Economy + Popular Music = The Rise of Electronic Music (again)

So I've been MIA from the blog for a second because I've just bought a house and I'm dealing with the mental nightmare of being an adult, navigating the process, packing my old house and managing the love of my life who is currently a little over loaded with her job and everything else.

Thus I've been exposed to a lot of popular music recently. Generally my slim diet of NPR / Fox News and Hospital Records podcasts keeps me charging through life like a bull in a china shop. But when your calling banks, realtors, contractors you often get posted on hold so I've been listening to a barrage of top 40 tunes. This is better then smooth jazz but I've been curious to see of there was any research on our current economic status. and our new found love for 1990's techno repackaged as pop music? Also how did dubstep capture the attention of the American rock and roll youth?

I'm been pushing this idea around for a hot second. Looking at how popular music right now is a wash in minor cords and trying to run down popular tracks that were released during our last economic down turn.

However yesterday while I was listening to NPR while digging records for my next gig I caught a report on now the Economy effects popular music! I damn near broke my neck bolting over empty boxes to get over to the stereo to turn it up. Paraphrasing the report because I can't find the report on their site (grumble). Popular music is focusing on the escapism and super luxury life styles. The basic ingredients of 80% of house / club tracks. Which explains the rise of the electronic sound. They had a few points on why dubstep has taken America by storm but I've forgotten already. Ba Ha.

So I'm still curious about my own theory on major VS minor keys during economic times of trouble.

Some additional thoughts on this topic can be found here. The Futurist a "magazine of forecasts, trends, and ideas about the future" had some interesting thoughts on the matter.[www.wfs.org]

What do you think?

In the mean time if you have any suggestions on how to move a epically large record collection cross town I'm all ears. hahahaha

The Librarian