Why does my heart go on beating? Why do these eyes of mine cry?
February 14, 2020 11:36 AM   Subscribe

Are pop songs getting sadder every year? It ended when you said goodbye.

It's not your imagination: pop songs are sadder than they used to be. Using "Sentiment Analysis" - a technique used to gauge mood in social media posts - this study indicates that it is indeed getting gloomier in the world of pop music.
posted by Gray Duck (58 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
Maybe we just like them because sad songs, they say so much.
posted by bleep at 11:38 AM on February 14, 2020 [37 favorites]


Morose Millennials are Destroying the Happiness Industry One Gloomy Ballad at a Time
posted by oulipian at 12:04 PM on February 14, 2020 [38 favorites]


I'm sorry I hurt you, leader of the pack. Tell Laura not to cry; my love for her will never die. The first angel I recognize will be my beautiful ebony eyes.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:09 PM on February 14, 2020 [15 favorites]


I can't make you love pop music if you don't.
posted by wellred at 12:15 PM on February 14, 2020 [14 favorites]


Interesting that they invoke random drift as one possible explanation:
‘Unbiased transmission’ here can be thought of in a similar way to genetic drift, in which traits appear to drift to fixation through random fluctuations, and in the apparent absence of any selection pressure. This process has been found to explain the popularity of other cultural traits, from decorations in Neolithic pottery to contemporary baby names and dog breeds.
Sometimes shit just happens, and there's no deeper cause.
posted by clawsoon at 12:15 PM on February 14, 2020 [13 favorites]


Interesting that songs in the sixties and seventies were trending up towards love. In my experience, I've always felt songs in the sixties were trending towards cynicism and disillusionment, leaving behind the likes of the Chapel of Love for Mrs. Robinson.
posted by Fukiyama at 12:17 PM on February 14, 2020 [3 favorites]


I've always felt songs in the sixties were trending towards cynicism and disillusionment, leaving behind the likes of the Chapel of Love for Mrs. Robinson.

I wonder what the automated sentiment analysis said about the lyrics of "Mrs. Robinson". Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes.
posted by clawsoon at 12:21 PM on February 14, 2020 [6 favorites]


I guess that most of the career of Roy Orbison is an outlier and shouldn't be counted?
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:29 PM on February 14, 2020 [5 favorites]


I'd like to see what the Sentiment Analysis thinks of say, "Golden Slumbers" by the Beatles.....if it can't tell that's a sad song, then I say it is rubbish.
posted by thelonius at 12:30 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


Sometimes shit just happens, and there's no deeper cause.

But the Internet tells me that every single movie, TV show, song, book, or other cultural artifact Says Something Profound About Society and must be analyzed down to the smallest detail ad nauseam.
posted by the legendary esquilax at 12:33 PM on February 14, 2020 [3 favorites]


Wasn't there an article recently-ish saying the level of vocabulary in pop songs was declining too?

So we're stupid and sad now?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:39 PM on February 14, 2020 [7 favorites]


I'd like to see what the Sentiment Analysis thinks of say, "Golden Slumbers" by the Beatles.....if it can't tell that's a sad song, then I say it is rubbish.

Fuck that, ask it what it thinks about "Run for Your Life".
posted by tobascodagama at 12:42 PM on February 14, 2020 [8 favorites]


I always assumed the level of complicated emotions in popular lyrics increased as the privacy available to listeners increased. I was reading an article about my favorite band recently (They Might Be Giants, of course) which described them as "private-facing," and I think there are more "private-facing" artists than ever today, working to be heard through headphones.
posted by Countess Elena at 12:44 PM on February 14, 2020 [17 favorites]




I blame all this on the death of Robert Palmer. He had both happy lyrics and wrote at a 4th grade level!
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:09 PM on February 14, 2020 [6 favorites]


One thing I've noticed is that they are getting more soulful. Only millennial soulfulness is not the soulfulness of, say, Michael Bolton wondering how he is supposed to live without you and how he is supposed to carry on, or Richard Marx pledging himself to be right here waiting for you, but a more muscular, Instagram-hued soulfulness.

I recently heard a pop song; I had no idea who it was by (Justin Timberlake or Justin Bieber or some other Justin perhaps?) but the first thought that came to mind was “I imagine the singer has a really soulful bicep tattoo”.
posted by acb at 1:12 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


Oh man, there's this new one on the radio:

Hello darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again

So sad!
posted by BeeDo at 1:20 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


I weep, I sigh, I faint, I diiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIeee,
In dreadful pai-ai-ain -- in. dread. ful. pain!
posted by clew at 1:48 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


How about the happy/sad/emo/angry feelings mashup in hyperpop?

Kim Petras "Death by sex"
nsfw
100 gecs "Money Machine" nsfw
posted by nikoniko at 1:51 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


Sad songs are nature's onions
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:55 PM on February 14, 2020 [8 favorites]


(They Might Be Giants, of course)

Who have a reputation for lightweight nerdy pop, despite singing lyrics like
We die alone
We die afraid
We live in terror
We're naked and alone
And the grave is the loneliest place
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:59 PM on February 14, 2020 [7 favorites]


I like that the dip vaguely coincides with “All Cried Out” by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam — the ultimate 80s broken relationship lamentation.
posted by kimberussell at 2:14 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


It’s the huge demographic increase in cowboys, and the corresponding increase in sad sad songs that’s to blame, according to my research.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:17 PM on February 14, 2020 [5 favorites]


> I'm sorry I hurt you, leader of the pack.

Oh fer ... Cryin' out loud ain't new! Ya see, Underpants? How they just forget? They need to lose those streamers honey.

Six teardroppers from the 50s and 60s:
1) Why do you think it's called 'Rhythm and Blues'?
2) The original Emo ! (he hung out with Judy ! to feel better)
3) ALL country music. OK, most all. Are you Crazy?
4) Don't walk away from Left Banke.
5) A CHUNK of early Beatles.
6) You tell me why you forgot this band.

On and on. Believe me, darling. Then I'll be on my way.
posted by Twang at 2:31 PM on February 14, 2020 [3 favorites]


On the other hand, there's Lizzo.
posted by rmd1023 at 2:33 PM on February 14, 2020 [8 favorites]


Mostly pop songs seem to get whisper-y-er right now. I know it's Not For Me, but I like singing along to stuff. I assume it's sad, but who can tell.

Kids today!
posted by emjaybee at 2:42 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Speaking of Not for Me, the estate of Bobby Darin would like a few words.
posted by thecaddy at 3:05 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


("Artificial Flowers" was one of my favorite songs as a kid. WCBS-FM in New York played it all the time. The eighties were wild.)
posted by thecaddy at 3:06 PM on February 14, 2020


The end of Skeeter Davis's world, surely happened again, and again...
posted by Oyéah at 3:14 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


Sadder than the 80-90s female folk pop explosion????? I find that hard to believe seeing as there wasn't a single happy song on the radio between the decline of MC Hammer and the rise of the Spice Girls.
posted by fshgrl at 3:40 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


My theory is the political situations in the US and Britain set the tone of the times. In the US we are in an abusive relationship and it's time to DTMFA. And Brexit is a confusing, unwilling break up, causing much angst.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 3:43 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


Happy pop songs are all alike; each unhappy pop song is unhappy in its own way.

Also, not a pop song, but this has been going on for 500 years.
posted by basalganglia at 4:28 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


there wasn't a single happy song on the radio between the decline of MC Hammer and the rise of the Spice Girls

Alanis Morissette has one hand in her pocket, and the other hand would like a word with you
posted by oulipian at 4:39 PM on February 14, 2020 [9 favorites]


Shiny happy people holding hands
posted by Dumsnill at 4:48 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


Back in the early 70’s, when I was at UC Santa Barbara, every Saturday on the campus radio station, there was this guy who played “teenage death songs.” And there was a whole lot of them. Not sad songs, death songs. Most from the ‘60’s. I was surprised to hear a Randy Newman song about a teen couple who leave the high school dance and drive to the beach. While snuggling on the beach, they hear a weird whirring sound, and only the guy gets up fast enough to escape being churned to death by the huge sand cleaning machine. My roommate from LA explained to me about the sand cleaning machine. At the same time, the National Lampoon featured a board game where you worked your way around the board avoiding all the deaths depicted in the above mentioned songs. There’s a big difference between “oh, she’s left me” and sand cleaning machine.
posted by njohnson23 at 4:50 PM on February 14, 2020 [13 favorites]


Oh man, there's this new one on the radio:

Hello darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again

So sad!


The word friend is positive, while the word darkness is negative, so the song cancels itself out and does not exist.

I did find it amusing that the article labelled a photo of Abba as happier days because I think part of Abba's success came from melancholy layered over bubblegum harmonies, angst you can dance to.
posted by betweenthebars at 5:30 PM on February 14, 2020 [5 favorites]


Westron wynde when wyll thou blow,
The smalle rayne down can rayne -
Cryst, yf my love wer in my armys
And I yn my bed agayne!

This one counts as positive because of the world love, right?

I wonder what the result would be if they used the same kind of metrics to compare movies or TV shows from the last ten years with trends in the past. I suspect they would get the same result. I'd love to see how they would chart through the previous century - songs from the 1920's compared the the depression and both wars and then on through the fifties and sixties...
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:50 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Well, sad songs are better for you. Take two "Girl From Ipanema"s and call me in the morning.
posted by Chitownfats at 6:42 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Sad songs are nature's onions
posted by downtohisturtles


I'll miss you... me!
posted by symbioid at 6:58 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Just take those old records off the shelf
I'm gonna analyze those sentiments by myself
Today's music seems a little more morose
At least more so than old time rock-and-roll
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 7:14 PM on February 14, 2020 [10 favorites]


GET OFFA MY LAWN YOU DAMNED EMO KIDS!
posted by evilDoug at 7:17 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


The couple of analyses I've seen back up my intuition that the majority of electronic dance music (lowercase, broad definition) is in a minor key. My interpretation of this was always that there is something very mono no aware about raves (perhaps related to drug comedowns?) but I suppose a lot of psychedelia is based on minor scales or or minorish modes also.
posted by atoxyl at 7:32 PM on February 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


The needle may be moving toward sadder, but peak melancholy happened with Linda Ronstadt's "Long, Long Time".
posted by sourwookie at 7:37 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


I wonder if pop music got sadder as country music got happier. A quick Google says yes.
posted by clawsoon at 7:50 PM on February 14, 2020


GET OFFA MY LAWN YOU DAMNED EMO KIDS!

I’M TWEE NOT EMO SIR
posted by thecaddy at 8:09 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]


"Tell her not to wait until
Finds my blood upon her window sill."
Spooky Tooth, 1969

meh... the kids are alright.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 8:17 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


Are we sure pop music is getting sadder? Because overlooking the statistical analysis piece, I can definitely think of some anecdotal evidence that falls outside of this conclusion. Also, I am too old to like new pop music but am definitely sad.

(Am I doing it right?)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:26 PM on February 14, 2020 [1 favorite]


I now have The End of the World in my head thanks to the title of the post. Nice work!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 10:08 PM on February 14, 2020 [4 favorites]



I wonder what the automated sentiment analysis said about the lyrics of "Mrs. Robinson". Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes.


The automated sentiment analysis was ready to give the song a happiness point with that, but that was immediately obliterated with "any way you look at it you lose".
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:30 AM on February 15, 2020


All you need is love. Love is all you need.

Think how many instances of "love" occur in The Beatles' All You Need is Love! The "love, love, love" chant and the repetitive titular chorus contain multitudes. It came out in 1967: Summer of Love, baby! But seriously, that song alone is enough to create an outlier year... and per the chart, 1967 posted among the highest love scores.
posted by carmicha at 4:48 AM on February 15, 2020 [1 favorite]


This is neat, and the analysis thoughtful.

I'm not entirely sure it accounts for context, though. Is Like a Prayer positive? Psycho Killer? Billie Jean? Tubthumping? I'm not sure hey had any individually negative words.
posted by eotvos at 12:17 PM on February 15, 2020


The graphs in the aeon link are bizarre when you you look at them - "average number of times hate was used in a year" for example: average? But it's shown year for year, not averaged across years. So it's not the total for that year - are they really claiming that in 2008, the Billboard top 300 used the word 'hate' 30 times each on average? Similarly, there is a graph labelled 'average number of times love was used each year. Did the average pop song in 1979 really use the word 'love' nearly seven hundred fucking times? Despite their blithely assuming 300 words per song on average in the opening paragraph - were songs in 1979 really over twice as long as a typical pop song, with every single one of those words being love?

Or did they mean 'total' when they said 'average'? Because those are pretty different things...
posted by Dysk at 6:43 PM on February 15, 2020 [1 favorite]


The study has the same graphs with different titles and axis labels, showing the proportion of lyrics that were love/hate/whatever, so the fault here is with aeon and not the actual research.
posted by Dysk at 6:49 PM on February 15, 2020


(Oh and for scale, 700 uses of 'love' is about seven times more than All You Need Is Love by the Beatles)
posted by Dysk at 6:52 PM on February 15, 2020


On the plus side, gruesome pop songs about death, sung first person by dead and/or dying persons are nearly nonexistent these days.
posted by sonascope at 6:57 AM on February 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


Don't forget Gloomy Sunday.

"The saddest song in history is "Gloomy Sunday" sung by Billie Holiday - a.k.a. the "Hungarian Suicide Song". Written by Rezso Seress, he suggested to his girlfriend that they should get married after he finished writing it. The next day, she poisoned herself leaving a suicide note reading "Gloomy Sunday", which is where the title comes from. Several suicides are attributed to the song. The BBC banned the song until 2002."
posted by Paul Slade at 10:00 AM on February 17, 2020


Bill Frisell's version of The end of the world
posted by MikeHoegeman at 9:15 PM on February 18, 2020


Speaking of Billie Holiday, I wonder the sentiment analysis does with her take on My Man.
posted by clawsoon at 10:30 AM on February 19, 2020


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