FEATURE:
Simpler, Lesser, Slower, Weaker
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Why a Worrying Trend Regarding Songs Lyrics Should Give Artists Pause
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EVEN though a recent study…
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showing how songs lyrics are getting more repetitive and angrier only takes us to 2020, one suspects there has not been a radical shift in the past four years or so. Maybe not surprising to some music fans, it is reported that lyrics are simpler and more self-obsessed. What could be causing this?! Are platforms like TikTok and trends there contributing to a sense of repetition and a lack of originality? Also, given the state of politics and how the world has changed since 1980, maybe lyrics have reacted to that in some way. I guess music does shift and we will see change again soon. It is concerning that, especially over the past few years, a lot of song lyrics have gone in one direction. This article from The Guardian shares findings of a study that suggests a homogenisation of song lyrics:
“You’re not just getting older. Song lyrics really are becoming simpler and more repetitive, according to a study published on Thursday.
Lyrics have also become angrier and more self-obsessed over the last 40 years, the study found, reinforcing the opinions of cranky ageing music fans everywhere.
A team of European researchers analysed the words in more than 12,000 English-language songs across the genres of rap, country, pop, R&B and rock from 1980 to 2020.
Before detailing how lyrics have become more basic, the study pointed out that US singer-songwriting legend Bob Dylan – who rose to fame in the 1960s – has won a Nobel prize in literature.
Senior study author Eva Zangerle, an expert on recommendation systems at Austria’s University of Innsbruck, declined to single out an individual newer artist for having simple lyrics.
But she emphasised that lyrics can be a “mirror of society” which reflect how a culture’s values, emotions and preoccupations change over time.
“What we have also been witnessing in the last 40 years is a drastic change in the music landscape – from how music is sold to how music is produced,” Zangerle said.
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Over the 40 years studied, there was repeated upheaval in how people listened to music. The vinyl records and cassette tapes of the 1980s gave way to the CDs of the 90s, then the arrival of the internet led to the algorithm-driven streaming platforms of today.
For the study in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers looked at the emotions expressed in lyrics, how many different and complicated words were used, and how often they were repeated.
“Across all genres, lyrics had a tendency to become more simple and more repetitive,” Zangerle summarised.
The results also confirmed previous research which had shown a decrease in positive, joyful lyrics over time and a rise in those that express anger, disgust or sadness.
Lyrics have also become much more self-obsessed, with words such as “me” or “mine” becoming much more popular.
The number of repeated lines rose most in rap over the decades, Zangerle said – adding that it obviously had the most lines to begin with.
“Rap music has become more angry than the other genres,” she added”.
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It is not to say that this trend cannot be reversed One does worry that a more homogeneous or less flexible Pop mainstream might not create fast or natural improvement. It is clear that social media might have contributed to a more recent change. The fact that a simplicity and repetitiveness is more impactful and digestible to a new generation. Music is getting more personal I feel. Artists writing more from a first-person perspective. Whilst there might be explanations and reasons as to why lyrics are simpler than they once were, one wonders whether it is a bad thing. I guess those looking for something deeper and more fantastical and brighter has choice. We are in a time when all kinds of artists can be accessed through streaming services. Are these new findings a simplification? Although thousands of songs have been researched and studied, the fact is that there is a lot of other music that has not been included. Maybe the Pop or Rock mainstream has become simpler or angrier. Does that mean that all other music has followed suit?! Perhaps it is not the case that artists are writing more repetitive songs because of a lack of imagination or lyrical ability. Perhaps less poetic and diverse as pre-1980, I suppose listener demands and tastes have enforced this change. With streaming services meaning we are perhaps looking for songs that are shorter and more memorable, artists have had to adapt. Radio playlists are quite competitive. If listeners relate to lyrics that are angrier or have a certain vibe, that does mean that other artists are going to replicate that to fit in.
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That first ten to fifteen seconds of a song is crucial. Getting the listener hooked. Maybe few would tolerate a slow build or an extended introduction. In order to get people listening and stay with the song, maybe there has been this forced compromise. I don’t feel that all lyrics conform to the angrier, simpler and more repetitive model that has been suggested. There is ample music out there where one can appreciate. I do wonder whether things can and should change. Again, nobody is saying lyrics are worse. It is obvious that things have altered since 1980. As we become more reliant on streaming and perhaps have less patience for more complex songs/lyrics, is there a way back? I think that artists do need to take these new findings quite seriously. There is a danger than song lyrics will become indistinct. When we look back at music from now a couple of decades on, how will we view and assess them? I guess sone could say that some of the most popular Pop of the 1960s relied on quite simple lyrics. The Beatles were not immune. It is this more self-serving and angrier nature of lyrics that makes me feel artists are trying to be more revealing and direct. Maybe they are seeing what is happening in politics and the wider world and, as such, their lyrics absorb this. I do hope that things change in years to come. That we can still retain a certain simplicity and repetitiveness to some lyrics, yet also have a swathe of songs where there is something a bit more expansive and original. Discovering that so many song lyrics are simple, repetitive and angry is, quite frankly, quite…
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ALARMING to see.