lol. Half of these songwriters are absolute shit at writing songs. Mariah Carey? Lionel Ritchie? You kidding me? They're both absolute hacks.
It's the same thing as with the Grammys. Taste in music is so diverse that we've just given up and decided that "popular = good." Madonna is considered better than Modest Mouse because she moved more plastic. Whatever. But I assure you that Isaac Brock can write Mariah Carey into the fucking ground.
Mariah Carey has the second most #1 songs ever and cowrote almost all of them. I know #1 singles isn't the definition of good writing, but it certainly means you can write a ton of songs that appeal to the masses. Can't discount that even if you don't like mainstream stuff. I personally don't think I know many more than a few of her #1s, but it is what it is. Of course, it could have now to do with how good her voice was rather than anyone else.
I know #1 singles isn't the definition of good writing, but it certainly means you can write a ton of songs that appeal to the masses.
It's worse than that. Going to #1 means that you've written a song that appeals to the coveted 16-24 demographic. Those are the people who tend to be the most passionate about music and who spend the most on downloads and concert tickets.
Which means that if you're going to #1, you have to pretty much write literal children's music. Your songs will all be about finding a boyfriend or being horny or looking cooler than you are.
They will be immediately understood, lack any and all nuance or poetry, and be based in familiar chord structures. They will be in 4/4 without any key changes; they will be played at about 120 BPM.
Fun fact: Katy Perry brought her first draft of Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) to her label, and they told her: this isn't dumb enough. Make it so dumb that the dumbest teenager can understand it, and put in something about group sex.
It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. Great songwriting, indeed.
And of course it's four chords on a loop, IV–ii–vi–V, the same as All Star and Just Like Heaven and Closing Time and Knockin' on Heaven's Door, at 126 BPM. When people tell me AI music is uncreative, I just have to scoff.
That may be so, but people can go on and on about music theory and what makes a great song, but all that matters in the end is if people listen to it. You can write the most technical and amazing composition, but if only a small group of people listen to it, then it doesn't matter that much. There are heaps of people who write amazing music and probably do it better than any mainstream artist. I certainly like more complex and deep music than a standard Mariah Carey song, but I bet you that 50 years from now more people will be listening to Mariah Carey belt out All I Want For Christmas Is You than they will some of the greatest song writers of the 20th and early 21st century.
It's the same thing with Taylor Swift. Average singer, average looks (IMO), average songs, typical lyrical topics, but yet people consider her an amazing songwriter because she knows how to write earworms. She already has 14 #1 songs. Yeah, mid-grade mass appeal stuff, but somehow she's the biggest thing around. At least Mariah Carey had one of the best voices in modern pop music and was quite attractive in her prime.
Consider the question "what are the five best hamburgers in the United States."
If the only metric that matters is "units moved," then the best five hamburgers in the country are 1. The McDonald's Cheeseburger; 2. The Big Mac; 3. The Whopper; 4. The McDonald's Quarter Pounder With Cheese; 5. Dave's Single.
It's interesting that when it comes to hamburgers, we can all agree that these are not the best five hamburgers. In fact, these are all examples of garbage food, and are some of the worst hamburgers on the planet.
I tend to see music the same way. Mariah Carey is the Whopper of music. People who listen to Mariah Carey while eating a Whopper give a shit about neither music nor food. They just want to consume product, and that particular product has the distinction of being the most readily available.
lol. Half of these songwriters are absolute shit at writing songs. Mariah Carey? Lionel Ritchie? You kidding me? They're both absolute hacks.
It's the same thing as with the Grammys. Taste in music is so diverse that we've just given up and decided that "popular = good." Madonna is considered better than Modest Mouse because she moved more plastic. Whatever. But I assure you that Isaac Brock can write Mariah Carey into the fucking ground.
Mariah Carey has the second most #1 songs ever and cowrote almost all of them. I know #1 singles isn't the definition of good writing, but it certainly means you can write a ton of songs that appeal to the masses. Can't discount that even if you don't like mainstream stuff. I personally don't think I know many more than a few of her #1s, but it is what it is. Of course, it could have now to do with how good her voice was rather than anyone else.
It's worse than that. Going to #1 means that you've written a song that appeals to the coveted 16-24 demographic. Those are the people who tend to be the most passionate about music and who spend the most on downloads and concert tickets.
Which means that if you're going to #1, you have to pretty much write literal children's music. Your songs will all be about finding a boyfriend or being horny or looking cooler than you are.
They will be immediately understood, lack any and all nuance or poetry, and be based in familiar chord structures. They will be in 4/4 without any key changes; they will be played at about 120 BPM.
Fun fact: Katy Perry brought her first draft of Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) to her label, and they told her: this isn't dumb enough. Make it so dumb that the dumbest teenager can understand it, and put in something about group sex.
It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. Great songwriting, indeed.
And of course it's four chords on a loop, IV–ii–vi–V, the same as All Star and Just Like Heaven and Closing Time and Knockin' on Heaven's Door, at 126 BPM. When people tell me AI music is uncreative, I just have to scoff.
That may be so, but people can go on and on about music theory and what makes a great song, but all that matters in the end is if people listen to it. You can write the most technical and amazing composition, but if only a small group of people listen to it, then it doesn't matter that much. There are heaps of people who write amazing music and probably do it better than any mainstream artist. I certainly like more complex and deep music than a standard Mariah Carey song, but I bet you that 50 years from now more people will be listening to Mariah Carey belt out All I Want For Christmas Is You than they will some of the greatest song writers of the 20th and early 21st century.
It's the same thing with Taylor Swift. Average singer, average looks (IMO), average songs, typical lyrical topics, but yet people consider her an amazing songwriter because she knows how to write earworms. She already has 14 #1 songs. Yeah, mid-grade mass appeal stuff, but somehow she's the biggest thing around. At least Mariah Carey had one of the best voices in modern pop music and was quite attractive in her prime.
Consider the question "what are the five best hamburgers in the United States."
If the only metric that matters is "units moved," then the best five hamburgers in the country are 1. The McDonald's Cheeseburger; 2. The Big Mac; 3. The Whopper; 4. The McDonald's Quarter Pounder With Cheese; 5. Dave's Single.
It's interesting that when it comes to hamburgers, we can all agree that these are not the best five hamburgers. In fact, these are all examples of garbage food, and are some of the worst hamburgers on the planet.
I tend to see music the same way. Mariah Carey is the Whopper of music. People who listen to Mariah Carey while eating a Whopper give a shit about neither music nor food. They just want to consume product, and that particular product has the distinction of being the most readily available.