Random Thoughts (August 27, 2007)

Three things today:

Number one: After driving through a thunderstorm on Friday night, as well as one on Saturday, I decided that one of my life goals, albeit one of the more dangerous ones, is to witness a lightning strike from close distance. Not that I have any desire to be struck by lightning at any point in my lifetime, as I would imagine the odds of surviving are not that great. It’s just that you really only ever see the beginning and middle of a bolt of lightning, and just once I’d like to see the end, preferably from a safe distance.

Number two: So I began wondering about this over this weekend, although I have yet to put any real amount of research into this. Back in the day, you often had these partnerships from a musical standpoint. I’m thinking along the lines of Sonny & Cher, Jan & Dean, Hall & Oates, Peaches & Herb, The Captain and Teneil. These were often instances where some sort of synergistic effect was seen, in that by themselves, half of the duo might not produce as well, but together they are able to produce a hit single or two. The exception to this may be Sonny & Cher, as Cher has gone on to have an extensive career of her own after the end of that partnership, and, lest we forget, Sonny went on to be a Congressman.

But nowadays, the permanent duo is not something that is often seen, if it is seen at all. The only time you really see anything along the lines of a duet or a duo is when it is a collaboration between an older established artist and a bevy of younger starlets. Tony Bennett comes to mind. I suppose to a certain extent, I can throw Carlos Santana in here, although I may disqualify his past collaborative efforts because I’m not sure that he can carry an album on his own anymore. As far as a permanent couple/duo currently recording, nothing comes to mind. Now I wonder why this might be, and I have a few ideas in mind. One: It’s entirely possible that songwriting is not as good as it was thirty years ago. I would rather image that this fact is entirely true. Two: record labels may have more money to throw at people, and so artists can actively pursue solo careers instead.

If anyone can come up with a relevant, current example, let me know. I’d love to hear it.

Number three: What is the average length of a pop song these days? Granted, there are going to be songs that last longer than three minutes, but for the most part it seems songs don’t eclipse four minutes. Is this because artists, and I use the term loosely in this instance, have by and large failed to come up with more than three minutes worth of material? Or is it just that the average American Top 40 listeners, or perhaps the average American in general, does not have an attention span beyond three minutes? Do we have some sort of national attention deficit disorder or its hyperactive cousin?