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Do bad economic times make for better music?
The bullish Clinton years gave us trite boy bands and carefree pop hits, while the late 70s spawned punk. But the Great Depression also spawned plenty of happy-go-lucky songs meant to inspire escapist fantasies. Today, a look at the correlations between music and the economic cycles with Eric Weisbard, a music critic, historian and curator at the Experience Music Project.
Soundcheck blog: John Schaefer on music and the economy
We're In The Money (Gold Diggers of 1933)
Jack Hylton: Happy Days Are Here Again
Brother Can You Spare a Dime? (Bing Crosby)
Graph: Rock Music Quality vs. Oil Production
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Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, stars of the romantic indie film Once, will debate which is more powerful: a love song or a breakup song. And: live music from Grammy winning violinist Joshua Bell and Cuban stars Tiempo Libre.
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Remember that music is an expression of feelings and thoughts. Hard times gives people a need to get something out. When times are good, it seems, more or less, there's less need for any kind of cartharsis. That's when music becomes merely product.
It's not like hiphop wasn't also saying,
"You should be dancing! This was party music!
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