Popular Music Trend is looking promising

[Roger Penn]

Yeah, I watched that. Not sure I like all the implications but they’re mostly positive.

[Jung Roe]

Hi Roger

Yeah, I like all the positive implications.

Rock is regaining popularity,

the guitar is becoming more prevalent in new music,

hip hop and the negativity is dying,

and there appears to be more diversity in the music young people are liking.

If all of this implies the younger audience is appreciating the musicianship more in what they listen to, good music could be what they are beginning to crave. Rick mentioned, while it’s still nowhere near the level of creativity of music in the past (60s), a snap shot now of the songs in the charts are getting better with more diversity, and musicianship.

Rock, guitar, diversity, musicianship are all in MLTs wheelhouse. If this trajectory continues, the younger music audience will be ripe for MLT to flourish.

[Bud Jackson]

Hi Jung & Everyone,

That’s interesting; I like Rick Beato, & I just watched this video for the 1st time. I like some implications here, esp. with the popularity of Rock, Guitar and Melody on the rise! I think that a lot of Music style popularity has to do with how much money is spent to promote just a few kinds of Music Styles, & also a lack of Education in Music. Socioeconomic status has something to do with it too.

I’m also very happy with Mona & Lisa’s current rise in popularity, & I consider them a wonderful & positive new influence in Music today, & hopefully for many years to come! They are a result not just of their parents’ influences, but also from the kind of Music Education they received back home in Austria!

I love guitar, voices, Rock etc. but Instrumental Music is important too. The healthiest Music Scene should include all kinds of Music. I looked up Jazz popularity because it wasn’t even mentioned in Rick’s video. What I found, said that out of 185 million adult Americans, about 34%, or 63 million say they “like Jazz.” but only 5%, or 9.5 million say the “like Jazz the best.”

Just to clarify, the US isn’t the ONLY country in the World, & I haven’t looked up current world popularity for Jazz. Also, yes, I play in a Jazz group, & have for many years, but I’ve also played & love many styles of Music! And I appreciate that Mona & Lisa have written & performed some of their songs with a Jazz/Swing feel!

And sorry to say, many Americans aren’t very knowledgeable about Jazz, which originated here. Blues, Jazz, Ragtime, Funk & other styles have had a HUGE influence on popular Music for over 100 years, worldwide! Even Rock has its Blues & Jazz influences. The Beatles themselves said that they were influenced by America’s early Rockers, Chuck berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, & of course the white Rockers like Buddy Holly & Elvis.

And although we can still enjoy ALL of these Music styles, they have never been stagnant, and are always evolving. I would just like to see Jazz, Rock, Classical, Latin and all Music understood & appreciated by everyone. I don’t care for “Musical Prejudice,” or preference of one Music style, & condemnation of other styles.

Although Jazz originated with African Americans since 1895, it has become a Multi-National Art Form. Here’s one example of a newer Jazz Saxophonist/Vocalist who combines Jazz, Rock, Funk, Techno & other styles. You might enjoy this — Grace Kelly doing “Unchain My Heart!”

GRACE KELLY GO TiME: Unchain My Heart – Grace Kelly Studio Sessions (youtube.com)

[Jung Roe]

Hi Bud

Thanks for sharing that video. Grace Kelly is very good, and she is not only a remarkable musician the way she improvises, but a good singer too. The drummer is great too. One thing with Jazz, they have some of the finest musicians in the world.

The more I ride this big merry go round, one thing I found music does, is it shows you you don’t know everything and you haven’t experienced nor understand every perspective. Never say never. The universe has conspired to show me, I don’t know everything, and I shouldn’t be so quick to judge others. The universe has a way of turning the scales around.

In my early teens I remember I loved the pop music of the Beach Boys, Beatles, and some of the 60s oldies, but hated my parents classical, couldn’t understand the appeal of Hendricks and all the hard rock and roll, country and jazz were completely foreign, a weird kind of noise etc… But as I grew older, each domino started to fall. The harder rock started sounding good, some of the country music sounded interesting, a friend introduced me to jazz, really got into the hard rockers like AC/DC, Reggae, Celtic, even got into a little rap in my clubbing days (Tone Loc), Punk, New Age etc…then one day classical appeared on my horizon…There is really only good music and bad music, and I like good music.

Didn’t mean to get so deep and philosophical.

One thing that was a bummer in Ricks video is that the use of piano is on the decline in popular music. 😔

[Bud Jackson]

Jung,

There’s nothing wrong with being philosophical, (unless you don’t like philosophy!) But then we do hopefully mature & expand our interests as we get older! I’ve had similar experiences as you, in learning to appreciate different Musical styles, & I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way. I know that music has made me happier and stronger as I’ve grown, and much more accepting of different people & cultures. All of that has enriched my life, & I’m not sure where I would be now if I hadn’t chosen Music for a profession!

And I really like Grace Kelly too! She has a very similar personality to Mona & Lisa! She’s very open, nice, sincere & appreciates her fans. And I hope that someday I can do to our Twins what I got to do with Grace! (Now you’re probably thinking, WHAT is he talking about!?!?) Let me explain:

I saw Grace live for the first time in Seattle over a year ago in a Jazz Club. Right before her show, I was able to see her as she was getting ready to go into the dressing room. (She was dressed, of course, just getting ready to go on!) She was super nice, talked to me for a few minutes, and let me take two pictures. I told her that I’d shown a few of her videos to my classes, & that they had clapped at the end!

She put on a great show, & at the end she promised the audience “free sweaty hugs” to anyone who wanted to meet her afterwards. (There was a line of over 50 people, including a few musician kids!) So I did get a hug, though it wasn’t sweaty, just nice! She also offered to send a free CD to those who bought a CD, just for coming to her show in Seattle!

I bought her new CD & a Grace Kelly T-shirt that night.

A few weeks later I got a free CD from her that she’d signed, with a nice added personal note! She apologized for being late, because the people who usually did the wrapping & mailing were off duty for a few weeks. So I thought WOW — how nice! And I also thought, this is how Lisa & Mona are also; talented, but humble, & very kind & appreciative of their fans!

I’ve always tried, & usually succeeded in meeting many famous musicians. The Jazz ones are easier to meet when they play in the Clubs. Seeing some of Mona & Lisa’s videos, they seemed to be the same way when they were playing places like the Cavern!

OK, so I tend to go on & on too, but I thought I would share that experience, as I dream of one day (or two,) meeting Mona, Lisa, Rudi & Michaela! (We have to have our dreams, RIGHT!)

Dat’s all for now & enjoy your evening! — Bud

[Len Upton]

Jazz is my thing Bud, so many thanks for the introduction to Grace Kelly. I spent a few days sporadically watching a number of her videos. She’s quite a live wire, and Unchain My Heart is one of my favourite Ray Charles tunes. And Billy Jean was too much fun!

But, as we all know, songs and musicians come and go, and sometimes are lost to history, and sometimes revived, and sometimes not. And sometimes quite quickly. The industry is voracious for new product.

Recently, while at my usual Saturday afternoon jazz jam, I wound up sitting beside a 20 something black woman, a couple of generations younger than me. She seemed to be enjoying the music, so for a little small talk, I asked her if she knew of Miles Davis. (We had just heard the jammers play Davis’ So What, from the classic album Kind Of Blue). She said no, and that she was more into hip hop, a genre I am completely unfamiliar with. So, rather than ask her about any one of a number of “jazz giants” (Armstrong, Ellington, Peterson, Marsalis et al.), I allowed the obvious generational divide to remain self-evident.

Example #2: We all know that after watching a YouTube video, we are presented with other choices to stimulate out curiosity. Some of them are younger generation vlogs, who are purportedly watching and commenting on a song for the first time. Recently, I watched a guy and gal together, comment on I Should Have Known Better from A Hard Day’s Night. Again, they were 20 somethings, with full dreadlocks and a strong North England accent. In the introduction, the guy claimed to know nothing about the band (Could that be really true?), but had a vague knowledge of John Lennon, and Imagine. There was no mention of Paul McCartney. They seemed to enjoy the song, though, smiling, heads nodding, and commenting on the vocal harmonies and the use of harmonica. The verdict was an enthusiastic thumbs up, which may have resulted in a further listening to the entire album, the cover of which was prominently displayed behind them, much like What’s On The Table.

There is so much music out there, both contemporary, and historic, and what is contemporary today, is historic tomorrow. I guess we like to think that the cream rises to the top, but it seems that may not be guaranteed.

Most communities have good, to really good musicians, but it can depend on what they choose to play that determines what stands the test of time. Grace Kelly is one of them. And then there is YouTube. It seems to have it all, pretty much a repository for nearly everything. but who has time for it all? Not me. I’m too far along. Besides, I already have my favourites, and hip hop isn’t one of them. It’s got no melody. Cheers

[Bud Jackson]

Jung, Mona, Lisa & Everyone!

I’d like to add that I loved Mona, Lisa & Rudi’s recent composition & performance of “If You Raise Your Head!” I would really like to see more of that kind of thing from our MLT’s! It’s actually a nice Rock/Funk type Fusion song that’s great for improvised solos, and slightly similar to Grace Kelly’s version of “Unchain My Heart.” I think it would be cool to see Lisa & Mona trading off Guitar licks along with Papa Rudi on the organ & bass! Also, Mona could easily trade solos with herself on Drum set, Cajon & Bongos! MAYBE this idea will inspire the MLT Team to write a “jammin’ kind of song” for soloing!

Anyway, it’s just a thought I’ve had ever since I first saw this video which I’ll put up here now. Maybe some of their newer Club Members haven’t seen this yet?! ENJOY!

If You Raise Your Head – MonaLisa Twins (Original) (youtube.com)

[Jung Roe]

Hi Bud

Rick Beato could make a video about MLT and how no one makes music with this level of brilliant creativity, and musicianship anymore. This video showcases Lisa’s brilliant guitar prowess, and Papa Rudi really shows his master skills on the keyboard. On this and other places in the album, Mona’s drumming is inspired. In Songbird for example, listen closely to the drumming, it is amazing, like bursts of fireworks.

[Bud Jackson]

Jung,

That would be wonderful if he would do a video on Mona & Lisa! Can you make a request? I love all of the MLT videos, but I especially love & appreciate the great work they did on “Why?”!!!!

Ciao my friend! — Bud

[Chris Weber]

Couple thoughts about Rick’s video. He
doesn’t answer all the questions I’d have about methodology, where
those numbers are coming from, and what the longer range history
looks like. Those numbers moved a LOT, in one year?! Has that been
happening in short time spans since Billboard charts started in 1940?
I don’t know. Also, in 2018, and maybe at some other time, Idk,
Billboard changed how they charted songs. They began to weight
subscription based services like Spotify, Amazon, Apple more heavily
than ad supported services like YouTube. Idk why? He was comparing 2022 and 2023, so maybe that didn’t affect
what he was talking about.

https://www.billboard.com/pro/billboard-changes-streaming-weighting-hot-100-billboard-200/

He talks about song lengths changing.
Song lengths in the ’60s were dictated by record companies and radio
even more, as I remember it. I was wondering what effect MTV might
have had that might have made grunge songs longer. I don’t know if
it did make a difference, but it existed then, and not as much before
or after. Around 20:20 in the video below, Tim Pierce talks about
how in the MTV heyday, they would pay $1M to produce a video. I
could imagine if you’re dropping that kind of coin on it, you’d want
it to last longer on MTV.

https://youtu.be/mLGkU_r-g2g

He said there’s lower profanity, and
the hip hop has been cut in half. I’m guessing there’s a postivie
correlation there. Less piano and more guitar could be accounted for
by more rock and country. But again, how are they defining “piano”?
Does that include all keyboard instruments, or just a traditional
wood piano? Interesting stuff, but hard to make judgments about it with so many unknowns.

billboard.com

Billboard Finalizes Changes to How Streams Are Weighted for Billboard Hot 100 & Billboard 200

Billboard has finalized weighting changes to the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums chart. A greater emphasis will be given to paid subscription streams, with ad-supported activity remaining an important factor on the album and songs charts.

[Bud Jackson]

Chris,

You make some interesting points there. I’ll have to check that out when I have time. (I’m eating dinner now, in between teaching 6 classes and then going to a rehearsal soon! And I ain’t 50 anymore, or 60 for that matter!) Take it easy! — Bud

[Jung Roe]

Hi Chris

Some good valid points and criticism of Rick’s video. It certainly is not a comprehensive analysis of music trends, and just really skims on the surface. The one big point that stand out for me, that is promising is the fact that more rock songs are making their way into the charts, which would indicate a rise in interest in rock. And also the increased presence of the guitar, I hope is a trend towards more musicianship and musical talent, that would be a step back in the right direction.

One interesting point, that could be a whole topic of discussion itself is song lengths. Rick makes an interesting point about songs today being shorter has nothing in common with shorter songs of the 60s, but more to do with shorter attention spans, as people quickly scan music on their electronic devices. Whereas there is little substance in the short under 3 minute songs in the charts today, groups like the Beatles, Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkle and others were creating pocket symphonies in the 60s, rich in creativity and emotion. A 2 minutes song like “Yesterday”, or even a 4 minutes song like “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”, capture the richness and emotional depth of a 20 to 40 minutes long Beethoven or Mozart Symphony. I think that is amazing, and a testament to the amazing talent of the 60’s composers. There is much to be said of the greater impact of a short to the point and concise presentation.

https://youtu.be/v32U0mjGz6g?si=5lwbCL1HVYroGgmd

I hope the kind of creativity, innovation, and brilliance of the music created in the 60s and 70s will return. I put my faith in MLT, they are doing it, WHY? is a clear example, the rich harmonies, string section, organ……

[Chris Weber]

Thanks Jung,

I wasn’t trying to criticize Rick Beato, a guy whose work I really like, but rather to say I’d like to hear more about what he had been discussing, to take the analysis a bit further.

If the trends he was showing are really happening, that’s really remarkable, and I’d like to understand it.

You make some good points about the lengths of songs. Consumers have so many more choices now, and maybe that contributes to the short attention span.

We have had revolutions in so many different areas since the Industrial revolution, and more are coming, and at a faster, dizzying rate. The communications revolution has been huge. I expect AI will be far bigger.

https://youtu.be/meuvTd6HXuA

[Jung Roe]

Hi Chris

I didn’t mean criticize in a negative way, but valid questions you raised in response to his video. 🙂 Yeah, I hope the trends he is alluding to comes true, and we can have really creative and good music being created again.

In the Laufy video, I was anticipating suddenly at the end of the video she was going to jump out of the window or do something unexpected. 😁

[Tim Arnold]

Jung

Mona’s drumming reminds me of Ringo’s drumming. Ringo gets some slack for not being the greatest drummer but he was the best drummer for the Beatles. When you got John, Paul and George out front you don’t want Buddy Rich on drums. It would only take away from the magic of the frontmen. Same with Mona when you got Mona and Lisa and Rudi doing such wonderful things with guitars and keys and vocals you don’t need a lot of drums drowning it out. Like Ringo, Mona puts the coolest drum licks in where they fit perfectly. Like on Songbird and Why? You don’t even notice them until they hit you and then it’s like, “Wow, that really sounds cool”.

I love If You Raise Your Head. I think it’s maybe their best original “Rock” tune. I could imagine hearing it on a good rock radio station. I think it would fit in quite well. I’d like to see more videos of Mona, Lisa and Rudi in the studio. You get an idea of what they are doing when they’re recording the audio plus I just love watching good musicians playing their instruments.

[Chris Weber]

Agreed Tim,

I saw a vid of Ringo not long ago, he was talking about how people were lauding him for something he did that no one else did. He said, I did it that way because I’m left handed, and I couldn’t do it any other way. Lol.

Ringo was a metronome, a walking click track. I’ve seen him and others talk about how incredible he was at keeping the band on time.

You’re right about not needing him to play lead drums. I don’t know much of anything about drumming, but I always thought he was really good.

[Bud Jackson]

Tim,

You hit the nail on the head with that comment! Lisa, Mona & Rudi are all very good players, but they also have great musical taste in the things they play. And sometimes the little touches here and there are what really makes each piece so interesting!

(I think we’d all like to hear Michaela on alto sax & vocals again, because she did so well on the Twins first concert! But we don’t know what her schedules like. I know, it’s so hard sometimes to get in good practice time!)

— Bud

[Jung Roe]

Hi Tim

I agree, I think Ringo was a much more effective drummer than many of the highly touted technically faster drummers around. By effective I mean better able to express the musical nuances that bring out the feelings and emotions of the song better. And I think Mona is exactly like that too. I’ve seen lots of great drummers, but none impacts me more than Mona on the drums, right from the very first concert, and none can tug at the heart strings with more feeling than Lisa on the guitar. I think musicianship is not about how technically fast or strong you can play, but how effective you are musically.

[Chris Weber]

If You Raise Your Head is one of my favorite songs on the album. (One of my top 12!). It absolutely is like a jam. I remember the first time I heard it, while it was playing, I went over, turned the keyboard on and started jamming with it. It’s perfect for that. Trading licks like that is great. Twins rocking out.

That Grace Kelly vid is great. Thanks for posting that. But don’t you guys know that jazz is dead? Lol. How long
have we been hearing that?

Talking about artists with a jazz bent, here’s someone fairly new.

This is from her 2021 EP when she was
still at Berklee, I think she’s sitting in the window of her dorm room. A standard from 1943. She plays guitar,
cello, and does all the vocals. Complete with college student
budget video that loops like a gif file. And a bossa nova beat.

I went looking to
see who else covered this song. Sinatra, Judy Garland, Nat Cole,
Natalie Cole, Julian Lennon, Rod Stewart, to name a few. It’s Laufey. (pronounced lay-vay) doing I Wish You Love. Kind of a cross between jazz and pop.

https://youtu.be/P1V6cQJpbc4

[Bud Jackson]

That’s an interesting position for singing. I thought at first that she might start dancing on the ceiling, like Fred Astaire! But I do like her voice — lovely! I wish her much success! That was a kind of Bossa Nova beat there.

OK, check out this version from Barbra Streisand. I’ve had this album since the early ’70’s. Barbra is still amazing! I hadn’t seen some of these pictures until just now.

Barbra Streisand – I Wish You Love (youtube.com)

youtube.com

Barbra Streisand - I Wish You Love

Barbra Streisand - I Wish You Love.A wonderfully sardonic version of this classic French song - from her album Je m'appelle Barbra.

[Chris Weber]

Laufey is having some success. After that EP, she did an album in 2022, followed by a world tour, with a stop at Montreux Jazz, and in 2023, another tour and an album she got a grammy for. I figure she must know some people to gig at Montreux a couple months after her first real album. She’s doing okay.

I love Barbra. No one sings like her. That album is from ’66, I looked it up. Funny thing about that song, about half the covers I listened to did the intro, like Barbra did, and half of them skipped it, like Laufey did.

That arrangement Barbra is using is, well, energetic. She’s singing the verses at regular speed, but the band is flying along behind her. Everything Barbra does is great. Thanks for posting that.

[Bud Jackson]

Chris,

That’s very good news for Laufey, and it’s a good trend in Music for a new Jazz singer like that to do so well! And yeah, Barbra has a unique, emotional, and fun style!

M & L are having slow, but steady success, and I hope they get what they want in new subscribers and popularity. They deserve it as much as anyone! — Bud

[Chris Weber]

Absolutely Team MLT deserve their success, and more. I’m not sure what their goals are, but whatever they are, I support them. I am excited about this year for them. I think more good things are going to come.

[Bud Jackson]

Chris,

I agree with you totally! Mona & Lisa are on roll, & I know that we’d all love to see their success keep increasing exponentially! They just have to do it on their own terms!

— Bud