That’s very interesting, I like the point made that music software tends to make a composer concentrate on the vertical layers in a song rather than the linear journey. Never thought about that before, but it’s quite true.
Why, thank you very much, Metro. https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/21/the-top-10-albums-of-2022-from-taylor-swift-to-beyonce-17969837/
I wonder if Man Utd had a tribute at OT last night, Terry was a massive Utd fan as I can testify as I was stood behind him and his girlfriend in the little corner between the old West Stand and The Archers and I don't think he was there to watch us! He never enjoyed his day as we won 3-0!...
Still just about my favourite Christmas song after all these years and plenty of competition. Music by Greg Lake with Peter Sinfield’s words.
I had not picked up on the interesting comments on this thread. Good tnat smeone else is listening to Rick Beato's assessments too. I find that he tends to look at pop music through the lens of a jazz musician which makes it fascinating because he is interested in the mechanics of the music. The article mentions the popular key signatures which is fascinating because in the early days of jazz, there was a style of piano called Harlem Stride (made famous by Fats Waller) where musicians prided themselves on the ability to play in difficult keys with loads of sharps. The is exemplified by songwriters like Eubie Blake. Obviously, less accomplished players will chose simpler keys. As a generalisation, I think pop music has become simpler in recent years. Loads of stuff is simply based on one chord and the fact that so much contemporay pop, dance and Rap is produced by non-musicians, means that the ingredients which make music interesting in itself are missing. Rap often just consisted of a 4 bar long form. The more "interesting" pop musici is not necessairly where you would expect to find it and I think this is where Beato is really good. Someone like Frank Zappa would be too difficult for modern pop audiences and I often wonder if artists like Red Hot Chilli Peppers actually have a stronger fan base amongst people who understand music as opposed to the man-in-the -street. There are so many ways in which music is made interesting. Key changes are only one facet of this. Rhythmically I feel pop music is less interesting these days but actual song writer ability and the use of Form seem to me to be things which escape a lot of pop artists who are just using software. Production is more important that musical contend these days. I find that if I can understand what it happening in a piece of music really quickly, it loses its interest. Often in pop music, there is not a lot going on in comparison with both Classical Music and Jazz. When the likes of Laura Mvula try something more complex, the audience does not seem to buy into it. I really struggle with Rap. In my opinion Black music has shaped the 20th century from the Blues Craze in the early 1920s and Jazz throughout the century; Even before that, Ragtime had a massive impact on popular music from the early 1900s. If jazz became too complex and lost it's popular appeal in the 1960s, I just feel that Black popular music really shaped pop culture whether it was from electrified blues through the the music of Motown. Musicians like Stevie Wonder and Prince are head and shoulders above what passes as popular music today. Even Classical music has been unable to resist the influence of jazz . Black music defined the 20th century unlike anything else. Singers like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday changed the concept of popular singing . Black popular music was the defining element of 20th century culture. Shame the wheels came off in the 1990s.
Hi all. Apologies for the shameless self promotion, but after a many years long break, I have started writing about music again. First post back is a quick Top 5 albums of 2022, which I thought might be of interest to some on here... https://open.substack.com/pub/alpha...22?r=net55&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email If people want to subscribe (for free) for more, that would be amazing. Thanks all.
