Trending The Trends

What’s Hot in Music This Week/Month/Year?

As we’ve previously discussed in this blog, music for AV/Video seems to evolve from  1). What national advertisers have embraced and 2). That music usually is a derivative of current Pop music trends. We here at CSS Royalty Free Music keep our ears tuned to both the radio and television advertising.  But we are also strong proponents of creating music that might be the next new trend, or even better, going back to material from our earlier years to explore vintage sounds.

Think about this: Dubstep music was born out of video games, dance clubs and eventually made its way into action films and television commercials. But where is it today? Sure, you’ll hear elements from the genre—wuba bass, quarter note triplet figures and synthesizer figures. But the ear-bleeding screeches and wild and crazy “drops” are pretty much history.

On the other hand: What we used to consider Funk— James Brown. George Clinton, Kool & The Gang, Prince et al has made a major resurgence thanks to Bruno Mars. Is the music he presents substantially different from that of the iconic Funk Masters? Nope. If anything, the sound pays homage to the genre with the slap bass, syncopated horn licks and surprise pauses. Had Bruno Mars  “Uptown Funk” been played on late 1960s radio, it would have not only fit in perfectly, it would also have been a hit.

Also: There’s Alt Country and Alt Folk, genres that evolved from the Indie musician movement. From artists like Ryan Adams to Old 97’s to Steve Earle to the Avett Brothers to Lucinda Williams, this music has raw emotionality and no-frills production. Yet when you listen to the instrumental sections—which you guys will be most concerned with—the arrangements and orchestrations are still pretty much traditional Country or Bluegrass and could come from nearly any era.

So when you’re trying to freshen up your next show, take a few moments to explore some of the earlier tracks—usually meaning first volumes—from the CSS Music library. We believe you’ll find some gems that may have whiskers but may now be cool enough for prime time. You’ll also find a surfeit of older material in Repo-File Potpourri. There’s even a nice laid back track entitled “Funk” that’s still timeless today!