By Ezra Marcus
This is the age of big data. We have the tools and the time to draw massive conclusions from monumental oceans of information, ordering the universe with more detail than ever before. For example—now we know which rock stars are the most verbose.
Over the summer a data analyst named Matt Daniels used number crunching tools to deduce that Aesop Rock had the widest vocabulary of any rapper. Now, a new researcher named Brian Chesley has performed a similar experiment, only with rock bands.
Related: KISS Say They Were ‘Screwed Over’ with Thanksgiving Day Parade Performance
The sample size was much smaller—where Daniels investigated 105 rappers, Chesley used only 10 rockers—but his findings are no less interesting. Mainly: rockers are as terse as rappers are verbose.
Kiss, for example, have used only 1,400 words ever in their career’s discography. Pink Floyd, the most expressive, used 2,600. This places them in the bottom quarter of rappers, just ahead of T.I. In all, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Metallica, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones and U2 were also scrutinized.
Chesley’s takeaway?
“Classic rock artists generally do not use a robust vocabulary in their lyrics; they instead rely on awesome instrumentals, vocals, and energy,” he wrote.
Read more on Radio.com
- Gene Simmons: Not Guilty of Anything Other Than Not Knowing How Wi-Fi Works
- Chrissie Hynde Addresses Her Rape Comments
- Beatlemania Returns Thanks to Canadian Copyright Law
- Black Sabbath Announces ‘The End’: Their Final Tour Ever
- Phish Announce Trio of Concerts in Mexico
