Zoom In

After my last piece on the changing pop music scene, I couldn’t help but feel like I was coming off as a bit jaded and perhaps a bit too much like an angry grandparent cursing the current music idols of America’s youth. So, in this final installment, I thought I would inject a bit of optimism back into my conversation about current music and the direction in which music production and consumption are headed:

1. Singles, and the artists who focus on them, are not all bad: turns out T-Swift and Meghan Trainor don’t have it that easy, as artists work hard to produce songs that get stuck in the world’s ear. But while many manage to gain widespread popularity, there are some who still work to integrate intricate chord progressions with hummable melodies (Clean Bandit), showcase killer vocal ranges (Bruno Mars, Sia), or bring innovative sounds to pop (Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams).

2. Albums, in one form or another, are probably here to stay: it’s important to acknowledge that there is a significant population of hipsters browsing records in the back of Urban Outfitters who think there really is nothing like purchasing an album. As a result, many independent artists have continued focusing on this art form regardless of industry-driving trends. An admittedly ridiculous study correlating music trends and SAT scores from 2009 tells us that many of these album-producing indie/alternative artists—Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, and Radiohead—fall on the higher end of the intelligence spectrum, whereas Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, and The Used are lumped into the “music for dumb people” category. This study is far from scientific, using Facebook as a main source, so I won’t argue that indie albums are superior to other music forms out there (for the record, I’m equal parts Sufjan and Bey fan), but people are still listening to artists who are producing quality albums, even if they lie below the surface of Hot 100.

3. Popular artists today are doing some pretty cool things: that statement might sound general, but it only takes looking back to ’80s dance music or ’90s grunge to see that today’s pop is more diverse than ever in terms of style and form. Beyoncé may or may not be the most gifted pop star out there, but her self-titled, 2013 audio-visual album was a modern music marvel, taking the music video form to an epic new level. New technologies might have their drawbacks in terms of the future of conventional albums, but they have the benefit of pushing artists to create bigger and better ways of presenting their music to audiences. Based on the innovations of the past decade, the future definitely looks bright.

Now, this lofty stuff is great, but I want to leave you a couple tips about moving forward—zooming back in, if you will—not just on how to appreciate albums but also on how to approach music in general.

1. Look deeper than the chart-toppers: In the past few weeks, I’ve tried to use a wide variety of examples from different styles, genres, and eras to talk about albums in the hope of showing that there is good music out there for any set of ears. It also shows that limiting music consumption to downloading the top few songs of the week on iTunes limits our access to the amazing depth of new music available today. Listen to friends’ recommendations, use Spotify suggestions or Songza to your advantage and discover new music. But when you find something you like, remember that it might be worth splurging on the complete album.

2. Listen. Really Listen: This one might sound counter-intuitive, but I strongly believe that if we want to look critically at how music consumption is evolving, we need to step back from our current sense of musical normalcy. The first step is making music less of a background activity and more of an active one. If you care about albums as an art form the way I do, it might be wise to find a friend, grab a drink, and take the time to listen to an album from start to finish. You’ll probably hear things—a killer track hidden on the B-side, a natural ebb and flow, a story or theme—you’ve never heard before.

I hope this last piece is less of an endpoint and more of a springboard to exploring music in a new way. Maybe I’ve turned you onto albums and off of “All About That Bass,” or maybe not.  Regardless, Shakespeare had it right when he wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on.” Let the music play.