What makes music memorable?

One of my new favorite bands is from Montreal. They're a francophone indie pop band named "

La Patère Rose". Translates to, I believe, The Open Rose. This song has been stuck in my head for the past two days: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWx4bjwp8-Y

It’s poppy, joyful, beautiful, sorrowful, and delightful all at the same time. It’s quickly made my list of top ten Canadian indie pop songs ever. (Believe me there’re enough Canadian indie pop songs to facilitate such a list.) I don’t speak fluent French at all. I only know the typical phrases such as, “Comment Ca Va?” or “Je veux une biere, s'il vous plait.”.

So, why is it that this song, sung in a language I know little of, such an infectious and memorable song? Is it the lyrics? I don’t believe so. The song could be singing about animal rights for all I know and I’d still enjoy it. As a musician, I find the lyrics of a song to be just as important as the instrumentation of a song. The human voice is an instrument to me. Singing helps aid and strengthen a melody that has already been established by, in this case, a melodic instrument such as the piano.

In today’s musical society, consumers crave music with memorable lyrics. Do they care about how the voice sounds in relation to the harmonies and melodies in a musical piece? In Lil’ Wayne’s case, absolutely not. Lil’ Wayne sings (or should I say auto tunes) about drugs, country matters, and other various “rebellious” things in his music. Teenagers, the most important consumers of Pop music, find his music to be raw, pugnacious, and entertaining. Why? It’s because today’s teens have very little to rebel against, socially. Thus, horrendously sexist, misogynist, and sometimes racist themed music becomes the Pop music. The consumer determines what Pop music is. Therefore, Lil’ Wayne and other “gangsta” rappers have become the musical norm.

My point to this discussion about Pop music is that it forces unnecessary attention to the lyrics’ subject matter rather than the actual song as a whole. How can music truly be music if it’s being created with the intention that the music, as an entire piece, is being put on the back burner for lyrics that make the listener feel defiant? I’m not saying protest/revolutionary music (in the likes of Rage Against the Machine) is necessarily bad. It’s admirable. Rage Against the Machine, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix all used music to protest and question authority through a medium that is universally appreciated. Is Lil’ Wayne questioning authority and awakening social consciousness when he says: “She lick me like a lollipop.”? You can decide that answer for yourself.

Music in other languages is a whole other issue. La Patère Rose, Malajube, and Coeur De Pirate are all Francophone bands from Montreal that I truly love, appreciate, and find mean something. They all sing in French about widely different subjects. In one album, Malajube sings about Roman Catholicism’s role in Quebecois society (Labyrinthes). Coeur De Pirate sings about love.

What makes their music memorable and the likes of Lil’ Wayne and Drake not? It’s the music, instrumentation, and musicianship coming together into one idea that invokes imagery, emotion, and fascination. When Drake tells his “girl” that “She’s the f**king best”, what kind of imagery, emotion, or fascination does that conjure up? None. It’s terribly inefficient at conveying any sort of emotion. There is no imagery because he doesn’t want any. And, the only fascination I find in such a lyric is “How is this popular?”. Then I realize. IT’S THE RADIO STATION AND THE BEAT. Oh man! That beat is sick. The radio station stuffs it down your ear canals 3000 times a day. You’re bound to hear it, bob your head to the beat, listen to the chorus all 40 times it’s repeated, and go out and buy it on iTunes for $1.99.

For other songs that are catchy and fun before the lyrics are paid any attention to, look up “You Look Better When I’m Drunk” by White Tie Affair. (Believe me. I couldn’t make this song title up if I tried.) I’ve reached a conclusion. Pop music is memorable because of its beat, lyrical subject matter (no matter what it is; good or bad), and airplay. Let’s face it, no one would listen to this no matter how many times it was played on Top 40 Pop music radio in America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD6hdj5-u9s .

No matter how good a song is, it’s only as popular as its subject matter, beat, and radio play. It’s a cold hard fact in today's society that if you’re not on the radio, you’re pretty much an indie band. And if you’re on the radio, you’re a Pop puppet. I’m not telling people the radio is bad or that ALL music on Pop radio is bad. Once in a while, it’s nice to just let it all go while screaming “California Girls” by Katy Perry. It’s actually fun. I just hope that next time someone tunes into 92 Commercials (Credits to Goldsmith) they’ll sit there and actually listen to the lyrics. Maybe just maybe they might realize the sexist crap oozing out of the speakers and switch it off. That’s what I do on a daily basis. Hopefully this conjures up some sort of personal internal discussion about the music one listens to or maybe a debate between friends about what makes music enjoyable to them.

Thanks for the read. Feel free to comment.

- Andrew