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Pop music changing to reflect hard times?


MrKnobs

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Well, the headline has the key phrase, since 1960 -- and there's been a LOT of economic fluctuation since then, from "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" to "Happy Days Are Here, Again," and back, numerous times.

Me, I've seldom bonded with relentlessly cheery songs no matter the time signature or mode.

A notable exception might be "Age of Aquarius" -- but I was just getting back into rock in my mid-teen years, I was coming out of a major depression (and used the song when it would come on the radio [it never occurred to me to buy it because I still thought it was kind of sappy] to lift my spirits, along with some mental imaging techniques) -- and, if I recall/interpret correctly, "Aquarius" is nominally in a minor key, anyhow. Ditto for "Get On Up," another uplifting song I liked anyway. (A lot, actually, but part of that was seeing Curtis Mayfield play it at his last show, a real celebration... sadly everything changed the next day.)

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But it seems they're looking only a pop music. With dance music, chill and trance are often in minor keys, while rave and house are often more major, or ambiguous (e.g., mostly tonic/fifth).

My takeaway is that if you want to stand out from the current crowd, you need to write short songs in major keys, with fairly fast tempos. I guess this means Marky's time is near!

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Quote Originally Posted by Anderton View Post
But it seems they're looking only a pop music. With dance music, chill and trance are often in minor keys, while rave and house are often more major, or ambiguous (e.g., mostly tonic/fifth).

My takeaway is that if you want to stand out from the current crowd, you need to write short songs in major keys, with fairly fast tempos. I guess this means Marky's time is near!
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Personally speaking, I`m much more attuned to sad, moodier, angry music... not necessarily in that order. Then again, I was flipping through stations earlier today and caught the last 2 minutes of Beethoven`s 9th Symphony... wow, thank God I was at a red light... it sent chills through my body... just heavenly.

Depends on the mood I guess.

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Well, I'm among those who find solace in darker music and lyrics. Not least because so many 'happy' songs seem so patently phony. Now, sure, irony helps. First time I heard "Don't Worry, Be Happy," I was rather charmed. (McFerrin's an interesting musician and an engaging performer. I wouldn't swear to it but I may have first heard the song seeing him at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Phil, one of those ultra-light summer pops things. It was a fun evening. What I remember. I drank back then. And that may have been the night we ended up with not one but two wine bottles rolling away under the seats, one row at a time, blonk... blonk... blonk... everyone turning to look at the weird punk rockers in the cheap seats.)

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Are times really harder, or is it just more acceptable now to admit it?

I wasn't alive in the 60's, so I really have no idea, but I have this impression that back then it wasn't as socially acceptable to be publicly sad or negative. Like there was a sort of obligation to sugarcoat things publicly.

That could lead to happier-sounding pop music. Then over time, when it became more okay to show your sadface, pop music would follow suit.

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Quote Originally Posted by veracohr View Post
Are times really harder, or is it just more acceptable now to admit it?

I wasn't alive in the 60's, so I really have no idea, but I have this impression that back then it wasn't as socially acceptable to be publicly sad or negative. Like there was a sort of obligation to sugarcoat things publicly.

That could lead to happier-sounding pop music. Then over time, when it became more okay to show your sadface, pop music would follow suit.
Good point.
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You can change whether music is appealing to your dark side or not. In fact the type of music you expose yourself to can be feeding depression and all sorts of ills. Think of it as food with poor nutritional value, or at least incomplete nutritional value. Can music cause anger and depression? Yeah, I think so

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Quote Originally Posted by veracohr View Post
Are times really harder, or is it just more acceptable now to admit it?

I wasn't alive in the 60's, so I really have no idea, but I have this impression that back then it wasn't as socially acceptable to be publicly sad or negative. Like there was a sort of obligation to sugarcoat things publicly.
Well I was alive then, and I think what you're characterizing was more common in the 50s. The 60s was a transitional point, because there was a great amount of societal upheaval (assassinations, civil rights, awareness that we were trashing the earth, etc.). So you had groups like the Doors, Clear Light, even the Jefferson Airplane expressing some of the darker elements of life mixed in with the happy happy pop that co-existed with it.
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Quote Originally Posted by Beck

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You can change whether music is appealing to your dark side or not. In fact the type of music you expose yourself to can be feeding depression and all sorts of ills. Think of it as food with poor nutritional value, or at least incomplete nutritional value. Can music cause anger and depression? Yeah, I think so
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I think the article is looking for connections where there aren't any. I mean, the world is in very rough shape right now, yet with few exceptions, the key characteristics of today's pop music seem to be major-key songs about relationships, set to club-friendly beats. And usually, the same four chords over and over again. Not criticizing...just sayin'. Maybe if you were to zoom way out on the timeline from 1955 up to now, it might take on the shape the article is describing...but in the past five years, in my observation, the trend seems to be leaning toward more upbeat party music. A down-tempo introspective song might actually be a refreshing change.

The '60s were the time when protest and political folk songs were mainstream, as well as dark, moody psychedelic rock...is the article really suggesting music was happier then? Doesn't seem likely. Sure, there were always bubblegum pop songs on the radio, but there was also probably a greater percentage of odd music on the charts back then that would probably never have a chance to fly today.

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Quote Originally Posted by Anderton View Post
But it can also be cathartic and serve as an outlet for those kind of feelings, so you can exorcise them.
Yes, you are correct. It's when dark moods dominate ones music consumption that people get into trouble. Then its like any other destructive life habit. Music and TV are primary socialization vehicles same as peer groups. They speak to you and tell you what kind of world you live in... hopeful or hopeless.

A steady diet of hopeless messages can lead to distress. Combine dark music with reality TV where people are so cruel to each other and you can raise up a generation of mean, miserable and bleak. It
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