Saturday 29 March 2014

[Discuss] Missy Elliot And Timbaland Think Popular Music Is Sounding The Same. Are They Right?



Are they right? I don't really listen to the radio that often, but I do admit that the last time I did, I thought along the same lines. There was a hell of a lot of EDM clogging up my speakers,I tells ya.

However, I'm not entirely sure if this is a new phenomenon. I distinctly remember periods in the past- when I did listen to the radio- that it seemed to be dominated by boy bands (Backstreet Boys/Take That/ Boyzone), then girl groups (Spice Girls/ All Saints/ Destiny's Child) and then rap music (Ja Rule, Eminem, Dr Dre). Heck, there were even times when our Divas appeared to be ruling the waves: first in the earlier 90's with Whitney/Mariah/Celine, and then again at the close of that decade with Britney/Christina/Pink.


Surely, to someone or another, it sounded like the music on the radio during those periods was all alike? Or is Missy right, and this era of music is actually more "samey" than ever before? I honestly don't listen to enough radio to decide either way , but the current Billboard Top Ten radio songs [See below] doesn't seem to agree with her opinion. In fact the top ten appears to be upliftingly varied!

But what do you guys think? 

1. Pharrell Williams - Happy


2. Katy Perry - Dark Horse


3. John Legend - All Of Me




4. Lorde - Team



5. Bastille - Pompeii


6. Jason Derulo Feat. 2 Chainz - Talk Dirty


7. OneRepublic - Counting Stars




8. Beyonce - Drunk In Love




9. American Authors - Best Day Of My Life


10. One Direction - Story Of My Life

Thoughts?


57 comments:

  1. To an extent but considering music is kinda on a continuous loop of individuality and artistry, no surprise there. But if Missy Eliot has a problem with this new music she's hearing tell her ass to come to Albany GA and sign me because I think outside the box...LOL.

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  2. That rap comment is like saying that all RnB/pop songs are about how in love you are, that all heavy/rock songs are about drugs and death, that jazz is for old people and that classical music is just for nerds.

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  3. Yes, I completely agree and of this generation thus far, the 2007 - 2012 margin was by far the worst, overall, culprit with 2000 - 2006 being the best. In my opinion, the majority of "mainstream music" TODAY is comprised of:

    1) Rudimentary songwriting masked by production gimmicks.

    2) Lyrical content that has very little correspondence with an "adults" personal/emotional life.

    3) Ridiculous overemphasis of bass and treble.

    4) Performers pretending to be "authentic" ("I'm real") when they are clearly the opposite of it.

    5) Overreliance on catchphrases of which are often performed in an annoying way by the vocalist.

    6) Arrangements that are too often just sounds layered on top of each other without taking the harmonic content into account.

    7) Too many songs trying to sound "epic" during its choruses even if the subject matter doesn't call for it and the melodies are too weak for it.

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  4. hahaha i wouldn't call it stalk, i'd rather think of it as "fate." it was inevitable that me and him would meet again lol and me him are probably doing something obscene in another dimension. anyway i will tell you my story so here goes.

    chapter 1

    It was days or a week ago, i was scrolling my tumblr news feed as usual then suddenly i happen to stumble to him. i gasped, crossed my eyes and confirmed that the lord exists LOL. That tumblr post of his pics only had 11k notes when i found it but now it has 100k, anyway i tried to search for him because in a while he was the first guy who got me really interested because honestly i don't fall for a guy in the net that instantly, going back in my search, i tried my best but my efforts were in vain so i gave up, i thought to myself, he's just a handsome guy in the net and he's probably banging me in some other dimension or in future (quantum physics). But as i said earlier, God exists and he had plans for me.

    Chapter 2

    2 days ago or maybe 3, another usual internet day, i was scrolling my fb's news feed and what i delight, a UK based magazine posted about "c*cksock" which is a fundraiser for male cancer and yes it was literal, the campaign was about almost naked men who only have sock on their package who also donated some cash. i clicked the link of the magazine and read the article and i was beyond fascinated, God bless the Brits, But it seemed i hit the jackpot. On the right there was a list of highly viewed posts just like here and guess what? i almost dropped the vagina i never had.

    Not wanting to lose any more second, i clicked the post and there it was, the pot gold. It is true that good things come to those who wait. The article contained information about him and his instagram account and everything else was history ;))))))

    epilogue
    i messaged DD since he asked me about some info about the guy which i failed to answer before and now i think i completed that mission LOL

    So there it is, i certainly didn't stalk him not that i wasn't trying but it was accident HAHAHA. sorry leith for this ridiculous response. to give you an idea of what's happening to me, i just finished watching American Horror Story: Asylum for f*cking damn 10 hours straight. it was crazy.

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  5. he looks ugly here, like a sea lion.

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  6. LOL, I said "most". I've listened to some rap music that is actually not half-bad, but rap isn't something I can listen to regularly.

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  7. It has been like that way way before but is becoming worse. But let's not fall for it, Missy Elliot is gonna release a new album, she's just probably going to promote it

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  8. Mary Anne Genuncio Johnson29 March 2014 at 17:06

    I think that music today lost her track a bit. There are artist that still make good musics but I agree with Miss Eliiot about sounding the same. Of course there were periods in history of music that was diva era, jazz era, pop 2000 era and etc, but in those times there were actually different musics even if they belong in the same style. Today everyone only cares about the beat and nothing more. This list above in my opinion has good musics and the reason why they are rate as the top 10, is because they don't sound the same, contrary to 90% of music selection on the radio.

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  9. im backing you girl. if something bothers you, just go and say it. i mean i myself is naturally possessive ( i hate myself) and i would probably ask my lover of not doing something that

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  10. Everyday I feel we're more a more different lol

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  11. i hope you weren't being sarcastic with that primo ;) but i agree with you i think her interpretation of things and not just afro-american music is most definitely fascinating.

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  12. "Most" still sounds too much for me. A pitty that the rap I listen to is pretty much in Spanish, because I would like to show you how wrong you are.


    PS: Sorry if I sound a bit butthurt.

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  13. LOL NO!!! maybe just about the guys. but i think we're in good terms. he just looked really unappealing here. he is a very handsome guy but this shot isn't working. that photo could probably be a meme in 9gag LMAO

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  14. You not coming off as if you are LOL. Rap is the music I listen to least. I mean the only time you'll catch me listening to rap is when I'm stuck in the car with someone, or someone is failing at an attempt to get me into the genre. And each and every one of those times, it was some thuggin' ass Rick Ross, lame as 2 Chainz or one of those local rappers that sprung out of Atlanta. Only 3 rappers I listened to were rapping about something apart from the typical stuff I generally heard and they are Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, and Drake. Even then, I don't see the appeal. Rap period is hard for me to get into unless it is twerk music...and I won't go to deep in depth there... I'll just send this link LOL and wait for your opinion because it will be priceless.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW8JJCQ-AUk



    But can you thow dat ass in a circle? LOL JK.

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  15. i think it could be 50-50 or sometimes one is a bit higher at times.

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  16. Stopped it before the first minute ended LOL I promise I'm not butthurt, just a bit pissed. Of course, even the best rappers have songs like you described, same as RnB/Pop have silly love songs and metal/rock talk about drugs and death, but then again the great rappers' repetore is not full of them, not even half-full. I underestand, though, that you don't like the genre, I can't force you to like it haha However, take a listen to Eminem, for what I know about you, I know you'll feel identified with this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwE4gs_DwgY

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  17. That's a big question. I do think that music has gotten gotten more generic. However I do think the claim that "it ALL sounds the same" is absurd.

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  18. No but I need to lol.

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  19. I actually like that. And have you heard Rap God? I actually like that song because it's funny. And I probably need to correct myself because I actually listen to far more rap then my distaste for it leads on LOL. Now that I think of it...it's a lot of stuff that I dislike but indulge in regularly...like eating peanut butter, working out, watching TV, sleeping excessively, eating salads...LOL.

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  20. She has undoubtedly still got it, she just needs extra time and care to get it right live. For an impromptu performance where I doubt she warmed up for it or thought much about what she was doing beforehand, this was good and definitely better than the very disappointing vocals we've heard from her over the past year.

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  21. I remember radio as being varied.
    But then again,it's been many many years since I listened to radio and even then I was listening to Dutch public radio. I remember commercial radio did all sound way more the same. I think that generally is the curse of commercialization of anything, it aims to cater to a "common denominator".
    But that is just the formats who cater to that thinking (like radio. I mean, who listens to radio anymore anyway? Small wonder this dying institution would attempt to hold on to it's crowd by trying to not rock the boat!)
    But generally, I would say there's plenty of variety to be found with , thanks to the internet, a minimum of effort really.

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  22. It's pretty much a fact that music has halted in terms of progress. In my music theory class we went through a music timeline and not only has music recently become more trend heavy, it's also become repetitive, not only in a compositional sense but also in a timeline. Right now we're experiencing a recycling of 70's and 80's music that doesn't seem to be dying down and eventually will continue to repeat until something new is introduced. Although theres some individuality among artists that are warring with each other on the airwaves for the most part they are all thematically very similar. Which doesn't surprise me since pop music relies on a select few hit making producers.

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  23. I would agree with that sentiment. However, there are eclectic artists who are beginning to experiment with bringing different instruments and vocal styles ('Somebody That I Used to Know' comes to mind - who uses a xylophone?) who are all clumped in the 'Indie' genre...but really don't belong together. And bits and pieces are breaking into popular radio. I mean, there's minimalism, but a minimalist electronic R&B album that sits at #1? That's variance.

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  24. 2000-2006... I'm not sure if it is just nostalgia, but for me that is such a golden age of music

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  25. Primo Uomo Assoluto29 March 2014 at 23:11

    Well, I referred to a minstrel show. Her interpretations are very "black-face", like, a parody of what she thinks African American vocalists sound like as opposed to what they actually sound like, if that makes sense.

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  26. Primo Uomo Assoluto29 March 2014 at 23:16

    I don't think I've ever truly used a falsetto sound, but I've used a very light head voice (and I can say it's head voice as I'm able to transition to the lower registers seamlessly) quite high, as high as G#6 and even B6 sometimes. It has a prettier quality. Then, when I use what I refer to as whistle register, it has a more squeezed, piercing quality, though it is of equal loudness, and with that register I have gone as high C8 though the highest I'd consistantly go is E7 or F7.
    In operatic singing only chest voice, middle and head voice are counted, and only those notes that can be sung in all vowels and at all dynamics. So a 3 octave operatic range, such as that found in Renee Fleming, Maria Callas, Ewa Podles, Cecilia Bartoli, etc. Is rarer than a 5 octave pop range.

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  27. Primo Uomo Assoluto29 March 2014 at 23:34

    Of course :) divas are immortal, young and beautiful forever. So we don't have birthdays, we have anniversaries, as we exist outside space and time, LOL :)

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  28. Now that we're on the topic, is falsetto (and whistle) actually healthy? I know that if you use proper technique you should have any real problem, but I feel kind of sceptical because I don't think that letting all that air go through you vocal chords can be good for them, don't they get dry?

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  29. Primo Uomo Assoluto30 March 2014 at 12:04

    Well, their productions are very derivative and similar sounding, so I don't know what the hell they are talking about.

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  30. I WANT THE 90'S BACK

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  31. I still listen to my local Top 40 station and it does seem very samey. Before, you'll have a KoRn song playing before a N'Sync and then Faith Hill.. Next.. Goo goo dolls.. Mariah Carey.. Alanis. All very distinct sounds.

    Nowadays, we have singers and not many people with a distinct sound. Now you have artists like Katy Perry, Selena, Demi... etc. who aren't very distinct from each other.. They all have the same sounds.. & sing the the same types of songs... all on heavy rotation.

    Before copy-cats sounds would just die out. Think about how many Britney copy-cat sounds there were? Although I think the internet and trying to pump out Britneys also played a big role in the samey nature of hits today.

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  32. Before copycats used to get sued! These days I hear many songs I'd swear I heard sometime in the eighties/nineties already.
    I think ,what with the internet, writers gave up even trying to protect their work.

    Only people these days interested in copyrights are business wankers who had no hand in the creative process but did buy the rights and will go to great lengths to make sure some poor slob downloading a torrent or uploading a video on youtube will not thwart them amassing their twentieth million dollars (yen).

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  33. Peanut butter... I've heard about it soooo many times in TV shows but I've never got to taste it. What is it like? lol

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  34. Thick, brown, and nutty, custardy (depends on who makes it), and it makes me ill...I'm allergic to peanuts but the shit tastes to damn good. Have you ever ate hazel nut spread? It tastes similar but it's not infused with cocoa powder.

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  35. I actually read the article and there was nothing in the statements she said that pertains she is obeying her husband.


    soooooo.......

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  36. Yes after all marriage and any relationship requires a great deal of communication...

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  37. But then when you ask yourself...


    If your career and family was the only one you could pick what would you pick?


    I am pretty sure anyone with morals would pick their families...

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  38. The thing that make her so sexy also, is that it does not seem like she ages... And she is proud of her body, unlike the superficial people who needs to be like 100 pounds to feel sexy...

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  39. When I see a hot guy I get aroused, and many of my female friends do as well, is that different from a guy being aroused by a female?


    I don't understand.

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  40. I don't care if this pic is not his best, but ill take this if I have to... lol

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  41. Yes there are. Studies have been done. For instance following people's eye movements when looking at sexy images of the sex they are attracted to. Seems men focus on certain areas, women tend to go between those areas and the face/eyes of the object.

    Another one is that for women sound is also a more important factor in arousal than for men.That's just the two I remember but I understand there are more..

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  42. Soo, since hardly anything I write is understood correctly by you, I am certainly not going to believe some article you claim to have read was understood correctly by you.

    In my eyes....You have NO credibility WHATSOEVER when it comes to interpreting the written word.

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  43. well goodluck feeding that family lols ;))

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  44. too many shots were fired even before this LOLs

    http://64.19.142.10/31.media.tumblr.com/39a71351c02848063a5190b8de29dfd5/tumblr_n2wn4bHFoE1soz9yao1_250.gif

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  45. Who wouldn't be proud of that body? And yes, she doesn't seem to get old. I'd never thought she is 10 years older than her boyfriend (Although she's not too old anyway)

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  46. I think that it's not about if we get aroused or not, but about what kind of guys/girls we consider hot.

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  47. Too late, don't you see he's already undressing for me? LOL

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  48. Hmmm, I guess that makes sense. Maybe that would explain why I like so much well-worked pectorals, that might be the gay equivalent for boobs haha

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  49. Sorry for the late reply, MEH hahaha. it doesn't seemm to bear the meaning of that word "An attractive or exciting quality that makes certain people or things seem appealing" so yeah i dont find it glamorous. i just find it simply beautiful that's all, well to be exact, the church's floor (the petals and the carpet) and both of her gown. The fire was beneath cheap lol

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  50. not really. i think i posted this a bit earlier

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  51. i said trans neither did i say transsexual nor transgender. i used that word to be safe but thanks for the info, i appreciate it.

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  52. The point being that you being a guy...you like those pectorals and will keep your eyes mainly on those and not as much on the face as well, the way a woman might do. ;-)

    But no, I don't think other than the placement, pectorals and boobs have much in common. But you thinking they are equivalent...that definitely makes you a gay male and not into women physically. Hahaha

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  53. LOL And there's a comment I fail to understand???
    I seem to be missing the point as well as the sentiment. Or rather, I can interpret it various ways and am not sure which one you intended?

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  54. The gif is hilarious though.

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  55. "shots being fired" means that "When you blatantly diss or call out somebody you have a disagreement or problem with." e.g.
    Guy 1: Oh, he's just mad at me because I had sex with his girlfriend.
    Guy 2: OH SHIT, SHOTS FIRED!

    this was a shade though "Especially since there's one person active in this thread who insists on misunderstanding mine"

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