A Songwriting Analysis
There is one thing that is vital to every musician and that is songwriting. Whether they right the songs or not they must have something original to sing and play before they can even try to be a success. Songwriting is a craft that almost anyone who really enjoys music has tried his or her hand at. Songs have the power to inspire, unite, and comfort a person unlike any other form of media. Record companies are always on the lookout for the next number one single and while some songs are completely unique and original most of the biggest singles in the past history have all had things in common that made them so popular. The really good memorable songs of the past have all generally had a least some of the
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Rollingstone recently did a list of what they thought to be the one hundred greatest pop hits. By taking a few songs from this list it is possible to examine some of these characteristics that make a great song. One of the most memorable and timeless songs in history would have to be Rolling Stones “Satisfaction.” In the Rollinstone article they ranked this song as being the second greatest pop song of all time right under the Beatles “Yesterday.” This song is centered on a guitar riff that lead guitarist Keith Richards almost while sleeping. He woke up with the riff in his mind, recorded it on a tape player, and then immediately fell back asleep. This guitar riff is the hook of the song, which had immediate appeal and connection for the listener. The hook and immediate mass appeal were two of the techniques mentioned earlier as a character of a successful song. The song also touched the emotional chord of the listener with intense lyrics that made cultural commentary in the sixties the song was destined to be a hit. It was at number one for four weeks, on the charts for fourteen weeks, and was the song that propelled the Rolling Stones from a decent band into one of the greatest rock bands of all time. An example of a song that was successful more because of its lyrical content rather than mostly its musical aspect is Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” The song was one of Jackson’s first attempts at songwriting
All three of these songs had a significant part popular culture and helped make Michael Jackson's mark in the music industry. Below, I will analyze the song's musical characteristics based on why the songs had become such tremendous hits, the history and song meaning behind the lyric, and how the song performed on the charts in the past and present. Michael is not just a leader, but the leader, and by analyzing the songs Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean, it is very easy to tell how he became such an international superstar and forever musical legend.
Great songs are ones that are never outdated, they are songs that generations later, remain relevant and worth
The explicit lyrics label on a bestselling rock CD: This title could argue that a band easily won an award for best selling rock cd because of their explicit lyrics instead of their dedication to hard work.
2. What theme does pop music typically use in the lyrics? Describe one pop song that uses this theme. Why is this theme such a popular one?
Rock and roll has developed a long way throughout the years from a dance craze in the 1950’s to a political and cultural landscape that is recognized worldwide. Rock and roll has come to define the roots of teenage rebellion, people who don’t follow the norms, and have disrespect for authority. The style of rock and roll itself is a melting pot of music, a combination of sounds that include jazz, country, blues, ragtime, gospel, swing, classical, and ethnic music. It can be a simple variation of three chords to a complex chromatic scale combination. It can convey emotions such as love, hate, fear, lust, sadness, joy, disillusion, or a strong sense of reality. Many things can be said about rock but the fact is that it is the most widely
generation has songs that are popular to them and that they will never forget the lyrics to.
If one thing is for certain throughout the history of music it is that all genres and composers in the music industry had an impact on the American Popular Culture. Starting in the 1920s all the way up to today people are constantly being influenced by the lyrics in the songs that they hear. Many musicians compose music and write lyrics in order to give the majority of the population something to relate to. Each decade of new composers and genres brought into account a lot of political issues that were going on during the time. This paper will examine the most important and influential composers and songs throughout the decades and how that affected the American pop culture.
These songs can be compared and contrasted through three main ideas: production, musicality, and popularity. The first topic to discuss regards the beginning of every song in the world, the production. The production of a song is very important, as every song created needs to
The “good” piece of music that I have selected is “Stay” by Florida Georgia Line. Owing to the fact that I am a huge country music fan and admire the work of Florida Georgia Line, my explanation of why this song is good might come off as bias, but I am going to do my best to impartially elucidate its value. Country music is known for its meaningful and relatable lyrics, so “Stay” communicates to individuals, who want someone back in their life who they have lost, that they are not alone. Additionally, Florida Georgia Line is a country music duo with talented singing skills. The pitch of the Florida Georgia Line singers placed “Stay” in the number one spot on the Billboard Country Chart along with its harmony, chorus, and rhythm that are pleasurable
Many artists created a new form of music through the influence of the black artists. The first signs of this influence appeared in the music of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. It carried on to artists like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and various other musicians.4 A new form of music emerged, rock and roll. This new style of music was fueled by emotion. One of the first stages in the development of rock and roll was sacrificing musical complexity for the sake of capturing an audience. The jazz and blues songs that were popular before rock and roll emerged, consisted of several chords and elaborate rhythms, while rock and roll songs are comprised of only three or four chords and very simple rhythms.5 More direct expressions of emotions were used, and lyrics of personal and political significance were brought into the mix. The relationship between artists and their audiences changed. Fans related to the musicians’ opinions rather than simply the style of the music. As a result of the bold lyrics, a general respect for musicians
Second up is a rap bye Coolio who became a widely known artist in in the mid to late 90’s.” Gangsters Paradise” is a song that just gets me into an element of happiness and for me is a good song that helps me do things around the, house and moves me along with whatever im doing. This is an song for me motivates me to do whatever's needed of me! Lastly this is a song that has sold more than 5 Million copies between the US/UK/Germany. Which in large part makes believe this is the one song that got him to superstardom!
That brings us to another point-- that most popular music is neither unique nor creative. Just about all of the music coming out now is generally the same. It lacks creativity because artists are just in it to make money, not for the love of music. Society is force-fed this bland music on a daily basis. Through radio stations and the emergence of MTV, new hit songs come out every week and people digest them, claiming to enjoy them just so that they appear to be versed on the latest "on hit wonder" groups. Since the music is generally the same and really does not change that dramatically every week, album after album is put out to fatten the wallets of wealthy producers. The more albums that are put out, the more money is made, as consumers shell out millions every week for something new to listen to, but are merely continuing to feed the frenzy of the popular music industry.
What value does Hit Song Science create? If you were Mike McCready, CEO of Polyphonic, which target market – unsigned artists, producers, or record companies would you pursue?
The music industry is rapidly changing. New hits and duds are released everyday. If record companies can better predict the successes of songs, they could save a lot of money from releasing songs that will not be charted.
“How can I be proud of my Jamaican roots, when my ancestors had been slaves”? This question asked by a woman with Jamaican roots followed British novelist Andrea Levy for a long time. She wondered how anyone could be ashamed of his or her legacy and thus the foundation of her book, The Long Song, was laid. However, writing the book was a more difficult task than presumed. Levy considered many things at the preliminary stage of the book as she knew that she didn’t want to write yet another historical novel about slavery. This is the reason why she chose to write the “behind the scenes”-essay, The Writing of The Long Song. Herein she elaborates and discusses the process of writing her book and raises important