Is this thing on? Breaking the rules
By Nikki Margaretos | October 24My sixth-grade language arts teacher once said, “First you must learn the rules, and only then you are allowed to break them.” Although she was talking about comma splices, the same logic can be applied to producing a smash hit. For starters, it has to appeal to a wide range of listeners or, at the very least, a younger set of ears. Hallmark features should include an energetic beat, the classic pop chord progression and über catchy lyrics — ones that get stuck in your head longer than you’d like them to. To ensure that fans will remember the song — and therefore be able to download/stream/sing it in the shower/request to DJ Carm — it also doesn’t hurt to have extremely simple lyrics that drill the song title into your head at least 16 times. Oh, and apparently we're so dumb that some artists need to tell us their name within the song, otherwise we'd never figure it out (Jasooon Deruuuuloooo)! But sometimes we need to break the system in order to stand out. Therefore, let’s render our lyrics completely and utterly unintelligible.
