We listen to a lot of music and we like a ton of different styles of it. We’ve also, collectively, been listening for a long time. It’s easy to be dismissive when new things aren’t your thing, but that’s not how we roll. Bring on that new music and as much as possible.
Having said that, we do wonder if some past trends in popular music might make a comeback someday. Everything old is new again as the saying goes. And music knows better than any other art form how to reinvent itself by borrowing from its past. Here are a few trends we’d love to hear again.
Long play albums.
We don’t mean vinyl although whatever floats your boat. We mean a collection of songs that all fit together. Sure, artists still technically do that, but the cohesiveness of records has been diluted by singles dropped for streaming. Beyonce and Taylor Swift are among a number of artists who still hold true to putting out records with songs that fit together. But, too many pop musicians have opted for a singles heavy approach. It’s certainly easier to write one good song and let to go than to take a risk with 10 or 12 songs might have some lower quality tunes. But, that’s what being a writer is about: assembling as many great songs as you can. You wind up with hidden gems even in this world of fickle listeners.
And no one said you had to do X number of songs. Release six or 10 or 35 or whatever. The point being, do more than one at a time and work on them as if they are supposed to be taken as a collection rather than a single. It’s a wildly creative process and allows fans a deeper look into your world at that moment.
More complex rhythms.
Dance music over the years has grown more simplistic thanks, well, to people with let’s say less skilled ears (and feet) for rhythm. We went from swing to crafted dance songs (“The Twist”) to four-on-the-floor disco. We’ve even simplified the very complicated rhythms of Latin music, which were literally designed around specific dance moves (the tango!) via reggaeton. We get it. When you are sweating on a dance floor, you probably don’t want to think about what your feet are doing. But, what about songs that aren’t meant specifically for dance? Popular music has had some incredibly odd rhythmic structures dating back to the earliest recorded American music.
At this point, even a shuffle in a popular song would be a surprise. Take the Police’s “Spirits in the Material World”, a radical display of syncopation in a song that got boatloads of airplay, for example. You don’t have do become a prog rock band to play something with an interesting beat. Still, haven’t we all had enough of club beats outside the club for a while?
Live records.
Seriously, where did they go? Maybe Taylor Swift can single handedly bring them back. The cynic is us wants to suggest that bands aren’t nearly as good live today as they used to be simply because most aren’t required to perform live to the same degree as in years past. And there are far fewer live venues as well. But, our guess is that there is less interest in the recorded audio version of a concert than there is in the video. And that’s a shame. Some of the best albums of the ’70s and ’80s were recorded live with a raucous audience and bunch of skilled musicians.
Admittedly, some artists probably wouldn’t translate well to live recordings, but have you ever listened to a an R&B singer who, in the studio, uses drum machines and computers, transform their songs in a live setting with a full analog band? The results can be pretty stunning. Why not release that stuff?
Use effects with caution and abandon.
Don’t get us wrong, we love some washy, dreamy etherial music drenched in a sea of echoes and reverberations. But, at times, it seems like it is overused and often as a creative crutch. Like with some many other kinds of effects used in music, a little goes a LONG way.
On the other hand, we have also had just about enough of what feels like ASMR-inspired close mic’ed vocals so dry we are sure they recorded in a desert. Maybe some of the FX crew and the intimate mic-ers should join forces and loosen (or tighten) each other up a little.
Bring back guitar.
Dude, seriously. We don’t need two-minute guitar solos (or guitar solos at all apparently), but something, anything in the way of a big, loud Marshall stack on occasion. We recognize that, towards the end of the ’90s, guitar was getting pretty stale. We went from bland, middle of the road arena rock to the shredding ’80s to grunge to a bunch of jangly college bands. It seemed a bit like the well had run dry. But, the guitar is the spine of popular music and has been for decades. It should go out with a bang, not a whimper.
And with artists like H.E.R., maybe it can carry on, because right now it is relegated to heavy bands that no one has heard of and three guys all playing acoustics at the same time. A little rock would be nice every once in a while.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
