Posted on 06/15/2015 7:35:27 AM PDT by don-o
(ANTIMEDIA) A recent study served to confirm the patently obvious: song lyrics for the most popular genres of music are ridiculously obtuse — and getting worse over time. Though this might not be a revelation, the figures are distressing indicators of both an intellectually vapid societal and cultural future as well as its apparent inevitability.
If you’ve already moved away from Billboard music, congratulations, you refuse to be insulted. But if you haven’t, or if you’re concerned about pop culture trends acting as portents of systemic dysfunction, you should probably pay attention. Andrew Powell-Morse of SeatSmart studied the “Lyric Intelligence” of 225 Billboard songs in the Pop, Country, Hip-hop, and Rock genres that spent three or more weeks parked at the top of the charts to analyze any changes over the course of ten years. And change there was.
Ten years ago, the most popular songs read between a third and fourth grade level, but the inanity only increased with time, and after a five-year downward tumble ending in 2014 (the last year of the study), chart-topping hits had a reading level equivalent to second or third grade. Broken into genres, the levels measured just 2.6 for Hip-hop/R&B, a tie of 2.9 for Rock and Pop, and faring best was Country at 3.3 —
(Excerpt) Read more at theantimedia.org ...
Also, what’s with all the satanic imagery and illuminati symbolism in videos nowadays?
For Exhibit A I give you “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry.
Didn’t know this, but I’m not surprised. Looks like popular music is preparing for the Common Core generation.
Ah, the old days when lyrics were actually meaningful and stimulated thought/discussion.
I think Beck’s been poking fun at that for years going back to his song “Loser”.
Article wasnt really what it purported itself to be and was more a diatribe against the usual leftist boogymen.
Left wing juvenilia site.
I am out of my element here. I listen to no pop music at all. Sometimes my XM radio loses signal and defaults to Channel 1. I suppose that is pop music - sounds like something aimed at a different species. Aliens or something.
As opposed to, say, “Louie, Louie”? Or “Surfing Bird”? Or “Hang On, Sloopy”? Or, “Wooly Bully”? Or, “Purple People Eater”? Or...
How does “Rock ‘n’ Roll Part 2” score?
Excuse me, while I kiss this guy -- Jimi Hendrix 'Purple Haze'
;)
And that would be....?
Yes, dumb lyrics started only a few years ago.
A-well-a, everybody’s heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, well, the bird is the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, well, the bird is the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, well, the bird is the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, don’t you know about the bird
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a
A-well-a, everybody’s heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, don’t you know about the bird
Well, everybody’s talking about the bird
A-well-a, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
A-well-a, bird
Surfin’ bird
Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb, aaah
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-oom-oom-oom
Oom-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-a-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Well, don’t you know about the bird
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word
A-well-a, bird, bird, b-bird’s the word
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow...
I never worried about being eaten since I couldn’t fly and wasn’t purple.
That’s Kipling compared to some of today’s crap. At least they played their own instruments.
“Ah, the old days when lyrics were actually meaningful and stimulated thought/discussion.”
“She’s real fine, my 409,
she’s real fine, my 409,
my 4....0....9.”
Not sure. Seems that the study is based on the Billboard Hot 100 or such, as a whole.
Thank God that aircraft crash spared us from the awful music of the Big Bopper.
On the other hand, while it’s older, it’s hard for almost any lyric to reach the heights of “there’s a yearning undefined, and people filled with rage . . .” and how can people find happiness “in such a graceless age?”
As opposed to, say, Tales of Brave Ulysses by Cream.
Her name is Aphrodite and she rides a crimson shell,
And you know you cannot leave her for you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses, how his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing.
Oh, there are so many lyrics that just make me want to scream at the radio, because they’re either absurd unforced errors, or they deliberately are saying really bad stupid stuff. Case in point, Jason Mraz who sings, “It’s our God-FORSAKEN right to be loved.”
And what’s with taking ONE GOOD measure from a song, and stretching it to an interminable hip-hop song?
This is an actual hit song, based on a measure from “Your Song.”
Well you can tell everybody
Yeah you can tell everybody
Go ahead and tell everybody (Yes, same melody each time)
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
Well you can tell everybody
Yeah you can tell everybody
Go ahead and tell everybody
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
Well you can tell everybody
Yeah you can tell everybody
Go ahead and tell everybody
Well you can tell everybody
Yeah you can tell everybody
Go ahead and tell everybody
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am
I’m the man, I’m the man, I’m the man
LOL, nice.
We were at a small concert Saturday night, and the band was doing come CCR covers (young guys, too!). As they were starting Bad Moon Rising, the guy from the couple we were with got up to go to the men’s room. Wife points and says “There’s a bathroom on the right.” He says OK and keeps walking, doesn’t get it, the three of us, me, wife, his wife are dying laughing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.