It’s official, pop music today is more depressing than it was 30 years ago. According to research, Classic Pop legends such as Duran Duran and Wham! produced tunes that were 20 per cent more upbeat than the likes of today’s stars, Adele and Ed Sheeran. A 500,000-song sample released in the UK between the years 1985 and 2015 were assessed for their lyrics and rhythms by researchers at the University of California, where they concluded that today’s music focusses more on isolation and loneliness. Dr Natalia Komarova said: “‘Happiness’ is going down, ‘brightness’ is going down, ‘sadness’ is going up.’ I was listening to the songs my teenage daughter played and thinking, ‘What on earth has happened to music?’”
Apparently the “decrease in the average happiness” has been gradual and doesn’t necessarily back public opinion who in general “prefer happier songs, even though more and more unhappy songs are being released each year. So it looks like, while the overall mood is becoming less happy, people seem to want to forget it all and dance.”