Happy Jack Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/2/5/150081 Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is open ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) In a nutshell: Kids have always liked to get smashed, have sex and make a racket. Edit: My point being that rock 'n' roll defies analysis... Edited May 12, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Just in case, here's the abstract. I love this sort of thing. [b] Abstract[/b] [color=#333132][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] In modern societies, cultural change seems ceaseless. The flux of fashion is especially obvious for popular music. While much has been written about the origin and evolution of pop, most claims about its history are anecdotal rather than scientific in nature. To rectify this, we investigate the US Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 2010. Using music information retrieval and text-mining tools, we analyse the musical properties of approximately 17 000 recordings that appeared in the charts and demonstrate quantitative trends in their harmonic and timbral properties. We then use these properties to produce an audio-based classification of musical styles and study the evolution of musical diversity and disparity, testing, and rejecting, several classical theories of cultural change. Finally, we investigate whether pop musical evolution has been gradual or punctuated. We show that, although pop music has evolved continuously, it did so with particular rapidity during three stylistic ‘revolutions’ around 1964, 1983 and 1991. We conclude by discussing how our study points the way to a quantitative science of cultural change.[/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I loved the footnote to the analysis of 'Bohemian Rhapsody': '... one of the few Hot 100 hits to feature an Astrophysicist on lead guitar..'. Who says scientists have no sense of humour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 "We show that, although pop music has evolved continuously, it did so with particular rapidity during three stylistic ‘revolutions’ around 1964, 1983 and 1991." Err...did they miss the Punk revolution in 1977?? and what happened in 1983 that was so "revolutionary"?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1431359600' post='2770456'] and what happened in 1983 that was so "revolutionary"?? [/quote] [media]http://youtu.be/1gwHMjYuk1w[/media] Edit: it says 1982 but it was number one in 1983! Edited May 11, 2015 by ras52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1431359600' post='2770456'] "We show that, although pop music has evolved continuously, it did so with particular rapidity during three stylistic ‘revolutions’ around 1964, 1983 and 1991." Err...did they miss the Punk revolution in 1977?? and what happened in 1983 that was so "revolutionary"?? [/quote] Their point is that Punk was not actually revolutionary in musical terms ... it was broadly the same as what was there before only played much faster and badly. 1983 was pretty much the point at which all my friends stopped playing real instruments and started buying sequencers and Apple computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1431359600' post='2770456'] Err...did they miss the Punk revolution in 1977?? and what happened in 1983 that was so "revolutionary"?? [/quote] They missed the Punk Revolution because the study's about the USA and draws its stats from the Billboard Top 100, wherein punk left not so much as a trace. As for what happened in 1983, I have no idea. I was around at the time but I was very, very drunk. Edited May 11, 2015 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Punk was there, but it was The Ramones and the whole CBGB crowd rather than the Sex Pistols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Remember this is an academic analysis, so 1964 the change is not the Beatles but a shift to Major chord structures and the disappearance of 'bright' singing. 1983 is the arrival of synths and gated effect drums and 1991 is rap/rave dance music. The most samey year comes out as 1986. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 It doesn't mention Moondance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 [quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The most samey year comes out as 1986.[/font][/color][/quote] I can confirm the accuracy of the algorithm there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Really interesting read. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 [quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1431359334' post='2770453'] I loved the footnote to the analysis of 'Bohemian Rhapsody': '... one of the few Hot 100 hits to feature an Astrophysicist on lead guitar..'. Who says scientists have no sense of humour? [/quote] Quite. They've even included The Pet Shop Boys in an analysis of music. What scamps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.