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But the 70s don’t have a monopoly on complexity. Swing bands, Tin Pan Alley, Broadway show tunes, etc. were the pre-rock popular music genres with notable compl
by alpinisme 3y ago
But the 70s don’t have a monopoly on complexity. Swing bands, Tin Pan Alley, Broadway show tunes, etc. were the pre-rock popular music genres with notable complexity.
- Loughla 3y agoSwing bands as complexity? I played a shit load of swing music on scholarship during college. It's super SUPER repetitive. It's good. Don't get me wrong. But it's very repetitive.
- alpinisme 3y agoSure, it’s dance music so it can’t be too wild. But Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie. These guys had varied songs that included (limited but real) improvisation, differing tempos, etc. But really the OP article is about lyrics and I think it’s safe to say that the songs sung by Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole were more complex than top 40 pop today mostly is.
- dhosek 3y agoSome are, some not so much. Consider, e.g., Jeepers Creepers. There are plenty of simplistic lyrics in the Great American Songbook.