Indiana daily times., 1921-04-06
RISQUE ELYRICS
AND ORIENTAL
MUSIC TABOO
FIippant Song Receives Death
Blow, While Sweet, Clean
Ballads Revive.

is now scheduled for moral reform. II
must be sterilzed if it is to accompany
the prophylactic movies which are des-
tined to appear before long. In its pres
ent condition. you can see for yourself,
It would never DO at all.
At any rate If you can't see it, the
publishers of popular music can. 1t Is
they who have declared the death sen
tence Of the iippant, naughty song, thus
anticipating our reform veterans who
were getting ready to turn their disin-
fecting apparatus upon It.
Hereafter. all lyrics Of a risque OF
"suggestive" character will receive
prompt rejection slips from all of the
large popular music publishing houses.
Oriental rhythm win be frowned upon.
Jazz must become more genteel Hula
hula girls and "hootch" and harems and
other hitherto popular subjects Of synco-
patton are to be barred. What the pub
fishers want from now on are pure and
simple ballads, exalting the commonplace
and applauding homely virtues.
Aside from the fact that publishers
do not wish to be sponsors for songs
capable of indecent construction, ths
purely commercial aspect Of the situation
is that from now on such songs are to
be barred from the better vaudeville the
may find professional support with
drawn" explained E. c. Mills, executive
secretary Of the Music Publishers Pro-
tective Association, the other day.
This remark was made at a sort of
preparedness meeting Of the publishers,
where American ideals and the benefcent
influence Of the popular scng lin its ru-
ture perfect state), were soberly dis
cussed After the meeting, one of the
members himself a writer Of several sue
cessful song hits, gave his own private
opinion as to why our songs must be
purified. According to him. it is not be-
cause Of the recent threats Of the re-
formers not because the publishers have
suddenly turned squeamish, but because
the public insists on it.
This may strike you as incredible. as
1t did US, but the man spoke with author
lty. and his argument sounds plausible.
In the first place, he pointed out that
the popular song has always been con-
siderad an infal1ible barometer of the
public's state of mind. 1t is the great
est common medium Of self-expression.
Ever ybody can sing or whistle a simple
song motif; everybody can easily memOr-
ize rhymes Of one syllable; everybody
likes to sing about something which ap-
/ pe8ls to him.
/ SCIENCE
OF APPEAL
The basis Of a songs popularity has
always been the scope of appeal Song
writer's as a rule do not start with any
melody in mind. They must first find
their idea-an idea with a popular ap-
| peal-then write both the melody and
the verse around that This requires
considerable intuitive skill. because a ma
/ tiOn's moods, ike those Of an individual,
are curious and clangeable. Sometimes
the people are in favor of one thing,
and sometimes OF another. And the sue
cessful song writer must look ahead
and anticipate what they Will be in
favor Of months after his song is written
when it will be on sale in the and 10
| cent stores.
In other words. popular songs capnOt
! he forced upon the public like proht-
bition, or specified types Of moving pic
lures. because the public has a share in
their making. 1t sings them. Moreover,
singing them is a purely spontaneous act,
which is not apt to be governed by ar
bitrary regulations. You can give people
any number Of pure, innocent ballads, as
you can lead a horse to water but you
cannot make them sing such ballads I'M
less they happen to be in the mood for
them.
Now, what is the popular mood at
pTesent-a little sober, cautious and chas-
tened, is it not? The restlessness and
| recklessness of the war period have great
| ly subs!ded. We have quit being ex-
travagant and have settled down to sober
economy. We have a plain, sedate man
Of the most conservative tendencies for
President. We are depressed. as we
never were during the war, by the gloomy
prevalence Of unemployment. Hence,
what are we beginning to sing? Rather
plaintive songs about the peace and Sc
curity of the home. the dignity of true
love. and the folly Of wickedness.
In the vaudeville theaters,r the change
is strikingly evident For the past
| decade most vaudeville sketches have
| been simply a patchwork of slurs on
the sacred state OF matrimony. Now,
| in the better houses, these have ceased
| abruptly, and the domestic hearth is
again surrounded by a lavender halo"
| WHIAiS OF PUBLIC
| SWING TO AND FRO.
This sudden change of mood may havo
been facilitated by reform propaganda.
Our song writer does not deny that.
But in his opinion-and he has watched
| and studied the whims of the public for
! years-the pendulum was due to swing
| back to the realm of conservatism any
way. That the music publishers did
not anticipate its so rapid Occurrences
| is shown by the fact that the popular
| song market is now alarmingly dull
The seasons usual crop of songs is not
taking hold as it should. Instead, the
old melodies, popular twenty years ago,
are being resurrected and played every
where. Medlies Of oldtime tunes are
| played and enthusiastically applauded
every evening in nearly all Of the Broad
way cabarets and restaurants in the
White Way district. In the moving pic
ture theaters, Rosy O'Grady," The
Sidewalks of New York" "On the Bow
cry" Johnny Get Your Hair Cut" and
Two Little Girls in Blue" are all heard
with great regularity and never fail
| to provoke a storm Of applause.
The other night a, girl whose hardened
visage showed the strain of many cabaret
seasons, astonished her audience by ap-
| pearlng in a plain and modest white
dress. and singing that ancient classic by
| Charles Graham, called The Picture That
Is Turned Toward the Wall" of which
| the chorus runs:
There's a name that's never spoken and
a mothers heart half broken. =