“No one would ever dare to compare the writing prowess of artists like Macklemore, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry to Chaucer and Ginsberg, but a new study from Andrew Powell-Morse reveals just how dumbed down the lyrics are for songs currently dominating the Billboard charts.

Powell-Morse analyzed the reading levels for 225 songs that spent three or more weeks atop Billboard’s Pop, Country, Rock, and Hip-Hop song charts.

Whereas chart-toppers in 2005 read between a third and fourth grade level, a decade later that average is declining, and fast. In 2014, the reading level of a Billboard No. 1 single averaged between a second and third grade reading level, with the bar trending downward in five of the last 10 years.” *

Becca Frucht (http://www.twitter.com/beccafrucht), Karamo Brown (http://tytnetwork.com/KaramoBrown) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/AnaKasparian) discuss on The Young Turks. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

*Read more here http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/05/the-lyrics-of-recent-no-1-singles-average-at-a-third-grade-reading-level/