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Why are pop songs getting sadder than they used to be?
Aeon ^ | February 4, 2020 | Alberto Acerbi, and Charlotte Brand

Posted on 02/19/2020 12:27:56 PM PST by C19fan

Are popular songs today happier or sadder than they were 50 years ago? In recent years, the availability of large digital datasets online and the relative ease of processing them means that we can now give precise and informed answers to questions such as this. A straightforward way to measure the emotional content of a text is just to count how many emotion words are present. How many times are negative-emotion words – ‘pain’, ‘hate’ or ‘sorrow’ – used? How many times are words associated with positive emotions – ‘love’, ‘joy’ or ‘happy’ – used? As simple as it sounds, this method works pretty well, given certain conditions (eg, the longer the available text is, the better the estimate of mood). This is a possible technique for what is called ‘sentiment analysis’. Sentiment analysis is often applied to social media posts, or contemporary political messages, but it can also be applied to longer timescales, such as decades of newspaper articles or centuries of literary works.

(Excerpt) Read more at aeon.co ...


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; Society
KEYWORDS: music; pop; songs
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To: dp0622
So you did. My bad. One of the saddest songs ever is also one of the most beautiful, Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues. The memories it brings back are extremely painful but I still like listening to it.
81 posted on 02/19/2020 2:07:12 PM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: C19fan

Average age on here is 50s doo-wop... What Pop music...?


82 posted on 02/19/2020 2:10:04 PM PST by dakine
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To: Gil4

The antidote from Otis Redding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVjnBo96Ug


83 posted on 02/19/2020 2:10:40 PM PST by xp38
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To: Texas Eagle

How about “He Stopped Loving Her Today”.


84 posted on 02/19/2020 2:10:52 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dakine

“Rock n Roll’s been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.”


85 posted on 02/19/2020 2:11:47 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

Like that one, too. O, my gosh, what about For the Good Times?


86 posted on 02/19/2020 2:13:22 PM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: C19fan

Al Jolson. Sonny Boy.

Sold millions in the 20’s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2cYWxLQW9Y


87 posted on 02/19/2020 2:13:53 PM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: C19fan; All
Those three songs were number one charted hits, although the Spike Jones version only reached number 4.

We might mention "Patches" (not the Clarence Carter song, the Dickey Lee song), "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry or "Sukiyaki" (Ue o Muite Arukou) by Kyu Sakamoto which were dark in the 1960's but by-and-large I agree that modern songs are darker on average.

88 posted on 02/19/2020 2:14:04 PM PST by higgmeister ( In the Shadow of The Big Chicken)
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To: Texas Eagle

LOL, that’s why they say when you play a country song backwards,

You get your house back
You get your dog back
You get your best friend Jack back
You get your truck back


89 posted on 02/19/2020 2:16:27 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Texas Eagle

I like the song but never listened to the words closely.

I will listen with the lyrics on screen.

I am sorry they bring back painful memories but I am glad that you can still listen to the song and like it.

I got one of those from a break up with a fiance.

Big difference is it hasn’t bothered me for maybe 10 years now.

That particular girl wasn’t worth it :)


90 posted on 02/19/2020 2:22:02 PM PST by dp0622 (Radicals, racists Don't point finger at me I'm a small town white boy Just tryin' to makne ends meet)
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To: dfwgator

One Day at a Time...


91 posted on 02/19/2020 2:24:31 PM PST by dakine
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To: C19fan

Moody River, your muddy water
took my baby’s life.

Pat Boone


92 posted on 02/19/2020 2:26:43 PM PST by Drawsing (Fools show their annoyance at once, the prudent man overlooks an insult. Proverbs 12:16)
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To: C19fan

Most songs today do not have enough content to be sad. Go back to 60s/70s... Ugh. To start, almost any song from The Carpenters, Bread... for specific songs:

“That’s the way I always heard it should be” Carly Simon
“Send in the Clowns” Judy Collins

Oh and, of course:
“I don’t like Mondays” Boomtown Rats

80s picked up quite a bit thanks to the synthesizer but a couple were out there:

“Dancing with Tears in my eyes” Ultravox

“Think of Laura” Christoper Cross


93 posted on 02/19/2020 2:28:16 PM PST by VA is for Freepers
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To: VA is for Freepers

“Tears in Heaven”, now there’s one.


94 posted on 02/19/2020 2:29:07 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dp0622

Feathered Hair , platform Shoes - and easy women.. What a time to party!!


95 posted on 02/19/2020 2:29:16 PM PST by dakine
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To: mjp
“We can fly” by the Cowsills was the happiest song ever written, was a hit in 1968

The Real-Life story of The Cowsills was anything but happy.

96 posted on 02/19/2020 2:31:03 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: C19fan

One of my all-time favorite bands The Smithereens (RIP Pat!), had a bunch of ‘em.... Especially “In a Lonely Place” which featured a then unknown Suzanne Vega, great song!


97 posted on 02/19/2020 2:33:10 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

Heh. Sounds about right.


98 posted on 02/19/2020 2:44:40 PM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: C19fan
About 98% of the songs I like are from the 50s and 60s.Most of the rest are from the 80s.I couldn't care less about anything made since then.
99 posted on 02/19/2020 2:47:21 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (The Rats Can't Get Over The Fact That They Lost A Rigged Election)
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To: C19fan

from 1949 A cheerful song.

Perry Como - It’s a good day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVDzwGfNrPs


100 posted on 02/19/2020 3:01:55 PM PST by minnesota_bound (homeless guy. He just has more money....He the master will plant more cotton for the democrat party)
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