Is it just me or are songs not special any more

[Frostgage 7,978]

IIRC, Pinkie Pride was supposed to be a musical episode. Most Pinkie episodes seem to have more songs in general. I agree with you though, after a while it's just too much.

[Shadow Wolf 2]

Nope, definitely just you.

 

Actually, counter-question: Am I the only one who finds the show's songs in general to be kind of 'meh'? They're catchy, don't get me wrong, but very rarely will a song's melody or lyrics stick in my head. Seems like "Smile, Smile, Smile" is one of the most revered songs in the fandom, and I personally thought it was...kind of...uh...banal bubblegum pop crap.

 

*awaits the hail of stones*

Some songs stuck in my head, but others i cant even remember the lyrics. I really love the songs, but some of them are just.... no, i cant say it... *gags* ADVERAGE! (I'm so sorry mane 6!)

[Untitled Goose Q 5,138]

I'm not actually sure that we have been having more songs, so I decided to do some calculations.

 

Pinkie Pride, like Magical Mystery Cure, was a musical episode, and so was going to have many songs. I have therefore ignored those episodes for the purposes of these calculations.

 

And so, for season one we have an average of 0.615 songs per episode. Season two has an average of 0.576. Season three has a slightly higher average of 0.384. So far, season four has an average of 454 song per episode. This does show a slight increase from season three, but a decrease from seasons one and two.

 

However, must must take into consideration that we are not all the way through Season Four yet, and so the season four average is not entirely accurate. Meghan McCarthy has said 16 songs, and so far, including Pinkie Pride, we have had 11, so they may well be sparse for the rest of the season.

 

That said, there is evidently an illusion of there being more songs, and I would say that it is because the songs are less spread out, and because season four is being watched at the moment, whilst the other seasons are probably not being rewatched and so many songs, being less memorable, are being forgotten by most people.

Edited February 3, 2014 by The Questioner

[Jangocoolguy 433]

It's just you, Irobern

We haven't even had that many episodes with songs this season. We've had 12 episodes, and only five of them had songs. Who's to say how many episodes with songs we'll have before the season's over with?

Plus, at least this show has a way of getting things done during its songs, or at least having fun stuff happen. Like how "Hearts as Strong as Horses" gave the CMC a Rocky-style training montage (and I loved that bit with Roid Rage ). And As much as I dislike Discord getting a song, I like how busy it was.

You want to see pointless songs? Watch the Generation 1 or 3 cartoons sometime. Now THOSE were musical numbers for the sake of having musical numbers (some pretty bad ones too).

Edited February 4, 2014 by Jangobadass

[Tigerpop198 696]

There are lots of songs in season 4. It think that a majority of them are overall well done.

[Guest]

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Edited June 7, 2018 by ,,,

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

The newest episode had way too many songs, just seems like fillers rather than develop an actual story

Each song had a distinct purpose in "Pinkie Pride" so I don't classify it as filler.

 

-Pinkie the Party Planner: Sets up dramatic irony as we know there is another "...pony like her."

-Super Duper Party Pony: Shows Cheese's attitude, how it sweeps the Mane 5 away, and crushes Pinkie's confidence.

-Pinkie's Lament: meant to get the viewer to understand the inner turmoil and the later proud return to form of Pinkie.

-The Goof-Off: Shows how out of hand and ridiculous the competition is getting as it starts to affect RD negatively.

-Cheese Confesses: adds depth to Cheese Sandwich, his motivations, ties his origins to Pinkie, restores Pinkie's confidence again.

-Super Duper Party Pony (Reprise): establishes Cheese and Pinkie as allies, acts as a short montage for the party set-up.

-Make a Wish: a brief, lightheated song to show the resolution and end on a high note.

Edited February 4, 2014 by DryColt84

[Guest90210 3,569]

Honestly I really enjoy the songs this season. Some of them, such as "Stop the Bats!", "Pinkie's Lament", and "Hearts Strong as Horses" rank among the best songs in the series in my opinion. I don't mind songs in an episode as long as it doesn't take away from the story and doesn't cause the rest of the episode to seem rushed.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Rivendare

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

 

 

Actually, counter-question: Am I the only one who finds the show's songs in general to be kind of 'meh'? They're catchy, don't get me wrong, but very rarely will a song's melody or lyrics stick in my head. Seems like "Smile, Smile, Smile" is one of the most revered songs in the fandom, and I personally thought it was...kind of...uh...banal bubblegum pop crap.

 

Most of them don't stick with me. Throwing out one thing about the Smile song though, I agree that from a lyrical and musical standpoint it's nothing jaw-dropping, "I really am so happy , your smile fills me with glee , I give a smile I get a smile and that's so special to me , cause I love to make you beam, beam, beam ...", but I still like it because it's basically Pinkie expressing as best she can what she lives to do, and it does a good job of showing how much everyone around her appreciates that. More of what the song is than what it sounds like, if that makes any sense .

 

Answering the thread's question, nah. Barring musical episodes like last week's, I don't think songs are any more common than they used to be. This season's even introduced some of my favorite songs, like the Bat one (ignoring its silly attempts at demonizing AJ's side of the argument), Apples to the Core and Pinkie's Lament. Not bothering me any, and if they keep at the current pace and keep the quality up, super. Give the rainbow pone a song though please :c

[UserNotFound 964]

Lots of people have been saying that Pinkie Pride had too many songs... It was a MUSICAL episode... If it were just one or two songs and the rest speaking that wouldn't be a musical episode... I am a huge musical fan so I liked this episode for it's songs... In fact I'd even go as far as to say that was it's redeeming factor... Since it wasn't really my favourite... The songs held it together for me

 

Also... Discord sang this season... How can you NOT love that? XD

Edited February 4, 2014 by JellyBean

[FriendshipBeMagic 10]

hearts as strong as horses is my favorite, and though the newer songs of s4 aren't bad, i have the same feeling that they are doing too many songs so they dont have the same effect on me like winter wrap up or smile had on me.

[ReverseFaller 2,484]

The season 4 songs have been just as special to me as the songs from previous seasons.

 

Pinkie Pride songs, Apple to the core, Generosity, the Bat song, ect. This season has been awesome song-wise.

[Nature's Spell 526]

Yeah I've not loved any songs this season. My favorite songs are Art of the Dress, Becoming Popular, I Have to Find a Way, and Celestia's Ballad. I'm more a fan of dramatic or emotional songs. Not much into feel good songs.

[Moonlight 7,289]

Personally I thought the new songs were enjoyable to listen to. Songs are commonly used, especially in season 4, to easily explain what is going on in a fun and exciting way instead of just "Blah, Blah, Blah, This is that, and that means this." Sure, too many songs may get out of hand, but you can't blame 'Pinkie Pride' for having too many since the episode is a musical, Weird Al guest starred and he's a famous parody singer, and the songs all fit, made sense, and sounded good. I personally think 'Pinkie's Lament' is the best song in the entire series and I also really liked the 'Bats!' song. Meh, opinions are opinions.

Edited February 4, 2014 by WheatleyCore

[Concerto Dusk 240]

they are flooding new songs, my opinion, bad idea, good songs but too many

[Stellafera 3,836]

I love all the songs, and I still squee when a musical number comes on. Granted, I'm a pretty big fan of that genre, but the prevalence of songs makes things more fun and gets me more excited. I think they can definitely liven up the experience.

[Unikitty 1,212]

Reading this thread, I've seen several facepalm-ing posts. But I have to wonder, am I the only one who really, really liked "Bats"? .-.

[Nature's Spell 526]

Reading this thread, I've seen several facepalm-ing posts. But I have to wonder, am I the only one who really, really liked "Bats"? .-.

Not quite sure why you're saying that, but the over all feeling that the songs aren't quite as good is correct. We can debate the degree. As far as Bats it was OK, but that song suffered for many people with the visuals of a cowering Fluttershy and Twilight joining in the "stop the bats". It never bothered me because I felt those visuals weren't real.

[Clover Heart 978]

Yeah, I agree. I wouldn't mind so much if they served more of a purpose. For example, The Art of the Dress is a great song to have been put in. Making dresses was essential to the story line, but there's really not a lot to watching someone just sew. So they punched up something that would have been boring with a song. Or when a good amount of information is to be exposited, a song can be a good way to do that. The Ballad of the Crystal Empire talks about the Faire that the Crystal Ponies used to hold. Information that would have been awkward to just bring up in conversation becomes a fun experience when it's entered into a song. Or sometimes, it can just be a really good song. The Smile Song, while it doesn't really do much other than say that Pinkie likes making ponies smile (which, if you've ever seen any MLP ep up until this point, you should really know by now,) it sets a tone and it's just a fun song to listen to. Any of these kinds of songs can enhance the show when done right.

 

On the other hand, the songs don't always work. When the songs replace what could have been normal dialogue, like for example Bats (and yes, I know, everyone likes that song, sue me,) then it gets to be problematic. This kind of song doesn't really do anything for the plot and is just kind of thrown in at random, it seems. Everything discussed within the song could have been discussed out of song in a more timely manner, leaving more time for plot development. And it seems like there's a lot of that going on.

 

Besides which, the songs in this season just never stick with me, for whatever reason. In previous seasons, I found myself continuing to go back and listen to those songs again and again and singing them in the shower. In season 4, I'm sorry, I can't even tell you the name of a single song or even sing you the first line. They just leave no impression on me. I feel like the lyrics aren't as good as they used to be, relying on clichéd sort of phrases, melodies which sound similar to things we've already heard and word choices that scream, "I just didn't care enough!" Seriously, I think they need to bring in another songwriter/lyricist. Not saying that Daniel Ingram shouldn't do songs for MLP anymore, but they definitely need some different direction.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Clover Heart

[Pinkazoid 3,493]

Ehh, the songs feel like they're there for the sake of being there, it'd use to be that the songs had some sort of meaning and would contribute heavily to the episode.

 

Like Winter Wrap Up which was all about fitting in and trying to find a way to help others. "At the Gala" which was pretty much the Mane 6 singing about what they hoped to accomplish that night, even "You Gotta Share, You Gotta Care" which everyone seemed to hate, had some moral to it. They all were put in the episode for a reason, songs that are on the new episodes seem kinda forced in, and aren't as memorable. s:

[RED20 289]

I love the songs in this show. The more the better.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

This must be yet another place I'm in the minority, because this is another thing I think Season 4 has done best on so far. I LOVE the music on this show(it reminds me of the music in the 90s/early 2000s animated movies I grew up on so much) and can't get enough of it. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,998]

Yes, the songs in the show may no longer be 'special' in the regard that they are appearing very often, but they are still just as good, if not better than they have been in the past. Plus, the people who write and perform these songs, both in vocal and instrumental, they are damn talented and I enjoy hearing what they create.

 

I love the songs in season 4 and I say bring on more of them.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Kyoshi

[Anilewe 2,178]

For me they're still special And I was really sad when I realized that there's only 4 more in this season.

[Argumedies 1,748]

Also... Discord sang this season... How can you NOT love that? XD

Apparently 90% of the main pony analizers... cause they ripped that episode a new plothole