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Not only are lyrics much more.suggestive and explicit these days, the artists who sing them are much more "charged." If you look at Simon and Garfunkel you probably don't think "sex," but look at Rhianna (?) and she certainly doesn't leave much to the imagination.
It's no coincidence that you have a lot of one trick pony songwriters out there, either your message is blunt or dumbed down. This didn't just start happening now, I noticed it during my childhood in the late 90s as well the only difference was there was a bit more of a balance I'd say then. The craft part has been separated, so now you have drab songs where the vocalist/producer couldn't find middle c on a piano if their life depended on it.
I work in this industry, but thankfully I'm in a position where I get to work with a few radio artists that garner radio play, as well as some of the most promising independent acts.
LOL at Rhianna, if she had an imagination she'd have a better understanding of pitch.
However I will say, as much as I love the music of the 50s and 60s it is annoying how 9 out of 10 songs are love songs. Love songs have their place but that's not the ONLY thing in life.
Depends on what you're listening to, genre-wise. The 60s were full of folk, which is often marginally about romance,if at all. Woody Guthrie and his contemporaries were writing socially aware, non-fluff songs well before then,too.
These are different from the music the OP describes. These are about affairs, or relationships, not one night stands. Notice the song goes, "Cecilia, you're breaking my heart". People who are into ONS don't get broken hearts. Me and Mrs. Jones, we got a thing goin' on. That's not about a ONS. If loving you is wrong (note the word: "love"). etc.
idk, OP, I've been wondering the same thing as you.
Exactly.
I noticed this change around 2002.
As I came of age, the chart hits were not nearly as sexual as today. I'm sure there were some sexually-charged songs in the mid-late 1990s, but there were certainly not as many hits with sexual lyrics as today. If they did happen to have sex as a component in their song, it was usually veiled behind references.
Now you have songs with titles like "Tonight I'm ****ing You" and "I Wanna **** You", songs that explicitly speak about specific sexual practices by famous artists like Rihanna, Britney Spears, and Lil' Wayne, songs unashamedly celebrating infidelity by artists like Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias, etc. These aren't simply burned onto CDs or copied to MP3 players and distributed amongst high schoolers but actually played on the air. Definitely a far cry from "Don't Speak", "Truly Madly Deeply", or "This Is Your Night".
You can even see the evolution in artists that remained popular over time:
Enrique Iglesias's "Now That You're Gone" and "Bailamos" were hits in 1999-2000. Now he sings about cheating and one-night stands.
Nelly Furtado had a brief stint of popularity with "I'm Like a Bird" in 2001. She re-emerged with "Promiscuous Girl" in 2006.
Britney Spears has had a sexualized image since her debut, but she used to claim to be a virgin and her songs weren't so racy. Now she sings about various bedroom practices.
Even Rihanna was originally a fairly clean artist. Then of course with "Good Girl Gone Bad" she embraced the image of a ***** with songs like "S&M".
i think you can blame (if that's what you want to call it) most of it in part on club culture. most of these songs that started the "trend" had their beginnings in the clubs and never touched a radio or where wildy public. its just become the norm for how a song is produced and shopped around.
i think you can blame (if that's what you want to call it) most of it in part on club culture. most of these songs that started the "trend" had their beginnings in the clubs and never touched a radio or where wildy public. its just become the norm for how a song is produced and shopped around.
club culture became "mainstream"
I agree with club culture having something of an influence, but club hits made huge airplay for a long time in many European countries, and even they did not have as raunchy of lyrics as the current hits. Songs often had nonsense lyrics, lyrics about dancing, or vague love. They may have had phrases that could be interpreted as suggestive, but they were only that. Of course, there were exceptions (such as groups that achieved fame singing solely about sex).
It seems like back in the late 90's, few of the hit songs at the time were of a sexual nature, or at least they toned it down. But now in 2012, it sometimes seems like EVERY song is about sex, and usually one-night stands - usually an assertive male speaking of taking a woman home for a night from the club, or increasing ly the other way around (e.g. Kesha's "Bla Bla Bla"). Even songs that are not otherwise centered around sex seem to make an obligatory token reference (e.g. Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music", Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory") This has seemed to be the case for about 10 years now.
Are regular people really so horny or sex-obsessed as to find this appealing? Although my religious views come into play here, even from a secular perspective, it's ridiculous.
Is this some kind of joke..? Every song is about sex.
The decline in pop morality in the past several years. Personally, I hate today's sexed up songs. I feel as if some singers use it as a crutch to compensate for a lack of talent. Shame, shame...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tvdxer
Exactly.
I noticed this change around 2002.
As I came of age, the chart hits were not nearly as sexual as today. I'm sure there were some sexually-charged songs in the mid-late 1990s, but there were certainly not as many hits with sexual lyrics as today. If they did happen to have sex as a component in their song, it was usually veiled behind references.
Now you have songs with titles like "Tonight I'm ****ing You" and "I Wanna **** You", songs that explicitly speak about specific sexual practices by famous artists like Rihanna, Britney Spears, and Lil' Wayne, songs unashamedly celebrating infidelity by artists like Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias, etc. These aren't simply burned onto CDs or copied to MP3 players and distributed amongst high schoolers but actually played on the air. Definitely a far cry from "Don't Speak", "Truly Madly Deeply", or "This Is Your Night".
You can even see the evolution in artists that remained popular over time:
Enrique Iglesias's "Now That You're Gone" and "Bailamos" were hits in 1999-2000. Now he sings about cheating and one-night stands.
Nelly Furtado had a brief stint of popularity with "I'm Like a Bird" in 2001. She re-emerged with "Promiscuous Girl" in 2006.
Britney Spears has had a sexualized image since her debut, but she used to claim to be a virgin and her songs weren't so racy. Now she sings about various bedroom practices.
Even Rihanna was originally a fairly clean artist. Then of course with "Good Girl Gone Bad" she embraced the image of a ***** with songs like "S&M".
I have a saying, before song's stirred the soul, then the mind, and now the loins lol.
In the 90s you had a lot more songs with more intelligent, deep messages, even if they were romantic or mentioned sex, in the top 40. Singer songwriters like Tori Amos and Ben Folds, for instance. Now I don't even see many girl bands, just a lot of vacuous, sexed up, **** material for teenage boys singing about gang bangs and S & M.
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