The Millennial "Whoop" in Pop Music

[Booster MPS]

This same annoying whooping sound is in every popular song, from Katy Perry to Chris Brown — Quartz

 

I know Pop/R&B/Rap are not the preferred genre here, but still interesting to consider on most of the music out there today. Another offender is the forced retro sound to vinyl like Leon Bridges forcing a mono vinyl sound (love the guy and his talent). Also many alt rock bands layering echo/reverb/delay into recordings to hide poor vocals or make it sound “BIG” - only makes your record sound like it was recorded in the back of a men’s bathroom. The bar has been lowered and most have forgotten what musical instruments should sound like.

[Musicophile]

I'm always interested in understanding what goes on in composition, and contemporary music writers are anything but stupid in many cases (even if their music may be).

 

But calling a falling third a millennial thing is pushing it.

 

Most western music starting with Bach, when written in major key, is focusing on the 1st, third and fifth note of the given scale.

 

The only thing that may be indeed particular to the music of the last decade is the "whooping" way it is sung (or rather produced), but the actually harmonics behind it are pretty universal.