Music is the universal language-- it's everywhere and conveys mood, feelings and surroundings. And it's been around forever. It spans many cultures and goes back to even the prehistoric times. That is in itself something that hasn't changed for thousands and thousands of year.
Of course two things about it HAVE changed: The type of music we hear, and the ways we can access and listen to it.
The first one refers to the many genres that have transpired over the years, from what we call "classical" and onwards to jazz, swing, standards, rock 'n' roll, blues, soul, country, hip-hop and more, as well as its many subgenres. One just has to look at all the different charts, radio formats and how many channels there are on the Sirius XM Satellite Radio span to figure that one out.
But, have you ever stopped and thought about the ways we can listen to it? There, of course is the radio, either terrestrial or satellite, or, via television---either performances on television variety shows, or via music videos. And of course, there is the concert stage, where the music comes alive (to borrow a phrase from a classic Peter Frampton album).
And then there's personally accessing it.
There are many ways to track popularity of a song. After all, some songs stay with us for generations, while some never make it out of the recording studio. So, how, over the years, do we, the buying public, determine not only what music to buy, but how to buy it? An overview of the history of recorded music is in order. And technology has so much to do with it.
Way back when, before there was any invention of playing and recording devices, there was one way to track the popularity of a song. Well, maybe two: Seeing it live, and buying sheet music. It was the latter that determined how popular a song was. And more often than not, a song had many versions of it. Since notes on sheet music didn't really reflect who was singing it, a popularity chart often listed the song at a certain chart position, with all the recorded versions of it. This practice lasted well into the 1950's and in some trade papers, the sixties.
But let me back track a bit. Thanks to Thomas Edison we were able to now listen to music. Evolving from tin, wax cylinders, where an etched out cylinder, when played, emitting musical tones. From there, we had the actual phonograph disc record from the early, sensitive 78 rpms that broke easily, to the more flexible and light vinyl long-playing records and 45 rpm singles. They were all a big business in determining chart popularity in the 1950's and 60's, along with radio station airplay and even jukebox play. By the early 1960's, stereo recordings enhanced the listening experience and stereo high fidelity units....often in combination with television and storage units, graced the living rooms for many homes.
Song wise, the 45 rpm single was the meat and bones of popular music. They were small enough and just about every hit song was available in that format. Jukeboxes were stocked with them, and they were portable enough to bring to parties: A small record player folded into a carrying case, and with a portable box to hold 45's, you could crate them over to a friend's after school party, stack a bunch of them on the turntable and you have yourself a primitive style "playlist" of sorts.
I think 1965 was the peak year of popular music being fun.....singles were selling great, and yes, a few albums, too, but it was mostly the adults buying those. Case in point was that Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass dominated the charts that year, while The Beatles, Stones, Motown, and the influx of American acts and folk rock were all over top 40 and singles playlists.
As the sixties evolved, protest songs became more prevalent and artists needed to express their views in song in much longer than the usual three minutes. A more progressive approach to music deemed the vinyl album more important. Although singles were still the vocal point, some radio stations on the FM dial started playing album sides. Pet Sounds, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Doors' debut and Surrealistic Pillow were often more talked about than the singles that were released.
Because it was more difficult to crate large vinyl albums around and the demand for music of choice in the car, the 8-track tape was born. Just plug it into the player and you can cruise around to the music. By the turn of the seventies, 8-tracks were rampant. Sure, they'd spool and break apart and songs would be cut off and resume when it clicked to another track, but it didn't matter.
Cassette tapes also entered the fray in the 1970's. They were also compact, and as a plus you could tape songs off the radio as well. FM became the hotbed for album tracks, while AM stations still played the latest hit 45's.
The Eighties however signaled change. The music industry, after years of growth, was mired in a slump from 1979 into the new decade. New styles of music emerged, as well as the music video, courtesy of MTV. However, the video most often wasn't available like the 45 was, and the single sales started declining. While 8-track faded, cassettes took off and the "cassingle" (one song on each side, similar to a 45 rpm record) became the standard. Then came the compact disc as digital music was introduced. Many people who had the old, now perhaps scratchy vinyl records, now bought the supposedly clear and crisp CD's, and by the end of the decade, they started replacing vinyl, while the cassette was still a viable medium.
The 1990's however, brought some turmoil. Record companies were focused on albums that they started pulling the plug on singles. In many instances, singles were withdrawn early in their chart career, or when they peaked. The object was so that the public can buy the entire CD---which in come cases cost $18--instead of the cassette single (or briefly, the wasteful CD single) which was only a few dollars. As a result, the charts really couldn't provide an accurate account of what was popular since the single was always the "standard", and now it wasn't available unless it was on an album. Popular songs like No Doubt's "Don't Speak" didn't even chart because of its unavailability as a single.
The public was outraged. Unlike the sixties and seventies, the albums weren't anywhere as innovative. Can you name a 1990's equivalent of Dark Side of the Moon? Maybe a Nevermind or Ten, but that was early in that decade. Anything after 1995? I don't think so. So in essence, you had to pay $18 just to get the song you wanted that you heard on the radio. But revenge was sweet.
In 1999, digital music went to a whole other level: the mp3 file as users dissected the digital quality of CD's. And a file sharing service, Napster was born. There, you can share others' songs, many of those that you previously had to pay through the roof, or songs that were obscure 30 years ago being available again. While it was originally promoted to be giving fellow users of the program a taste of the music you're listening to, and it was a free service, people started making their own compilation CD's or listening on a new device: the mp3 player.
Record labels were outraged. Some of them sued Napster as well as other file sharing services. It was shut down in 2001 but other services like KaZaa, LimeWire and WinMx took its place. In order to complete, labels had to bite the bullet and offer digital downloads, especially as mp3 players like the iPod became the dominant force in listening. Imagine putting thousands of songs in your pocket and playing them when you want. Convenience. And besides, they were 99 cents, not $18, and you didn't have to buy the entire album if you didn't want to. In essence, singles were back, just like the days of the 45.
To be honest, I thrived on the digital download media. It was a format that was perfect for me, someone who always made monthly CD's until 2010 when I started this blog, which featured my weekly playlist of songs that were indeed downloaded, from sources like iTunes and Amazon.
Unfortunately, with the loss of revenue from not buying CD's, the record industry went into a slump. The proliferation of downloads and its cheap cost couldn't offset the CD's decline. It was a downward spiral for fifteen years.
Just last week, the Recording Industry Institute of American indicated that revenues were up sharply for the first time in fifteen years. The reason? The next slice of technology: Streaming.
Streaming is essentially where you are picking songs that are stored on a cloud. You don't own the songs per se, but you subscribe to the service. Pandora and Spotify are just two of the streaming services that are available. Just as you can do with your mp3 collection, you can pick songs, for a monthly fee and create your own playlist, or play an individual song like you would on say, a jukebox. Most services have millions of songs out there that you can play. YouTube videos, which I feature on my SNS 100 are actually a form of streaming as well.
As I mentioned earlier, it is streaming that have reversed the fortunes of the recording industry as many people have embraced this technology and stopped a fifteen year downslide. While it seems that songwriters are getting the short end of the deal in regards to royalties (which are raised from some free services' ads or monthly subscription fees, it is much easier to purchase (or really, rent) a recording via these streaming services.
So, the whole point of this blog is: Will I be subscribing to a streaming service? For me, digital downloads are perfect. Each week when I do a blog, I have written down a list of songs I want to add, then go to amazon.com and simply download the song (usually around 99 cents or $1.29, and add them to iTunes and transfer to my iPod (which seems a bit outdated now since people use their smartphones these days). You own the song and it is very flexible. I guess the only downside to downloads is that if you don't back up the songs and your computer crashes your screwed.
Will I try streaming and stop downloading? That remains to be seen. One stipulation right now is that all songs that qualify for my SNS 100 currents playlist must be available for download. With established artists or those signed to a label, very rarely is a track not available on either iTunes or Amazon, and many obscure artists---the meat and potatoes of my blog list---are readily available. I am sure that they could very well be on streaming services as well. The main issue I have is with the up and coming artists, the locals, if you will, who are just trying to get their footing. Are their songs readily available? The Hounds of Winter, Paul Czekaj, Christina Alessi, Matt Weiss and some other artists that distribute their own music on their website or through reverb nation. Some of them do so on Amazon and iTunes, but on a streaming service? I love listening to these artists just as much as the Rihannas and Ed Sheerans, and they should be getting equal footing as well here. And I don't want to use multiple streaming services, either. What I have now is one hundred songs, one hundred artists, one playlist. And, if the companies stop making downloads available, then its time to just stop my current appreciation of music and rely solely on music from my past.
SIMULTANEOUS: Ed Sheeran finally makes it to the top spot on the SNS 100 this week, unseating Rihanna's "Love on the Brain", which held the top spot for five weeks. Since "Shape of You" is still at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 in its tenth week, it is just a handful of songs that have topped both charts and I believe is only the fourth to do it at the same time. The others? "We Are You" by fun., "Royals" by Lorde, and "Hello" by Adele. It's Sheeran's first #1 nationally but his second on SNS; "Thinking Out Loud" reached the top spot two years ago and was my #1 song of the entire year.
Foxygen's "Follow the Leader" takes the second spot, while Rihanna drops to #3. There is a huge jam of songs advancing in the top 20 but can't really move up because of the traffic. Some songs only move up a notch or two, and a couple---Billy Spanton Band and The Hounds of Winter---can't move up at all even though they are advancing. Lolo does get a four-point move, as does Fitz and the Tantrums and Tennis. The Impact awards goes to Electric Guest, who get their second SNS top 20 song, Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood, and the DMA's make an impressive jump into the top 20 as well.
New this week is the latest track by Kings of Leon, "Reverend" leading things at #63, and Thomas Rhett, one of my favorite country artists, with his third entry, "Star of the Show". Circa Waves, Andrew McMahon, John Mayer and Twenty-one Pilots all debut.
ONE MORE WEEK: As I have hinted in the past few weeks, next week I will conclude my weekly blogging with some highlights of the past six and a half years. It's been fun, of course, but very time consuming. However, Scenes 'n' Soundwaves won't be going away completely. I will be continuing my SNS 100 and publishing that at least for quite awhile, until the thrill of listening to new music wanes. And there will be special blogs when there is a thought on my mind and I have the time to do so. More on that next week.
Remember that you can click on a song on the list below to hear it. This is actually a form of "streaming" in itself. Enjoy!
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
April 2, 2017
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 2 | NUMBER ONE: 
"Shape of You"
Album: Divide
|
8 |
| 2 | 3 | Foxygen - Follow the Leader | 8 |
| 3 | 1 | Rihanna - Love On the Brain | 11 |
| 4 | 5 | Cage the Elephant - Cold Cold Cold | 6 |
| 5 | 6 | The Palms - Push Off | 7 |
| 6 | 7 | The Knocks and Matthew Koma - I Wish (My Taylor Swift) | 15 |
| 7 | 9 | Christina Taylor - Don't Look Good in Your T-Shirt Anymore | 7 |
| 8 | 10 | Coin - I Don't Wanna Dance | 6 |
| 9 | 13 | Lolo - Not Gonna Let You Walk Away | 6 |
| 10 | 4 | Capital Cities - Vowels | 16 |
| 11 | 11 | Billy Spanton Band - Faith (Hands on Me) | 8 |
| 12 | 12 | The Hounds of Winter - Lesson Learned | 7 |
| 13 | 17 | Fitz and the Tantrums - Get Right Back | 4 |
| 14 | 18 | Tennis - Ladies Don't Play Guitar | 6 |
| 15 | 22 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK: 
"Back For
Me"
Album: Plural
|
5 |
| 16 | 8 | Phoebe Ryan - Boyz n Poizn | 14 |
| 17 | 16 | Michael Kiwanuka - One More Night● | 24 |
| 18 | 38 | Keith Urban f. Carrie Underwood - The Fighter | 7 |
| 19 | 37 | DMA's "Timeless | 5 |
| 20 | 21 | The Heydaze - Hurt Like Hell | 8 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod. 
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