Science Proves Your Grandma Right About Pop Music

[Evil Smurf]

This is possibly the best song in the world

I might have agreed until Steven Wilson's latest solo album.


The album version is longer, but just as good.

Oh my, thank you for that gem

 

[Moeez]

Who even listens to pop anymore?! You're on the Internet, go search and discover music for yourself! Bandcamp, Pandora, and all that.

This is what I discovered from just browsing through Bandcamp:

 

[Moeez]

So...they have somehow tried to make subjective opinion "fact"?

"Bland" is a relative term; so is unique, and simple. There is no way to scientifically prove something like homogeneity or generic-ness in music, because those are personal factors.

Though, I guess I shouldn't get too worked up. Apparently most people on the Escapist (myself included) don't listen to pop anyway.

No. The loudness war is not subjective and does not care about your taste in music. It's an observable, verifiable trend in the music industry that is not restricted to pop music. Metal, in fact, is just as bad an offender as pop in that area(and this is coming from someone who prefers metal, albeit not the radio friendly stuff).

I was not referring to loudness but their claims of being able to "prove" that pop music is more bland today than in previous times.

It's actually pretty simple. Making up every song ever made are chord sequences and melodies that can be broken down and analysed with music theory. Through the Sixties and Seventies, we had a revolution of pop/rock music that brought new ideas and new chord structures to music. You had bands like Zeppelin, King Crimsons, Yes, the Beatles, Jean Michel-Jarre etc, reaching out and bringing in new ideas, new ways to play melodies, new ways to structure songs. Outside of Pop, you had artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Mahavishnu Orchestra literally revolutionising not just song structure, but the very structure of music.

Ever since the Eighties, mainstream music has been on a downward slide. Instead of trying to make new advances in music, the way Miles Davis and the Beatles managed to, we've simply dressed up the same chord sequences under new toys and gadgets, and called that progress. The fact that the majority of the biggest pop hits of the last few years (Gnarls Barkley: Crazy, GOTYE: Someone I Used To Know, Adele: Rolling In The Deep, etc) all revolve around the same Minor I-b7-b6 chord sequence should be an indicator of how stagnant pop music has become. That chord sequence was already old hat when Phil Collins used it for In The Air Tonight. The likes of Zeppelin and Hendrix had already done everything that needed to be done with that chord sequence in Stairway and All Along The Watchtower, respectively.

If we do not identify stagnation and repetition when it occurs, then how can we ever expect music to innovate and take us to new places. The music of the Fifties and Sixties was powerful enough to ignite the biggest social revolution the West has ever seen. Shouldn't we strive to create music of that power and importance today?

Why are you comparing pop music to rock? Huh?

BTW, you should get into post-rock then. Yndi Halda, This Will Destroy You, God is an Astronaut. Good shit.

 

[Scars Unseen]

I knew this.

Did they factor in the recent development of pop hits that encorporate 'whoa-oh-oh' choruses instead of spoken word lyrics?

Hmm... I can't fault a band for using wordless vocals in a song. The one I posted in this thread makes use of that, and it doesn't stop the song from being a highly dynamic, twenty-three minute long masterpiece. Blame the craftsman, not the tools, I guess.

 

[Kukakkau]

Dunno if this has been posted yet, but seems pretty appropriate for this thread

 

[CrazyJew]

I no longer go to bars that under 30's frequent-- the music is simply too loud to enjoy a conversation with friends.

To do that you have to limit yourself to Jazz bars. Not that I would complain.

 

[evilneko]

I blame synthesizers.

 

[The Great JT]

Maybe this is why my taste in music seems to keep going backwards...or maybe I need to cut down on the bloody Fallout.

 

[SuperNova221]

So...?

It's a fairly arbitrary fact that just means what it means, yet everybody is acting as if it means all pop songs are now officially horrible and completely identical. It doesn't, even if there was a huge difference in how homogenised everything is now compared to before, it means almost nothing. It literally just means there is a huge difference in how homogenised everything is now compared to before. It is in no way an indicator of the artistic value, the quality, or anything really.

On top of that I don't understand why so many people are eliteist towards pop. It's effectively pulp fiction, or a B-movie. If you approach it light heartedly expecting it to be a bit rubbish it's actually fine to listen to if you're in the mood for that. If people try to argue that it's well made or insightful, and treat it as a serious piece of music/art, then sure you can tell them they are idiots, but just as something to listen to in a casual mood, nothing wrong with it at all.

 

[gyroscopeboy]

This also applies to metal, and most forms of non-world music

I shall place my palm to my face because of thee.

Why? It's a valid point. Metal and other "rock" genres use the same timbres in every song. It's no wonder a lot of it sounds very similar. Im not hating on metal, in fact I quite enjoy it.

Let me stop you there.

<youtube=MdWvwCRZs3I>

Does not sound similar to

<youtube=aM73Do42VTo>

End of story.

First of all, great songs!

While I agree that the chord progressions and melody are vastly different, there are still only the same 3 distinct timbres in both songs (with the exception of the acoustic at the start).

Is it enough to differentiate? I think so in this case, however something like hardcore or dubstep, with very similar structures AS WELL AS timbres, it is not.

 

[Moeez]

Dunno if this has been posted yet, but seems pretty appropriate for this thread

HAHA this is amazing!

 

[Jkudo]

and why wouldn't it?
music is a buisiness and thus aims to make money and after 60 years we have figured out how to make the music that makes the most money. and by the same logic everyone tries to make the next COD and milk it yearly all the music sounds the same

YAY capitalism!
The free market continues its assault on art. More at 11.

 

[Scars Unseen]

So...?

It's a fairly arbitrary fact that just means what it means, yet everybody is acting as if it means all pop songs are now officially horrible and completely identical. It doesn't, even if there was a huge difference in how homogenised everything is now compared to before, it means almost nothing. It literally just means there is a huge difference in how homogenised everything is now compared to before. It is in no way an indicator of the artistic value, the quality, or anything really.

On top of that I don't understand why so many people are eliteist towards pop. It's effectively pulp fiction, or a B-movie. If you approach it light heartedly expecting it to be a bit rubbish it's actually fine to listen to if you're in the mood for that. If people try to argue that it's well made or insightful, and treat it as a serious piece of music/art, then sure you can tell them they are idiots, but just as something to listen to in a casual mood, nothing wrong with it at all.

You do realize that the opinion you just espoused concerning pop music would be considered elitist by pop fans, don't you? Some people don't believe that the music they prefer is "a bit rubbish" at all. Me, I don't worry about trashing music styles I'm not interested in, because it takes away from time I could spend promoting music I actually like. I don't listen to rap/hip hop, but it would be disingenuous of me to try to claim it wasn't real music since I'm a fan of death metal(both use vocals as a rhythmic component of music rather than a melodic one). Maybe that still makes me an elitist. Probably, but I guess I don't really care since I pretty much keep it to myself.

And when I'm in a casual mood? I listen to stuff like this:

 

[Undeadpool]

I can't remember the last time I heard good sax in pop music...

I'm really glad that now there's actually scientific proof to support my arguments.

Take that, you boombox-blasting hooligans!!

Baker Street? Too obvious?

 

[Garrett Richey]

EDIT -- click reply to post... site generates reply to thread...

 

[Sean Steele]

I had always thought myself an old fogie dooming myself to nostalgic pompusness based on ignorance but I guess when it comes to pop music I'm pretty much on the money.

 

[dagens24]

Wrong. More complex and/or unique melodies and chords does NOT make a song better.