I'm not sure the music analogy quite fits what I was trying to get across - appealing to the lowest common denominator isn't a bad thing.
It's that memes takes no effort compared to making something original and they appeal to the lowest common denominator so they get the most attention (and upvotes/likes/whatever feel good). This does two things: incentives people to make template memes instead of expressing original thoughts and drowns out the original thoughts of others.
I see the value of memes as "conversation starters" (like this thread) so I don't hate them, I just think it's made social media worse and a lot more boring.
I totally agree with your point on publications. It's one thing to have a creative title with a built-in pin but adding fluff just to get laughs...I dunno, I'm not saying they shouldn't have fun but it distracts from the point.