Hey Keith!
Interesting stuff. Never knew that artists already released singles every couple of months in the 60s.
Whether Adele's Hello is #1 because of it is hard to say, but I completely agree that the connection of lyric and music plays a part in it. But I do think (know, in fact) that there will always be commercially successful songs that don't have that whose strengths lie elsewhere.
Playing Devil's advocate here, but hasn't been Madonna been around for a while?
Unless you want to argue that pretty much every part of her body has been replaced over the years. And of course music is much more short-lived these days, no question about it. But I believe that is because of the sheer mass of songs rather than quality. I still hear amazing new music every day. I sometimes feel like new music only seems more fleeting because that's how we LISTEN to it. I used to buy my CDs, study the booklet, order fan shirts from catalogues and watched TV shows to see Bryan Adams sing live. Today, I find something, listen to it a couple of times in the background and that's usually it. My emotional connection is less deep, which makes the songs seem less deep.
This is of course my opinion - was it Tim Minchin who said opinions are like assholes, but unlike assholes, you should examine your opinions on a regular basis?
Finally, I do respect your knowledge and what you offer. I just happen to think you don't recognise the full potential of what you are saying by restricting it to pop music.
Thanks for the kind words. Restricting myself to pop was a VERY conscious choice that took me many months to make (I started working on Holistic Songwriting in January this year). Here's my thinking behind it. I think it may also clear up a couple of other things.
1) All styles gravitate towards Pop. Look at Metal, which started out as this extreme thing. Now it's widely accepted in the shape of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, etc. It's still Pop, but they definitely took a bite out of the "Pop music rule book". So I think all songwriters can learn something from Pop.
2) Most of my "fans" don't write Pop, which is exactly what I had hoped for, but I want them to understand that I'm coming from a certain angle (commercial music) and that all my ideas and techniques spring from that. People (like yourself) get that my stuff doesn't just apply to Pop music . When you watch a stand-up perform, you don't necessarily agree with him but he's entertaining because you get where he's coming from. If I said (like so many other songwriting coaches) "I teach EVERY style", it becomes much harder to place me.
Take a look at Lady Gaga. She's a pop queen to the outside world, but only few people know that she has a background in jazz. It's her image. I'm also not just "Pop", I have written for (and conducted) orchestras, Big Bands, Drum bands and choirs, but if I told you that the first time we met, you'd probably think a) he probably does a lot but nothing's any good and b) I can't relate.
3) I don't want to have to start using sentences like "do this. Unless you're writing Rock, in which case do this. Unless you're in 6/8, in which case..." etc. By restricting myself to Pop, my message is clear and simple.
4) Pop is easy to access. You don't need to know much about music theory or orchestration (I've written for a couple of Big Bands, and it's quite a challenge to understand all the different instruments).
There are countless more reasons, but you get the idea.
