Random Thoughts on Music

I heard Taylor Swift at the drug store today.  At first I thought it sounded like Avril Lavigne, until I heard the phrase, "we are never getting back together."  How did the music business survive before we were aware of this girl's relationship status? 

It amazes me how much alike all these girl singers sound.  I wonder if all female pop singers are secretly lip-synching the same voice. 

If you ever wanted to learn how to play music but didn't think you could do it, try Scott "The Piano Guy" Houston's book Play Piano in a Flash!  I picked it up after seeing one of his PBS specials in high school.  You can also see his show on PBS. A great teacher with a great method anyone can learn.

One of the things you learn from Scott Houston is the importance of the blues riff in modern music.  Once you familiarize yourself with it, you can often tell where a song is going musically before it gets there.

Why are modern pop songs so much longer than they need to be?  I once heard a song by the Pussycat Dolls (remember them?) that was four minutes long but had two minutes worth of music. 

Don't you hate it when some new song uses the same title as a classic?  Now I can't search for "California Girls" by the Beach Boys without seeing "California Gurls" by Katy Perry. 

The more I think of it, the more I realize that the music industry is driven by looks instead of talent.  If it were simply a matter of talent, Inara George would be the most famous singer in America. 

There are a number of pop stars who have good voices but whose songs suffer from overproduction.  Listen to Katy Perry's early Christian music (which she recorded under her birth name, Katy Hudson) or one of Ariana Grande's demonstration videos on Youtube, then listen to one of their released songs. 

According to Cracked, pop music has been getting louder and blander over the last 50 years.  This doesn't surprise me at all, having grown up on oldies.  All those angry old folks were right after all!  I reckon that in 20 years the #1 pop song will be a single, ringing tone like the Emergency Broadcast System uses.  

I'd like to give a personal message of thanks to corbos, who has the distinction of being the very first subscriber to this blog.  Hope you enjoyed this post!