Music reflects feelings, mood and trends. The first chart shows a stock market cycle (1950-1982) and the styles of music that were popular in the uptrend vs. the downtrend.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, as the great bull market was underway, major pop music stars were young and energetic and their lyrical theme had an optimistic and happy character. Here are some excerpts to give you an example:
“Life, I love you!(1966)
“Scuse me while I kiss the sky.”(1967)
“All you need is love. Love is all you need.”(1967)
“Put a little love in you heart, and the world will be a better place for you and me.”(1969)
After decades of general uptrend, stocks peaked in 1966 in the Dow Jones Industrial index. The reversal of trend brought a dramatic change in the character of the music from upbeat to downbeat themes. As the bear market deepened, pop stars changed their lyrical theme. Here are some examples:
“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.”(1973)
“I close my eyes and she slips away.”(1976)
“All we are dust in the wind”(1978)
In the 1980s and 1990s pop music has been mostly happy again, including country music! Buble gum music aimed at ten-to-fourteen year olds and was famous in the late 1960s and around the peak from 2000 and 2007, but also fastly disapperares during bear markets. Classical music is also born during a bull market, but much earlier (around 1784). Lyrical theme is not the only aspect of music expression that is correlated with social mood.
People express their possitive/negative soical mood by rising public figures. The next two figures present their positions within the wave structure. Michael Jackson was crowned the “King of Pop” and Elvis Presley the “King of Rock ‘n’Roll”, during the peak of the third waves. The Beatles craze was during the fourth wave (bear market).
During the bear market(2007-2009) Rihanna went darker with the rain-themed song “Umbrella”. Avril Lavigne released her new album with a hear-and-crossbones cover art. Linkin park arrived early with songs such as “No more sorrow”,”Given up”,”What I have done”. AC/DC’s album debuted no.1 for the first time since 9 years.
Charts provided by the Socionomics institute. For more information check the Socionomics institute:
http://www.socionomics.net/
