Sex, Drugs, Money, Fireworks, and a Lot More of the First Three Things: the Science of Pop Music Pt. 2

We have already established in Part One of this series that a catchy song is an important element to a pop song. The fact that one can easily remember a song makes it a good candidate for popularity and tons of radio play, and then gets stuck like cocaine; it's annoying as hell at first, until you start loving the stuff, and spend your iTunes gift cards on it.

But is that it?

There's a lot more to a pop song. Songwriters (it should go without saying that most artists receiving the brunt of the disparagement in these articles don't write their own songs) know that to most people in the 21st century, music isn't about conveying a meaningful message anymore, it's about having a relatable message that almost anyone can empathize with. Listeners don't turn on their radio stations anymore to be satiated by a majestic performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons or Wagner's Die Walkure. Listeners want something they can sing to, something they readily believe and can accept. In fact, dare I say that listeners don't want songs with messages, they want songs they can put their messages into. 


Think about pop music in the last decade. There is no real message behind the song that we don't already know, or feel. Could you imagine if you got 65-70 emails a day, telling you your name and address. Well, what good would that do anyone, if they got spammed emails of information they had already known for years??

Allow me to illustrate. Because radio stations these days are replete with examples, I will choose just 5 from Billboard Top 100, and post some lines from the choruses in snippets below:

1. "Cause baby you're a firework/ Come on show 'em what you're worth /Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"/ As you shoot across the sky" - Katy Perry, "Firework" (Teenage Dream)

2. "I'd catch a grenade for ya/ Throw my hand on a blade for ya/ I'd jump in front of a train for ya/ You know I'd do anything for ya" - Bruno Mars, "Grenade" (Doo-wops & Hooligans)

3. "Hey boy, I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me/hey boy, I really wanna be with you cause you just my type/Ooh na na na/ I need a boy to really take it over/ looking for a girl to put you over/ Ooh na na, what's my name (x4)" - Rihanna ft. Drake, "What's My Name?" (Loud)


4. "We will never be never be anything but loud/ And nitty gritty dirty little freaks/ Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass/ Just come on and come on and raise your glass" - P!nk, "Raise Your Glass" (Greatest Hits..So Far!!)


5. "We’re dancing like we’re dumb/ Our bodies go numb/ We’ll be forever young/ You know we’re superstars/ We are who we are!" - Ke$ha, "We R Who We R" (Cannibal)


What do these lyrics tell us? Where is the meaning? That we can do anything we want and shoot for the stars? That some Hollywood hottie would jump in front of a train for me? To just dance? They tell us absolutely nothing. In fact, it's amazing how many times people can get hoodwinked, and for such a long time! Britney Spears was singing the same idiotic words over a decade ago! I could go even farther back, but here is my main point: 99% of lyrics don't say anything, they merely verbalize what we already feel. We WANT someone to tell us we're fireworks. We WANT someone to love us so much they'd take a blade for us. We (not me, of course) WANT to dance until we're dumb and forget about responsibility and life. 

What's more, people's expectations dictate what songs should sing about. The fact that people don't want meaning logically leads to the conclusion that meaningless music sells. There's no incentive for pop artists to sing about something meaningful, because people aren't expecting that, and it won't be received well.

It's now near impossible to inject meaning into songs and gain success in this world. Because people are ignorant and stubborn. They don't want meaning anymore; as 2 Timothy 4:3 states, "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear". No meaning in pop music lyrics, just an echo from another person's voice.