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Where did the melody go? (2017)

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Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#11
post #9

Modern music has regressed into something primitive and tribal. In other words, completely mind numbing garbage. And it just gets worse every year. Post Malone is a good indication of just how fast Western society is falling.

You should hear what my dad had to say about Elvis!

Not really the same. Rock & roll still had melody and lyrics. Both are continually being simplified every year.

You should read this: https://science.slashdot.org/story/18/01/15/231230/is-pop-mu...

5. A researcher put 15,000 Billboard Hot 100 song lyrics through the well-known Lev-Zimpel-Vogt (LZV1) data compression algorithm, which is good at finding repetitions in data. He found that songs have steadily become more repetitive over the years, and that song lyrics from today compress 22% better on average than less repetitive song lyrics from the 1960s. The most repetitive year in song lyrics was 2014 in this study.

Conclusion: There is some scientific evidence backing the widely voiced complaint -- on the internet in particular -- that pop music is getting worse and worse in the 2000s and the 2010s. The music is slower, melodically simpler, louder, more repetitive, more "I" (first-person) focused, and more angry with anti-social sentiments. The 2010s got by far the most music quality down votes with 42% from people polled on which decade has produced the worst music since the 1970s.

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should hear what my dad had to say about Elvis!

Not really the same. Rock & roll still had melody and lyrics. Both are continually being simplified every year. You should read this: https://science.slashdot.org/story/18/01/15/231230/is-pop-mu... 5. A researcher put 15,000 Billboard Hot 100 song lyrics through the well-known Lev-Zimpel-Vogt (LZV1) data compression algorithm, which is good at finding repetitions in data. He found that songs have steadily become more…

It kind of sounds like you're having a hard time finding good new music. It's out there if you look.

Snarky Puppy - Lingus (We Like It Here) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_XJ_s5IsQc

Hiatus Kaiyote - By Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ilr1AY41AA

Alina Engibaryan - We Are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-dusz1TyD0

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#13
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really the same. Rock & roll still had melody and lyrics. Both are continually being simplified every year. You should read this: https://science.slashdot.org/story/18/01/15/231230/is-pop-mu... 5. A researcher put 15,000 Billboard Hot 100 song lyrics through the well-known Lev-Zimpel-Vogt (LZV1) data compression algorithm, which is good at finding repetitions in data. He found that songs have steadily become more…

It kind of sounds like you're having a hard time finding good new music. It's out there if you look. Snarky Puppy - Lingus (We Like It Here) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_XJ_s5IsQc Hiatus Kaiyote - By Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ilr1AY41AA Alina Engibaryan - We Are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-dusz1TyD0

These seem like exactly the type of music the article was complaining about. Lots of repetition of short phrases without the kind of melodic structure the author preferred, and a focus on “sonic-texture”.

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#14
post #5

> While nobody knows for sure, it is believed that when music began, the most dominant if not the only element was rhythm. No melody, no harmony – just rhythm. At first it may have been random objects, and later drums. This may have been thousands of years ago, but at the time, that was it. What is the evidence for this theory? People sing in all sorts of societies all around the world. Are there even examples of hum…

IMHO there can be no direct evidence, only speculation. My thought is that it's easier to make sounds in a rhythm (on/off) than it is to control the pitch of those sounds (relative to previous sound). Also thousands, I think, is probably an underestimate by a couple orders of magnitude.

It is very weak to say “it is believed that ...” and then make some very large (frankly implausible) claims without describing who believes this or why.

I would maybe give this idea some credibility if it were changed to “millions of years ago before the evolution of vocal anatomy capable of complex speech”.

But even then... completely speculative.

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#16

> While nobody knows for sure, it is believed that when music began, the most dominant if not the only element was rhythm. No melody, no harmony – just rhythm. At first it may have been random objects, and later drums. This may have been thousands of years ago, but at the time, that was it. What is the evidence for this theory? People sing in all sorts of societies all around the world. Are there even examples of hum…

For those interested in prehistoric instruments, I suggest the research by Dr. Lana Neal. It is a book (based on Dr. Neal's Ph.D. thesis) on the Paleolithic flute. The evidence includes, quite naturally, radiocarbon-dated instruments and fragments, but most interesting to me where the cave paintings that include quite clear depictions of flute players.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Earliest-Instrument-Fertility-Paleoli...

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#18
I've tried to introduce my kids (who are college age) to the pleasures of classical music, mostly to no avail. I just recently rewatched the movie Amadeus (a 1984 masterpiece on Mozart) with my daughter, and she liked it.

I highly recommend it. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 8.

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#19
The author has a lot of good insights about the tends in mass media. However, there are lots independent artists who support themselves through live performances and selling cd's.

Another route is youtube and patreon. A good example is the young drummer Sina, who has over 600,000 subscribers and definitely makes melodic music. https://www.youtube.com/user/sinadrumming

Re: Where did the melody go? (2017)

#20

Does the author mean mainstream "on the radio" pop, or the plethora of music we not explore and listen to on music services? I've venture to say the Top 100 lists occupy a smaller proportion of today's listeners thane ever before. We are unconstrained. And melody is out there.

My apologies for the plethora of smartphone typos in the parent comment.
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