Popular Culture Review
hit such disparate places as Poland and South Africa, and has been copied
by regional networks and local stations (Stahl). The intention of connecting
the show to the homogenous state of the music industry is not to attack Idol’s
entertainment value or demerit its popularity; instead the aim is to illuminate
the correlation between this talent-based reality show and the erosion of
diverse and interesting output from the music industry.
Erosion of Musical Variety
Research shows little evidence to promote any assertion of Idol’s
direct relationship with the homogenous state of the music industry, but the
industry’s declining quality is almost without contention. Serrà, Boguná, Haro,
Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona, examined the changes in
sonic characteristics of music through a quantitative analysis of almost half a
million songs and found that a homogenization has occurred over time, one in
which artist variety and disparity has become less enterprising. The research
team focused on three aspects in the songs: 1) timbre (which refers to the
sound texture or color; e.g. the same note would sound different when played
on a violin than a human voice singing); 2) pitch (the ordering of tonality in
a scaled-frequency; i.e. the distinction between chords, melodies, and tonal
arrangements); and 3) loudness (the intrinsic values proprietary to a recording,
not the listener’s control of audible levels). Serrà et al. compiled data that
illustrate the overall diminution of music’s “timbral palette” and “pitch content,”
and the steady increase of its overall loudness, which gives little salute to
dynamic diversity. Simply put, songs have become more uniform and less
sonically adventurous.
It could be argued that many artists today are pushing the sonic envelope
with the amazing technological advancements now available for musical
creation. Indeed, technology has afforded musicians ample means of creating
new sounds and even new genres (dubstep, vaporwave, future garage), but
the argument here is not one of opportunity, or even of advancement; it is
one of analogous saturation. The pervasion of these opportune means has
uprooted a diverse garden of music and planted systematically manicured
singles in its stead.
Humans have a profound connection with music. Infants gravitate
towards pleasing sounds and turn from discordant ones (Weinberger); parents
sing their children to sleep; church congregations unite in vocal accord; fans
gather together in song at concerts; music can even trigger nostalgia and
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