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Phoenix
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The "it all looks/sounds the same" phenomenon is no surprise, nor should it be. It's like peripheral vs central vision. Peripheral vision picks up general environmental information - that tree is there, that patch of grass is there, there's a bit of movement over there. It's not until you focus your eyes directly on something that you can see detail, but while focusing you lose your sense of periphery to some degree. This varies for different creatures, but it's kind of like Heisenberg done at the neurological level - either you can focus in on details, or you get an overall impression. You can't do both at the same time, or at least, you can't do either one very well that way.
Now when it comes to this phenomenon with music, consider that the ears process information like the eyes. You hear general environment, or you focus in on one specific thing. When presented with a musical piece, you may focus in on one specific part of it, say, the melody, or some bit of harmony, or rhythm, a specific instrument, or vocalist - whatever. If you hear that piece over and over, you become familiar with the patterns and process new details (the "I've seen this movie a dozen times and I'm still seeing new stuff in it" effect). So naturally if you're given to preferring a specific genre, band, or instrument you'll focus in on that and learn the minute details. This differs from one individual to another. For example, I tend to remember melody precisely, and harmony to a great degree, and I will forget rhythm. I almost never remember the drum piece when listening to metal (though I know precisely when the cannon go off in the Overture of 1812). Sometimes I will remember bits of drum, but very rarely. I don't lose the cadence of the piece - that I can reproduce in my mind precisely, but not the drum score. It's why I prefer operatic singers like Dickinson or Halford to gutteral growlers, and why I cannot stand rap whatsoever. Now compare that to someone who prefers rhythm to melody or harmony. They'll remember other things from what they listen to, and they'll prefer different music for different reasons. With rap... well, I'll have to let someone else speak as to why they like it because I cannot understand how anyone can, and I do not consider it music, not in the classical definition at least since it lacks melody and harmony.
Now consider that genres all have differing sound "textures". Rock bands usually have a single lead vocalist, a lead guitar for the "fast notes" and solos, a rhythm guitar (technically this should be a harmony guitar since it's playing chords) which sometimes is the same as the lead, a bass guitar, and a drummer. Some variations might include a second (or even third) guitarist, or a keyboard player, or the use of some odd instruments like tambourines or harmonicas, extra vocals, etc. So rock music will all have a certain texture to the sound of the music. This will differ drastically from an orchestra, which will differ drastically from a jazz or blues band, which will differ from pop or country.
This is a general tonal mix that can usually very quickly identify how the music sounds. If you look at a waveform of an orchestra playing a symphony it will have specific characteristics. A rock band will have different characteristics. If you want to break this down to its simplest state, look at FM waveform synthesis. You have three general kinds of waveforms - pointy, round, and square. Pointy can be sawtooth, inverse sawtooth, or triangular, round can be a sine, parabolic, or hyperbolic, and square is a stepped wave. The quality of different waves makes different kinds of tone. Square is a deep mellow tone, sine is an even tone, and pointy is a harsh buzzing tone. These produce different kinds of tones, and when combined and generated at varying frequencies you get every kind of sound. In addition, there's volume, and "suddenness" to the sound - is it smoothly transitioning or does it suddenly change volume, or pitch, or type of tone? Then there's cadence - how fast it repeats, and all music involves repetition so there is always cadence. Since it is easy for the brain to pick up these characteristics, the overall qualities of the music instantly spring out, so it's very easy to say "this is pop" or "this is rap" or "this is an orchestra" because the tonal waveforms for all music of a specific genre will share specific characteristics. What one considers pleasant is up to the individual of course, but the nature of sound itself is what does not change and thus why music has a specific mathematical basis, just as color and light do.
Now, when you get into formulation, this is where it gets interesting. When it comes to modern music (by modern I mean anything written and sold in the late 20th to 21st century to Western audiences, irrespective of genre) I pretty much lump things into two main categories - creative, and crap. Creative means "The artists write the songs themselves and understand music theory". Crap means "The record company writes the songs for them and the "artist" just does what they're told." Popular music, I'm afraid, tends to fall into the latter category quite often. This can be pop, rap, hip-hop, country, and even some that calls itself alternative. This bit about Linkin Park and Nickelback is interesting because it illustrates that record companies do indeed follow a formula, and there is a science behind it. Consider this. Why does Coca-Cola or Pepsi sell better than alternative drinks? The formulas for those two produce a more favorable reaction in the brain to more people. Law of averages. Same with music. A certain pattern in the song will produce a certain reaction in people. If you know how to manipulate that, you can sell it over and over again to every generation and thus you make profit with minimal creative effort. They target a specific age category - teenagers - because they're not "burned out" on the formula, are actually less selective and discriminating listeners (despite the objections I'll receive to that comment, I guarantee that the older you get the more picky you'll get, I'm quite the fussy feather duster myself), listen to music more frequently and have greater access to disposable income than working stiffs or young children do. This is why, in my opinion, popular music sucks and creative bands are suppressed and have gone underground or "indie" as they call it now. The record companies promote and target specific music, play the same things repeatedly on the radio, and try to sell it at an outrageously high price. Is it any wonder why the RIAA is so peeved by the internet? Their profit formula doesn't work if you actually give people a choice.
Now format-wise, the concept of a soft lead in, full orchestra, mellow middle, and crescendo ending is nothing new. Literature, movies, classical music - this pattern is there in just about everything. If you know anything about literature, you'll understand the concept of narrative hook and climax. Here's a good example of what should be a familiar visual reference. Take the intro video to Quake 2. Let's see how that works:
1) [Slow lead in to build anticipation and tension] Q2 logo slowly moves into the scene as news reports are heard in the background in increasing volume and frequency. This builds until...
2) [Full action, visual "hook"] Explosion of the Q2 logo, and the scene becomes visually very active. Bomber flies across the scene, planet sweeps into view, and assault carrier comes across the view as the music becomes more intense. Drop sequence follows.
3) [Moderate middle and exposition] Drop ships makes a slow sweep over the planet with audio naration. Music is tense, but the tension is more even, and the movement and action is more consistent.
4) [Intense finale ending] Music crescendos, voice becomes strained and stressed, visual spins out of control and BOOM! Crash landing.
Afterward, you follow the same pattern in the game. You build up tension through the installation, warehouse, and mine levels, you hit full action in the jail and (especially) power plant levels, crescendoing with the destruction of the Big Gun, you back off a bit for more steady play during the hangar and outland levels, and crescendo with the Palace levels and final confrontation with the Makron. While it's not as easy to see as it is in the waveform for something like a Nickelback song, it's there none the less.
Not everything follows this pattern, but if you look carefully you'll find it's a very common formula used in a lot of things. There's good reason for this. This pattern of tension, action, relaxed tension, and action keeps the brain interested. Constant action, constant tension, or constant anything can be boring. Putting action and tension and relaxation of either in the wrong order is confusing, but balancing it out gives a satisfying result. This is why music - real music - is such an art form is the musician not only has to get the science of melody, harmony, and rhythm correct, they also have to keep the piece interesting.
Going back to variation... yes, if you listen to different artists in different genres, and different songs from the same artist, you will notice variation. You will also notice similarity. I think that it's just easier to notice similarity because that's how the brain is trained to work when it's working in a passive mode. Consider a herd of harmless plant eating animals. They all look the same, and you ignore the differences between each animal. Why? You REALLY need to notice the lion that's sneaking up and is about to eat you, so a drastic difference is what your brain is designed to notice. All functions of sight, and sound, and touch, and this slow to fast switching behavior is primarily geared toward keeping you alive, after all. This is why if you play one kind of music and suddenly change it, you'll get stares or "WTF?" behavior. It's the same reason you'll notice one white man in a mostly black crowd, or one black man in a mostly white crowd, and why either man will feel uneasy in their respective crowd unless they personally know the people around them. It's instinctive and hardwired into the brain to notice drastic differences and to treat them as a potential threat. This is why soft changes in sound will not alarm, but a sudden sound like a discharge of a firearm or similar percussive noise such as a snapping of a twig will startle and gain your attention.
Try this at your next get together with friends. Mix a CD with pretty much all the same kind of music. About 25 minutes in, put something very, very different. Let's say, if you're listening to metal, or rock, throw in Johnny Cash or Pavorati. Watch everyone's reactions. They'll probably ignore everything else, but (unless they're inebriated or generally unobservant) I guarantee they'll notice the song that stands out more than they notice what else is playing.
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