FutureHit.DNA

[matto]

I'm only about a quarter into the book and find it quite fascinating. I think the most interesting aspect for me so far is that there are so many examples of the way technology has been a determining factor as to which songs became hits...most of which I was completely unaware of.

Quite eye opening...

[DavRom]

i always find it rather bold for someone to write a book telling what the future will look like, so i take that with a grain of salt

agree or disagree with the content, anyone interested in songwriting should read this book. even if just to pick up some excellent compositional ideas, which alone makes it worth the time. as simple as some great songs are you can't ever learn enough about songwriting

one thing i strongly believe is that the trend will always be dictated by songwriters first. yeah, tools and technology can shape the outcome, but the essence of a good song or what makes a song good is a question of aesthetics not technology, marketing or what the public wants. especially this last

there's no cosmic mind out there collecting and noting current public desire and behavior on some mystical plane that songwriters either tap into or die. other than to say songs that move them, people don't know what they want. songwriters put it out there first and then the public decides.

on the other hand, there certainly are no truly original trend setters either (albeit many followers/imitators). every good songwriter draws from the past and contributes to the future.

i don't believe songwriting is merely a conscious effort. we can analyze and dissect after the fact, but ultimately a good song comes from a place reason cannot delve into. thank goodness for that!

[billg1]

I think that people in the "business" end of the music biz have always been pretty good at figuring out what the masses would like at any given point in time. When you can examine the trends, pick songs that fit the mold and then control what people are going to hear (talking strictly radio) you've got a chance at creating a hit, but that doesn't always mean good music imo. The saving grace (for good music) is that eventually artists always come around that have artistic merit & commercial appeal, turn everything on it's ear and then becomes the "new" model for a while. Even if these artists don't change the model completely they can take their piece of the pie & might enjoy more longevity than random hit makers may see.

I think it's the same with any art form be it film, painting, or music. You can calculate what people will consume based on what's being consumed, but the appeal of art is unpredictable, and that is the wild card. You can't really manufacture art & it always seems to save music . . . imo.

[Pinkstar]

I'm still reading it. It's pretty interesting, he's got some great points. I'm digging the undissolved ending. I always want to bring 'em home, now I'll just leave 'em hanging....muhahahahahah
Just gotta get the front and middle strong so that they'll make it to the end. I'm inspired. It's a great challenge.

Billboard Charts, here we come! Going for #1!
xoxo

[suzdoyle]

I like this book a lot, too. Am halfway through, but feel that the impact technology has on art is well addressed.

,
Suz

[jparker]

I read the whole book on the plane by the time I made it back home from the Road Rally. It'll really be interesting to come back to it in a year or two and see where the trends in music and technology have gone. By then Jay may have a second edition with new trends.

[Hookjaw Brown]

I took some of the advice from the book;

1) Short intro - less than seven seconds

2) Set the hook, and repeat

3) Un-resolved ending

and wrote Fascar to Ride (Someday) as an exercise to see if it works. Put it on Jango for 1200 plays to test it. The format works...but not quite as well as more traditional modes. Almost....but still a lot of fun.

You can hear this example on my Taxi music link.

[squids]

...one of the many things that I found mind blowing in the book was that with the advent of digital radio tuners - one can now flip though stations at a lightening pace in search of a song that grooves them - and as they land upon each new station and song, the odds are that they will land somewhere in the middle of that song - which begs the need for more "hook" oriented verses and choruses and turns and bridges etc...



d

I agree and I don't often use the digital tuner! If the singer can't get me by the chorus, it's a doomed affair, and that's me being generous compared to my kids' generation. The old adage of "strong start, strong finish' no longer applies to songs - gotta be strong all ova the map these days!

[chits]

What an interesting thread, Dean. I wanna buy this book.

Years ago, I'd listen to the whole album of an artist, whether I liked a song on it or not. I grew to like even bad songs on a record, and I would play the album over and over again (2 or 3 times in an evening) while drinking a glass of wine, etc.

Now, I don't have that kind of attention span. It's as if my brain has changed. We live in a world where you can pick and choose anything you want to listen to at lightning fast speed, especially at a place like Youtube. It's made me less patient than I used to be. I want immediate gratification when I listen to a song, and even songs I fall in love with, I get tired of more quickly than I used to.

I'm guessing the younger generation's brains are evolving to the point where they can't listen to one song without quickly moving to another as well.

One thing though, a lot today music isn't as interesting as it used to be. Even a lesser tune on an artist's album was still pretty good because they were a great band or artist. In other words, I could listen to Jimmy Buffett all day because of his style and technique, the original signature sound of his music would keep me coming back for more.

Much of the popular music today all sounds alike on a CD. One tune pretty much sounds like another, whether the hook is catchy or not.

[billg1]

It seems to me that although technology plays a big part in the way music is enjoyed, the songwriters of any given generation have always followed formulas to the point that finally things become stale and boring and then BANG . . . an artist or group comes along to reset things. no one could have predicted Chuck Berry, Elvis, The Motown sound, The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, Rap Music, Nirvana, and so on. I think we're do for something really different that will have a huge impact and re-set everything . . . there is something great and creative lurking right around the corner and exactly what it will be stylistically is totally unpredictable . . . and that's exactly what will make it so phenomenal!

maybe it will be a group whose songs only consist of a :15 hook-