Scientific study proves that today’s pop music really does suck
It’s not just our imagination – pop music really has been getting worse and worse. And now we have a scientific study that proves it.
This article from Reuters states:
“Comforting news for anyone over the age of 35, scientists have worked out that modern pop music really is louder and does all sound the same. Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010. A team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.”
The “loudness” description refers to dynamic range compression. In the past, there was about 18 db between the average sound level and the peak sound level. The bigger this difference is, the more “punch” the music has. In recent years, the average sound level has been boosted, which reduces the difference between the average sound level and the peak sound level. Turning down the volume control on your stereo does not fix this “loudness” problem. Here’s a demonstration:
The Loudness War
As far as today’s music sounding more homogenous than the music of the past, here’s a Donna Summer song from 1979, followed by a different Donna Summer song from 2008. It’s very clear that the first is far more “musical” than the second:
Donna Summer – “Journey to the Center of Your Heart”
Donna Summer – “Mr. Music”
Bret replied:
Music died around 1997, and has sucked ever since, but its not alone. TV, movies, and video games have also sucked since about that time. Our whole culture seems to be rotting away.
July 29, 2012 at 5:32 pm. Permalink.
George replied:
I think contemporary movie soundtracks also sound incredibly bland compared to the classic movies of yesteryear. Think of the classic and very distinctive John Barry scores from the Bond flicks or the exoctic use of unusual instruments in such 70′s fare as The French Connection, Enter The Dragon, and Dirty Harry.
July 29, 2012 at 7:32 pm. Permalink.
Meme replied:
I totally agree with Bret above, although I think that the good music ended in 1989. Tv, movies, horrible! I don’t play video games, but have seen some of my son’s and in a work, ICK! I haven’t watched network Tv in YEARS aside from one show and that’s only recently: Shark Tank. It gets worse all the time, dragging society down with it all. One thing that really baffles me: the guys making millions of dollars for (c)Rap music. I mean c’mon, just HOW many words really rhyme with bitch? What a total waste of money! Give me the old ‘crooners’ anyday!
September 25, 2012 at 2:51 pm. Permalink.