Day: Jan 22, 2020

Our setlist is primarily focused upon comparing songs from the 80’s to songs now. This term we are currently focusing on pop music, these artists such include Lizzo and Dua Lipa. However, I thought it is about time that we have a song that can push the drummer and I further than before, as these four chord pop songs are driving me crazy…  

Our setlist currently consists of the following, 

• Kiss – Prince 
• When Doves Cry – Prince 
• Purple Rain – Prince 
• Good as Hell – Lizzo 
• Juice – Lizzo 
• Don’t Start Now – Dua Lipa 
• *Rosanna – Toto* 

When we jam in rehearsal whilst the singer is doing her own thing, we start to the intro to ‘Rosanna’ by Toto, there is no explanation towards it. This song it would still fit into our theme as it was released in 1982 which is a plus side If we decide amongst ourselves if we want to perform it.  

This swiftly leads me on to the comparison of back then to now, there are a lot of features and characteristics in Pop music that have changed over the years mainly due to rapid development of technology. One of the critical parts is to do with the structure and story telling that takes place within songs now in comparison to the 80s.  

Modern pop – “Juice” by Lizzo 

• Introduction (I): The introduction sets the mood and it is an instrumental. 
• Verse (V): Yet again the verse begins the story of the song.  
• Pre-Chorus: These help to build up the suspense towards hook within the chorus and to draw out the track. 
• Chorus (C): The chorus is the most memorable lyrical points in this pop song, just like older songs it is the hook. 
• Verse (V2): Continues progression of the story.  
• Pre-Chorus: Building up the hype again to reinforce the hook once more. 
• Chorus (C2): The second chorus reinforces the hook even more.  
• Bridge (B): The bridge on this song is purely lyrical, it only once happened once in this song and forms a contrast with the repetition of verses and choruses previously. 
• Chorus/Outro (C/O): Repeating the chorus and keeping the good vibes there bringing the song to a strong ending. 

As you can see there is not much of a story being told in this modern song, most people who listen to this genre on the radio are only there for the catchy chorus and the melody that flows throughout the track. The use of a “Pre-Chorus” throughout also solidifies its main intent these days, which is to build up even more hype in the chorus. To me there is nothing interesting about the repetitive instrumentals that go alongside with these pop songs, which mainly revolve around the same four chords and some boring lyrics. However, to the general public they’re something they can all sing along to and enjoy as there is not much change which is a plus side for performers. 

To compare this pop song, I am going to be looking at a song by Prince, one of the most influential musicians whose career took off within the 80’s with hit tracks like “Purple Rain”, “1999” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover”. But the track I am going to be looking at is “When Doves Cry”, it has a few features that our modern pop song did not have, and it is a track within our set. 

 80’s form – “When Doves Cry” by Prince 

• Introduction (I): The introduction sets the mood and is usually instrumental, although sometimes it may include a spoken recitation, like in Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” 
• Verse (V): The verse begins the story of the song. 
• Verse (V2): Continues to develop the story. 
• Chorus (C): The chorus is the most memorable lyrical points of the song — the song’s hook. 
• Verse (V3): Another verse continues the flow of the story. 
• Chorus (C2): The second chorus reinforces the hook further. (x2) 
• Bridge (B): The bridge, which may be instrumental or lyrical, usually occurs only once in the song and forms a contrast with the repetition of verses and choruses. In this track it’s a guitar solo which depicts a turning point in the story.  
• Chorus (C): The final chorus repeats the original chorus to fade, or it just stops on the first chord. 
• Outro (O): This Implements features of the previous choruses bringing the songs story to a gradual close. 

The song starts off with a bold guitar solo, Prince was notorious for showing off his capability whenever he could. After this the story has begun within the first verse and it progresses through another verse before arriving at a chorus. Like the modern pop song, the chorus contains the hook which most listeners will always remember. In the 80s a bridge was always an opening for a potential guitar solo and Prince went all out because he knew his fans would enjoy it regardless. The final chorus within this song brings the story to an end and the outro helps the flow of the album, not to mention bringing the track to a swift ending.  

Something else which has changed over time from now and the 80’s is the instrumentation and dynamics which rely upon technology. Within the 80’s the introduction of synthesisers and sampling was on the rise due to new technology being created. Prince was drawn towards this and it includes drum machines, a wide range of synths which can all be heard in a lot of his songs, especially on the soundtrack for “Purple Rain”. 

At the time Prince was at the forefront of pop and dance music, and on many occasions, he has be credited for ahead of his time, sampling is now something used very commonly in pop songs because it is easy and stress-free due to even further progression of technology. 

Prince stuck to what he knew best within both recording and live performances, and these are electric guitar, bass guitar, piano and drums. These instruments are buried within many modern pop records, but they’re drowned out with vocals. At Glastonbury in 2019, Lizzo chose to perform to a backing tracks played by her DJ that seems to be made up almost entirely of samples found on Logic and Pro Tools. 

The increasing use of a backing tracks within live performances changes the feel entirely within songs, not to mention that these artists are trying to bring their music to large paying audiences.  

Although there are many differences between songs from modern music to tracks from the 80’s, there are a lot of similarities too. We are hoping to show you all these similarities are differences at our FMP gig when we will perform handful of different songs from varying decades, showing off our skill and adaptability to family, friends and the general public.