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Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by paulcole on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @12:36AM (#20682870)
Except the conclusion isn’t scientific at all. It’s 100% based on opinion. The author identified trends, yes, but that’s about it.

Simpler and more repetitive doesn’t mean worse — it means simpler and more repetitive. Never once have I listened to a song and thought, “Wow, this sucks, these lyrics would compress really easily.”

Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by emsy on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @01:54AM (#20683151)
I do. Something like Hotel California that invokes a vivid imagery in one's mind seems unthinkable today. I don't know whether this affects the imagination or lingual abilities of the listeners, but it certainly can not produce the same emotions.
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by paulcole on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @07:48AM (#20684799)
I honestly don’t know whether you’re praising or criticizing Hotel California.

• https://www.laweekly.com/the-eagles-hotel-california-why-thi...

• https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/12/lets-talk-abo...

Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by emsy on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @09:35AM (#20685648)
Think what you want about the song, but the lyrics are descriptive yet metaphorical. I made this example because I assumed everyone is familiar with it. The point is: the lyrics don't just consist of "I did this, I did that, yeah yeah yeah".
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by goto11 on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @01:34PM (#20688148)
Are you saying no recent music contains "descriptive yet metaphorical" lyrics?
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by emsy on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @03:50PM (#20689554)
No, but it hardly exists in the mainstream and most indie music I've heard is mainly ambience stuff.
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by goto11 on Wednesday August 14, 2019 @02:33AM (#20693193)
The bottom line is that older music seem better because time is a filter - we remember the good stuff. People have always complained that "music nowadays" is crap.
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by kazinator on Wednesday August 14, 2019 @02:36AM (#20693200)
There is a hypothesis that older music seems better because it is cherry picked, and is being unfairly compared against a random selection of new music.

That hypothesis is, unfortunately, starkly false.

Music nowadays really is crap; time is not helping it. If we use our 20/20 hindsight and pick the best music of, say, the past 50 years, it will be heavily weighted toward the first 20 of those years.

Thirty years ago, sure, I thought that a lot of "music nowadays" was crap; but, unlike today, I also thought that a good deal of it wasn't.

Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by goto11 on Wednesday August 14, 2019 @06:26AM (#20694120)
> That hypothesis is, unfortunately, starkly false.

OK...why do you think is it false? That you don't care about contemporary music doesn't really disprove it.

Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by codesushi42 on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @01:52AM (#20683137)
Simpler and repetitive does mean worse.
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by mc_blue on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @11:43AM (#20686906)
Simpler and repetitive does mean worse - for you. I actually agree with you, but I know plenty of people that love club/dance music, which is about as simple and repetitive as you can get. I think it's important to take the context of the music being played/performed as well: a simple, repetitive piece would likely not be received well in an orchestra hall, while a song with complex melody, deep lyrics, and rich harmony would likely be skipped at a football tailgate party. Music serves several functions in many different environments, and labeling a piece or style as universally worse is almost never true.
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by paulcole on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @07:45AM (#20684774)
Apologies in advance, there must be something wrong with my browser. The link to your source isn’t working.
Re:Where did the melody go? (2017) by codesushi42 on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @01:40PM (#20688228)
Try again, this time by reading the page with your eyes open.