Music has and always will divide opinions. This is an inescapable fact. Some like seventies rock, whereas others like classical. Some like The Carpenters, others Sabrina Carpenter.
But what cannot be argued is the way in which music has evolved. I think we need to clarify what we mean by “music”. Music isn’t solely the sounds we hear – it also refers to an experience.
A song isn’t just about vocals: other creative decisions are at play, from the music video to the performance. Of course, not all of these aspects have always been prevalent within music. Beethoven wasn’t contemplating the exotic setting of his next music video.
But with every new product comes a flurry of ideas, of innovation. The introduction of the music video should always be, in my opinion, considered one of the major turning points in music history. With the beginning of MTV, no longer was standing on a stage and playing music enough to captivate audiences. Bands were pushed to be inventive, creative, flamboyant.
That is not to say that bands were not expressive in the 1970s. That decade was a wonderful experiment of flares and fabrics, a real explosion onto the music scene. Bands such as The Beatles gave way to musical superpowers like Queen, AC DC, and Pink Floyd. Their songs remain popular amongst the youth of today, clearly marking them as decade defining greats.
But the music video introduced something new. Bands, for the first time, were able to explore a whole new dimension to their music. Finally, audiences could watch in awe at the interplay between the audio and the new, experimental visuals that accompanied it. You can’t talk about the rise of the music video without mentioning Duran Duran or other similar bands. They flew off to various exotic locations like Antigua and Sri Lanka, in order to create a captivating and engaging video for their listeners. Others, such as A-ha and their use of stop motion in Take on Me, were revolutionary, especially considering that music videos were first broadcast on MTV only three years before.
And to top it off, there was a wave of new alternative music scenes. The hangover of disco from the 1970s paved the way for the likes of New Wave and New Romanticism. Suddenly, there was a plethora of Europop, Technopop and Hip Hop. The 80s were a whirlwind of trial and error, some standing the test of time – others not so much. The use of technology within music production also grew, such as with the employment of synthesisers. The fashion was revolutionary, whether it was suits, big hair, or dungarees.
To say there was a lack of creativity in the 1990s would be a lie. As with the 1970s, the 1980s had a knock-on effect onto the next generation of music. We witnessed the emergence of rap, and bands that had been big in the 1980s could continue to flourish into the 1990s. The music video developed and shifted, as did the fashion and style of music along with it. The extent of its innovation within the music, however, is questionable.
Some artists certainly were. Nirvana presented something unseen with songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, which set a spark alight amongst the youth. Oasis created iconic songs that DJs still constantly play. Eminem emerged as the new face of rap. The 1990s certainly weren’t a dry period.
However, this decade was also the beginning of pop as we know it today. I suppose we can say that, as the first of its kind, it was innovative, with giants such as The Spice Girls, Britney Spears or N Sync. But the emergence of one of these boy or girl bands paved the way for more of the same. Soon the music scene was saturated with the likes of S Club 7, Girls Aloud, TLC, Backstreet Boys, Take That, East 17, and so on.
And since then, I question whether this genericism has truly ever left music. Up until recently, the necessity for a boy and girl group has persisted . We traded the Backstreet Boys for One Direction. The Spice Girls for Little Mix. Pop music has remained pretty stagnant, with artists constantly being sued for stealing a melody, such as Ed Sheeran and TLC’s song No Scrubs. The creativity within the music industry is fading.
And as for music videos – I think Spotify is seeing to their extinction. The whole way we approach music is reducing creativity: we have regressed to the days where we don’t watch music, but solely listen to it. A music video can carry a story, a purpose, and add further meaning to a song. Whereas solely listening to it is not as immersive.
Therefore, is it unreasonable to expect singers to no longer be as creative? Music videos have always been a way to advertise the artist directly to their audience. But nowadays, it feels like that’s all they are. What happened to the fun? Why are we no longer enjoying the creative process? Is it really so necessary to create another mass-produced pop song merely for a Number 1?
I have, admittedly, been harsh on the last 20 years. There’s an extraordinary array of talent within music and the production of music videos. A shining example is Declan McKenna, whose songs, such as Champagne, are experimental, and whose music videos convey interesting messages, such as The Key to Life on Earth, which portrays the inner struggles that we have with ourselves. It’s this music – videos where he’s literally dressed as a cockroach –where creativity is truly at its purest and rawest form. Rather than a pure money grab, these songs are produced instead for the primary purpose of enjoyment and experimentation.
And there are certainly other examples out there: Sam Fender has adopted a unique sound, especially with his most recent album; Hard Life uses an individualised blend of speaking, singing, and rapping. Raye also with her varied performance at Glastonbury is bringing new life to the bland pop music we have become accustomed to. Recent music is not wholly generic. But those topping the charts adopt a similar sound to follow trends and claim their Number One. And through this, we’re losing individuality.
As we originally established, music taste varies from person to person. From the perspective of a listener, perhaps innovation isn’t so necessary. Perhaps just enjoying the music, whether it be mass-produced or highly experimental, is more important. Modern music is by no means unenjoyable or a struggle to listen to. Therefore, the tragedy doesn’t lie in the notes that we listen to, but rather in the commonality of the melodies.