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Evolution Is Helping Us Understand Changes in Pop Music

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Activity 1

Before you read, match the word or phrase to a definition.

1. analyse 2. assume 3. biologist 4. diverse 5. evolution 6. graph 7. revise

a. change something so that it is better or more accurate than before

b. diagram comparing measurements over time

c. look carefully at something to understand it better

d. scientist who studies plants and animals

e. the way living things change slowly over long periods of time

f. think something is true even though you have no proof

g. varied or different

A

People have always been interested in the way pop music changes over time. Writers for musicmagazines have often tried to explain how and why musical tastes develop from decade to decade. Since the 1970s, for example, Paul Morley has been explaining why different styles of pop music become popular one year, but then go out of fashion again. Other writers, such as Jon Savage and Simon Reynolds, have also written articles and books about changes in culture and music.

B

But now, researchers are starting to use computers and ideas from biology to understand these changes better. Computer scientists and evolutionary biologists from two London universities have joined up to examine the history of pop music over the last 50 years. They decided to look at the evolution of pop styles by analysing more than 17,000 songs from the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 2010.

C

Dr. Matthias Mauch and Professor Armand Leroi first got together when they realised that they were interested in similar things. Dr. Mauch was a music processing guy who was also interested in evolution, while Professor Leroi was an evolutionary biologist who liked music. When Dr. Mauch saw a talk on the topic of the evolution of music, he contacted[聯(lián)系]Professor Leroi. Together, they thought they could do a much better job of analysing music data using computers. They looked at different types of sounds and tunes[曲調(diào)], and at different types of pop music. They produced a graph of the changes in pop music over time.

D

When ordinary people talk about changes in pop music, they often say that music is becoming more homogeneous[同質(zhì)化的]. What they mean is that pop bands all look similar and the songs all sound the same. But the scientists’ study shows this is not true. Apart from one period in the 1980s, music is just as diverse now as before. So why do ordinary people think differences in music are disappearing? One explanation is that pop music is aimed at young people. It doesn’t discuss topics that are interesting to older people, so they don’t pay much attention to it. They assume that everyone is singing about the same things in the same way.

E

The graph also shows that music evolved faster than normal in 1964, 1983 and 1991. Dr. Mauch says he is not sure why this happened. But these dates match three important events in pop history. In 1964, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones—two very famous British bands—visited the USA for the first time. Many people were excited by this, and many bands began making music in a similar style. Secondly, in 1983, musicians began to use drum[鼓]machines and other electronic equipments such as samplers[采樣器]and synthesizers[合成器]to make music for the first time. And finally, rap and hip-hop[嘻哈音樂]suddenly got much more popular in the early 1990s.

F

We are still in the early days of these kinds of studies. More studies using computers and the ideas of evolution will be carried out in different areas of culture. And scientists hope these will help us to understand better how and why cultures change. Some of the results may show that many beliefs we have about culture need to be revised.

Activity 2

The text has six paragraphs, A–F. Which paragraph contains the following information?

1. examples of electronic machines for making or copying music

2. a large number of popular songs in the USA

3. the use of evolution and computer science in the future

4. writers who are interested in changes to pop music

5. a false belief that many people have

6. a picture that shows changes in pop music

Activity 3

Look at these two sentences from the text and the words in bold[粗體].

But now, researchers are starting to use computers and ideas from biology to understand these changes better.

Computer scientists and evolutionary biologists from two London universities have joined up to examine the history of pop music over the last 50 years.

Both sentences use the infinitive form of verbs to show a reason for something. The first sentence tells us why researchers are starting to use computers and ideas from biology. The second sentence tells us why computer scientists and evolutionary biologists have joined up. Match 1–6 with a–f to show reasons.

1. He bought a funny card a. to ask for your help. 2. I am calling b. to avoid the rush hour. 3. I stood up c. to buy some groceries. 4. My parents have gone to the shop d. to find out about the weather. 5. She switched on the radio e. to get a better view of the football match. 6. We left at 6 a.m. f. to make his girlfriend smile.

Activity 4

Discussion: Do you like the same kind of pop music as your parents? Have your parents ever complained about the kind of music you like?

Answers Activity 1

1. c; 2. f; 3. d; 4. g; 5. e; 6. b; 7. a Activity 2

1. E; 2. B; 3. F; 4. A; 5. D; 6. C Activity 3

1. f; 2. a; 3. e; 4. c; 5. d; 6. b