“Take this pudding away; it has no theme.”
- Winston Churchill
We had another murder spree in the night on Friday. We woke up Saturday to discover a massacre had occurred. Nine of our twelve goldfish were missing from our koi pond in the back. A few scale remnants were around on the rocks but no other evidence of who the killer was. Most likely coons or a heron. This is the third such slaying we've been victims of since 2022. All told, I think we're up to around 50 fish casualties. Oh well. If you live in the woods you learn to make peace with the food chain.
It's Sunday morning now, though, and that seems like a nice time for some low key instrumentals. I read a long article recently about why the popularity of instrumental music has waned so significantly with the American public. Over the past two decades the decline has been steep.
In the 1960s, 103 instrumentals cracked the Billboard Top 20 - nine of which went to number one. In the 1970's that number dropped to 45 in the top twenty. Half of those were connected with a movie or TV show. The decline continued through the 80s and 90s. By the turn of the century, instrumental music was all but extinct in popular music. The last one to crack the top twenty was Kenny G's Auld Lang Syne in 1999.
Why? According to the author, there are several contributing factors:
1. In the last few generations, Americans have become less and less musically inclined. At one time, prior to the advent of radio and television, if you wanted to hear music you mostly had to make it yourself. In my parent's generation, almost every person was taught and learned some musical instrument. Community bands were a big thing. People gathered and made music with each other.
2. As technology advanced, songs were available at the flip of a switch. Gradually, it was no longer necessary to know how to play an instrument in order to enjoy music. The author argues that as the number of people playing instruments decreased, so too did the appreciation for what it takes to do it well. American's ears have become lazier over time.
3. Another factor the author cites is the advent of music videos when music became more and more about the visual rather than the aural - more about performance and stylings than musical excellence.
4. He also argues that in the absence of lyrics to guide the listener, instrumental music becomes almost a form of abstract art, which requires something from the hearer. I imagine most people would respond, who wants to work that hard listening to music? Just give me a pleasing song.
I think all the points he made are good. Does anyone care? I doubt it. I enjoy studying societal trends and changes, so the article was interesting to me. I favor, as most people do, songs with lyrics, but I do like a well crafted instrumental, especially if they're not just covers of a song with lyrics. I like the way composers and musicians can tell a story and convey an emotion through a song without the aid of lyrics. I also like the names they give their songs. Does the title match what the song says to me?
Here's a string of some. I think they all tell a story. Probably a different one for each listener.