Why are people here so obsessed with what songs will be remembered? Does it really matter? We're hardly the people to judge, posting as we are on a MUSIC FORUM, therefore naturally having a deeper interest in music than your average member of the public. We can hardly attempt to put ourselves in Joe Public's shoes, so I don't see why people keep trying to. There are more interesting things to talk about, honestly...

 

But if we have to entertain the subject, I think every song mentioned over the last page or so will be remembered. You have to give the public more credit, I think. Even if they have to hear it to remember it, they'll still remember them.

 

And on another subject, Forget You IS an R&B song. The problem is that R&B has evolved into something completely different to what it used to be, but IT IS R&B. It's more in the definition of "rhythm and blues" (which some people would call soul, nowadays, due to the newer version of R&B that has emerged in the last two decades being so different to the old type). Obviously it's a very pop version of it - but then almost every song in the charts is a poppier version of the genre it spawned from. But please don't try to say it's not R&B just because it's not in the same mould as every other R&B song in the charts these days (bar Aloe Blacc ;))

 

You're probably right about all that tbh.

 

Especially the RnB vs. pop thing. Similar with hip hop too. Older hip hop fans might say songs like Empire State of Mind are pop songs, because it's quite different to what they grew up as knowing as "hip hop". Yet when the kids of today grow up, they might be like "This song isn't hip hop, it's pop, if you want proper hip hop go listen to Empire State of Mind".

 

Most of the songs in the chart are indeed a blend of multiple genres. That's probably why they're in the chart in the first place, because a song that's part RnB and part pop might appeal to fans of both genres, and hence sell more, and get played on both urban radio stations and pop radio stations, etc. It is quite rare that we get "pure" songs in the charts now. I don't know if it has always been like this.

And there's also far too much emphasis placed on genres - and I'm probably guilty of that as well. Who cares if a record is R&B or pop or country or whatever. If it's good, or you like it that's fine.

 

The latest one is "dubstep", what's different in that from other dance sub-genres?

The latest one is "dubstep", what's different in that from other dance sub-genres?

 

Dubstep is very distinct from other subgenres. If you can hear a sound that sounds something like a man saying 'wob wob wob' in a deep voice it's dubstep. This is less pronounced in big dubstep hits (like Me And You and I Need Air) though which suggests it's starting to blend into all the other genres.

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by Bray

And there's also far too much emphasis placed on genres - and I'm probably guilty of that as well. Who cares if a record is R&B or pop or country or whatever. If it's good, or you like it that's fine.

 

The latest one is "dubstep", what's different in that from other dance sub-genres?

 

Well, dubstep, for me, is very distinguishable from most other dance sub-genres. I don't know how to explain it really, but there's a lot of bass in it, and it also has very different percussion from a lot of other dance. Although like with RnB, we're getting some dubstep in the chart, but usually it's mixed with other genres (usually pop, so far).

 

You're right about the genres really. I think all of us here notice that we tend to enjoy music from certain genres more than others, but at the same time, I don't really like country, but there are some country influenced songs I like, and likewise, I like rap, but there's plenty of rap songs I can't stand.

I think songs still selling is a good representation of whether or not their classics- one thing's certain, anything from last year thats out of the itunes top 1000 probably won't be well remembered

And there's also far too much emphasis placed on genres - and I'm probably guilty of that as well. Who cares if a record is R&B or pop or country or whatever. If it's good, or you like it that's fine.

It's not that people "care" as such. But I disagree there's far too much emphasis placed on genres. If genres didn't exist, I'd have a far harder job finding music I like, and I'm sure it'd be the same for everyone else. Admittedly some songs might never even enter my bubble because they're not from a music genre I tend to like, but well - that's life, really. There's way too much music out there to hear everything, so inevitably there'll be some songs you could like that you'll never hear.

 

That's the big reason why genres exist, really - marketing. So it can be targeted at a certain audience, whether through recommendations (if you like "x", then listen to "y"!) or to be played on particular radio stations, etc. It's all the same thing.

 

I think songs still selling is a good representation of whether or not their classics- one thing's certain, anything from last year thats out of the itunes top 1000 probably won't be well remembered

Good job Roll Deep is currently at #967 then :o :D

^ It's funny that you named Forget You and Just the Way You Are. Two of the worst songs from the past year imo. :lol: Just generic RnB tripe. I like a lot of urban music, but those are really dreadful imo, are geared specifically with the goal of getting lots of radio airplay (and they succeeded, unfortunately), and were made to get approval by adults (make them old-fashioned and quiet), and by teenage girls (litter the song with swear words so they'll think it's funny, and put lyrics like "Girl you're amaaaaaaaazing, just the way you aaaaaaaaaaare"). They've been making songs like those for decades. I've been listening to music like that since the day I was born. It's getting old now. :(

 

They will be remembered though. I hate those songs, but I'll always remember them, not because I think they're good, but because they're simply so popular (same reason why On the Floor will be remembered).

 

Someone Like You is a bit better than those songs, but still not amazing.

 

And, you see, Good Times still IS remembered fondly now. In my last year at school, we'd put the song on the sound-speakers at school every Friday lunch-time. :lol: It was very culturally relevent, and will be fondly remembered by most people in my year, and even now, that song makes me happy, because it makes me remember how excited I was for the weekend each week. We did a similar thing with I Gotta Feeling too.

 

Also, I listen to a lot of pop music. On the Floor doesn't sound like every other song in the chart at all. I can think of one song it sounds like from 2009/2010 (Stereo Love by Edward Maya (another song that will be remembered for years btw, especially by those in Europe)). That's one chart hit a year. Not 10 chart hits a week.

 

And like someone else was whining earlier in the thread about RnB songs sampling Canon. Again, the only other song I can think of which sampled Canon in recent years and impacted that chart was We Dance On by N-Dubz, which was popular this time last year. Again, one chart hit a year. It's not that much.

 

Everybody still remembers My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas you know. :D

 

maybe the songs i chose as examples were poor but my overall point was correct....you could nip-pick about any song i would have chosen there but i think i am correct about the point i was trying to make.as for youre arguement surely you contradict yourself in your first paragraph by saying JTWYA and FY are generic crap but then saying they will be remembered?? and the reason you have been hearing songs about girls etc all your life is because they are the songs that will always be remembered not songs about going out and getting pissed, althiough maybe for someone your age they are relevant!!

 

'On The Floor' type songs and 'Someone Like You' will definitely be remembered, not so much 'Hollywood'. I think OTF will be one of the top sellers of the year and be remembered in years to come.

No chance, it's LMFAO vs. Chris Brown vs. J-Lo. I think LMFAO will win, but Chris could get his first number one. J-Lo will end up at no.3

 

 

i disagree with the jlo song and songs like it, they are massive at the time but as time goes on people will forget them simply because they are forgetable songs with pointless lyrics.as example said she went away and thought what shall my comeback be about??going out and dancing and getting drunk.whos a popular person in the charts at the mo to collaborate with - pitbull - and there you have it....a no 1 hit.whereas hollywood has great lyrics about something which is relevant at the mo...and its still played each day on radio 1 no14 hit or not!!

Why are people here so obsessed with what songs will be remembered? Does it really matter? We're hardly the people to judge, posting as we are on a MUSIC FORUM, therefore naturally having a deeper interest in music than your average member of the public. We can hardly attempt to put ourselves in Joe Public's shoes, so I don't see why people keep trying to. There are more interesting things to talk about, honestly...

 

But if we have to entertain the subject, I think every song mentioned over the last page or so will be remembered. You have to give the public more credit, I think. Even if they have to hear it to remember it, they'll still remember them.

 

And on another subject, Forget You IS an R&B song. The problem is that R&B has evolved into something completely different to what it used to be, but IT IS R&B. It's more in the definition of "rhythm and blues" (which some people would call soul, nowadays, due to the newer version of R&B that has emerged in the last two decades being so different to the old type). Obviously it's a very pop version of it - but then almost every song in the charts is a poppier version of the genre it spawned from. But please don't try to say it's not R&B just because it's not in the same mould as every other R&B song in the charts these days (bar Aloe Blacc ;))

 

 

FY is very bluesy imo, its the sound of cee-los voice.and its sounds very much like aloe blacc, not overly poppy at all apart from the lyrics.

 

im personally obsessed with which songs will be remembered/culturally defining because thats why i became so interested in chart music because i have a massive interest in cultural history and history in general and i struck up an interest in the charts because every year it became apparent the same xmas songs were played and i wanted to know how big they were at the time they were released so i looked up their chart history .i basically wanted to know what the soundtrack of the times were

 

thats why i love tv shows like life on mars etc!!

maybe the songs i chose as examples were poor but my overall point was correct....you could nip-pick about any song i would have chosen there but i think i am correct about the point i was trying to make.as for youre arguement surely you contradict yourself in your first paragraph by saying JTWYA and FY are generic crap but then saying they will be remembered?? and the reason you have been hearing songs about girls etc all your life is because they are the songs that will always be remembered not songs about going out and getting pissed, althiough maybe for someone your age they are relevant!!

 

Well, I hate those songs, so I think I was letting my opinion of them getting in the way of having a rational discussion. :lol:

 

I do think those songs are dreadful, but at the same time, I think they'll be remembered. Lots of other people like them, and they're radio friendly, so they'll be played on the radio for years, so people will remember them that way too.

 

I agree about Hollywood being a great song that deserved much better chart success though.

 

I don't know what you mean when you say "songs about girls", being most remembered though. :lol: Looking at the biggest hits of 2010, you've got OMG which is all about girls, and Pass Out which partly is, although they're not really "love" songs in the same way that Just the Way You Are, Love the Way You Lie and When We Collide are. So I'm guessing you meant the more emotional ones. OMG and Pass Out are more party songs.

 

FY is very bluesy imo, its the sound of cee-los voice.and its sounds very much like aloe blacc, not overly poppy at all apart from the lyrics.

 

im personally obsessed with which songs will be remembered/culturally defining because thats why i became so interested in chart music because i have a massive interest in cultural history and history in general and i struck up an interest in the charts because every year it became apparent the same xmas songs were played and i wanted to know how big they were at the time they were released so i looked up their chart history .i basically wanted to know what the soundtrack of the times were

 

thats why i love tv shows like life on mars etc!!

 

Yeah, I see what you mean, although that's kind of what this is. Last year lots of kids would've listened to We No Speak Americano every day in summer 2010, so I think it's a bit weird to think they'd forget it, when it becomes that big a part of their life.

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by Eric_Blob

yeah songs about falling in love seem to be very memorable....there are hundreds of love songs from every generation which are still played today, cheesy whether you think they are.maybe because thats the point of life i suppose so people conect with them??

 

this is a great debate btw!!

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by steve201

I always noticed that usually when more ballad-y songs get performed on X Factor, they shoot up iTunes more than compared to when a, say, dance-pop song is performed.

usually on XF, the ones which are actually all time classics shoot up the chart- like Mad World and Creep re-entered the top 40 last year due to X Factor- I think that says a lot about their classic status

^ Also Unfaithful by Rihanna. :kink:

I think people are wrong to lean too much to radio as being the way songs will be remembered. Obviously it's a factor but there are way more factors. Songs being featured on "best songs of all-time" lists compiled by music critics, for example. If your song manages to somehow worm it's way on to one of those kind of things regularly, there's a high chance it will be remembered, as a lot of people do pay attention to those kind of things. Likewise, being cited as an influence by future acts will also make your catalogue more remembered, but that's more by fans of that genre than rather in the grand scheme of things.

 

Then there's so many more like being played in clubs for years to come, being featured on television shows, games (like Guitar Hero or something). Songs with big cultural impact will also be remembered, even more so with the rise of the internet - like Single Ladies, for example. Huge cultural impact, loads of parodies on YouTube, etc. Everybody will remember it, no doubt. Same with Rebecca Black :lol: Even something like Baby by Justin Bieber WILL be remembered, as people will remember it for having a ridiculous amount of views on YouTube, etc.

 

I think On The Floor will be remembered, too, for being a major turning point in her career (her comeback, etc) - indeed, it will probably become THE defining J-Lo song. It seems like such a small thing to help it be remembered but I think it will result in it - in a similar way to Cher's Believe, for example (although that's also remembered for being THE song to kick off the autotune boom :lol:).

 

Other songs will be remembered for certain things that might make them standout, hence why novelty songs tend to be well-remembered. Like Las Ketchup, for example. We No Speak Americano will probably go the same way as that (not that I'm saying it's novelty!)

 

The point is there are many ways that a song could be remembered, and I think even small things/stories that help it stand out will trigger that and make it remembered.

 

That's the last thing I'm contributing to this discussion, anyway, as I still stand by what I said before about it being essentially pointless (yet I still came back to it! :drama:).

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by superbossanova

'Friday' will be remembered in the same way as 'Never Gonna Give You Up' - because it's an internet meme.

'Friday' will be remembered in the same way as 'Never Gonna Give You Up' - because it's an internet meme.

That was remembered long before that, though :P It's one of those songs that defines the 80s (particularly the latter part).

 

But yes, Friday will be remembered simply because of its internet popularity, but the point is it will STILL be remembered, probably more so than every song in the current top 10, to be honest :P It will never get played on the radio (unless it's as a joke), but people still won't forget it.

 

Can't believe I forgot movies in my previous post, by the way! That's possibly one of THE biggest, too.

 

EDIT: There's also cover versions and samples that help songs to be remembered (just been reminded of that looking at the Coolio discussion before!)

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by superbossanova

cher-believe and jlos comeback ???????

 

what a terrible comparison!!

That was remembered long before that, though :P It's one of those songs that defines the 80s (particularly the latter part).

 

But yes, Friday will be remembered simply because of its internet popularity, but the point is it will STILL be remembered, probably more so than every song in the current top 10, to be honest :P It will never get played on the radio (unless it's as a joke), but people still won't forget it.

 

Can't believe I forgot movies in my previous post, by the way! That's possibly one of THE biggest, too.

 

EDIT: There's also cover versions and samples that help songs to be remembered (just been reminded of that looking at the Coolio discussion before!)

 

Except Fast Car presumably.

 

Once the people who were around in the 80s are all OAPs/dead NGGYU will be pretty much only remembered for being an Internet meme.

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by Bray

cher-believe and jlos comeback ???????

 

what a terrible comparison!!

Talk about missing the point. I wasn't comparing them. I was simply making a point that when a major act makes a comeback with a song and becomes successful again, it tends to help the song be remembered. I could have used countless other examples, too. It's one of the major spikes in an act's career, along with stuff like the debut, first big success, etc. It's a big deal when it happens, and so people will remember it. Simple as that. Wasn't that the ENTIRE point of my post? God, I really can't stand when people completely miss the point, and then I have to write out a big paragraph explaining it like THIS.

 

Except Fast Car presumably.

 

Once the people who were around in the 80s are all OAPs/dead NGGYU will be pretty much only remembered for being an Internet meme.

I actually forgot that Fast Car was in the top 10, to be honest. Should have actually looked at the top 10 before I said that rather than relying on my memory. But still, the general point was that it will be remembered better than most other current songs that have charted far higher than it, and have had far more radio airplay than it - it's just I used a rather misguided illustration of that, in this case. I don't know why you have to be so picky and pedantic all the time even when it's not neccessary, honestly.

 

And that's a pretty weak attempt, frankly. You can't just exclude people just because they're OLD and probably knew about the song years before just to prove your point. At the present time there are people who know the song for more than its internet fame, unlike Rebecca Black. And even when people who were alive in the 80s are dead there will STILL be people who remember it for more than that - like me, for example - because it has heavy ties to the 1980s, as seen through its frequent appearances on compilations, airplay on 80s nights, radio, etc.

Edited April 25, 201115 yr by superbossanova