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Nick · 09-11-2018, 12:15 AM

Are song lyrics becoming more repetitive over time? If so, what artists/genres are the primary culprits?

Instead of speculating, let's take a look at some empirical data - 15,000 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1958 and 2017:

https://pudding.cool/2017/05/song-repetition/

This website, through some cool visuals, walks us through how repetitive songs have become across time. One of said visuals is as follows:

Spoiler

I encourage you to read along to get an idea as to how repetitiveness is being measured here, but at the end, you can search for your own favorite artists to compare.

Kyng · 09-17-2018, 08:49 PM

Great article

!

There's certainly a clear trend here, even if it does only apply to certain artists and genres. (I still don't like hip-hop, but if it isn't as repetitive as modern pop or rock, then I suppose it must have something going for it, at least!)

I wonder how long it will continue to increase before it levels out?

~~Eremurus~~ · 09-17-2018, 08:54 PM

NSFW

Kyng · 09-17-2018, 09:00 PM

Uhh, yeah, that song sucks :facepalm:

. Partly because of how repetitive it is, and partly because of, well, other reasons.

(Then again, I suppose repetition has its good sides sometimes. After all, the "Yeah, I guess crows need a lot of space to fly around in

" meme is repetitive, but that's the whole point :lol:

!)

Nick · 09-17-2018, 10:56 PM

I just punched into some web app that performs (approximately) the same compression algorithm the lyrics to the song that Crow posted, and found that it can be reduced by roughly 70%, putting it on the high end of the graphic posted above.

I guess Crows need a lot of lyrics to fly around in

?

Jarkko · 09-18-2018, 12:15 AM

Another hip-hop song that is really repetitive is "Stupid Hoe" by Nicki Minaj, which is an abomination unto the Lord. Headdesk

I do agree that a lot of pop music is getting repetitive, but it's been gradually getting to this point since the late 1990s.

Nick · 09-18-2018, 01:37 AM

Yeah, in fact, if the website above is to be believed, that pace has been steady since as early as 1960:

Spoiler

Jarkko · 09-18-2018, 06:07 AM

Repetition doesn't make a song "great". There, I said it.

~~Eremurus~~ · 09-18-2018, 10:02 AM

(09-17-2018, 10:56 PM)Nick Wrote: I just punched into some web app that performs (approximately) the same compression algorithm the lyrics to the song that Crow posted, and found that it can be reduced by roughly 70%, putting it on the high end of the graphic posted above.

I guess Crows need a lot of lyrics to fly around in ?

NSFW

Kyng · 09-18-2018, 04:34 PM

Wow, a section that's repeated ten times over :lol:

?

BTW, if you're going to post any more NSFW lyrics, can you please mark them as such with spoiler tags from now on? (I've edited the previous two to demonstrate what I mean)

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