Category: Let's talk
Getting together, breaking up or getting laid. Or some combination of the above. While listening to the radio this morning I've been categorizing songs, and almost 100% of them are like this. The song Red Red Wine isn't actually about wine. I don't find very many songs that actually speak to me and the few I find are almost never in the mainstream. Why do people sing about essentially one thing all the time?
Listen to some death metal for a change.
Lot of similarities in death metal too. That said Voyager, if you stick to a single source of music, you're bound to hear a lot of the same themes crop up. The music played on the radio hardly represents the vastness of the musical spectrum which exists.
Yeah, that's your problem, you're listening to the radio. Club songs sell, so
that's what you're going to hear. Get a better source for music, and you'll hear
songs about all kinds of things. Hell, I can show you a song about a poor sailor
who is swallowed by a whale in order to kill the man who left his mother broke
and sick which led to her death. You won't hear that on the radio.
I think if you stick to mainstream sources it's pretty much going to be about relationships and sex, and many times at least in decades old songs they would sing of love when it was more about sex. You're going to have to go to some specialty internet streams or college radio either on radio or the net for different things. A lot of progressive rock tells stories, and so does folk and some country. You might even find modern protest songs under folk, I'm thinking. And then, why does music have to have words at all. Go check out some jazz, and I'm talking the real jazz, not that smooth stuff which is better for telephone hold systems than anything else. Same goes for movie scores, classical music, and most surf rock is instrumental if you like to really kick it old school, and I'm just scratching the surface.
I’m not so much bothered by the songs about relationships. They’ve been around one way or another since I started listening to music, and that’s a pretty long time in human terms considering I’ll be 50 this year. But the crap they’re trying to shove down our throats now is mind-deadening, nowhere music. Maybe it’s fine if you’re like, twelve, but there’s no real depth and no real feeling. And there’s been no real innovation in years. You can listen to something from 1984, and it won’t sound all that different from today in many ways. Except that in 1984, you can argue that there was still some soul, or whatever you wanna call it, to the music they were playing then. But I wonder what it’s like to be a kid now. I’m a child of the 70s. I remember growing up and for a time being fascinated by all forms of older music. Between the ages of eleven and twelve alone, I went through about three or four different musical obsessions. The show Happy Days got me into 50s music. I dunno; it just sounded so different from the stuff they were playing in 1976 or so. And on weekends I got to stay up as late as I wanted, so I used to watch a lot of late-night old movies. Got me hooked on the old swing stuff of the 30s and 40s. The music evoked the era the same way the 50s music evoked that era. And then, since I grew up on country music, I got really, really fascinated by the very old stuff of the 20s and 30s. It was raw, rustic and primitive at its worst, but some of it was pretty good for what they were able to do back then. And then the old country music of the 40s, 50s and early 60s really fascinated me as well. You could still find bands that were almost exclusively playing Western swing in the 70s. Anyone remember Asleep at the Wheel? And in my early teens, from thirteen to about fifteen, it was all about the 60s and early 70s. They used to do a lot of history of rock shows on AM radio back then, and you could literally sometimes sit there and listen to a half-hour segment of how rock music grew up. Nothing was more enthralling to me back then than to listen to documentaries about the 60s because again, the music evoked the era. In 1978, ’79 and ’80, you didn’t hear protest songs, but they were all over the airwaves in the mid- and late-60s because there was a lot to protest about at the time. Point is that it was great being a kid back then and as much into music as I was. You could actually, if you wanted to, see how music evolved, grew, innovated from decade to decade. And (gasp!) I was even into disco for a time, and they were playing the BGs incessantly in the late 70s. Anybody remember when AM radio actually played music and you could go to this or that station and they’d have BG-free weekends? But in the late 70s and the early to mid-80s, you could listen to that, or you could listen to schmaltzy pop, or you could listen to Southern rock like Skinnard, or new wave. If you were into country, you could listen to cross-over like the Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly and Kenny, Lee Greenwood. Or, the neo-traditionalists like George Strait or, for a time, John Anderson, or early Reba. Strait in particular still played Western swing. You want the old standards? You could still hear George Jones or the Statlers. Even Ray Price sounded good in his last days on the charts. I dunno that kids have that kind of thing these days. Or maybe I’m finally getting old, but it does seem to me that we’ve somehow stopped innovating, at least in music. Speaking for me, the modern stuff has almost no fascination, and you have to do a lot more to impress me. And going back into the past only gets you just so far because if you’ve been into the older music as much as I still am, you gotta look harder and harder to find stuff you haven’t already heard. But when I have a choice of being in the car and listening to modern country music or nothing at all, I’ll choose nothing. All too frequently now, silence, or a good pair of earbuds and my own books or music, are my best friends. Pretty sad.
I was born in Cleveland, the home of the Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame and WMMS, so that's how I got into prog rock and psychedelia early on.
Two words for you Johndy, brill Building.
I figure most music you hear on radio is much more product than art, it is meant to be sold by the millions and it's more about having a strong beat and singable lyrics than to be anything actually interesting or moving. Next, so much media is marketed to demographic groups. I dunno whether it's 18 to 34 age groups or 25 to 34 but certain age ranges are marketed to that way. So figure you get about roughly 25 to 35 years old, just depending, and it doesn't matter as much if you like what other people your age like. Me, I spent most of my music listening time by myself so I developed strange tastes. I liked what I liked, not what I was supposed to like because I was fifteen or because other kids my age liked it. I was aware of pop music of the day but didn't care much about it, it was just that stuff everybody else liked. This became especially true after about 1983 when they started playing Michael Jackson and other artists to death. It just didn't do a thing for me no matter how popular it was. I was 18 and buying reissue pressings of old Yes and Pink Floyd and Beatles albums and that's how it was.
If you are a song writer, what pays your bills is songs based on the human condition.
People want to relate, or find a song that relates, and love, sex, or some sort of relationship do this.
As pointed out, changing your music media will bring you more music on varying topics.
You don’t have to go old school to hear it, just get more in to other sources of music. Indy artist, Country, so Blues, Reggae, will bring you different topics.
Radio is geared to the human condition, and what the promoters are pushing.
It used to be the program director on a station, and the individual disc jockeys would choose what they played, so you could hear lots of variations.
Now mainstream radio is run by 2 or 3 large companies, like Clear, and they choose the playlist.
Also, promoters use to be able to bring a song to a disc jockey directly and get it played, but this doesn’t happen anymore.
That's why I abandoned the thought of working in the radio business years ago.
Had things still been that way, where you were allowed some freedom to choose which songs you play, I honestly think that would have been my career choice.
Unfortunately, being able to pick what songs you played and what songs you
didn't is what led to the payola scandal in the late fifties.
I'm far from an expert on the topic, but Internet radio seems to be providing some sort of outlet for the niche players that don't fit the mainstream cookie-cutter musicians that get airplay these days. But just from mere observation, it seems to me that you gotta accept that if you wanna play what you love, and what you love isn't what's quote end-quote in right now, the odds of being a so-called mega-star are probably not in your favor. You better be in it for the love rather than the money, and don't quit your day job. You'll starve otherwise, and you'll never be happy. And if you think you're gunna get airplay, have I got a deal for you. Best parcel of rich bottom land in Antarctica you'll ever see. what am I bid?
ah, I agree with the majority, here. I listen to quite a collection. I enjoy folk music, and folk explores quite a few topics.
to Johndee: It's difficult, I was born in 1992. most of the children I was around enjoyed and prefer the radio. This is the reason I have heard my share of modern music and thus know about it. Personally I am not able to enjoy it. I listen to nothing beyond the early 1970s. You are not quite able to find it on the radio, so I do not much prefer the radio. I do not own a radio nor do I wish to. I am not much for listening to news sources myself, I am much more of a reader. I rather listen to a talk/news radio station or silence over the radio myself. Internet radio streams and Pandora are quite useful. However, in order for me to have the best quality, and to listen to exactly what I prefer I collect music, I think that's how most of us younger individuals manage. I know many young collectors who specifically prefers older music. I have over 300 gb of music. My ringtones are older musical tones as well. I have the archies sugar sugar as my ringtone, and peter paul and Mary's Day is done as a text tone. I upload my collection to iTunes match and stream it that way.
Rachel, my main ring tone is the old Twilight Zone theme song. My ring tone for when my ride shows up is Funny Farm by Dr. Demento. They're coming to take me away, haha.
I listen to the radio sometimes when I want familiar noise. Fortunately for times when I want more than noise we have a few stations (like the one run by the university) which play "none of the hits, all of the time."
I didn't mean to imply that I listen to nothing but the radio. I guess what I'm asking is, why do the popular songs always seem to follow the same theme? I'd think people would get bored with it. I'm talking about sex and romance, which are not the same as the human condition.
SL, could you post a link to that song you mentioned earlier?
hahaha! doctor demento is good. he isn't quite my favorite.
You could put it that way, some youngsters my age do not mind it at all, even enjoys the mindlessness. Our generation, you can say, is able to be rather mindless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Sw61oITuts
Nooooo the Twilight Zone song freaks me out! Anyway, I agree about the internet radio thing. Regular radio is a dinosaur. Haven't listened to one in years.
I don't know if I have a reason for why. If I had to guess I'd say because it sells. Music is emotional, and much of this music caters to some of our most basic emotions. The music is often relatable to our circumstances, or it gives us a glimpse into the lives - all be it probably fantastical ones of others living the high life. And heck, really we've all got it so good as a society now that there just isn't as much contravercy to sing about. People like to piss and mo0an about how hard life is, but though our problems seem big to us, they aren't the sort of grand scale issues people of previous generations have dealt with. Heck, even the past wars of the last ten or twenty years are mostly just stuff happening to "other people".
I agree with Wayne. Music is emotional, and for most people, relationships, sex, love, breakups, are emotional things.
Songs that aren't about those topics usually are emotional movers also, they just make you think and feel things about a political situation, the plight of the clinically insane, the plight of people about to die, etc.
Sex, love, romance are the human condition.
The escape soungs are about party, or drinking.
Most people at work are thinking about there lovers, what they want to do when they get off, or how they'd like some companionship in there lives.
Breakup songs sale tons, because people relate, or think they do.
Song writers are people, and emotion drives song writing.
I'd say song content is why country music stays one of the favorite types world wide.
But sometimes I just like how the instruments sound.
it's true
I'm with imp. I care less for lyrical content than the way the song itself sounds. I think it's one of the reasons very little rap appeals to me, and "pop" too for that matter. My tastes are ... various.
I am able to be quite the same. I tend to passively listen to music, most of the
time. Lyrics are not heard quite often, and sometimes I have no idea what song
was played.
Nobody's mentioned industrial music. Now that can be quite interesting. For an intro, check out the Doomed channel on SomaFM.
It's just what I need at the moment.
I love it. Actually, dark industrial music has the effect of making me feel better when I'm down.
I love almost all kinds of music, industrial included.
clearly, I'm in the minority though, cause listening to lyrics of songs are my first priority; if I'm unable to tell what story is being told, or if I can't take away a message of some sort, I likely won't be into it.
Cody, could you enlighten me please if you would be so kind. Wha do you mean by "brill building"?
I do not prefer classical myself, however, do not always listen to the lyrics carefully.
Speaking of industrial, wish I could have the entire discographies of Einsturzende Neubauten, Coil, Current 93, Throbbing Gristle and The Legendary Pink Dots. But they're all absolutely huge and complicated.
Speaking of industrial, wish I could have the entire discographies of Einsturzende Neubauten, Coil, Current 93, Throbbing Gristle and The Legendary Pink Dots. But they're all absolutely huge and complicated.
Pop music is about the same thing because it is aimed at a narrow demographic which basically consists of outgoing people who prefer lust over love and freaks.
Join the club, I like a pretty big variety of music as well, and don't always listen
to the song's lyrics until after I've heard it several times and part of it all of a
sudden catches my attention, which can be a good thing or a bad thing,
considering the fact that I have a 5-year-old. She loves music that has a really
fast beat, and starts dancing around all over the place, so when I heard this mix
one time of the song "blurred lines," and "got to give it up," that I wanted to
find to put on her mp3 player, then started listening to it only to find that the
language wasn't for her ears, it never made it there.
Join the club, I like a pretty big variety of music as well, and don't always listen
to the song's lyrics until after I've heard it several times and part of it all of a
sudden catches my attention, which can be a good thing or a bad thing,
considering the fact that I have a 5-year-old. She loves music that has a really
fast beat, and starts dancing around all over the place, so when I heard this mix
one time of the song "blurred lines," and "got to give it up," that I wanted to
find to put on her mp3 player, then started listening to it only to find that the
language wasn't for her ears, it never made it there.
Join the club, I like a pretty big variety of music as well, and don't always listen
to the song's lyrics until after I've heard it several times and part of it all of a
sudden catches my attention, which can be a good thing or a bad thing,
considering the fact that I have a 5-year-old. She loves music that has a really
fast beat, and starts dancing around all over the place, so when I heard this mix
one time of the song "blurred lines," and "got to give it up," that I wanted to
find to put on her mp3 player, then started listening to it only to find that the
language wasn't for her ears, it never made it there.
She probably heard them anyway. Smile.
At 5, no fear of her understanding the meaning.
She just wanted to dance. Smile.
You could always put Weird Al's Word Crimes on her iPod instead.
What type of music do you want? Try listening to experimental stuff if you want different.
Lol, never heard that one, will look that up though.
Just open the link in my post and it will play.
Um, I'm late here. But, I like the earlier songs. And, I love The Oak Ridge Boys!
One more thing about songs, women are bitches, and they sure like the word "Hoe". Also I heard some Lyrics, that were odd. "The more drinks in your system,
The harder the fight!"
Anyway, yes it's about getting drunk a few girls, and maybe a nice room.
Anyway, just commenting.
Blessings!
lol, good point there. I love a lot of the older music, but think most of today's
music sounds pretty crappy, and hate the fact that that's what Hannah's slowly
getting exposed to as she grows up.
I was amazed when we were going somewhere one time, and pulled up
alongside someone in a vehicle who had a rap song blasting out of their stereo,
that of course was unedited, and even though she most likely couldn't
understand the vast majority, if any of it, she seemed to express that she
wasn't thrilled about hearing it either, which I thought was amazing, considering
the fact that she watches "the fresh beat band/imagination movers," where they
rap on occasion there, which she loves.
I have nothing against rap music in general, depending on the subject matter,
but if it's something that's all about sex, killing, etc. that's full of obscenities,
then that's something I have an issue with and I don't understand how people
even call that music.
lol, good point there. I love a lot of the older music, but think most of today's
music sounds pretty crappy, and hate the fact that that's what Hannah's slowly
getting exposed to as she grows up.
I was amazed when we were going somewhere one time, and pulled up
alongside someone in a vehicle who had a rap song blasting out of their stereo,
that of course was unedited, and even though she most likely couldn't
understand the vast majority, if any of it, she seemed to express that she
wasn't thrilled about hearing it either, which I thought was amazing, considering
the fact that she watches "the fresh beat band/imagination movers," where they
rap on occasion there, which she loves.
I have nothing against rap music in general, depending on the subject matter,
but if it's something that's all about sex, killing, etc. that's full of obscenities,
then that's something I have an issue with and I don't understand how people
even call that music.
lol, good point there. I love a lot of the older music, but think most of today's
music sounds pretty crappy, and hate the fact that that's what Hannah's slowly
getting exposed to as she grows up.
I was amazed when we were going somewhere one time, and pulled up
alongside someone in a vehicle who had a rap song blasting out of their stereo,
that of course was unedited, and even though she most likely couldn't
understand the vast majority, if any of it, she seemed to express that she
wasn't thrilled about hearing it either, which I thought was amazing, considering
the fact that she watches "the fresh beat band/imagination movers," where they
rap on occasion there, which she loves.
I have nothing against rap music in general, depending on the subject matter,
but if it's something that's all about sex, killing, etc. that's full of obscenities,
then that's something I have an issue with and I don't understand how people
even call that music.
To understand rap and it's content, you'd have to live in the life, or places they do.
The content is most time out, but true as to what the rapper has experienced, or live around.
It is what makes this music so popular.
Also the language is much like hearing a song in Spanish, or German. It is just that language.
If you understand it, you understand the rap.
I actually wish I could get the meaning, but, I don't know how to get inside someone's head. And, I'm not making fun, I just am curious. The creation of a song, makes for an interest of mine, that how you think what's in your head when you right it. From Berry White, Berry manilo, to Ice Tea, and ludacris. I actually saw the movie that had to do with the song, Gangsters's paradise.
I've always wondered what made someone write what they do. Even I wonder why, too get off topic a bit, like even books make me curisou. Why did Stephen King write IT? Or, 11/22/63? Why did Ludacris write Move? Stuff like that fascinates me.
Good point, I've always wondered things like that myself. There's this site I like
to visit a lot called songfacts.com, that has most of the ones we all know and
love, and you can look them up and find info on their meanings and the like,
and I find it fascinating as ever.
Sorry by the way, for my last post coming up about 3 times; I tried multiple
times to get it to post, and it just seemed to be sitting there not doing anything
so guess the site was wanting to be a little slow, or computer was acting up.
If you want some different lyrics and music, listen to the Residents. Start with the Duckstab album I think, Dr. Demento would play several tracks from that one often on his show.
To really learn about the new kids and what they're like, look up #Selfie by the Chainsmokers. It's a parody on a few of the people I see at the pub sometimes.
The song is deliberately a parody, I admit I had a good laugh when I watched the vid on Youtube.
That's a little scary.
I've always been curious about the meanings and mindsets behind the music I listen to also. I might need to look at songfacts just to see if any of them are listed.
I'd recommend giving that a try, they seem to update it pretty frequently, so
you never know what you might find on there, as well as wikipidia; you can
sometimes find some stuff on there.