So I've been thinking about music a lot lately. Don't ask me why, it's just been on my mind. I have long held the opinion that catchy music is difficult to write. It's quite obvious that not everyone can do it, or everyone would have a top 40 hit. But I've been thinking about the difference between catchy music that is well-written (in other words, good) and catchy music that is just catchy. My two examples have been songs I've listened to a good bit recently. I'll start with catchy for the sake of being catchy. Case in point: Alicia Keys. She performed last night before the super bowl, and I realized how little talent she actually has. I appreciate that she can play the piano, and I actually enjoy a few of her songs, particularly her newest single - "No One". But if you really listen to the piano part, you realize how simplistic it is. The lyrics are nothing special, it's not a particularly thick song with multiple things going on. But it's certainly catchy, and she got a #1 hit out of it.
I'm going to contrast that with a song by Ben Folds, called "Landed". I really could have picked any Ben Folds song, since he writes catchy music that takes skill to both play and write. But this song in particular has been on my playlists for a couple of weeks now - every one. It is rapidly becoming one of my favorite songs, and if you haven't heard it, you should. It's got a major piano part, just like the Keys song, but his stuff is well-written and complex. There is a lot going on there, not only in the piano melody, but "behind the scenes". And that is music that I appreciate much more than the simplistic tones of top 40 radio. Ben Folds is a quality musician, and it shows in his music. And that is the difference between just catchy, and catchy.
Posted by jmmelton at February 4, 2008 09:35 AM | TrackBack