🍟 McMusic & the Beige Apocalypse: How Sameness Is Killing Sound 🎶
🎤 Beige Is the Enemy: What Is McDonaldization?
This week, Mark returns from a voice-shredding trip to San Diego with a vengeance—and a sociological firestorm. Inspired by George Ritzer’s 1993 theory of McDonaldization, he explores how society is being stripped of its uniqueness.
🍔 What’s McDonaldization?
Think of it like this:
- Same Big Mac in Boston, Bangkok, and Buenos Aires
- Applied to music = Predictable, processed, passionless songs
- Everything becomes:
- Efficient
- Quantifiable
- Predictable
- Controlled
From music to architecture to Starbucks coffee, sameness is suffocating culture.
❝ It’s not aesthetic—it’s anesthesia. ❞
🎵 The Musical Happy Meal
Mark traces this trend in music all the way back to The Monkees—America’s first “assembled” band.
Now? The algorithm spits out Spotify-tested sludge:
- Same producers
- Same chord progressions
- Same vocal effects
📊 And the data backs it up:
From 1958–2021, Billboard chart audio attributes are clustering tighter every decade. Music is literally becoming more uniform.
🎨 The Bigger Picture: It’s Not Just Music
Hotel lobby art is now just abstract blobs to match beige couches. We’ve replaced artistic inspiration with interior design. It’s not soul—it’s sales.
And the most dangerous part?
❝ This cultural fast food is erasing differences—racial, cultural, musical. ❞
✊ The Resistance Starts Here
Mark’s manifesto:
- Buy a zine (or make one)
- Go to a dive bar show
- Support weird, small, soul-fueled artists
- Avoid the “Recommended For You” trap
- NEVER settle for beige
❝ Every time you skip the Top 40 and play something from Bandcamp, the algorithm dies a little. ❞
🎧 This Week’s 5 Songs That Don’t Suck
1. 🧪 Making a Monster – The Hoosiers
Recommended by a student at Bowling Green, this track is funky, layered, and full of chip-tune flair. Horns + harmonies + retro keys = a rich pop-rock delight.
🎧 For fans of: Electric Six, Franz Ferdinand, Guster
“Updated yacht rock? Maybe. But slick and irresistible.”
2. 🌀 For You – Antron Songs
Weird, witty, and wonderfully sparse. Sounds like Weezer x They Might Be Giants with a lyrical smirk. You’ll either love it or skip it—and Mark loves it.
🎧 For fans of: Ween, TMBG, The Rentals
“Makes me grin every time.”
3. 🌾 Restless – Palmera
Folky, grungy, and emotionally raw. Gorgeous a cappella intro, vintage tape effects, and fiddle-banjo accents build into a dynamic soul-punch of a chorus.
🎧 For fans of: Caamp, Big Thief, The Head and the Heart
“This one has heart in the harmonies.”
4. 🇬🇧 Till the End – Cruise Balloon
A UK band blending Beatles harmonies, Oasis swagger, and even jam-band moments. The DNA is familiar, but the outcome feels fresh.
🎧 For fans of: The Verve, Dave Matthews Band, Gomez
“Let me know what you hear in it—I’m still figuring it out.”
5. 🎹 Little Fears – Joe Kelly and the Royal Pharmacy
Mark calls this one a Doors manifestation—Ray Manzarek-style harpsichord keys, a gritty vocal, and tight, tasteful musicianship. Retro but alive.
🎧 For fans of: The Doors, Jack White, Ryan Adams
“When pros don’t overplay, you get magic.”
🧠 Final Thought: Fight the Beige. Find the Soul.
Music is supposed to be weird. It’s supposed to hit you in the chest. And most of all—it should never sound like a McValue Meal.
❝ Let’s make it weird again. Let’s rage against the dying of the light. ❞
🌐 Join the Resistance (and the Playlist)
🖥️ SongsThatDontSuck.net
→ Stream this week’s tracks
→ Explore past episodes
→ Join the newsletter
→ Submit artist recommendations
→ Buy a tee and spread the good noise
📱 Only on Instagram and BlueSky
🚫 No Threads, TikTok, or Spotify beige-coding
🎨 …and I quote…
❝ Beige is the ceiling color you notice during a bad lay. That’s what this music sounds like. ❞
— Mark Bradbourne 🎙️
