With my favorite band, every new record was “not as good as what came before”. But after getting used to, it got there as well.
I have concluded that familiarity brings a feeling of quality in music.
It takes a while to learn the minutia of what makes a particular song great. And the more complex and lengthy a song is, the longer it takes to fully appreciate it.
While they aren’t generally stylistically complex, some songs with complex nonsense lyrics seem, at least to me as a young American, to be the ones that are simultaneously easiest to appreciate for a great many people, and also have huge staying power, despite being quite old. For example:
American Pie
Hotel California
We Didn’t Start the Fire
Don’t Stop Believing
Bohemian Rhapsody (or, really, most things by Queen)
These, at least among the places I’ve been here in America, are the ones to which everyone in the bar starts singing along.
Sure, these have underlying meaning, or make references to specific events, but in my experience, most of the people I hear singing and dancing to these have no idea what they’re referencing, and often don’t even know the words. Perhaps it is simply that they are so overplayed that they get those “multiple listens” of which you speak? Or is there something inherently compelling in the seeking of meaning in complex, random lyrics, such that people are immediately drawn in?
Can’t confirm. Of course the first time you listen to a new song isn’t the same since you don’t know what to expect, but from then on you can vibe to it even better for a while since it’s new. I’d even assume this is the reason for the “repeat song” feature and why some people listen to a single new song for hours.
Dunno, I have a hard time understanding your perspective.
With my favorite band, every new record was “not as good as what came before”. But after getting used to, it got there as well.
I have concluded that familiarity brings a feeling of quality in music.
It takes a while to learn the minutia of what makes a particular song great. And the more complex and lengthy a song is, the longer it takes to fully appreciate it.
While they aren’t generally stylistically complex, some songs with complex nonsense lyrics seem, at least to me as a young American, to be the ones that are simultaneously easiest to appreciate for a great many people, and also have huge staying power, despite being quite old. For example:
American Pie
Hotel California
We Didn’t Start the Fire
Don’t Stop Believing
Bohemian Rhapsody (or, really, most things by Queen)
These, at least among the places I’ve been here in America, are the ones to which everyone in the bar starts singing along. Sure, these have underlying meaning, or make references to specific events, but in my experience, most of the people I hear singing and dancing to these have no idea what they’re referencing, and often don’t even know the words. Perhaps it is simply that they are so overplayed that they get those “multiple listens” of which you speak? Or is there something inherently compelling in the seeking of meaning in complex, random lyrics, such that people are immediately drawn in?
Yeah, people who can only get into the old shit just have a hard time letting go of the past. Live a little, friends.
(That said, there are some bands who peaked a long time ago, are going on reunion tours, and yeah, usually the new stuff sucks.)
Stone Temple Pilots was one of those bands for me.
Can’t confirm. Of course the first time you listen to a new song isn’t the same since you don’t know what to expect, but from then on you can vibe to it even better for a while since it’s new. I’d even assume this is the reason for the “repeat song” feature and why some people listen to a single new song for hours.
Dunno, I have a hard time understanding your perspective.