top 40 is business. always has been. it's about repetition and selling stuff.
you arent forced to listen to it.
there are many many other options.
this isn't rocket science.
you want songs that tell a story?
listen to sea shanties.
good luck with that: typically they're blah blah blah some guy blah blah blah a boat blah blah blah going somewhere blah blah blah something bad happens blah blah blah everyone is bummed out o the indignity of it all & make me dream of jamming a nail into my head.
i can't remember the last time i was tied into a chair and made to sit through any.
maybe its a matter of learning who to avoid.
some of these terribly authentic guitarists who know those fucking songs really really want an audience to sit through them. it don't think it's easy to find others who willingly do that, so it pays to be paranoid.
o yeah: if you think that top 40-style format is easy to make, try making a short song with a hook and a variation. try it.
it ain't easy.
the other problem seems to be people listen for the lyrics.
well first off: WHO LISTENS TO TOP 40 FOR THE LYRICS? i mean, once you're past being, say 12.
then again, alot of my friends listen for lyrics. personally, i almost never listen either to or for them
here's an old song.
in a better world, maybe it'd have been a hit.