SCIENCE DRUMS UP TOP HITS
‘Most danceable’ track list up for debate
Boston street performer Chadd Deitz hooked his cellphone up to a speaker at Faneuil Hall and played the most danceable No. 1 hit of all time.
Well, the most danceable hit according to computer science.
It’s Timbaland’s “Give It To Me.” And although Chadd and fellow street performer Ryan LaPerle’s enviable dance moves caught the eyes of spectators, neither of them think it is the best dance song of all time. Not even close.
“If that’s the number one,” Chadd said, “the computer is an idiot.”
Researchers from the Columbia School of Business and INSEAD, a French business school, analyzed songs on the Billboard Hot 100 dating back to the 1950s. The Spotify-owned Echo Nest, a music data company created by MIT students, created an algorithm to find out the “danceability” of a song, according to Quartz Media.
And the list for top 20 most danceable hits ever was born — with songs like Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack,” Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”
Rebekah McNeill, 22, joined the impromptu dance party yesterday and didn’t mince words when she offered up her opinion of the list.
“I’m going to be totally honest,” Rebekah said, “I don’t recognize some of them. Some of them I would not dance to.”
Rebekah does like Flo Rida’s “Low” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” which came in at No. 17 and No. 4, respectively. But she said she likes to dance to more “feel good songs” like “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas.
Ryan, a 36-year-old singer and songwriter, wasn’t impressed with the list either.
“It shows computers have flaws,” Ryan said. “Why isn’t Earth, Wind and Fire on there? Why isn’t Michael Jackson number one? He’s the King of Pop. Justin Bieber’s not on there. Where are the Beatles? Where is Motown? All these songs, if Motown didn’t exist, they wouldn’t exist. The algorithm needs some tweaks.”
As for “I’ll Be Missing You” by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, which grabbed the No. 12 spot, Ryan said, “That’s not really a dance tune.”
Chadd agreed. “What is this?” he asked. “Junior Prom?”
As Chadd scrolled down his own song list and played “Toxic” by Britney Spears, he told me the computer-generated list needs more faster-paced songs. He gave the list a D minus.
Not all the tunes were a bust. I mean, who doesn’t want to hit the dance floor when Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” comes on?
But let’s leave the dance playlists to the humans.