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Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

mattritter.me

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Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#31

Post by kstenerud »

mgmeyers wrote: post #25

I wouldn't think testing vocabulary would be a very good indicator of music's intelligence. In my mind, music has been getting less intelligent because the tools to make music these days have made the barrier to entry almost non-existent. No longer do you need to study and practice various musical/performance skills for years to be a musician and put out a record. All you need is a computer and some software. It's ha…

The barrier to making music is low, but music is measured by how popular it becomes, which depends upon your composing ability.

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#32

Post by harvestmoon »

mgmeyers wrote: post #25

I wouldn't think testing vocabulary would be a very good indicator of music's intelligence. In my mind, music has been getting less intelligent because the tools to make music these days have made the barrier to entry almost non-existent. No longer do you need to study and practice various musical/performance skills for years to be a musician and put out a record. All you need is a computer and some software. It's ha…

If anything, I think lowering the barriers to entry should result in higher quality hit songs. For a hit song to occur, it has to become popular, which means a certain amount of oomph.

So with 1000 songs to choose from for the hot 100, you'd expect OK songs, but with 100,000 to choose from, you'd expect in a meritocracy much better songs.

Of course, the hot 100 is hit and miss. An example of a song which was made using affordable DAW software is, I believe, Crank That by Soulja Boy which is a song I personally dislike, take that as you will.

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#33

Post by 0xdeadbeefbabe »

mgmeyers wrote: post #25

I wouldn't think testing vocabulary would be a very good indicator of music's intelligence. In my mind, music has been getting less intelligent because the tools to make music these days have made the barrier to entry almost non-existent. No longer do you need to study and practice various musical/performance skills for years to be a musician and put out a record. All you need is a computer and some software. It's ha…

Do these negative forces combine to make the field ripe for disruption? I think dirty loops[0] is an example of yes, but I happen to like their music. By some accounts (especially if you are old or like Steely Dan) they do music better than Justin[1], Britney[2], and Adele[3] (but they are young). The original version of [1] an unintelligent yet popular pop song.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0sYj4wxyk0

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjVGJ3YFDc8

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko0kdCf0zTE

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsqh9jHkHlM

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#34

Post by sliverstorm »

kstenerud wrote: post #31
mgmeyers wrote: post #25

I wouldn't think testing vocabulary would be a very good indicator of music's intelligence. In my mind, music has been getting less intelligent because the tools to make music these days have made the barrier to entry almost non-existent. No longer do you need to study and practice various musical/performance skills for years to be a musician and put out a record. All you need is a computer and some software. It's ha…

The barrier to making music is low, but music is measured by how popular it becomes, which depends upon your composing ability.

We already see how low-quality content can go "viral" on the internet. It seems clear popularity does not equal quality, unless you tautologically define quality as how popular it is.

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#35

Post by protomyth »

It seems like a topic that is really going to need a bit more research and analysis. I don't think a vocabulary test quite does it. Comparing something like Elvis Presley playing "Hound Dog" to Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" would make me think that modern pop is more intelligent.

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#36

Post by Dewie3 »

Practicality wrote: post #24
kolev wrote: post #23

Popular music is the music listened to by most people by definition. Most people are not very smart (not to say they are stupid). Therefore, pop(ular) music will never be intelligent as it needs to attune to a lot of people that are not that smart. I got tired of the gimmicky pop years ago and switched completely to classical and folk music.

Indeed. It should never be surprising that the mainstream is mediocre. It has to be. That's what mediocre means. Mediocre people often prefer to refer to themselves as "average," but it's the same thing.

"Average" just means that, while "mediocre" means average + negative connotation.

You're the one who is using a word with more baggage than the straightforward, "by definition" meaning (probably to do with some statistical distribution). Average is not always bad, unless you think that being non-average is inherently good. And having average music taste is about as harmless/inconsequential as average-ness goes - you like the music you like. That's it. Anything beyond that is more about social signalling and stratification than it is about the enjoyment of the music itself.

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#37

Post by cbd1984 »

protomyth wrote: post #35

It seems like a topic that is really going to need a bit more research and analysis. I don't think a vocabulary test quite does it. Comparing something like Elvis Presley playing "Hound Dog" to Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" would make me think that modern pop is more intelligent.

> Comparing something like Elvis Presley playing "Hound Dog" to Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" would make me think that modern pop is more intelligent.

And that would be the wrong answer because... ?

Re: Is Pop Music Getting Less Intelligent?

#38

Post by tormeh »

Practicality wrote: post #24
kolev wrote: post #23

Popular music is the music listened to by most people by definition. Most people are not very smart (not to say they are stupid). Therefore, pop(ular) music will never be intelligent as it needs to attune to a lot of people that are not that smart. I got tired of the gimmicky pop years ago and switched completely to classical and folk music.

Indeed. It should never be surprising that the mainstream is mediocre. It has to be. That's what mediocre means. Mediocre people often prefer to refer to themselves as "average," but it's the same thing.

Many people say "mediocre" when they really mean "shit", though, which is why many prefer using "average".
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