Have you ever received the typical rant from your parents about how the music of our generation is much worse than that of their own era? Like most teens I brush these comments off and tell myself that they are just ignorant. Sadly though, scientific research actually backs what our parents and elders have been telling us. My paradigm shift TED Talk will discuss how and why music of our generation has become significantly worse. This is not just preference of music but quality, meaning, and actual substance of the sound. First, I will most likely open with a snippet of Bob Dylan’s “Ohio” which tells the tale of the student protestor’s who died while speaking out against the Vietnam War. From there I will analyze the song (who, what, where, when, and why) to show how the song is more complex and meaningful then a current song. Then I will compare it to a popular song of the current time, such as a One Direction song. It will show that the quality of music since the start of “pop” music (1950’s) has steadily declined.
From there I can go into the true scientific research of how the overall substance and quality of the music has become worse. There are many findings that prove how current “pop” songs have decreased in timbral variety and pitch content. Finally, I will include how most of modern day music glorifies sex and drugs, which has immediate effects on the audience that listens to such music. An effective way of showing this may also be comparing and contrasting music videos of now and then. I can end my TED Talk by asking my peers to perhaps listen to music that their parents swear is so much better than the content of now. From the whole speech it should be obvious to the audience how and why the overall quality of music has regressed.
VISUALS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8JPPpFmeYY – Neil Young’s “Ohio”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E – One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnZ8h3MRuYg – Travis Scott’s “Antidote”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlyXNRrsk4A – Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night”
As I commented on your last post, I think this is a great idea for a paradigm shift. I like that you are using scientific research to back up your claim because it shows that this isn’t just a matter of opinion. Also, I love the most characteristic lyrics of the decades chart at the end of your post. I think this visual really sums up this drastic shift in music style. I agree that the lyrics of most of today’s songs do glorify sex and drugs and I think it would be interesting to look for research on how that affects people who grow up listening to it. My only suggestion is that you talk about what this all means in our society. What does this shift in quality of music say about these two distinct generations? I’m excited to see your TED Talk and learn more about this topic!