Best Ever Albums

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Sep 2018 07:26:50 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/08/2018 11:26

rkm wrote:

The whoop thing is often pentatonic. You could say that makes it unimaginative. You could also say that makes it easy to sing.

It’s been mentioned that it also makes the song anthemic. So, on one hand, if the song itself is a piece of fluff, it can be viewed as merely an ear-worm, a cheap grab, or lazy songwriting. It’s understandably annoying to find yourself whooping along to a song about nothing.

On the other hand, if the song actually has something to say, you could say that the whoop is a device serves the song well, inviting participation, because that’s what an anthem is meant to do, it’s meant to be a rallying cry.

Great post! I think you capture exactly what's annoying about this musical device and make an interesting point about what good song-writing requires.

For me, this is why something like the 'millenium whoop' is without doubt an interesting topic for discussion. The video is not just empty internet fluff as it relates to something musical we can actually talk about and reflect on. This helps us to consider on what we think is bad and good in music, which I generally find fun to do. For me its roughly the whole purpose of this website.

Surely it's more satsifying to talk about what is good music or not, rather than just bemoaning other commentators ?

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Sep 2018 02:50:41 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/08/2018 06:50

RockyRaccoon wrote:

and FWIW, the millennial whoop has been around since before millennial times, it's just gotten more popular

Link

Yes, I was going to post this one. It's like the template (although the whoop is more like a proper melody, here).
Still I don't think we could say it's gotten more popular gradually. To me it's really emerged all at once, and retrospectively we can spot a few antecedents. Here's another one :

Link

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Sep 2018 02:34:31 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/08/2018 06:34

RockyRaccoon wrote:

So yes, the millennial whoop is a somewhat interesting trend that's perfectly fine to talk about, but to suggest it's the bane of pop music, that's just dumb.

yes, we can all agree on that, even the guy in the video (regardless of his trolly title)

RockyRaccoon wrote:

and for the record - the compilation of articles in the Guardian thread was to prove a point, which I personally felt was pretty self-evident.

Yes, I know, of course, but it showed your interest in the subject (and the articles were indeed very interesting and entertaining)

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RoundTheBend — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 23:00:06 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 09/08/2018 03:00

craola wrote:

see, i'm confused about this now because i thought it was the thing you're talking about, but the dude in the video goes on to complain about blink 182's nananana's, and i watched it a couple days ago now, so maybe he wasn't implying it's the same thing.

I just disagree with what the dude in the video said and what my experiences have been with the music critic who made it up... idk I could be wrong.

Also I agree with the earlier comment about what Rocky said. Who cares. I mean shit molded injected plastic music will always exist and it doesn't really matter what musical figures are perverted to get there, does it?

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Tha1ChiefRocka — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 20:57:42 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 09/08/2018 00:57

RockyRaccoon wrote:

and FWIW, the millennial whoop has been around since millennial times, it's just gotten more popular

Link

God, all I have to do is see the title of the song and it's in my head. It's like a virus.

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RockyRaccoon — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 20:24:51 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/08/2018 00:24

and FWIW, the millennial whoop has been around since before millennial times, it's just gotten more popular

Link

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RockyRaccoon — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 20:19:00 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/08/2018 00:19

babyBlueSedan wrote:

I know this isn't the intention of anyone in this thread but spending so much time complaining about the music you don't like comes across as trying to show off how much better your own taste is.

This exactly.

Yann wrote:

This anti-analysis (whatever the quality), who-cares frame of mind can be applied to almost every thread !
"art changes, music changes, trends change, roll with it or don't, it doesn't really matter". Sure it does not "really matter". But like soo many things in life that nonetheless are still being commented. And read. (Some people even compile articles on the death of album on that Guardian thread, no ?)
I find "art changes" highly interesting. And I find the millennial whoop a very interesting trend to comment. The very fact that this expression was coined is interesting, regardless of the fact that "there's enough music out there, etc"

My point is more to the idea that the millennial whoop somehow signals the death of pop music or something. Is it an interesting trend? Sure. Is it worth talking about? Sure. But is it some harbinger of doom for the quality of pop music? No, of course not.

My main point is this—the idea that something is signaling the death (whatever that means) of some form of music (rock music, pop music, music in general) is a tired conversation, and one that's been had a billion times over the course of decades. I mean, Gene Simmons has been saying rock music is dead for a decade, easily. Is rock music actually dead? No, of course not. What does that even mean?

Ultimately, the conversation always seems to have this subtext of exactly what babyBlueSedan said:

babyBlueSedan wrote:

to me this usually seems to be a veiled way of saying "this music doesn't sound like The Beatles / Led Zeppelin / Aerosmith / U2 / other rock band."

This exactly. It's "music doesn't sound like it used to and I don't like it so music is dead."

So yes, the millennial whoop is a somewhat interesting trend that's perfectly fine to talk about, but to suggest it's the bane of pop music, that's just dumb.

and for the record - the compilation of articles in the Guardian thread was to prove a point, which I personally felt was pretty self-evident.

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

rkm — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 17:29:18 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 09/07/2018 21:29

The whoop thing is often pentatonic. You could say that makes it unimaginative. You could also say that makes it easy to sing.

It’s been mentioned that it also makes the song anthemic. So, on one hand, if the song itself is a piece of fluff, it can be viewed as merely an ear-worm, a cheap grab, or lazy songwriting. It’s understandably annoying to find yourself whooping along to a song about nothing.

On the other hand, if the song actually has something to say, you could say that the whoop is a device serves the song well, inviting participation, because that’s what an anthem is meant to do, it’s meant to be a rallying cry.

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

craola — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 17:12:33 GMT

Author: craola

Posted: 09/07/2018 21:12

sethmadsen wrote:

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 16:02:08 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/07/2018 20:02

I know what the problem is: kids these days don't know shit about pop music 😎

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 15:44:07 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/07/2018 19:44

babyBlueSedan wrote:

Just listen to what you like, and in ten years when we're arguing about whether AI-generated music is going to end the music industry you can laugh about how much time you spent thinking about the millennial whoop.

Hope it's still ok to spend an hour or two of our spare time commenting on things that we're interested in : -)

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 15:23:07 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/07/2018 19:23

RockyRaccoon wrote:

I mean, I don't hear everyone saying that the I-V-VI-IV progression is killing music, yet it's obviously all over the place, as we all learned about a decade ago:

Link

Funny, but this takes nothing away from some of those superb melodies that were HARD to come up with in the first place. (A good melody is like, what, 1% of the music production ? 5% ?)
Reading you, I can't really decide if your poptimist or pop-blasé !

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 15:11:34 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/07/2018 19:11

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Honestly, my immediate response to this entire thing is "Who cares?"

Like, what does it matter? So a lot pop artists go "whoa" or "yea" in their songs, so what? It's pop music, it's rarely ever meant to be complex and that's been the case with pop music forever.

I just get so tired of having the same conversation over and over again. Every month it's like something new is killing music. Is rock music dead? Is the album dead? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, art changes, music changes, trends change, roll with it or don't, it doesn't really matter. If you like it, great, if you don't, whatever, that's fine, there's enough music out there to spend your entire life listening to new stuff you'll enjoy, go do that.

Maybe I'm too much of a poptimist, but complaining that pop music lacks lyrical depth or is manufactured in some way is like complaining about getting wet from a thunderstorm. I mean, half the pop hits are written by Max Martin anyways, it's no wonder they sound similar. And if they do, so what?

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

babyBlueSedan — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 14:59:06 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 09/07/2018 18:59

RockyRaccoon wrote:

too much of a poptimist

This isn't possible though, right?

To add on to what Rocky said about trends "killing" music, to me this usually seems to be a veiled way of saying "this music doesn't sound like The Beatles / Led Zeppelin / Aerosmith / U2 / other rock band." Of course it doesn't have to be rock music, but why complain about music of a genre you don't like for not sounding like a genre you like? That's kind of the point of genres, and no one's going to like everything. And the presence of the millennial whoop or trap hi hats or anything else doesn't stop artists in the genres you do like from making music that isn't influenced by current trends (see Greta Van Fleet). Every decade has had its own trends and there have always been artists who have done their own thing.

I know this isn't the intention of anyone in this thread but spending so much time complaining about the music you don't like comes across as trying to show off how much better your own taste is. Just listen to what you like, and in ten years when we're arguing about whether AI-generated music is going to end the music industry you can laugh about how much time you spent thinking about the millennial whoop.

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RockyRaccoon — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 14:25:29 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/07/2018 18:25

I mean, I don't hear everyone saying that the I-V-VI-IV progression is killing music, yet it's obviously all over the place, as we all learned about a decade ago:

Link

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RockyRaccoon — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 14:22:30 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/07/2018 18:22

Honestly, my immediate response to this entire thing is "Who cares?"

Like, what does it matter? So a lot pop artists go "whoa" or "yea" in their songs, so what? It's pop music, it's rarely ever meant to be complex and that's been the case with pop music forever.

I just get so tired of having the same conversation over and over again. Every month it's like something new is killing music. Is rock music dead? Is the album dead? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, art changes, music changes, trends change, roll with it or don't, it doesn't really matter. If you like it, great, if you don't, whatever, that's fine, there's enough music out there to spend your entire life listening to new stuff you'll enjoy, go do that.

Maybe I'm too much of a poptimist, but complaining that pop music lacks lyrical depth or is manufactured in some way is like complaining about getting wet from a thunderstorm. I mean, half the pop hits are written by Max Martin anyways, it's no wonder they sound similar. And if they do, so what?

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

Anonymous — Fri, 7 Sep 2018 02:27:22 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/07/2018 06:27

Yann wrote:

Michael1981 wrote:

I think that sort of whooping and simple repetition epitomises bad songwriting. I can't imagine liking anything with this technique. It isn't just the lack of lyrical content, it's the trivial simplicity of the melody. It should not be used at all.

Paralysed by Coldplay strikes me as another example of this kind of song. It sounded like they had given up completely!

Yes, you mean Paradise. And later on Adventure of A Lifetime, Hymn For The Weekend. I wouldn't say it's bad songwriting, but I see what you mean !

You are right 🤣 Paralysed would have been a dark title for a song containing the Millennial Whoop, though I find the track does have a numbing effect.

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RoundTheBend — Thu, 6 Sep 2018 22:48:57 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 09/07/2018 02:48

Yann wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=044da1YkNko

Any thoughts ? Any examples you may like ?

I think this intro is closer to it, but barely isn't.

Link

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RoundTheBend — Thu, 6 Sep 2018 22:39:22 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 09/07/2018 02:39

babyBlueSedan wrote:

I have no opinion positive or negative on this but don't forget we have an album in our top 10 with a slowed down version of this on it:

Link

See and I'd have to disagree. I don't see this as Millenial Whoop at all, rather I'd side with Rocky on this. It's much more complex musically... sure it might start out with a tonic and a 5th, but doesn't repeat over and over just on the tonic and 5th or 5th and 3rd until I want to bash my head in. The melody goes much more complex than that.

Re: Are you tired with the millennial whoop ?

RoundTheBend — Thu, 6 Sep 2018 22:37:23 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 09/07/2018 02:37

RockyRaccoon wrote:

God I wanna punch the guy in that video, he gives off this "no, *I* know music, *you* don't" vibe.

And yea, as has been previously stated, whoops and yeahs and other filler nonesense words have been in music forever.

I mean damn, just look back at Be-Bop-A-Lu-Lah or Do-Wah-Diddy. This isn't unique to millennial music, it's just a pop thing and it's perfectly harmless.

We're all fine with the nah-nah-nahs when the Beatles do it but as soon as a pop musician we don't like does it it's "killing music." Pfft. Please.

While I think I agree this guy is a prick, I don't think the millennial whoop is defined as anything like Be-Bop-A-Lu-Lah or Do-Wah-Diddy or nah-nah-nahs... to me it's specifically the woah -ie -oh... and it really always is the same thing to a very subtle different melody. And that's the part I agree with - it's the same woah -ie -oh and just slightly alterned and not anything unique, rather molded injected plastic. And I have to agree with Killer Mike that good music isn't molded injected plastic.

This kind of is an ok thing representing it: (in otherwords, I disagree that the millennial whoop is made up... do musical figures find themselves across decades, of course, but I do agree most trash music of the late 2000s until today often has this musical figure and it's annoying as hell because of how repetitive and common it is):

Link