When you think about it, we have many common behaviors that don't have a rational explanation beyond conforming to the norm. If someone holds their hand out to you, you shake it. Why? Because that's what you do.
I don't remember specifics, but researchers wondered why some songs become 'hits' and others don't. The song itself was a secondary factor. The context in which it was first heard was more of a factor. Many experiments on conformity demonstrate that people will do whatever everybody else is doing, even if they have no idea why they're doing it. We are, after all, a social animal.
While we are indeed social animals, the mass psychosis explanation for such behaviors only goes so far because not everyone participates in the madness. Some people are just more susceptible to suggestion.
Which explains why the critics panned "Bohemian Rhapsody" but it turned into a legendary best seller. Some music is more popular than others because of what psychologists call inner resonance, and explains why there are one-hit wonders. Some melody/lyric combinations resonate in more people than others. Even if I grew up in the '60s, I regarded the Beatles to be overrated and overplayed, and now just over-sentimentalized. I believe the songs in any hall of fame are those that the voters associate with a romantic experience, but that's me.
As Louis Armstrong said when asked what kinds of music he liked, "There's only two kinds of music, good and bad."
In the research I mentioned, the actual quality of the music was controlled, so not a factor by itself. Certainly, ,developed tastes make a huge difference. On the other hand, I loved the Beatles the moment I heard them. I still don't know exactly what the attraction was, but I was ripe for the British invasion. I still like that stuff, but not exclusively.
When you think about it, we have many common behaviors that don't have a rational explanation beyond conforming to the norm. If someone holds their hand out to you, you shake it. Why? Because that's what you do.
I don't remember specifics, but researchers wondered why some songs become 'hits' and others don't. The song itself was a secondary factor. The context in which it was first heard was more of a factor. Many experiments on conformity demonstrate that people will do whatever everybody else is doing, even if they have no idea why they're doing it. We are, after all, a social animal.
While we are indeed social animals, the mass psychosis explanation for such behaviors only goes so far because not everyone participates in the madness. Some people are just more susceptible to suggestion.
Which explains why the critics panned "Bohemian Rhapsody" but it turned into a legendary best seller. Some music is more popular than others because of what psychologists call inner resonance, and explains why there are one-hit wonders. Some melody/lyric combinations resonate in more people than others. Even if I grew up in the '60s, I regarded the Beatles to be overrated and overplayed, and now just over-sentimentalized. I believe the songs in any hall of fame are those that the voters associate with a romantic experience, but that's me.
As Louis Armstrong said when asked what kinds of music he liked, "There's only two kinds of music, good and bad."
In the research I mentioned, the actual quality of the music was controlled, so not a factor by itself. Certainly, ,developed tastes make a huge difference. On the other hand, I loved the Beatles the moment I heard them. I still don't know exactly what the attraction was, but I was ripe for the British invasion. I still like that stuff, but not exclusively.