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All this disparaging of American pop music is a bit ridiculous. Yes, many popular songs in the US have shallow lyrical content and concern entirely unoriginal themes, but have any of you been paying attention to songs that chart highest on Oricon? I love J-pop, obviously, but the genre is notorious for lyrics that are completely devoid of any meaning, resorting instead to repeating to death empty phrases: LOVE WISH DREAM BELIEVE TAKE A CHANCE, etc. Of course, this is not to say there aren't exceptions: Ayu is one example of a J-pop artist with occasionally brilliant lyrics that border on poetry, but for every Ayu there is a Morning Musume, a Hey Say Jump, a Koda Kumi, an Arashi...
(Not to say these artists are bad - indeed I love me some Arashi and Kuu, but you really can't attribute lyrical genius to them)
There is no intrinsic obstacle to original thought in English either, it's just that many US pop artists choose not to be lyrically interesting. The argument that certain languages are harder pressed to have a certain flow, aesthetic, or power of expression is frankly ridiculous.
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