Earworm

Published on 04/09/2024.

In my (much) younger years at school, I had to sit through Monday and Friday assemblies. Each week a different teacher would take a turn to give their insight on a chosen topic whilst all of the students would pray that the pseudo-lectures would end early, eager to escape to the tuck shop or to hit the playground. I do not remember even half of what was discussed at those assemblies, but there was one in particular from around 2010/2011 that has stuck with me till this day.

My eccentric Deputy Headmaster talked about a debate had with his son about ‘music being better back in [his] day’. He gave plenty of fine examples of songs and artists that were big in his youth and finished his 20 minutes with a sardonic spoken-word rendition of Justin Bieber’s Baby. His assembly was met with a lot of laughter, applause, and general agreement, but it was not the end of the conversation.

The following week, one brave year-seven boy decided to stand up in front of the whole school and offer his rebuttal to the Deputy Headmaster’s hypothesis. He pitched a less rose-coloured-glasses view of music back in the day, and whipped through a list of dire musical examples in easy fashion. Finally, he turned to the Deputy Head, gave a sly wink, and launched into an emphatic performance of The Trashmen’s Surfin’ Bird. For the next few weeks, he was the school hero for getting one over of the teachers.

Who was right out of the two of them? It is difficult question to answer in an objective way, but I think we can get a little closer to the truth by looking at some of the arguments as to why a lot of people seem to agree that music has declined in quality over the years:

1. Modern music is more formulaic and less experimental.
2. Vintage music was less commercial.
3. Music has lost its ability to comment on life and the status quo.

Formulae and Experimentation

It is no secret that a lot of popular music utilises the same chord progressions, key signatures, tempi, &c. The understanding of this rudimentary song-writing theory really spread amongst non-music aficionados thanks to the likes of Axis of Awesome, who pointed out in their 2008 comedy song 4 Chords the prevalent use of the I-V-vi-IV chord pattern in mainstream music.

Extra evidence for just how often this chord progression is used can be found in an article published by Radio New Zealand in April that reported Taylor Swift had used the I-V-vi-IV pattern ‘in 21 of her songs, including Love Story, Champagne Problems, Out of the Woods, I Knew You Were Trouble and All Too Well.’

It may seem a damning indictment of the modern music industry that one of the most commercially successful artists of all time, and somebody Forbes ‘ranks among the most influential women on the planet’, resorted to what seems like cheap writing tricks to churn out a cool ‘$1.1 billion net worth’. Let us, however, pump the brakes a little before we settle on that conclusion. After all, Alexander Pope warned us in his An Essay on Criticism that ‘a little learning is a dang’rous thing’.

To chalk up this commonality of musical sequencing exclusively to modern music, especially based on a smidge of theory from a comedy show, would be a mistake. There are many, many examples of older songs that seem to follow the same certain musical conventions – the genre of the blues providing countless examples. In terms of chord progression, many will have heard of the 12-bar blues pattern, but may not recognise how much this shaped the musical soundscape.

I would encourage all of my readers, before passing judgement on modern music about its similarities, to consider Fleetwood Mac’s record Mr. Wonderful. It is a fantastic album overall, but specifically give a go to Doctor Brown and its succeeding track Need Your Love Tonight. I think the comparison makes a good counterargument against formulism in music being a modern phenomenon.

Commercial Elements

I have heard a lot of dissenters of modern music claim that it is too commercial compared to the music of yesteryear. Given the Statista.com claim that ‘in 2023, the total revenue of the recorded music industry amounted to 28.6 billion U.S. dollars’ – an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year – could this argument hold water? I would argue that it does not.

Yes, there is an oligopoly of three major record labels, all arguably geared up to sign, promote, and maintain artists that drive the highest revenues, but then you also have to consider the ‘10,000-15,000 independent labels’ and ‘100,000+ small and DIY labels’ out there – statistics according to Rexius Records. Compare this to the available number of studios and labels back in the day and the figures do not come close.

Yes, it is fair to say that these smaller operations are still commercial entities, but such boutique enterprises often strive first to sign artists that push the boundaries of the modern soundscape before considering how such signings will tip the scales on the balance sheet.

I never hear niche labels’ music though. That is a fair comment, given that the commercial giants have a strong grip on advertising channels and use it to capitalise on their preferred artists. My question, however, would be how is that any different from back in the day? You may never have heard some of the best songs from yesteryear if you only listened to the radio and did not, for example, bother to try out new music at a record shop. The same goes for now: if you do not bother exploring your options, be it on YouTube, Spotify, &c., how do you expect to find the better songs of the moment? If you think music was better back in the day, it could be because you spent more time getting involved with the music scene in the past than you do now.

Loss of Commentary

Coupled with the argument that music has gotten more commercial is the idea that modern music has lost its edge or its ability to comment on social conditions. Compared to politically charged songs of the past – e.g. Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind, Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, The Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the UK, &c. – a lot of the songs in the charts may seem lyrically bland and self-obsessed.

I would argue that this point of view is problematic because, as aforementioned, it is a plug-in to the commercial argument. Yes, if you take a look at the current top 10 songs in the biggest charts, there is nothing that seems to spark reflection on the state of society, to encourage positive social change, or that even provides a time-capsule picture of life nowadays. That, however, does not mean that there have not been any recent songs with a deeper meaning, and there are plenty of which that have enjoyed critical and commercial success. Here are just 10 examples to illustrate my point.

Song	Artist	Peak Chart Position
Killing in the Name	Rage against the Machine	1st on UK Singles Chart
Where Is the Love?	The Black Eyed Peas	1st on UK Singles Chart
Red Flag	Billy Talent	10th on Canada Rock Top 30
Waiting on the World to Change	John Mayer	14th on Billboard Hot 100
Handlebars	Flobots	3rd on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks
Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked	Cage the Elephant	6th on Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
Away from Here	The Enemy	10th on UK Singles Chart
No Sleep Tonight	Enter Shikari	63rd on UK Singles Chart
This Is America	Childish Gambino	1st on Billboard Hot 100
People	The 1975	1st on UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart

Final Thoughts

I worry that those that claim music was better back in the day fall into one of two categories:

1. Music-listeners with only a far-away perspective of what is available today.
2. Those that have experienced a breadth of modern music but are imprecise with their language.

I think it is perfectly reasonable to have a preference for music from the past – as I, for one, do – but that is not to say that it is objectively ‘better’. There is still plenty of good music out there.

My advice, for those stubborn few that are stuck on the fallacy of vintage music being superior, is to have another look at what is on offer. Whilst the best things in life may be free, they often do not fall into your lap. That means if you are not finding to what you want to listen on the radio or with suggestions from Spotify, do not give up! Put some time into having a look elsewhere and see what you can find.

That is the reason Earworm exists: not only to celebrate all of those glorious songs you know and love, but to help you discover more on your musical journey. If you are struggling to find something new that you like, give some of the songs in our weekly suggested playlists a try. You may just surprise yourself.

Written by Lewis Brown.