# As if we didn't know!



## Hazel (Oct 23, 2010)

Quote from Harper's Weekly: "a study of nearly 500,000 songs recorded between 1955 and 2010 showed that pop music has become louder and less original."

They had to do a study to learn that?


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## Carpenoctem (May 15, 2012)

Appropriate video for this topic.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Thank god we have Bustin Beaver


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## Hazel (Oct 23, 2010)

Thanks.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I wonder what were the variables checked to find the "uniformity" of pop music? Number of chords? Chord patterns? Level of noise? Lyric arrangement? Probably something like that.


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## Hazel (Oct 23, 2010)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I wonder what were the variables checked to find the "uniformity" of pop music? Number of chords? Chord patterns? Level of noise? Lyric arrangement? Probably something like that.


Louder? - level of noise

Originality? - I suspect that takes more digging and comparing. How do you prove originality in compositions where musicians have been "borrowing" from each other from Day One?

Well, maybe they are only comparing how two contempories vary from each other. My tin ear says they are all the same - exactly the same.


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## Krisena (Jul 21, 2012)

For those of you who want to know why the loudness is increasing, read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war


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## Hazel (Oct 23, 2010)

Interesting. I thought they were just screaming for attention. Then, they deafened themselves with loud and needed louder. Of course, using technology to gain more loudness could be a deliberate outcome of the demand for louder. No?


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Its like its the 18th Century all over again D: except louder.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Everything is over compressed sucking all the dynamics out of the music.
Listen to Michael Jackson - Thriller and how much more pleasant, open and warm it sounds compared to today's pop music.


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## Toddlertoddy (Sep 17, 2011)

BurningDesire said:


> Its like its the 18th Century all over again D: except louder.


It's like atonal music all over again D: except louder.
It's like Baroque all over again D: except louder.
It's like Romantic music all over again D: except louder.
It's like Renaissance music all over again D: except louder.
It's like medieval music all over again D: except louder.
It's like post-Romantic music all over again D: except louder.
It's like Brahms and Mendelssohn all over again D: except louder.
It's like Mahler all over again D: except louder.
It's like Wagner all over again D: except louder.
It's like 20th century Russian music all over again D: except louder.
It's like Debussy and Ravel all over again D: except louder.
It's like Bach all over again D: except louder.
It's like RVW and Elgar all over again D: except louder.
It's like avant-garde music all over again D: except louder.
It's like 20s jazz all over again D: except louder.
It's like Romanian folk music all over again D: except louder.
It's like Italian opera all over again D: except louder.
It's like Chopin all over again D: except louder.
It's like Liszt's piano music all over again D: except louder.
It's like serial music all over again D: except louder.
It's like early electronic music all over again D: except louder.
It's like American music all over again D: except louder.
It's like Tchaikovsky all over again D: except louder.
It's like Ligeti all over again D: except louder.

See, I can do it too.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

DeepR said:


> Listen to Michael Jackson - Thriller and how much more pleasant, open and warm it sounds compared to today's pop music.


Not really a fair comparison. Michael Jackson was "one of those once every several decades" sort of pop music performers. I think right now, we're between them. The next one hasn't come along yet.


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## Krisena (Jul 21, 2012)

bigshot said:


> Not really a fair comparison. Michael Jackson was "one of those once every several decades" sort of pop music performers. I think right now, we're between them. The next one hasn't come along yet.


I think he meant that Michael Jackson's Thriller came to be before the loudness war, and therefore has some quality in regards to sound engineering still intact.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Toddlertoddy said:


> It's like atonal music all over again D: except louder.
> It's like Baroque all over again D: except louder.
> It's like Romantic music all over again D: except louder.
> It's like Renaissance music all over again D: except louder.
> ...


Except mine was actually clever :3


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Hazel said:


> Quote from Harper's Weekly: "a study of nearly 500,000 songs recorded between 1955 and 2010 showed that pop music has become *louder and less original.*"
> 
> They had to do a study to learn that?


As if it wasn't loud rehash already.


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