Is the pop music paradigm going to die someday?

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 12-30-2020, 07:23 PM

By that I mean:

- Dominated by 2-to-5 minute "songs"
- Verse-chorus structure (usually, with variants)
- Repeating melodic lines
- Rhyming lyrics (usually)

Music, of course, doesn't have to have any of those. But it's basically dominated popular music for well over a hundred years (and maybe longer).

Will the most popular music of some era in the future someday (finally!) feature something besides that? What that would be I don't know, just something - anything! - besides that particular form.

When 200 million or whatever songs get written following that particular pattern, after a while just about every variant and niche is going to get thought of and filled in and anything new will sound like something already done (probably many times). So wouldn't you think they'd finally give up on it and move onto something else?

But maybe not?

The Batlord · 12-30-2020, 07:49 PM

Oh no not rhyming lyrics.

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 12-30-2020, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Oh no not rhyming lyrics.

Oh yes say all the critics
Poetry to music must someday end
Or music itself will be condemned

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 12-30-2020, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea

Poetry to music must someday end

Here's one thing I was thinking ...

Instead of putting poetry to music, put prose to music.

In other words, imagine putting, say, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities to music:

Quote:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever.

It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Spiritual revelations were conceded to England at that favoured period, as at this. Mrs. Southcott had recently attained her five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of whom a prophetic private in the Life Guards had heralded the sublime appearance by announcing that arrangements were made for the swallowing up of London and Westminster. Even the Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past (supernaturally deficient in originality) rapped out theirs. Mere messages in the earthly order of events had lately come to the English Crown and People, from a congress of British subjects in America: which, strange to relate, have proved more important to the human race than any communications yet received through any of the chickens of the Cock-lane brood.

I think if you did that, it would almost force you to eliminate some of the other things I listed (notably, repeating melodies and verse-chorus).

I wouldn't be surprised if somebody's done something like that already, but imagine it becoming the most popular genre. I think it would end up being far more interesting than the current pop music paradigm.

Tristan_Geoff · 12-30-2020, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea

Here's one thing I was thinking ...

Instead of putting poetry to music, put prose to music.

In other words, imagine putting, say, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities to music:

I think if you did that, it would almost force you to eliminate some of the other things I listed (notably, repeating melodies and verse-chorus).

I wouldn't be surprised if somebody's done something like that already, but imagine it becoming the most popular genre. I think it would end up being far more interesting than the current pop music paradigm.

I hate most spoken word so consider yrself vetoed

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 12-30-2020, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tristan_Geoff

I hate most spoken word so consider yrself vetoed

I'm sure there could also still be instrumentals.

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 12-31-2020, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elphenor

already been done...for sure

VU "The Gift" is a song in one ear and a short story in the other, but yes it's rad

it's honestly so ****ing rad

I just checked that out, hadn't heard of it before.

It's sort-of what I was thinking of, but not quite. He's more like reading something with some music in the background. What I was thinking of was you would sing a very long melody to the words of the story.

I was thinking of starting another thread on the idea sometime.

rostasi · 05-19-2021, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriveYourCarDownToTheSea

Here's one thing I was thinking ...
Instead of putting poetry to music, put prose to music.

Actually, an incisive prose-like style is much more interesting to me than stuff that rhymes.
Mark E. Smith anybody? Nearly all of Robert Wyatt's own songs...

... and I could sing this all day:

Quote:

Tadpoles keep screaming in my ear:
"Hey there! Rotter's Club!
Explain the meaning of this song and share it!"

DriveYourCarDownToTheSea · 05-21-2021, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostasi

Actually, an incisive prose-like style is much more interesting to me than stuff that rhymes.
Mark E. Smith anybody? Nearly all of Robert Wyatt's own songs...

... and I could sing this all day:

Yeah I agree, that was really interesting. Too bad more bands don't do that.

Norg · 12-30-2020, 08:09 PM

pop music will never die !!!!

12-30-2020, 07:23 PM	#1 (permalink)
DriveYourCarDownToTheSea AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,188	Is the pop music paradigm going to die someday? By that I mean: - Dominated by 2-to-5 minute "songs" - Verse-chorus structure (usually, with variants) - Repeating melodic lines - Rhyming lyrics (usually) Music, of course, doesn't have to have any of those. But it's basically dominated popular music for well over a hundred years (and maybe longer). Will the most popular music of some era in the future someday (finally!) feature something besides that? What that would be I don't know, just something - anything! - besides that particular form. When 200 million or whatever songs get written following that particular pattern, after a while just about every variant and niche is going to get thought of and filled in and anything new will sound like something already done (probably many times). So wouldn't you think they'd finally give up on it and move onto something else? But maybe not? __________________ Stop and find a pretty shell for her Beach Boys vs Beatles comparisons begin here

12-30-2020, 08:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
Norg Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,360	pop music will never die !!!!