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It was New Year’s Eve and I was with my family in Miami at Bayside Front Park about to ring in 2019. As we approached the main stage where a big-name rap artist would be performing, we were squeezing through the crowd trying to get a descent view of the opening acts on large video screens. As would be expected at this type of venue, the volume was borderline deafening. But maybe more concerning was the “music” itself with primarily a kick drum, some electronic FX, and rap lyrics with no shortage of foul language. But was I the only one concerned? As I looked around, many people were grooving, dancing, and clearly enjoying themselves as many of them even knew the lyrics.

That experience did not come to me as a surprise, however. After watching the trends in my Billboard magazines for years, the shift in what’s become mainstream has been clear. Even back in the late seventies, well before the terms “hip-hop” and “rap” were so ubiquitous, I was shocked at how simplistic and repetitive mainstream songs were becoming. Of course, musical tastes are very subjective and I’d be a hypocritical musical artist if I didn’t keep an open mind about the possibilities of musical innovations and a variety in personal tastes. But clearly, there was a fundamental shift away from the “sweet spot”.

What’s the “sweet spot”? It’s what great songwriters and artists like Elton John, James Taylor, Chicago, Eagles, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Stevie Wonder all found, wrote, and produced. It’s that apex-like mix and balance of unity, variety, and emotional captivation through melody, harmony, rhythm, and great lyrics. But over time, that “sweet spot” started gaining competition from songs which were more repetitive and simplistic in their arranging, harmony, melodic structure, and lyric content. My first awareness of this trend was with songs like Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”, Lipps Inc’s “Funky Town”, and Chic’s “Le Freak. Although my initial reaction to those songs was not enthusiastic, I did warm up a bit to them over time. Afterall, they were catchy and had nice grooves with cool vocal performances. But then the trend continued, grew in popularity, and became more extreme with songs like Tag Team’s “Whoomp There It Is”. The title was repeated 8 times in row every time the hook came in! It was extremely anemic in the melody and harmony department. I thought to myself,  “Millions of people are buying this?”. This was released back in 1993 and the “sweet spot” has only continued to be pushed further aside.

And it’s not just the pop rock and dance genres that have seemed to devolve. For the last few decades, there’s been concerns about new country and contemporary Christian music. Fortunately, country songwriters still seem to have a higher standard in quality songs – especially in the lyric realm. But I agree with a friend of mine who refers to many contemporary Christian songs as “7-11 songs”. It means you simply sing 7 words 11 times in a row.

However, I’m encouraged that there still seems to be a need for quality popular songs. I was fortunate enough to witness this the next few days in Miami as several restaurants were playing some nice recorded songs which were getting much closer to the “sweet spot”.  And some of those were newer songs I’d never heard. Of course, people will always debate as to what is great music and what is simply just noise. But one thing is for sure, when a great song captivates you or gives you a chill up your spine (in a good way), you can be sure that the underlying elements are really close to the “sweet spot”.