Whitechapel - Let's talk about modern pop music. 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/ Lussumo Vanilla & Feed Publisher Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188356#Comment_188356 2009-09-12T04:27:11-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 So I've been listening to a lot of stuff on Spotify lately, which means listening to the odd advert for new singles aimed squarely for the hit parade. When listening to an ad for the new Mika single, ...
For the record, my own tastes are fairly varied, but a couple of my favourite bands (Super Furry Animals and Sparks) are to my mind 'proper' pop music for grown ups. But that's just like, my opinion, man. Who (if anyone) floats your pop boat these days?]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188500#Comment_188500 2009-09-12T21:10:11-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Jeffrey Whitelaw http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=3846 I've been really obsessed with the last two of Montreal records lately but they're kind of on the fence. I can't think of anything else to call them but pop but they do some really whacked out avant ... Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188505#Comment_188505 2009-09-12T21:38:30-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 James Puckett http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2911 All I seem to hear in pop today is bad lyrics rapped or autotuned over a hook from an 80s or 90s song. So I’m just listening to the originals, which have better lyrics, better musicianship, real ...
I do love seeing photos of Lady Gaga though I have absolutely no clue what (or even if) she sings. Her outfits are about the only thing I’ve found that’s done well in contemporary pop music. If your music isn’t going to be memorable, you might as well wear avant-garde coutre like streetwear.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188507#Comment_188507 2009-09-12T21:47:55-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 VickyHall http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2862 I am going to attract much criticism now and say the following: Lady Gaga is the best pop star since Kylie got her groove back. Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188541#Comment_188541 2009-09-13T01:51:44-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 Actually Vicky, I'm interested to know what all the fuss is about, because I can't really see it myself. I know it's sometimes hard to deconstruct the music you like, but what is it that you think ... Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188564#Comment_188564 2009-09-13T04:59:26-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Audley Strange http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4475 While this thread should not be about Lady Gaga, I don't get why she's popular, she seems like a tone deaf Gwen Stefani with a Ziggy Stardust fixation but my good lady thinks she's great. I'm sure ...
One thing I think is that pop music and the charts that really define it are now superfluous.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188565#Comment_188565 2009-09-13T05:20:51-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Doc Ocassi http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=410 I have to admit that I don't know much about pop music, my only exposure to it is while working I occasionally have to drive distances and when BBC 4, BBC Scotland, or Classic radio have nothing ...
I don't see pop music as any type of genre, or even a selection of the best of all the genres. I see it as a business, marketing a sound product with a high sales orientation, not deviating heavily into unknown territory, but focusing on saturation of the soundscape that people live in. I wouldn't say there is no music involved in this because there are some fantastic musicians creating music there. I would however argue that they are there because of their business acumen rather than their musical talent.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188569#Comment_188569 2009-09-13T07:25:11-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 texture http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1472 Pop is a hard one to pin down. From my experience of interviewing musicians and producers, it's a label that few embrace, beyond the manufactured likes of boy bands and the recurring meme of the Pop ...
That said, some of my favourite 'pop' sounding music is from experimental bands, like Stereolab or Pavement. I think the thing that depresses me about pop is its longstanding commodification of indie music. It's depressing as hell to hear indie bands using trance riffs and drum machines... it's almost as bad as the Beatles-copyist, backward looking elements that were the cancer at the heart of Britpop. In short, I love it when the alternative scene embraces pop. I can't stand it when pop embraces the alternative. That probably makes me some kind of awful hypocrite.

I would like to hear more pop themes expressed by truly experimental bands: to have people who were great musicians become truly popular, and publicly celebrated. But that's not the way we are going - the mass media's fixation on test-tube boybands and autotuned clothes-horse divas, not to mention the flash-in-the-pan reality TV losers, will continue apace. Meanwhile, those who like 'proper' pop music (ahem... I know that's a horrible way of saying it!) can sate themselves on the likes of Florence and the Machine and Bat for Lashes... or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs... who are all pop to the bone, but kooky with it.

Personally, I just try and avoid pop... then when it creeps up on me, I can be surprised either way! Seriously though, look at the album charts. The Beatles, Michael Jackson... Vera fucking Lynn for crying out loud. If the albums / singles are still the standard by which we judge what is 'pop' then we're idiots. People use Spotify, iTunes, Pirate Bay or whatever.

I leave you with my favourite 'pop' song of the moment.
]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188571#Comment_188571 2009-09-13T08:27:23-07:00 2009-09-13T08:38:27-07:00 Paul Sizer http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=44 I'll weigh in quickly here; I love well done pop music, and believe it can come from many different sources. Agreed; much of what is on Top 40 radio right now makes me want to go back and listen to ...
One of my favorite groups of all time is the Pet Shop Boys, who are unquestionably a pop band, although they for certain branch into many other genres, like Broadway show tunes, gay disco, industrial (yes), and even experimental electronic music (not quite to Autechre levels, but still). Yes, a majority of what they do is straight forward pop singles, but they infuse everything they do with the essence of what pop does very well; give you a hook to remember something about that song. A hook means you hum it in the shower, in the car, when you're whistling aimlessly. Same thing as remembering Beethoven's 5th Symphony automatically.

So I don't have a problem with Gwen Stephani, Rihanna or Maroon 5 writing a good pop hook; fair play, it's as legit as a Beatles pop song for that requirement. I also don't have a problem with NIN writing a good pop song, or the Fuck Buttons. Some will always cry "Sell Out", but tell me that the year I heard a stadium full of people singing "I wanna fuck you like an animal" wasn't some kind of screwed up "pop" moment.

Indie music is always wary of the "pop" label, because it is seen as a betrayal of their intent, but if that's a real concern, then you're more worried about your image and not the music you're producing. Having the grace to accept when a "pop" song comes out of your brain and using it's power to get the rest of your music to more people is a much needed skill and should be embraced.

And to make my point with the genius of the Pet Shop Boys, here's one of my favorite tracks, the complex and intelligent "Being Boring", in a beautiful video by photographer Bruce Weber (sorry, they won't let me embed it):
BEING BORING]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188580#Comment_188580 2009-09-13T09:02:21-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 dot_xom http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2160 I still believe that the greatest pop album ever was and is Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. Wonderfully catchy music, seemingly genuine and heartfelt lyrics and just a feel-good vibe that any good pop ... Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys. Wonderfully catchy music, seemingly genuine and heartfelt lyrics and just a feel-good vibe that any good pop album should inspire.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188585#Comment_188585 2009-09-13T09:21:11-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Doc Ocassi http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=410 Looking back at my previous post, Paul has probably got a lot closer to it than me, the hook, the part of the song that sticks in your head, seems a more accurate description of what pop is than my ...
I guess this is why it is so hard to pin down because this idea can mould itself into any form of music.

The one modern band that hits this more than any other I can think of is Polysics. Enjoy.

Polysics - I My Me Mine]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188614#Comment_188614 2009-09-13T12:44:04-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 Interesting stuff, and I'm loving that Polysics song. I hope I'm not misenterpreting what people are saying in that it seems to be a question of integrity - that catchy, hooky songs are fine when ...
Lemon Jelly are known for their imaginative live performances. In 2003, Lemon Jelly performed a number of concerts around the UK. Instead of having a support act, Franglen and Deakin organized a giant game of Bingo, presided over by Death and played by many members of the audience.[2] In other shows, support was provided by Don Partridge - a traditional one man band - whilst "Jelly Helpers" distributed sweets to the crowd. They also played a Saturday Morning gig named "Jelly Tots" as a charitable event for children. In between sets, classic British children's cartoons were played over a projection screen, and the event featured bouncy castles, clowns and hundreds of balloons. They have performed headlining sets at Glastonbury Festival, V Festival, Reading Festival and The Big Chill amongst others.

To me, that's the kind of inclusive, exuberant and slightly silly ethic that good pop should embrace - making music that kids and festivalgoers alike can enjoy, but doing it primarily because it's fun.

Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather for Ducks]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188616#Comment_188616 2009-09-13T13:18:39-07:00 2009-09-13T13:20:42-07:00 Val A Lindsay II http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1680 I really, really hate to point this out, but half of 'modern' pop music is modern country music. Case in point... Maybe it would be more accurate to talk about the 3 and a half minute pop ... country music. Case in point...



Maybe it would be more accurate to talk about the 3 and a half minute pop formula than anything Billboard says the masses are listening to. Right now my favorite pop is things like Polysics and -M- French pop!

]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188617#Comment_188617 2009-09-13T13:30:46-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 See, that right there is the reason I like to dabble with some FIP from time to time. You used to be able to pick it up on this side of the channel, but I''m not sure you still can. It can be very ... FIP from time to time. You used to be able to pick it up on this side of the channel, but I''m not sure you still can. It can be very hit and miss, but you still get exposed to some interesting sounds.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188620#Comment_188620 2009-09-13T14:02:52-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 AlexGBYMR http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4233 For me the best in "modern pop music" is represented in the Flaming Lips and Baddies. Listen to the Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots album and tell me it doesn't inhabit your brain for ... Listen to the Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots album and tell me it doesn't inhabit your brain for hours afterwords (this being "the hook" that gets talked about).

As for Baddies, they do a quirky, angular kind of pop, as witnessed in these two videos;

]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188629#Comment_188629 2009-09-13T15:13:58-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 neogrammarian http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2048 Cheers for the M citation. I've been enjoying Oldelaf et Monsieur D lately as a sort of French TMBG and M looks more straight-up. If we're talking about all-time great pop bands, why not XTC ...
If we're talking about all-time great pop bands, why not XTC (who, unless I'm wrong, the Polysics borrows riffs from in that embedded vid above)? They certainly know (knew) from a catchy hook, and equally certainly had enough lyrical interest to be considered "for grown-ups."]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188634#Comment_188634 2009-09-13T15:28:03-07:00 2009-09-13T15:39:44-07:00 Cat Vincent http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=447 I think my major problem with pop music is that part of me resents the power of the hook. Maybe it's that I'm especially prone to having them loop in my head, entirely separate from whether or not I ... resents the power of the hook.
Maybe it's that I'm especially prone to having them loop in my head, entirely separate from whether or not I actually like the song.
(The modern idiom for this is 'earworm' but I still like to call 'em 'Pepsis', after Bester's The Demolished Man.)
One of the worst of these for me is Come On Eileen, which embedded itself on first release and still makes me cringe... and then have fucking 'too-ra-loo-ra-lay' go around my transom for hours after random exposure.

Most stuff in the pop charts makes me wince or want to stab out my ears (there goes 90%, mostly rap, boy bands, R'n'B (which may I say, in an old fuddy-duddy moment, is a term that should be reserved for the likes of Muddy Waters), mouthy mini-divas and especially the twin blights of Linkin Park and Coldplay-Who-Are-Shit.

Of the remainder I do like Bloc Party, Kasabian, some of Reverend & the Makers, Bat For Lashes and what I've seen of Florence & the Machine is interesting. (I would note that while Florence is a comely young woman with interesting songs, a pleasing voice, great hair and immensely long legs, she has proven to be a most ungainly dancer. Evidence in the video for Drumming Song, which dislikes embedding but is in Youtube.

What I especially like is when a rock outfit like Muse pull into the pop charts - I'm a sucker for guitarists who can play and pull of portentious songs (yeay, prog fan, I know it's obvious...). And I don't get tired of Placebo when they show up - I think many of their singles are fine pop but with a weight to 'em - Pure Morning, Special K & Nancy Boy as examples. And as ever I long for Julian Cope to get another chance to disgrace the likes of Top of the Pops.

But there's always something to surprise me. Hell I managed to grudgingly like a Strokes song...]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188639#Comment_188639 2009-09-13T16:08:55-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Paul Sizer http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=44 The Polysics song above reminded me of an older, Japanese synthpop/new wave band called The Plastics, with similar weirdness, yet falling into the "Pop" category: ]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188666#Comment_188666 2009-09-13T20:35:22-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 MagicSword! http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1309 Hey, I saw Polysics live last month and I was so happy when they played that! They all dressed up as airline pilots and cabin crew for the show and were just incredible. Pop music yes, but I'm sure ...
I love pop music. Like, not just the indie, avant and rock artists that embrace pop (the guy from the Cardiacs always says his music is pop I think, and it is hooky as hell, although all kinds of fucked up too) but the chart friendly manufactured stuff too.

Of course not all of it, and there's a vast amount of terrible manufactured music with no redeeming features - created by focus groups to soundtrack commercials and otherwise provide some kind of wittering background drone. But then, there's a vast amount of terrible avant-garde music, and terrible metal, and terrible hard-core and a HUGE amount of terrible indie. I don't know that it all balances out, but I know that just as there are inspired people making music in other genres, there are inspired people making music in the world of pop too. You don't have to embrace an entire genre, you can just embrace the best bits.

And (and this is the most important thing) NOT just to make money. Because the "pop" style, the "pop" world is part of the music they make. Some people don't want to play in a band with three other dudes, they want to make impeccably produced earworms that can be lipsynched by cute girls or boys (or both!). There are Girls Aloud tracks (usually from the Xenomania people) that I would defend to the death as being as good as anything Mastodon or Fucked Up or any other contemporary "alternative" artists that I also love. And going back to the birth of... modern pop music (pop here in the super-inclusive way that covers anything not classical) there are many, many geniuses who just worked in the back rooms, churning out hits for the stars. Motown and the Brill Building crew... modern pop is just as full of genius as it was back then.

Less mainstream artists don't need pop music so much anymore - they can make money and court fans independently of the majors etc. But pop music, pure pop music or whatever's lighting up the top of the charts, is still necessary for a vibrant culture.

Living in Japan, where manufactured bands are openly acknowledged as such, and the ridiculousness of replacing members when they get too old is openly embraced and celebrated (she "graduated" from the group and is now "mentoring" her replacements!) I get exposed to a lot of "plastic" pop music (although I miss out on most of the autotune r&b stuff some people mentioned. The biggest stuff gets imported here though and while I've yet to find an Akon track I like, Ne-Yo has some good ones) and some of it is fantastic.

I was gonna post vids, but this is long enough already. Off the top of my head though the recent Kid Kudi ft. Kanye West and Common version of Lady Gaga's poker face is awesome, as are most Girls Aloud songs, a lot of Rachel Stevens' singles (and a few S-Club 7 ones too). Morning Musume (the Japanese group who replaces members that I mentioned above) have a few great singles like Love Machine, Yasutaka Tanaka is an electronic producer who writes all the music for the acts Perfume, Capsule and Meg and all are great. McFly (get over it) have some really, really well written pop tunes (albeit, deeply indebted to their influences). Sugababes had some good songs, and since I haven't mentioned any boys yet, the Japanese boyband Tokio have some good tracks and the solo album from JC Chasez of 'N Sync is really good (putting aside the fact that ol' Justin Timberlake himself has a few choice tracks).]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188685#Comment_188685 2009-09-13T23:17:38-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Val A Lindsay II http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1680 @paulsizer Wow, the Plastics are pretty neat!
Wow, the Plastics are pretty neat!]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188698#Comment_188698 2009-09-14T00:55:41-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 ]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188715#Comment_188715 2009-09-14T04:16:35-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 johnjones http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1052 I discovered this one on the show, "Chuck" and really liked it.

I discovered this one on the show, "Chuck" and really liked it.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188724#Comment_188724 2009-09-14T05:17:05-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 texture http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1472 @ Cat Vincent: One of the worst of these for me is Come On Eileen That song also makes me want to stab myself in the ears. For the record, here's my list of Ten Songs It Is Not OK to Like (in no ...
One of the worst of these for me is Come On Eileen

That song also makes me want to stab myself in the ears.

For the record, here's my list of Ten Songs It Is Not OK to Like (in no particular order):

1 Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners
2 Wonderwall by Oasis
3 Let it Be by the Beatles
4 Imagine by John Lennon
5 Hey Jude by the Beatles
6 Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison
7 Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams
8 Daydream Believer by The Monkees
9 Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations
10 Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis

What these songs all have in common is either a horribly brain-enslaving chorus that goes nananananana or lalalalalala or doododododododooo, or such simplistic lyrics that even drunk England fans can understand them at 5am after ninety pints of watered down Costa Del Sol lager, or the fact that they mistily re-create a past that said hooligan never experienced but romanticises utterly (I'm looking at you, Lennon and McCartney, and especially you, Bryan Adams).

Now I know lots of people will violently disagree with some of the songs on that list. But trust me - to understand why these songs should be erased from our collective memory, you have to have heard them being sung by three hundred pissed-up neanderthals in the Holiday Concentration Camp next door while you are trying to sleep. Or in a pub after any football match in England. Or at a wedding.

Christ, I really need to go listen to something obscure with no lyrics now, my hands are shaking.

PS. I have no problem with Lady Gaga - her music knows it is disposable. Also no point including novelty records on that list... no-one seriously considers The Mr Blobby song to be great pop. The point is, the people who like The Ten Songs actually think that they are classic pop music... that is why the songs must be destroyed.

(sorry for the rant, please don't chuck stuff at me)]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188738#Comment_188738 2009-09-14T09:15:50-07:00 2009-09-14T09:16:48-07:00 joe.distort http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1173 But then, there's a vast amount of terrible avant-garde music, and terrible metal, and terrible hardcore and a HUGE amount of terrible indie. I don't know that it all balances out, but I know that ... But then, there's a vast amount of terrible avant-garde music, and terrible metal, and terrible hardcore and a HUGE amount of terrible indie. I don't know that it all balances out, but I know that just as there are inspired people making music in other genres, there are inspired people making music in the world of pop too

this sums things up pretty well. a lot of music is just weak and uninspired in every genre. the amount of terrible records coming out is always an issue. its one of the things i like most about the digitizing of music- fewer bands that half-ass things putting out actual physical albums.

i also think an important rule to remember is that most of what is being marketed to us in every genre is really just the most palatable/produced/focus-group tested. MOST. some good stuff gets through, but not much i know of.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188739#Comment_188739 2009-09-14T09:20:12-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Vaehling http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1766 I used to hate pop music but my definition of what pop is was overwrtten by the likes of XTC, They Might Be Giants, The Beautiful South and Les Rita Mitsouko a long time ago, and the partly ...
When it's good, pop is catchy, fun and somewhat over the top. I like the instant quality of it. You don't have to engage in scholarly exercise to cherish it like you do with classical music and some jazz, you just pour a cup and enjoy.

When it's bad, it's usually because it's generic crap that doesn't seem to come from inspiration but from demographic targeting. Also, most chart-oriented production puts me off. I almost liked Lily Allen's last album. It had a lot of catchy songwirting and fun lyrics. But the production killed everything, starting with the harmonies - they were drowned, I think.

Good recent stuff includes the Ting Tings, the Go! Team, the Blood Arm, and yes absolutely the Polysics - I came across their Peel Session EP recently, and it blew me away. They're doing to New Wave what the Dukes of Stratosphear did to sixties pop.

Oh, and I do love me some doodoodoo and lalalala vocals. Nothing wrong with that. And drunken campfire hooligans slaughter just about any music that's supposed to be good.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188740#Comment_188740 2009-09-14T09:24:24-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Vaehling http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1766 this sums things up pretty well. a lot of music is just weak and uninspired in every genre. the amount of terrible records coming out is always an issue. its one of the things i like most about the ...
this sums things up pretty well. a lot of music is just weak and uninspired in every genre. the amount of terrible records coming out is always an issue. its one of the things i like most about the digitizing of music- fewer bands that half-ass things putting out actual physical albums.

True, but bad indie pop and rock just passes you by without leaving an impression. That's its way of being bad. Bad pop music can do that too, but more often than not it keeps coming at you like a door-to-door salesman, creeping into your earlobes and urging you to sing along.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188741#Comment_188741 2009-09-14T09:38:20-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 joe.distort http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1173 ha! true. if i dont like UNDERGROUND HIPSTER HYPE BAND #12, its not like im going to hear it 8oo times in stores, tv, radio ads, co-workers blablabla like with say, katy perry. or whatevers playing ... Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188752#Comment_188752 2009-09-14T11:22:53-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 AtomicSloth http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=390 I've thought about this before and have decided we need to redefine the word Pop into two new words. One that describes the technique of pop music. That primal infectious magic that bypasses your ... One that describes the technique of pop music. That primal infectious magic that bypasses your thinking brain and makes you instantly joyful, dancing, singing along no-matter how inane the lyrics. Something that all music has to various degrees.
Then we need a second word to describe the group of music (which though it seems predominantly comes from that stuff they call RnB, eurotrash dance music, and incresingly I've noticed country, but really can and does come from all types and styles of music) that is most popular, the top 40, the stuff played in clubs, commercial radio, supermarkets and music tv channels. Manufactured music made by concentration camps of song writers and session musicians to be sung by strippers and boy-men.

I'm not sure exactly what these two new words should be...]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188759#Comment_188759 2009-09-14T12:25:01-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 AtomicSloth http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=390 Also, I think the word "modern" in this topics title is unnecessary. I've looked at the top selling music of the past 60 years, the number 1 singles, the top 40, and there has never been a ... It always pisses me off when some pop svengali tries to defend their putrid plastic mindless creations by saying "We're just doing pop music, ya know like The Beatles, like Otis Redding."
It also annoys me when my friends say they'd rather have been around in the 70's or the 80's and that they were born in the wrong time, because for every pink floyd, the clash, the smiths, there are (and always will be) a thousand Osmond families, murkying the water, making it harder to find the good stuff.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188763#Comment_188763 2009-09-14T12:40:37-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 I sometimes wonder if I would have liked some of the songs I like now had I heard them at the time they were originally released. Maybe the alternative history 1969 version of me would have hated ... Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188769#Comment_188769 2009-09-14T13:41:01-07:00 2009-09-14T19:57:33-07:00 Val A Lindsay II http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1680 There's something genius in some artists who appreciate the pop formula but don't pander to the major labels. Costello is a prime examples of this...
]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188812#Comment_188812 2009-09-14T19:03:58-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 texture http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1472 There's something genius in some artists who appreciate the pop formula but don't pander to the major labels Val, you've hit the nail on the head. for every pink floyd, the clash, the smiths, ... There's something genius in some artists who appreciate the pop formula but don't pander to the major labels

Val, you've hit the nail on the head.

for every pink floyd, the clash, the smiths, there are (and always will be) a thousand Osmond families


Sloth, I couldn't have put it better myself.

Also? Despite my earlier music-Nazi rant, there is no point arguing over matters of taste. It's like trying to convert people to atheism when they have deeply held religious beliefs. It's fun to debate, but to a certain extent you have to live and let live, because one man's pop is another man's pap. These kind of arguments are all fun and games until someone loses an eye... so sorry for the Beatles-baiting, it is a very bad habit of mine]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188839#Comment_188839 2009-09-14T23:49:22-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 Old pop.
]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188840#Comment_188840 2009-09-14T23:58:17-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 Pop from The Sims 2 soundtrack.
]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188882#Comment_188882 2009-09-15T06:50:56-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 rickiep00h http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2930 For some reason Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" gets stuck in my head at random moments, even though I've heard it less than half a dozen times. So I think that's probably the hallmark of a ...
Actually, I'm going to have to hang onto that for an album title.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188900#Comment_188900 2009-09-15T08:52:29-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Jeffrey Whitelaw http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=3846 Ha. Band X will be "ruining" pop music until the end of time. Really, one of the greatest things about pop music is it's constant redefinition. This is why it can't be defined easily. Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=188906#Comment_188906 2009-09-15T09:48:38-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 joe.distort http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1173 For some reason Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" gets stuck in my head at random moments, even though I've heard it less than half a dozen times SAME HERE DEAR GOD WHY (although i like to ... For some reason Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold" gets stuck in my head at random moments, even though I've heard it less than half a dozen times

SAME HERE DEAR GOD WHY (although i like to look at her)]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189098#Comment_189098 2009-09-16T20:42:41-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 James Puckett http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2911 SAME HERE DEAR GOD WHY Hasn’t happened since I saw a clip of her attempting to sing live without auto-tuning. SAME HERE DEAR GOD WHY

Hasn’t happened since I saw a clip of her attempting to sing live without auto-tuning.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189111#Comment_189111 2009-09-16T23:45:12-07:00 2009-09-16T23:45:41-07:00 Val A Lindsay II http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1680 I've been quite amazed at the social impact of pop music in terms of what others seem to force feed us. Way back in the late seventies I picked through my parent's collection of records, found this ... seem to force feed us. Way back in the late seventies I picked through my parent's collection of records, found this and put it on...



I fell in love with it. Radio hadn't forced it upon me, my parents didn't point it out to me nor had I any idea how popular it had been when it had first come out in the 60s. It really made me realize the power music had when I did learn of it's popularity. The ability to touch just the right spot in so many consciousnesses, to bring their brains to the same tempo and groove. Few things are that magical, are they?]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189133#Comment_189133 2009-09-17T04:19:00-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 apefist http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6596 Hurray for Super Furry Animals and Sparks! Morrissey still brings it, and I'm quite fond of Arctic Monkeys' new CD "Humbug". Bloc Party is good. Broadcast, Frightened Rabbit, Vampire ...
Morrissey still brings it, and I'm quite fond of Arctic Monkeys' new CD "Humbug". Bloc Party is good. Broadcast, Frightened Rabbit, Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse (w/Johnny Marr), Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Stars, Jets To Brazil, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Grizzly Bear.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189137#Comment_189137 2009-09-17T05:25:35-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Aurora Borealis http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=5514 Well, I have a skewered perception of genres personally... for example, this is MY pop music:
]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189164#Comment_189164 2009-09-17T09:39:29-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Val A Lindsay II http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1680 @Aurora Borealus I've been privy to a lot of Japanese guitar pop this past year after the love affair of the Polysics and Melt Banana, my favorite outside them has been Dustar 3... Between ...
I've been privy to a lot of Japanese guitar pop this past year after the love affair of the Polysics and Melt Banana, my favorite outside them has been Dustar 3...



Between Noisy's voice, the sugar-candy guitar bass and song titles like "Toilet Paper" and albums like "Pants not Deadly", what's not to laugh with?]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189205#Comment_189205 2009-09-17T14:19:53-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 I fell in love with it. Radio hadn't forced it upon me, my parents didn't point it out to me nor had I any idea how popular it had been when it had first come out in the 60s. It really made me ... I fell in love with it. Radio hadn't forced it upon me, my parents didn't point it out to me nor had I any idea how popular it had been when it had first come out in the 60s. It really made me realize the power music had when I did learn of it's popularity. The ability to touch just the right spot in so many consciousnesses, to bring their brains to the same tempo and groove. Few things are that magical, are they?

I'm hearing that. I hadn't even heard of Cream until I was flicking through my Dad's old LP's one day. Listening to them and then reading up on their glory days was kinda revalatory.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189209#Comment_189209 2009-09-17T14:46:19-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Oddcult http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=214 Okay, not pop, but as this is the only music thread going, I just have to say; Rammstein WTF?!!
Rammstein WTF?!!]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189213#Comment_189213 2009-09-17T15:12:15-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Jonny Ho http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=7273 I had a weird feeling when listening to the latest Coverville podcast. It's a Beyoncé/Destiny's Child Cover Story (all the tracks are covers of songs by she who is better than Taylor Swift and her ... Coverville podcast. It's a Beyoncé/Destiny's Child Cover Story (all the tracks are covers of songs by she who is better than Taylor Swift and her cohorts) and I really, really liked one of the songs. Not the reinterpretation of the original version, but the song itself.

Modern pop - in my thinking, that's the whole shadowy cabal of producers and impressarios hidden behind winsome girly smiles - has always been good at producing well-crafted songs but I guess it needs to be filtered through a slightly scuzzed-up indie cover to appeal to me.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189260#Comment_189260 2009-09-17T21:54:56-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 Clapton, Baker and Bruce demonstrating that it's possible to perform live while monumentally stoned.
]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189269#Comment_189269 2009-09-18T00:09:01-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 MagicSword! http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1309 Just thought I'd point this out because some people might find it interesting, and this thread seemed the best place to do it. Kid Kudi, who you'd probably call chart pop to some extent and who I ...
Kid Kudi, who you'd probably call chart pop to some extent and who I mentioned in my post a couple of pages back: has got a lot of hype behind him at the moment, appears on the New Jay-Z record, is kind of a protege of Kanye West, released his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day this week and Bill Sienkiewicz painted the cover:

kid kudi

I don't think Sienkiewicz did that little box in the... oh never mind.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189290#Comment_189290 2009-09-18T04:28:11-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 Heh, Ginger looks like his face might just melt off his skull at any moment! Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189302#Comment_189302 2009-09-18T05:51:59-07:00 2009-09-18T05:54:34-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 Ginger Baker was high so often that it was probably a novelty when he did straighten up. I've heard he could smoke a quarter ounce of weed in one sitting. Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189306#Comment_189306 2009-09-18T06:10:23-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 ]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189309#Comment_189309 2009-09-18T06:17:58-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 rickiep00h http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=2930 @Oddcult - The video is solely stir up controversy. It will never get played anywhere ever, it's just something to say "Oh, check out how controversial we are!" They've been teetering ...
Also, there's another, quite appropriate music thread here, in which metal stuff is getting discussed. Sporadically.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189430#Comment_189430 2009-09-18T17:21:23-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 texture http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1472 Re-contextualised pop - YES. An oldie but a goodie - Joel Vietch's video for Elbow's cover of Independent Woman Absolutely blimming marvelous.
An oldie but a goodie - Joel Vietch's video for Elbow's cover of Independent Woman

Absolutely blimming marvelous.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189510#Comment_189510 2009-09-19T07:56:01-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 Re-contextualised pop - YES. Yes indeed. I saw an acoustic cover of Paris Hilton's 'Stars are Blind' being performed a few years back, and it really, really worked. As the singer said at the time, ... Re-contextualised pop - YES.

Yes indeed. I saw an acoustic cover of Paris Hilton's 'Stars are Blind' being performed a few years back, and it really, really worked. As the singer said at the time, she knew there was a good pop song somewhere in there.

On the flipside, though - I expect we've all had a "How dare they cover that?" moment in our musical lives. I remember people getting really worked up about some manufactured singer covering Halelujah, because "Daniel Johnson did it first". No, Leonard Cohen did, and he also knows how to swim.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189781#Comment_189781 2009-09-21T09:32:30-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Vaehling http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1766 I once heard Hallalujah is one of the, if not the, most-covered song ever. On the other hand, maybe whoever told me that mistook it for Händel's. But there sure are a lot of versions around, and ... the, most-covered song ever.

On the other hand, maybe whoever told me that mistook it for Händel's. But there sure are a lot of versions around, and I've yet to find one that sucks. (If you know one, keep it to yourselves, please.)

I like cover versions. If done right, they offer a new perspective, a new approach to the song that brings you closer to its core. If done wrong, it's unlikely they'll ruin the original for you because that one's still there. Of course, it can happen. (With a little help from my friends comes to mind.)]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189829#Comment_189829 2009-09-21T14:53:09-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Boga_ http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=6871 On the flipside, though - I expect we've all had a "How dare they cover that?" moment in our musical lives. I remember people getting really worked up about some manufactured singer ...
On the flipside, though - I expect we've all had a "How dare they cover that?" moment in our musical lives. I remember people getting really worked up about some manufactured singer covering Halelujah, because "Daniel Johnson did it first". No, Leonard Cohen did, and he also knows how to swim.

Histrionics ruin legitimacy.]]> Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189912#Comment_189912 2009-09-21T23:15:17-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 Greasemonkey http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=4625 Rolf Harris's cover of Stairway To Heaven on the digeridoo and wobbleboard was the best cover of anything, ever. Let's talk about modern pop music. http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=6772&Focus=189940#Comment_189940 2009-09-22T05:11:56-07:00 2013-05-23T07:39:16-07:00 curb http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/account.php?u=1334 I still remember seeing that performed on TV when I was wee. Does he do that thing where he sort of sings by sounding like he's having breathing difficulties?