^^ I do music tech at college, and I can tell you that the people who use auto-tune are WAY more than the idiot popstars you're thinking of. Yes, it's horrible when you hear it done to death, but I've used it a few times on my own vocals - almost everybody does, tbh. As for people who can't sing, almost all the groups I like can't sing - Neutral Milk Hotel, anyone? Or pretty much any punk band ever? What pisses me the fuck off is this incredibly rigid idea of what a "good" voice is - Guy Garvey would never win like X Factor or something, but he's got one of the most beautiful, gorgeous voices in the business. Unfortunately, he sings high and in his own accent HORROR HORROR HORROR.
There are a LOT of things about pop music that I really like - mostly the music, as opposed to the lyrics and the vocals, tbh. The good stuff is sooo good, but it's like any other genre - there will always be really shitty elements within it, whether it's production effects or whole groups that suck. With the lyrics and things, I guess it's like stories - there's really only so many thing to say in the world, you can't blame people for repeating the sentiment. The fucktard thing is that they don't repeat the sentiment, they repeat the phraseology word for fucking word, and that's where it all falls down. The sentiment of "I broke my heart" can be said in so much more of a gorgeous way, like, "My heart just burst like a glass balloon" *dribble* xD
