Since August 4, 1958, the Billboard Hot 100 has released a ranked list of the 100 most popular singles every week in the United States. Today, it is regarded as the “music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles” (Wikipedia). So it’s safe to say that if a song is number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it is rather well-known among the general popular-music crowd, which typically consists of younger people in their teens to late twenties. The fads and trends among this age group define the current popular culture — the clothes, political movements, social outlooks, and more define a rising generation’s ideals.
Popular music is one of the most telling aspects of a young generation’s culture. Since the advent of commercialized music, trends in popular music have evolved to reflect trends in a young generation’s culture.
What I have come to notice by observing these trends in pop music is that from the start of the 21st century, pop music has become increasingly vulgar. What do I mean by “vulgar”? I mean that more expletives and inappropriate language are used and there is an increase in the glorification of illegal or immoral things like drugs, sex, and violence. From 2000, more and more number ones on the Billboard Hot 100 feature such topics, indicating the greater prevalence of such amorality in pop culture.
What I would like to analyze is this paradigm shift in the increasing vulgarity of pop music that began roughly with the start of the new millennium and continues into modern day.
To give an example, let’s take a look at the current “most popular song” according to Billboard this week, the week of October 15, 2017. The current number one hit is “Rockstar,” by Post Malone. The lyrics of the song mention sexual promiscuity, drug use, gun violence, drinking, vandalism, drug dealing, money and defiance of authority, among other vices. The number 2 hit, “Bodak Yellow,” is equally, if not more, profane. The number one hit song for every week of October in 2007 was “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy. The lyrics of “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” describe a dance that became popular due to the release of the “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” song. The next number one after that, “Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown feat. T-Pain is arguably vulgar. However, it does not include any expletives and talks almost exclusively about the appeal of a woman’s body without mentioning nearly as many topics of vice as “Rockstar.”
This trend is not isolated; it can be observed within an individual artist’s repertoire as well. Beyonce’s tracklist of number 1 hits feature a progression towards explicit profanity as well.
So, what significance does this trend have and why should we care? As I wrote before, pop music trends mirror the state of pop culture. Using this line of thought, increasing indecency in pop music corresponds to an increasing indecency in pop culture as well, evidenced in media and the behavior of those who follow pop culture. This trend is only proliferating, which means that the future seems to hold even more vulgarization of music and culture. As members of the generation that creates pop culture ourselves, we should examine the direction in which we are headed and be aware of the possible changes that we face as our culture and values continue to evolve.
Hi Tara!
I really like your idea for the paradigm shift! Music certainly reflects society’s ideas, but it also resonates more with younger generations. I am positive that my grandparents have never heard “Rockstar” before, and if they did, they would probably be horrified. Therefore, as the defining factor of many paradigm shifts (if not all) shows a transition to new ideas in the most recent generation that are radical compared to the ideals of older generations, this topic presents you with the perfect opportunity to compare the thoughts of current older generations with those of current younger generations. This is because your timeframe began not too long ago, and many people who were alive in 1958 are still alive now. I think it’s a good idea to focus on pop music, compared to stereotyping the trend to all forms of music, because pop is probably the genre of music that is changing the most, or at least appearing to change the most since it is usually the type of music that is most commonly heard in public. After all, artists are always competing for spots on the Billboard Hot 100, so you might want to also talk more about when this chart came into existence — in 1958, as you said — and how it might have affected the shift in pop music. Since you reference Billboard Hot 100 several times, I am assuming that you already think that this was a factor that helped push the idea of making music more vulgar and pushing boundaries in order to get to the top. I like how you make a statement about how we should care about this trend since it “mirrors the state of pop culture,” but I think that you should reference both sides of the story. If you could find an interview with an artist or a significant figure in the music industry who supports the evolution of music in this way, and then maybe views of a younger person (a millennial journalist maybe) who believes it is leading to too much indecency in culture, it would be interesting to see these two ideas juxtaposed.
Hi Tara!
This is a very unique and interesting essay topic, and one that we can all relate to. You spoke about how the fads and trends define the culture, such as clothes and social outlooks. Do these trends directly relate to your topic, music, or do these trends support one another in the description of our culture? I would suggest elaborating on this a little more for your essay. You could also look into how the Billboard Hot 100 decides which songs make the list. This could be insightful as to what standards they consider as the shift has occurred. You could also look into the shift within other genres of music. Is this shift only present in “pop” music, or can we also observe this change in other genres such as country or rock music? With this investigation, you may find that most of our generation listens to pop music, which may be why this specific genre has changed so much. I like your use of a specific example from this week. I would continue to use these examples throughout your essay, including the typical number one songs from the beginning of the time period to present day. Relating the change in pop music to the change in pop culture is also an interesting topic to investigate. I would recommend using some clear examples of how the music directly correlates to the change in culture, as you suggest. I would also elaborate on the effects that could possibly occur if our generation continues down this same path. You could possibly speak specifically on some effects that we already see in order to support your claim that more effects will occur. I definitely think you have a well defined and interesting topic for your essay.
Creative idea, Tara! I’m remembering the warning label that used to be placed on CDs with explicit lyrics and wondering if that might play a role in helping you define your shift. When did this label come into being and is it still used? You might also think about the concept of obscenity in relation to pop music. It sounds like this is what you’re getting at, but since “obscenity” is more of a concept than “vulgarization” (a process), obscenity may be more useful for tracing out social and cultural implications.
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