The Outbreak of Euphoria is as Sudden as it is Unexpected

July 10, 2020 8:57 AM

According to the BBC, "pop music is getting faster (and happier)." [SL BBC, evidence is from the UK pop charts]
posted by chavenet (8 comments total)

Wasn't there an FPP in the last year about how pop music used to be more depressing?
posted by aspersioncast at 11:06 AM on July 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I support this development, especially if it proceeds to more happy hardcore.
posted by jb at 11:08 AM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

actually - here's a better mix for anyone craving fast and happy (YT link).
posted by jb at 11:12 AM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

I honestly feel that this evolution is compensating for a world that is growing more and more out of control and a general feeling of powerlessness. I consider Pop music to always be a reflection of its time (Bakhtin's chronotope), and that Pop changes in response to changes in the world. If you've ever experienced a depressed person who is relentlessly positive, that's what I think is going on here: the idea that music can change the world, but it isn't, and the fix for that is to MORE it to the limits of what the public will listen to and validate.
posted by rhizome at 4:59 PM on July 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I am here for more poptimism! And I hope this trend bodes well for Carly Rae Jepsen, whose Dedicated Side B is pure joy, and who is rumored to be doing a collaboration with Charli XCX and I need to hear that song right now.

Thank you for posting this! I love charts about how happy our pop stars are!
posted by danabanana at 6:29 PM on July 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

The problem with the idea that pop music is a reflection of its time is that it always reminds me of those poor scientific studies in which theory is tweaked so that no matter what data comes out, it is seen as supporting the hypothesis.

When things are shitty and music is depressing, people say that it's because it reflects peoples' situations.
When things are shitty and music is happy, people say that it's because it's an escape from peoples' situations.
When things are good and music is depressing, people say that it's because it's because people enjoy the contrast from their daily lives (or, alternatively, that people aren't actually happy, and their choice of music is what betrays their true feelings).
When things are good and music is happy, people say it's because it reflects peoples' situations.
posted by Bugbread at 12:20 AM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

(I should clarify that I'm only talking about the music, not the lyrics, because that's a whole 'nother ball of wax, as the article discusses.)
posted by Bugbread at 1:12 AM on July 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

When things are shitty and music is depressing, people say that it's because it reflects peoples' situations.
When things are shitty and music is happy, people say that it's because it's an escape from peoples' situations.
When things are good and music is depressing, people say that it's because it's because people enjoy the contrast from their daily lives (or, alternatively, that people aren't actually happy, and their choice of music is what betrays their true feelings).
When things are good and music is happy, people say it's because it reflects peoples' situations.

I get what you're saying, but how much of this is Pop?

I don't think the article's methology is all that great and overall it seems to be more about talking to the producers. While people are driven to music for all the reasons above, only certain combinations of them get "everybody" to agree that it's good, which is a loose definition of Pop to me. The dynamics of those cohesions are where the meat of the question lies, but it's a hard one to tease out. A good question for article would have been to ask the makers what they thought of their (or anybody's) abilities to do it on purpose.
posted by rhizome at 3:48 PM on July 15, 2020