What Songs Can Reveal in Today's World

 

Reproduction of an old player

After last week's post, I discovered in the NYT's online newspaper an informative article that fits well with last week's blog.  (See credits to authors, producer, and animation at the end of this blog.)  It also analyzes the changes in popular music, but it starts with the 1960s, pointing out the structure of songs:  Verse sets the scene; Pre-chorus builds tension; Chorus reaches climax; and cycle begins again.  As an example, they use "Natural Woman," by Aretha Franklin.

An antique cabinet for record albums

According to their analysis, things began to shift in the 2010s.  Certainly in my blog these changes are apparent, but I did not attempt to analyze or interpret  those changes.  The authors suggest expectable generational change + digitalization + less top-down control of the industry + the new streaming economy.  Think back to last week's more recent songs as containing some of the trends these authors describe:  The traditional musician structure is gone; in its place are word repetition and rhyme, and something they refer to as "the hook" is used to draw listeners back.

Album storage might include a radio show

They also suggest a variety of changes that have impacted music, starting with the electronic ability to make music at home, without expensive studios or agents.  Today musicians are generally paid by how often they are listened to on the current formats, in contrast to musicians of the past being paid on the basis of album sales.  They also mention that songs are generally shorter, with length not tied to what is required for a vinyl recording.

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Or, the album might hold Columbia or Decca

They close their article with a reminder that before the 1960s the structure of popular songs followed an AABA pattern, citing "Over the Rainbow" as an example.

That reference made me think of those modern day collectors of "Vinyl," who admire the quality and sound of old vinyl records, which sent me in search of the photographs used in this blog.

Every generation has its music.  The images in this blog go back to  my husband and my parents' generation and the reference to modern listeners refers to my nephew's wife, who is collecting vinyl--four generations of music lovers and the music they listened to coming from the 1930s to the 2020s.

Thank you to Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding, co-hosts of the podcast "Switch on the Pop" and co-authors of "Switch on Pop: How Popular Music Works and Why It Matters."  Also, thank you to the New York Times and Nicholas Konrad, producer, and Aaron Byrd, animator, Video by Getty Images (Billie Eilish) who contributed to the March 15, 2021 video that prompted me to supplement last week's blog with comments from the current generation, illustrated with images from my family collections.