous by Slash and Fergie :D

I love these videos Rick. There is so much good stuff there. A lot of producers, artists, musicians, beat creators at the top of their game to be at this point of their careers. One of the writers on Good Days was Jacob Collier.

Always amazed how you are able to just pull those cords out of the music. Great to watch.

please keep these coming, I'm not someone who usually listens to the top 10 songs on spotify but your opinion is always so interesting to hear. Didactic as well

SZA goated she deserves getting up there

The heavily pitch-corrected vocals kill half the tracks for me. The life's been sapped out to the point where there's no actual "performance" left.

So I take it rock is dead.

14.55 Till there was you

can't stand the over processed Justin B vocals. It's horrible. As a matter of fact far most of them.

All I heard was auto tune.

lots of metal and rock guys will look down on pop music because none of it is difficult to play, there are very few solos and often real instruments aren't used or are sparingly used. but the production and often the vocal ability is high grade. you can learn to appreciate it by diversifying what you look for in a good song. When I listen to metal i often think through a guitar players lens, asking how they are playing it, and how hard it is. but with pop and other genres like indie rock its about textures and the layers and how they move the song. i think of it as complexity of timbre instead of harmonic or melodic complexity..

I love these videos, never stop making them

hey rick can you explain how the flat second works? i heard it in some eastern music but it sounds really cool an example would be the song chaiyya chaiyya

Just thought of a few "What Makes This Song Great" selections for you Rick, (that is if you concur). °The Church-Under the Milky Way °Fountains of Wayne-Hackinsack and Stacy's Mom °Dada-Goin to Disneyland

Have you changed your opinion of WAP, Mr. Beato?

They were so bland and unremarkable. I was brought up with the Kinks, Animals, Beatles & Rolling Stones - later the Who, AC/DC, Motorhead.

It's weird being 22 and knowing almost zero of these songs 😅

Check out Toto's song Going Home, and compare the chorus with Bieber's Anyone.

Every single song (with the exception of the first one) sounds like the singers are currently engaged in coitus while recording the vocals and trying way to hard to be as sexy as possible for their mate. It sounds awkward, and pornographic, and it's stupid. Can't wait for this trend to go away.

The fist song you listened sounds so familiar to a Coldplay song. I cant catch it clear damn its so close on my mind dammit

Might be Yellow s*it someone help :D

Rick, Have you ever thought about analyzing classical top tens or something like that. Your ear and analysis is amazing. Prelude in E minor by Chopin needs to be broken down!

Nice! Dont know any of the songs (I’m a sucker for old rock), but I must say I’m optimistic when I hear the chord progressions, dominant bass and finally slightly less auto-tune

I too can easily identify the chords in a song. As long as it's palm mute EM and a Metallica song.

Great Rick. Without you I'm not able to listen to this kind of songs. You make it bearable. (But it still is no Procol Harum)

Too many music elitists in the comments

This is great, Rick, thank you 👍🏼 my 21 year old daughter has very high musical standards and she turns me on to music that I would ordinarily never come across, and I'm often left smiling and nodding and saying wow, kiddo, that is really great. There's a LOT of good music out there these days. Production values are higher than ever and they take all kinds of risks, break all the molds.

"Actually, this week, I am slightly encouraged." Most of the songs were musically interesting and showed both solid production values and some truly-imaginative musical values ... such as "chord progressions that caught Rick by surprise." So, maybe there is hope yet. Maybe "these kids today" will still find a way to carry the torch.

Billie Eilish is a talent, that's a fact

So far soft start to operatic. Is everyone still copying everyone else?

Rick you're being very gracious to many of these standard formula songs.

Song 1 sounds a lot like Maria Mena!

Only 'Drivers License' and maybe the Billie Ellish song sound memorable to me.

#2 Justin Bieber = Toto - Goin' home

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For my ears, these songs sound as they´re the same song (personal taste)... I know Rick is analyzing them from a producer´s perspective. Yes, thinking this way is more logical, and that´s how music is today. No problem.

I have seriously always hated "pop" music; usually it all sounds the same and has no musicality, only shifting styles from one period to the next. There have been exceptions of course. For this particular iteration of the genre Billie Eilish has really set herself apart from the crowd, not only with her lyrical delivery but the production quality as well.

I feel confused. If Taylor Swift's albums from 2020 are currently numbers 1 and 2 on the chart, how are there no Taylor Swift songs on the Spotify top 10 right now? Did Rick exclude them because they would cause a copyright flag, or are they genuinely not on the top 10 anymore?

Rick, I'd highly encourage doubling back on Drivers License, and listening to the bridge. You definitely gave the song the credit it deserves, but I think you'll enjoy it even more once you hear the whole thing!

The use of melodyne and autotune spoils some songs for me (though some might become unlistenable without). I’d rather hear Justin Bieber’s real voice. Nr 1 is great!

9:09 Yea.. This what a musically educated man would do...

Is Rick's ear is so trained he catches the chords and stuff on the spot? Woah.

Probably, I'd say. I'm lucky enough to be pitch perfect myself and it is so useful as a musician... plus you can be a human tuning fork for your band mates!

rick beato " wow thats cool!" me : ......

Thank You so much!

that last song "good days" by sza actually has jacob collier on it

We should start calling pop music “production music” since the production seems to be the only “good” thing about it

Songs might be good ...cant stand the soy filled production these days ...

6:17 How is that even possible?

I also love the fact the you are not a guitar snob. You actually listen to music!

Ooo I've been waiting for this. Love this concept.

Will we ever hear people's REAL voices again?

I really enjoyed the first couple of songs but was not impressed with Ariana.

Rich, you rock! You have just shown (again) why you should be the go to guy then it comes to music!

The HVME song is just a trap remix of the song Goosebumps by Travis Scott feat. Kendrick Lamar. The song has been out for a least 4-5 years. It should have lost points.

Could "The Art of Song Writing" be moving back to actual songs and not repetition of a few basic phrases?

My favourite part of these videos is the 4 hours of auditory cleansing i have to do afterwards.

Please do these videos more often. love the top 10.

1: nice song 2: meh 3: very meh 4: not bad at all 5: terrible 6: turn it off 7: inaudible 8: very bad 9: refuse to listen to 1 second in 10: super meh Seems like a standard top 10 list now adays.

These are all so over-produced [no offense] that it is terrifyingly sad.

I still can’t believe that song that sampled Goosebumps. It’s hilarious yet sad how unoriginal they are to sample a song that’s not even a decade old.

Yeah, this batch is worse. The first one is the only one that I might be able to listen all the way thru - once but not twice. All of the rest I would shut off after the first two measures. This batch of Pop is mostly garbage.

@rick beato The first song The chorus - billie eilishs i love you The voice - billie eilish airy texture

Could some record company executive must have gotten the idea in his head to get someone to program a computer to write a song with the parameters of harmony and melody? Maybe there is a a hidden template somewhere decision makers use to pick songs that they will produce in hopes will make money? Is that why pop music sounds the same?

Music is getting worse.

This is like a connoisseur of fine wine describing Boone's Farm.

I can appreciate some of the production, but why are the melodies and lyrics so Navel Gazey. Is nobody happy anymore?

As per usual, all of those top ten tunes are the most infantile, vacuous, mind numbingly simplistic assemblages of sound one could imagine. To their credit I will state that they are good performances ,instrumentally speaking, and the vocals are in in tune, although probably pitch corrected. It seems that the high point are the grooves, which are...excellent. The lyrical content or if you want to call it "Poetry" is mostly devoid of any deeper meaning or social comment. Sad.