‘Freeway of Love’: Can the weather make or break a song?
There are a number of factors that go into making a hit song. If you could bottle what The Beatles, Madonna and Kendrick Lamar all had, you’d be a millionaire, but it’s not as simple as that.
The sad reality of the mass of music which exists on streaming sites and other platforms in the modern age is that your favourite song of all time is probably sitting out there and you’ll never stumble across it. In the same way your Bonnie lies over the ocean, that banger lies in an undiscovered pile of music released by an artist whose name you’ll likely never even hear spoken.
There are plenty of different factors that go into making a modern hit. Virality is such an untameable beast, who is to say what songs are going to catch on and which ones aren’t. There is no real structure to it, all it takes is for something in a track to click with listeners and suddenly you have a global sensation on your hands.
Of course, the unpredictability of getting a hit is nothing new. There has always been an element of randomness attached to songs, as world events, certain chord progressions, and strange lyrical passages can all trigger something in the public which makes the song a hit. Another factor which can play a role that a lot of people don’t account for is the weather.
The weather has a massive impact on the kind of music that we listen to, and as a result, a lot of songs that might have been well received, if released in the wrong season, fail to get off the ground. There is something psychologically built into us which stops us from engaging with certain music if the weather doesn’t complement it. And that’s not just my opinion, science backs this ideology up.
The emotional circumstances which surround us change the way that we perceive music. Professor Terry Pettijohn from Coastal Caroline University discussed this in more detail. “We developed the hypothesis that when times are more difficult and threatening, we prefer individuals and themes of media that are more meaningful and helpful for those times,” he explained, “When times are better, we prefer things that are less meaningful and more about just kind of going with the flow and being happy and partying.”
Naturally, the weather and the seasons change how we view the world. While we all have personal preferences, individuals tend to be more upbeat and happier when the days are longer and the sun is out. “We definitely change up our sound by season,” explained Victoria Sintes from Miami Palmetto Senior High, “When it’s summer, for example, we change our sound to be a little more upbeat and fun to represent the season.”
It’s for this reason that the Aretha Franklin song, ‘Freeway of Love’, did so well. Granted, it’s already a great tune, but it was released at the right time to capitalise on the summer feeling that was going around America at the time. The song, which focuses on driving in a pink Cadillac, roof down, not a problem in the world, was the perfect backdrop for those gorgeous sunlit drives.
“It came out at the right time, which was summertime,” explained Narada Michael Walden, who helped write the song, “All the tops down on the cars, girls in bikinis; it was on; it was everywhere.”
