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Science Confirms: Pop Music Is Too Loud And Sounds The Same

triachus

By triachus
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triachus Grand Master

triachus

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Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010.

 

A team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.

 

 

http://www.reuters.c...E86P0R820120726

 

 

finally some science to back up our old-man complaints

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skotosa Veteran

skotosa

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I think one could argue the merit in pop music is in the lyrics, which I doubt that got analyzed.

 

But most of the lyrics are probably the same as well. About love and sutff.

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Ivan Ooze Grand Master

Ivan Ooze

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Damn right it's true, especially those electrodance / r&b tracks are louder / noisier then most merzbow stuff, i can't even listen to it on low volume and then those 3 notes chords/melodies they keep repeating not to mention the retarded lyrics, makes me wanna puke!

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Goiter Sanchez Grand Master

Goiter Sanchez

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the merit in pop music is in the lyrics

 

rah rah

 

ah ah ah

 

roma roma-ma

 

ga ga

 

ooh la la

 

 

 

 

BABEH BABEH BABEH

 

Also...

 

Girls, we run this mother (yeah) [4x]

 

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run this mother? Girls

Who run this mother? Girls

Who run this mother? Girls

Who run this mother? Girls

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

Who run the world? Girls (girls)

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Ivan Ooze Grand Master

Ivan Ooze

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(chorus)

Come here girl

Go ahead, be gone with it

Come to the back

Go ahead, be gone with it

VIP

Go ahead, be gone with it

Drinks on me

Go ahead, be gone with it

Let me see what you're working with

Go ahead, be gone with it

Look at those hips

Go ahead, be gone with it

You make me smile

Go ahead, be gone with it

Go ahead child

Go ahead, be gone with it

And get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

Go ahead, be gone with it

 

Get your sexy on

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Soloman Tump Grand Master

Soloman Tump

Posted
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Guitar music is the same too.

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

 

I don't know, I don't know

I don't really know what's wrong with me

 

I don't know, I don't know

I don't really know what's wrong with me

 

I don't know, I don't know

I don't really know what's wrong with me

 

What's wrong with me, what's wrong with me

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

What'll it take to make you people dance

 

I don't know, I don't know

I don't really know what's wrong with me

 

I don't know, I don't know

I don't really know what's wrong with me

 

I don't know, I don't know

I don't really know what's wrong with me

 

What's wrong with me, what's wrong with me

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Guest ruiagnelo

Guest ruiagnelo

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Let me see you get low you scared you, scared you

Drop dat ass to the floor you scared you, scared you

Let me see you get low you scared you, scared you

Drop dat ass to the floor you scared you, scared you

Drop dat ass ya shake it fast ya

Pop dat ass to the left and the right ya

Drop dat ass ya shake it fast ya

Pop dat ass to the left and the right ya

Now back,back,back it up

a back,back,back it up

a back,back,back it up

a back,back,back it up

Now stop ( O) then wiggle wit it

Now stop ( O) then wiggle wit it

Now stop ( O) then wiggle wit it

Now stop ( O) then wiggle wit it

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joshuatxuk Grand Master

joshuatxuk

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It's all written by the same select people. For instance, you can blame this guy for a lot of it:

 

110740-doctor_luke_617_409.jpg

 

It's really nothing new - select few producers dominate the pop music in all decades of the 20th century, especially the 1940s and 50s when hit songs regularly quite a few, even not a dozen so, covers the year they debuted, i.e. Pop Standards. Hell, back then people would actually make money for covering hits from the Rhythm & Blues charts (previously called "race music") for the white audiences.

 

Now the industry is more refined, centralized and monopoly-driven than ever, mostly because the records labels are dependent on licensing and digital sales. Look at that Flo Rida guy for instance - he can't really sing, rap, or dance - he doesn't write his own music - all of his singles are lazy samples or near-covers of past Billboard hits and yet HE is everywhere. His label puts his music in commercials, E! and MTV reality show soundtracks, promotional bumps, and on all corporate owned radio stations. Enough people continue to eat that shit up. Even the most hardened indie or underground music listener, if drunk enough, might find themselves dancing to it at a wedding reception. That's the reality - it's shoved down our throats - louder and more compressed than ever.

 

Now I'm not bitter about any of this. The dumb masses absorb it all, and hell, I find myself enjoying some Top40 hits here and there. I just find the whole industry hilarious. It's just the RIAA lobby shit that pisses me off.

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chenGOD Grand Master

chenGOD

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Joshua - that's not entirely true. Plenty of pop artists wrote their own songs:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xATUw_ZVTzQ

(prince wrote everything on this album bar one song which was a collab)

 

(duran duran wrote everything on Seven and the Ragged Tiger - still my fave)

 

(rik ocasek wrote everything on this album)

 

Stevie Wonder (ok he might not be "pop" per se, but his big hits were certainly in the pop vein), Howard Jones, Billy Joel and so on.

That's not to say that what you write isn't accurate, but there are certainly plenty of really successful pop artists who have written all (or a large portion of) their own material.

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VIII Collaborator

VIII

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agreed

 

then again everything is better as seen through nostalgia goggles

 

pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.

 

also, how are chords, melodies and "types of sound" objectively measured as good or bad?

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joshuatxuk Grand Master

joshuatxuk

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Stevie Wonder (ok he might not be "pop" per se, but his big hits were certainly in the pop vein), Howard Jones, Billy Joel and so on.

That's not to say that what you write isn't accurate, but there are certainly plenty of really successful pop artists who have written all (or a large portion of) their own material.

 

Oh I completely agree. Prince especially, he's written great songs for others well (Sinead O'Conner for example) and there are still a lot of artists in Top40 writing their own material, and there always have been. I got carried away in mentioning that there are always behind-the-scenes composers to consider, that was an inaccurate blanket statement on my part.

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Guest Frankie5fingers

Guest Frankie5fingers

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pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.

 

also, how are chords, melodies and "types of sound" objectively measured as good or bad?

bland doesn't mean bad. it just means there isn't much variety in the songs. which is somewhat true. most songs will follow the same 1 4 5 pattern (or something similar) and typically never use anything more crazier than a minor chord. (not always true but the majority follow this pattern) not many diminished or 7's in pop songs either but once and awhile they are thrown in but even that isn't much variety. this doesn't make these songs bad cause as you say its all objective. but they didn't say it was bad.

 

also, those producers didn't write the music. but they have had a hand in a majority of pop songs. they're producers, thats their job. not to create songs, but to tweak them. to make suggestions. no record label lets any artist release a song without having a producer at least look over it. thats why a lot of pop tunes do sound the same (At least many artist under a similar label). cause every producer has that one "trick" that they do.

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VIII Collaborator

VIII

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the similarity of pop music is planned to use the same uniform tried and true method of pleasing the lowest common denominator radio listener, of course it will fit into the same template of playing it safe musically. probably due to the proliferation of the internet, independent music, and a dying business model. i think this is the same with movies and TV. corporate media in general. it probably wasn't always like this because there were not many alternatives pre-internet when things seemed more authentic

 

yeah

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