3. Drake Hotline Bling
I found this dull. You can see why she left him.
This made my day
Thanks for the great comment. Good point on there being a lot of ballads. Maybe because of winter?
I have a couple of observations - not to argue with you, because I respect your opinion as I feel you respect mine - just because I think it's interesting:
You mention lyrics fitting the music a couple of times. I think this isn't as important anymore, because music is consumed very differently today. Today, we have music running all the time and need to hear a song 2 or 3 times before we really notice it. We hear the music first, THEN we listen to the lyrics. If the lyrics are nice, that's seen as a bonus.
I think music has never been more diverse. It's just that the diversity has moved into the niches, and it takes a little bit of work to find it. Tool, NIN, etc all have a huge following of hardcore fans, their music just sells very differently than that of more commercial artists. They typically release an album every 3-5 years (tool hasn't released one in a decade I think), whereas some big artists now release a new single every two months, completely abandoning the concept of albums. In general, pop sells quicker and dies quicker, whereas alternative music (if you wanna call it that) sells slower but longer. The billboard charts are on a week to week basis, so they are made to reflect those short-term sales, which might be an explanation for why the charts are all filled with pop music.
And another interesting fact: I am 26 now and from your 1967 list (which is now roughly 50 years old), I recognize 7 artists but only 1 song (and while I don't listen to a lot of oldies, I would consider myself a music nut). There are certainly classics which will stick around (I swear, if I hear "Last Christmas" one more time!), but unfortunately, most music dies with its generation. This is not because the songs aren't good, it's just that the sound (production AND writing) and lyrical themes have changed so much that this generation doesn't much care for them anymore.
So glad we're having this conversation!
Looking forward to your response!!