The recession is making us sick, and fat, and hungry, and ugly. But what is it doing to our pop music?
It’s making the lyrics more thoughtful (via Ryan Avent):
The lyrical content of Billboard No. 1 songs for each year from 1955 to
2003 was investigated across changes in U.S. social and economic
conditions. Consistent with the environmental security hypothesis,
popular song lyrics were predicted to have more meaningful themes and
content when social and economic conditions were threatening. Trends
for more meaningful, comforting, and romantic lyric ratings were
observed in more threatening social and economic times. Using
Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software, songs with more words per
sentence, a focus on the future, and greater mention of social
processes and intergroup themes were popular during threatening social
and economic conditions. Limitations and possible implications are
discussed.
That sounds about right to me. “MMMBop” and “Summer Girls” could only have been written in the middle of one of the greatest economic expansions in American history.
