Like massive humming tops in space, the planets each emit a different tone, and together, they create a musical harmony – much like a solar-systemly choir.
And if you believe that, you’re not as bonkers as it might seem. NASA (the North American Space Agency) detected, way back in 20003, sound waves 57 octaves lower than middle-C ‘rumbling away’ from a supermassive black hole in the Perseus cluster – so there you go.
Do you know how easy it is to write music? It’s an absolute piece of cake! It’s incredibly easy – all you do is string a few notes together and write them down, and then a few more and … okay, here’s the thing – it’s easy to write music, but it’s a bit trickier to make it sound good enough so that people actually want to listen to it.
Which bring me to this question: have you listened to some of the songs these days? I know that some of you are still into music that was around when you were a teenager, but try listening to stuff that today’s teenagers are listening to now, because it’s … Oh, you are a teenager. Hmm – well in that case you’ll know just what I’m talking about.
Here are some observations on the song writing tendencies of the people producing hits in 2016:
- Upbeat. The songs these days are unremittingly jolly. They fairly bounce along, and you will be hard pressed to stop yourself from jiggling your fingers, toes and bumbalum along with them. Just try listening to This Girl by Kungs vs Cookin’ on 3 Burners without shaking some of your body and you will understand what I mean.
- Collaboration. No one seems to be able to manage to record a song by themselves any more. Everyone is hooking up with someone else for whatever reason. I mean, they did that in the past, sure – think of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – but at least they stuck together for a while. Now it’s Drake ft. Kyla & Wizkid one week, Rihanna ft. Drake the next, then Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna the week after that. It’s like one big, fat, hairy, year-long love-in!
- Percussion. They don’t got instruments playing tunes any more in songs, they got percussion. It’s like the whole thing has been taken over by some kind of crazy, multi-track drum machine with weird sounds programmed in. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, take a listen to Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez, which features so many percussive clicks, moans and sighs that in the end, you just lose track of them and have to just relax and enjoy the experience. There isn’t really a melody to speak of – not even in Selena’s singing. It’s just a huge sampled smorgasbord of hooks and riffs. It’s actually quite wonderful.
- Others. Here’s a funny thing – you have to listen to these songs on your own, and you have to really try to ‘get into the groove’. Once you insert yourself into the beat and weave your consciousness around whatever tune you can find, then you will discover yourself enjoying these songs as much as any that you digged in your own youf. Here’s the thing though – don’t try playing any of these songs to anyone else of your generation – no matter how much you think that they love you, get you, or will follow you to the ends of the earth. When it comes to music – they need to find it for themselves, or never. In fact – you can even spoil it for yourself. Listening to a song through your own ears is a totally different experience to listening to it through someone else’s ears. Try it if you don’t believe me. You’ll see.
- Ranchy. Just a quick word of warning – if you plan to discover ‘modern music’ by watching videos, then you will find that sex plays a very big part in the presentation of these songs. I could shoot a few examples across the table, but what’d be the fun in that? We all have our own quirks and preferences and I trust that you’re smart enough to get down and get dirty in your own inimitable style – or not – as the case may be. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
I once heard about this experiment where scientist took a whole bunch of old people and wrapped them up with the kinds of music, movies, sounds, surroundings and clothing they used to wear when they were in their hey-day. Unsurprisingly, the egg-heads found that this group were a whole heap happier than the control group who, I suppose, were sat around all day in their high chairs watching TV. And that’s fine – good luck to them.
But what I’m proposing here is something quite different. The world is constantly changing, and so it makes no sense to get stuck in a particular era or sound. If we move with the times and actively embrace the new then we will find a whole heap of happiness and fulfilment right here on our doorstep – every single day.
I mean – what could possibly be more perfect than that!
Great post. As a music lover, I thoroughly enjoyed both the read and the learning.
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Ah, Jennie – you know just what to say to make me happy! 😀
Kindness – Robert.
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You are too kind! 🙂
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I disagree – I’m actually just the right amount of kind. 😉
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Love it!
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What’s not to love, already! 🙂
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I just started listening to the radio again and can see most of what you describe. I noticed the collaborations a lot. It must be fun. I can’t stand that Selena Gomez song but I hardly ever hear more than the voices in a song. Or at least I don’t remember the rest. I don’t know why. I never hear the background music in movies and tv either. Yet I love instrumental music. Great post, thanks. 😊
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You’re obviously a deep thinker – I like that. Yeah, the SG track is not the best, but it was a good example of what I was trying to say. Another good example is Pillowtalk by Zayn (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_3d6GntKbk). He was in one of those boy bands … Oh yeah, that’s it – One Direction.
When you say you started listening to the radio again – what made you stop in the first place. For me it was joining a Sex Cult.
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Omg, same! Sex cult!
I hate the commercials on the radio and I got a new car several years ago that could link to my phone and play my music. Also, with young children in the car I wanted to control the music a bit more. Just yesterday I had the awkward drive where the line, “a little less conversation and a little more touch my body,” seemed to echo around the car in the awkward silence. It was great!
I like that pillow talk song.
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Okay – everything you just said is, like, wow! I mean, really – a sense of humour? Where’d you get that from? You have a lovely way of throwing in those interesting anecdotes too. 😀
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I think I’m just really sarcastic. 😀
You remind me of someone I knew about 20 years ago and had an innocent and short summer romance with. It’s weird but the way you talk (write) is giving me flashbacks.
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I’m actually trying to be straight with you. For some reason, it seems to be important. Maybe its because I’m slightly afraid of you … or what you represent.
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What do I represent? Afraid of me…my evil side(which is maybe where your feeling stem from😈😋) makes me want to exploit that. Lol. No! I’m nice! And normal. Ok. Somewhat normal. And I like it straight. Which is not a euphemism. 😉
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I can’t really tell you that here. No, not your evil side. Exploit my fear? I guess you could do that, but you would probably find that I’m not very exploitable. I don’t really do fear, so what little I have is quickly consumed. You are nice. Whether you are normal remains to be seen. 😉 And as for ‘straight’ – I’m not sure what that could be a euphemism for, but I have several theories – smart guy that I am. 🙂
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Well, that’s good because I don’t really have an evil side anyway. 😀 A naughty side- yes. I’m sure you have several theories. 😏
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Ha! Yes – I have twenty theories for everything I come across. And I have twenty one theories about your naughty side. 🙂
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I’d like to hear some.
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Okay, here goes:
01. You’re putting on an act to hide a hidden fear
02. You enjoy being so
03. The voices make you do it
04. Your mom made you watch
05. There’s this one guy from when you were a kid and he made you feel stuff and you just can’t stop thinking about it
06. You’re rebelling against … something you’ve almost forgotten
07. You were abducted by aliens and they still talk to you
And it goes on. 🙂
Aw c’mon – you asked!
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Ah, you assume a naughty side is a bad thing. I believe it’s a good thing. Life would be very un-fun without sex and the connections and thrills and warmth it gives us.
Fact #1- I love feelings/emotion
Fact #2- I love sex
Fact #3- Sex and feelings go hand in hand or…something in something. 😋
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Well, the word ‘naughty’ implies bad when you think about it. Perhaps another word would be more appropriate? 🙂
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True. Maybe sexual side is better. Or not safe for work side? Hmm…
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I’m at home now – it’s close on midnight – nearly time for me to shut down for the night. 🙂
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Ah, well, sweet dreams.
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To you too, Victoria – when your time comes. 🙂
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Thank you. 😘
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Get up, get up! It’s a brand new day!! 🙂
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I’m up I’m up!
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Yeah, so was I – so now you don’t need a diagram! 😀
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Oh- is your screen name Levi she dated? I can’t figure it out.
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It’s just a made up word. It’s my unique word on the internet. Basically – anything in the whole wide world that’s tagged with levishedated is mine. 😉
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Aw, man! I wish I’d thought of that. That’s pretty damn awesome!
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Yup. 🙂
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I was obviously born too long ago cause I love upbeat, I love collaboration, I love — well, maybe not raunchy in music so much. But I have been told I have the musical taste of a preteen girl, which is sometimes true. I do like many different kinds of music, though 🙂
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All of those things are very likeable for me. 😀
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🙂
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Hiya Robert > Yes looking deeply into the new to squeeze the good out of it. I recently discovered Chillstep. Mind you any new discoveries are awesome for me over here in the PRC. I must say though that the creativity and edge of the 60s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s are unbeatable. You cant beat a bit of Planet Gong in the morning after all 🙂
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If only it wasn’t so late at night, with the whole house sleeping around me – I would be so on those sounds! 🙂
Well done on the new music discovery, Andy! 🙂
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PS: always been fascinated by space and the planets. Always loved the Sky at Night. Even in our own back yard what’s going on is amazing > take Enceladus for example. Phew!
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Just been on NASA’s site looking at that moon, and wowser – I wanna go there! 🙂
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I like mixing up what music we listen to and I feel listening to a mix of old and new keeps things fresh and you stay in touch with what your children are listening to!
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Children are such a blessing by the way that they connect us from the new without totally divorcing us from the old. 🙂
Hope you’re having a beautiful day filled with laughter and sunshine.
Kindness – Robert.
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Totally agree with you. Thanks, you too – I hope your day is bright and full of rainbows! : )
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Blue skies with a forecast of rain later, so yes – ideal conditions for a rainbow or two. How’s your weekend shaping up, DanThy? 😉
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Hope you were able to see a rainbow or two. We had sunny skies here so it was lovely – warming up here in the southern hemisphere which is nice!
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No – in the end the rain did not come. But I had a wonderful walk and picnic by the river. Hope you too had a great weekend, DanThy. 🙂
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i understand what you mean. when there’s a song that moves me, and i can’t stop listening to it, i have the urge to share it with my husband. because i want him to feel the same joy as me. even, when i know it isn’t his style and won’t appreciate it as much as i do. it’s a way of sharing my world. but, when he says he doesn’t like it, that song, even for a fraction of a second, doesn’t seem as good as when i heard it by myself.
i loved to know about that immersion thing with old people. i know what i’ll do when i get old, if i ever get old. ;D
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