Songs Are Sadder Than Ever

Pop songs have become angrier AND sadder! Scientists analysed lyrics from 6,000 best-selling songs from the 1950s to 2016 to make the finding
  • Study was by experts from Lawrence Technological University in Michigan   
  • They looked at lyrics from more than 6,000 songs from the US Billboard Hot 100
  • Songs released during the mid 1950s were the least angry and the most upbeat

Pop songs have become angrier and sadder over the past 60 years, experts say.

Researchers analysed lyrics in best-selling songs from the 1950s to 2016 to find expressions of anger and sadness had increased, while words about joy had dropped.

The US study team looked at lyrics of more than 6,000 songs from Billboard Hot 100 in each year.

These are the most popular songs in the US each year as chosen by music fans.

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Pop songs have become angrier and sadder over the past 60 years, experts say. Researchers analysed lyrics in best-selling songs from the 1950s to 2016 to find expressions of anger and sadness had increased, while words about joy had dropped. (stock image)

In the past songs were ranked mainly by record sales, radio and jukebox plays, but more recently it is based on other popularity indicators such as streaming and social media to reflect changes in music consumption.

Tones expressed in each song were analysed using ‘automatic quantitative sentiment’ which looked at each word or phrase in the song with a set of tones they express.

The combination of the tones expressed by all words and phrases of the lyrics determines the sentiment of that song.

The sentiments of all Billboard Hot 100 songs in each year are averaged and the average of each year measured whether the expression of that sentiment increased, decreased or remained the same.

The analysis showed the expression of anger in popular music lyrics has increased gradually over time.

Study co-author Lior Shamir, of Lawrence Technological University in Michigan, said: ‘The change in lyrics sentiments does not necessarily reflect what the musicians and songwriters wanted to express, but is more related to what music consumers wanted to listen to in each year.’

The US study team looked at lyrics of more than 6,000 songs from Billboard Hot 100 in each year. These are the most popular songs in the US each year as chosen by music fans. Songs released during the mid 1950s, like those of Buddy Holly (pictured) were the least angry.

More recent music like Adele's (pictured) contain more lyrics dealing with sadness

The US study team looked at lyrics of more than 6,000 songs from Billboard Hot 100 in each year. These are the most popular songs in the US each year as chosen by music fans. Songs released during the mid 1950s, like those of Buddy Holly (left) were the least angry. More recent music like Adele’s (right) contain more lyrics dealing with sadness

Songs released during the mid 1950s were the least angry and the anger expressed in lyrics has increased gradually until peaking in 2015.

The analysis also revealed some variations with songs released between 1982 and 984 being less angry compared to any other period, except for the 1950s.

In the mid 1990s, songs became angrier and the increase in anger was sharper during that time in comparison to previous years.

The expression of sadness, disgust and fear also increased over time, although the increase was milder compared to the increase in the expression of anger.

Disgust increased gradually, but was lower in the early 1980s and higher in the mid and late 1990s.

Popular music lyrics expressed more fear during the mid 1980s and the fear decreased sharply in 1988.

WHAT ARE THE 27 DISTINCT EMOTIONS HUMANS FEEL?

In a recent study, researchers at UC Berkeley found there are 27 distinct human emotions.

It was originally thought we feel just six emotions.

Researchers asked more than 800 participants to freely report or rank the emotions they felt after watching 30 short video clips.

In addition to happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and, disgust, they also determined confusion, romance, nostalgia, sexual desire, and others to be distinct emotions.

The full list inclues:

 Admiration

Adoration

Aesthetic Appreciation

Amusement

Anxiety

Awe

Awkwardness

Boredom

Calmness

Confusion

Craving

Disgust

Empathetic pain

Entrancement

 Envy

Excitement

Fear

Horror

Interest

Joy

Nostalgia

Romance

Sadness

Satisfaction

Sexual desire

Sympathy

Triumph

Another sharp increase in fear was observed in 1998 and 1999, with a sharp decrease in 2000.

The study also showed that joy was a dominant tone in popular music lyrics during the late 1950s, but it decreased over time and became much milder in the recent years.

An exception was observed in the mid 1970s, when joy expressed in lyrics increased sharply.

The study shows that the tones expressed in popular music change over time and the change is gradual and consistent, with a few exceptions.

Since the researchers analysed the most popular songs in each year, the study does not show that music changed, but that the preferences of music consumers have changed over time.

While music fans preferred joyful songs during the 1950s, modern music consumers are more interested in songs that express sadness or anger.

The findings appear in the Journal of Popular Music Studies.

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from:    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6632879/Pop-songs-angrier-sadder-past-60-years.html