Is this Pop Musics golden era?

Pighead

Pighead definitely thinks so. Never before has their been so many insanely catchy and well produced pop gems. R+B/Hip Hop stars like Timbaland, Kanye West etc have jumped on board the pop bandwagon to thrilling effect and are constantly throwing out insanely catchy tunes with the ease of a toddler throwing his toys out of the pram.

Justin Timberlake is this decades Robbie Williams and only a cloth eared fool would deny that he's producing singles of a much higher quality. Even the girl bands are decent. Sugababes and Girls Aloud have released tons of cracking tunes over the past few years and have caused life long indie schmindy types to reassess their long standing hatred of all things pop. Even the indie schmindy bands have jumped on the pop bandwagon and their b- sides are often covers of mainstream pop hits.

The scourge of 90's pop, the boyband, has bitten the dust and only Take That remain. And guess what, even they're releasing top notch songs. Can't really think of many more boybands that are about today and thats because the bar has been raised and spanners who made it big in the 90's wouldn't last 10 seconds in the pop business today.

The 60's had rock and roll, 70's disco, 80's new wave/ electronic, 90's Britpop but this decade will surely be remembered for its glorious pop songs. VIVA LA POP REVOLUTION!

Howard the Duck

Nope i don;t think so i think the 60's was the golden era of pop.

The Shangri-Las
The Beach Boys
The Beatles
Elton John
The Supremes and Diana Ross
The Monkees
Elvis Presley
The Bee Gees
Frankie Valli & Four Seasons
Bobby Darin
Donovan
The Ronettes
The Shirelles

You might say some of these bands aren;t pop .. but they were all very popular bands. And pick up any 60s of the numerous 60s compilations and you'll see the quality of the pops songs.

Pighead

Howard the Duck wrote: »

Nope i don;t think so i think the 60's was the golden era of pop.

The Shangri-Las
The Beach Boys
The Beatles
Elton John
The Supremes and Diana Ross
The Monkees
Elvis Presley
The Bee Gees
Frankie Valli & Four Seasons
Bobby Darin
Donovan
The Ronettes
The Shirelles

You might say some of these bands aren;t pop .. but they were all very popular bands. And pick up any 60s of the numerous 60s compilations and you'll see the quality of the pops songs.

Would agree that the 60's produced some magical and wonderful pop songs but they were all kinda written off the same page.

Today every single genre is releasing 3 minute pop songs in an attempt to lure in the pop lovers. Hip Hop(Jay-Z), r&b(Timbaland), Soul(Duffy) even the fcuking Manics! Everywhere you turn there's some fcuker throwing out insanely catchy pop nuggets and long may it continue.

Howard the Duck

you can more 60's then Duffy and Manic Street Preachers - "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
The 60s pretty much invented pop and they are still using the same format today for alot of the pop songs i think.

Pighead

Howard the Duck wrote: »

you can more 60's then Duffy and Manic Street Preachers - "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
The 60s pretty much invented pop and they are still using the same format today for a lot of the pop songs i think.

Ah c'mon Sexyback, Umbrella or that Boots with the Fur song are totally different to anything that was ever released in the 60's.

Howard the Duck

Pighead wrote: »

Ah c'mon Sexyback, Umbrella or that Boots with the Fur song are totally different to anything that was ever released in the 60's.

True and i hate them all well umbrella was ok for the first million listens.

mike65

This has to be the most misbegotton thread title - ever! (unless it fell through a timehole from 1967)

Mike.

Pighead

mike65 wrote: »

This has to be the most misbegotton thread title - ever! (unless it fell through a timehole from 1967)

Mike.

Top 10 singles of 1967.

1. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
2. Hey Jude - Beatles
3. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
4. Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
5. Mony Mony - Tommy James & the Shondells
6. Jumpin' Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
7. Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
8. White Room - Cream
9. Sympathy For The Devil - Rolling Stones
10. Revolution - Beatles

Not too many pop songs there. Pop was eaten, chewed up and spat out by the big hairy men with guitars and attitude.

noby

Pighead wrote: »

Top 10 singles of 1967.

1. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
2. Hey Jude - Beatles
3. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
4. Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
5. Mony Mony - Tommy James & the Shondells
6. Jumpin' Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
7. Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
8. White Room - Cream
9. Sympathy For The Devil - Rolling Stones
10. Revolution - Beatles

Not too many pop songs there. Pop was eaten, chewed up and spat out by the big hairy men with guitars and attitude.

Where's that list from? SFTD is 1968. The Monkees, Beatles and Procol Harum were the big hitters of 1967.

Pighead

noby wrote: »

Where's that list from? SFTD is 1968. The Monkees, Beatles and Procol Harum were the big hitters of 1967.

Cracking point noby and brilliantly made. Pighead made a boo boo there. Stuck up 1968's top 10 instead of 1967.

Here's the 1967 list (which is even less poptastic)

1. Respect - Aretha Franklin
2. Light My Fire - Doors
3. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
4. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
5. A Day In The Life - Beatles
6. Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum
7. Somebody To Love - Jefferson Airplane
8. Soul Man - Sam & Dave
9. Strawberry Fields Forever - Beatles
10. Nights In White Satin - Moody Blues

And here's the Top 10 songs of 2006.
1. Bad Day, Daniel Powter
2. Temperature, Sean Paul
3. Promiscuous, Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland
4. You're Beautiful, James Blunt
5. Hips Don't Lie, Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean
6. Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield
7. Crazy, Gnarls Barkley
8. Ridin', Chamillionaire Featuring Krayzie Bone
9. Sexyback, Justin Timberlake
10. Check on It, Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug

Steve_o

I have to agree with Pighead to a point but the 90's was pretty big for pop aswell, Take That, Boyzone, the Spice Girls, Five to name a few of the british ones and you had the Backstreet Boys etc. in the US, and then of course you had Michael Jackson who is "The King of Pop"... but to address Pighead's point directly, never before has there been such a vast array of genres for Pop music, so I guess it is the Golden Era of Pop. I think the 60's invented conventional Pop music but now is the golden era.


Ps. I don't particularly like most chart music, just said i'd make that clear.

noby

Well I know which list I prefer.

This isn't the top ten songs of 1967, rather all the UK number ones:

Position Artist Title Date
1 Monkees I'm A Believer Jan 1967
1 Engelbert Humperdinck Release Me Jan 1967
1 Petula Clark This Is My Song Feb 1967
1 Sandie Shaw Puppet On A String Mar 1967
1 Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra Somethin' Stupid Mar 1967
1 Tremeloes Silence Is Golden Apr 1967
1 Procol Harum A Whiter Shade Of Pale May 1967
1 Beatles All You Need Is Love Jul 1967 Notes
1 Scott McKenzie San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) Jul 1967
1 Engelbert Humperdinck The Last Waltz Aug 1967
1 Bee Gees Massachusetts Sep 1967
1 Foundations Baby Now That I've Found You Sep 1967
1 Long John Baldry Let The Heartaches Begin Nov 1967
1 Beatles Hello Goodbye Nov 1967
1 Georgie Fame Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde Dec 1967

Poptastic, one might say.

I guess we'd have to define an era, as one year is a very narrow snapshot.

loyatemu

Pighead wrote: »

Cracking point noby and brilliantly made. Pighead made a boo boo there. Stuck up 1968's top 10 instead of 1967.

Here's the 1967 list (which is even less poptastic)

1. Respect - Aretha Franklin
2. Light My Fire - Doors
3. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
4. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
5. A Day In The Life - Beatles
6. Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procol Harum
7. Somebody To Love - Jefferson Airplane
8. Soul Man - Sam & Dave
9. Strawberry Fields Forever - Beatles
10. Nights In White Satin - Moody Blues

And here's the Top 10 songs of 2006.
1. Bad Day, Daniel Powter
2. Temperature, Sean Paul
3. Promiscuous, Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland
4. You're Beautiful, James Blunt
5. Hips Don't Lie, Shakira Featuring Wyclef Jean
6. Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield
7. Crazy, Gnarls Barkley
8. Ridin', Chamillionaire Featuring Krayzie Bone
9. Sexyback, Justin Timberlake
10. Check on It, Beyonce Featuring Slim Thug

where are you getting those lists from - A day in the life wasn't never even released as a single.

anyway - only Furtado and Barkley are good on the 06 list and I wouldn't take either of them over anything on the 67 list.

I take your point that there is a lot of good pop stuff around today (Girls Aloud in particular churn out a lot of good stuff) but there's no comparison with the 60's. Was listening to "With the beatles" this morning for the first time in years and it still sounds astonishingly fresh...

Pighead

loyatemu wrote: »

where are you getting those lists from - A day in the life wasn't never even released as a single.

anyway - only Furtado and Barkley are good on the 06 list and I wouldn't take either of them over anything on the 67 list.

I take your point that there is a lot of good pop stuff around today (Girls Aloud in particular churn out a lot of good stuff) but there's no comparison with the 60's. Was listening to "With the beatles" this morning for the first time in years and it still sounds astonishingly fresh...

Internet got it wrong! Not Pighead. Although apparently it was released as a single later on in 78. Anyway bottom line is that the 00's will be remembered as the decade that brought quality pop songs to the mainstream.

ZakAttak

There is no such thing as a golden era of anything. Thats just something old people invent for themselves so that they can convince themselves that their music is best.

Steve_o

ZakAttak wrote: »

There is no such thing as a golden era of anything. Thats just something old people invent for themselves so that they can convince themselves that their music is best.

I like to believe that a golden era of something is when it was at its best, like Rock n'Roll in the 70's.

Blisterman

noby wrote: »

Well I know which list I prefer.

This isn't the top ten songs of 1967, rather all the UK number ones:

Position Artist Title Date
1 Monkees I'm A Believer Jan 1967
1 Engelbert Humperdinck Release Me Jan 1967
1 Petula Clark This Is My Song Feb 1967
1 Sandie Shaw Puppet On A String Mar 1967
1 Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra Somethin' Stupid Mar 1967
1 Tremeloes Silence Is Golden Apr 1967
1 Procol Harum A Whiter Shade Of Pale May 1967
1 Beatles All You Need Is Love Jul 1967 Notes
1 Scott McKenzie San Francisco (Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair) Jul 1967
1 Engelbert Humperdinck The Last Waltz Aug 1967
1 Bee Gees Massachusetts Sep 1967
1 Foundations Baby Now That I've Found You Sep 1967
1 Long John Baldry Let The Heartaches Begin Nov 1967
1 Beatles Hello Goodbye Nov 1967
1 Georgie Fame Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde Dec 1967

Poptastic, one might say.

I guess we'd have to define an era, as one year is a very narrow snapshot.

That list is surprisingly awful, bar a couple of songs, for what was supposedly a great era for music.

ZakAttak

Steve_o wrote: »

I like to believe that a golden era of something is when it was at its best, like Rock n'Roll in the 70's.

==>Nothing is ever at its 'best', it just changes and becomes something different- and you'll either get it or you wont, but if you don't get it and can't relate to it don't claim its not good because it doesn't sound like what you used to listen to back in the day.

funky penguin

Thank god music is subjective, otherwise this thread would be boring.

noby

Blisterman wrote: »

That list is surprisingly awful, bar a couple of songs, for what was supposedly a great era for music.

Well number ones lists are always going to be that way (although I do like a few from the list), but I was just trying to add some balance to Pighead's list.

irish_bob

Pighead wrote: »

Pighead definitely thinks so. Never before has their been so many insanely catchy and well produced pop gems. R+B/Hip Hop stars like Timbaland, Kanye West etc have jumped on board the pop bandwagon to thrilling effect and are constantly throwing out insanely catchy tunes with the ease of a toddler throwing his toys out of the pram.

Justin Timberlake is this decades Robbie Williams and only a cloth eared fool would deny that he's producing singles of a much higher quality. Even the girl bands are decent. Sugababes and Girls Aloud have released tons of cracking tunes over the past few years and have caused life long indie schmindy types to reassess their long standing hatred of all things pop. Even the indie schmindy bands have jumped on the pop bandwagon and their b- sides are often covers of mainstream pop hits.

The scourge of 90's pop, the boyband, has bitten the dust and only Take That remain. And guess what, even they're releasing top notch songs. Can't really think of many more boybands that are about today and thats because the bar has been raised and spanners who made it big in the 90's wouldn't last 10 seconds in the pop business today.

The 60's had rock and roll, 70's disco, 80's new wave/ electronic, 90's Britpop but this decade will surely be remembered for its glorious pop songs. VIVA LA POP REVOLUTION!

your kidding right
the noughties has been awfull for music by and large

Pighead

ZakAttak wrote: »

There is no such thing as a golden era of anything. Thats just something old people invent for themselves so that they can convince themselves that their music is best.

What a load of old tosh. A golden era implies a time when something is at it's most popular. Nothing to do with personal choice. Pigheads just saying it as he sees it.

Like when I say the golden age for composers was probably the 18th century, it doesn't mean I'm trying to convince myself that that type of music is best.

ZakAttak

Pighead wrote: »

What a load of old tosh. A golden era implies a time when something is at it's most popular. Nothing to do with personal choice. Pigheads just saying it as he sees it.

Like when I say the golden age for composers was probably the 18th century, it doesn't mean I'm trying to convince myself that that type of music is best.

==>Rock was very popular at lots of other times than the 70's, in fact it was always popular in one form or another. Grunge bands were as popular during the early to mid 90's as 70's rock bands were in their time. Dance music in the early 90's ended up becoming as big, if not bigger, than disco was during the 70's.

Things change and becoming different, and so they should because thats whats supposed to happen in any artform.

Pighead

ZakAttak wrote: »

==>Rock was very popular at lots of other times than the 70's. Grunge bands sold as much albums (on their release) as 70's rock bands did. Dance music in the early 90's ended up becoming as big, if not bigger, than disco.

Pighead would class Grunge and Rock as separate genres. Close relatives but seperate nonetheless. Lets face it Zak, no matter how you try and dress this up Led Zeppelin at their peak in the 70's were the zenith of the rock era.

Of course things change and become different. Whats that got to do with anything. This thread is proclaiming that the 00's are pop's golden era. Not saying that pop hasn't changed or evolved. Just saying it's better now than it ever has been.

noby

Pighead wrote: »

Just saying it's better now than it ever has been.

Commercially, perhaps.

Pighead

noby wrote: »

Commercially, perhaps.

True but for Pighead artistically as well.

Ok name the biggest male pop star in the world today:
Justin Timberlake-His album has generally been regarded as a very good one and even the cool mags have been lauding his output

Biggest Female Star:
Beyonce or Rhianna probably. Not impressed by either really.

Biggest girl band:
Girls Aloud: Again lauded by all for producing excellent pop songs

Biggest Boyband:
Take That: Their comeback was hailed by all and produced 2 of the best songs of last year.

So at this moment in time we have the biggest male pop star, girl group and boyband all being hailed by the cool and trendy mags as having produced very good songs. Surely this has never been the case before?

ZakAttak

Pighead wrote: »

Pighead would class Grunge and Rock as separate genres. Close relatives but seperate nonetheless. Lets face it Zak, no matter how you try and dress this up Led Zeppelin at their peak in the 70's were the zenith of the rock era.

==>So grunge isn't rock then? Thats your argument? we should ignore other popular genres because they aren't what you would call rock. So does this mean Snoop dogg is not rap because his style of music is different to chuck-d of public enemy?

==>Led Zep at their peak were great, but you've been watching to many dvd documentaries- they were good, but there were and are other great bands out there.

Of course things change and become different. Whats that got to do with anything. This thread is proclaiming that the 00's are pop's golden era. Not saying that pop hasn't changed or evolved. Just saying it's better now than it ever has been.

==>You need to wait a few years to say something like that.

Zamboni

If we were rating decades.

1st 60's
2nd 70's
3rd 90's
4th 00's
5th 80's

Pighead

ZakAttak wrote: »

==>You need to wait a few years to say something like that.

Ok then fair enough, obviously all the above is just Pigheads opinion, not saying it's written in stone or anything. So when do you think has been the best time for pop music thus far? If you don't think it's this decade you obviously have another time in mind.

ZakAttak

So at this moment in time we have the biggest male pop star, girl group and boyband all being hailed by the cool and trendy mags as having produced very good songs. Surely this has never been the case before?[/quote]

==>Magazines? The print industry is up to its neck in sh1t right now- nobody buys magazines anymore (cos of the interweb), so in order to pull in readers they have been forced to print articles featuring more mainstream artists that people are familiar with. Many people used to buy mags cos it was the only way of finding out about bands and music they didn't know about. But nowadays if you want info. like that you'd be better off going to a website of some sort. So mags have been left with the option of printing stuff about commercial pop music, its the only way they can sell magazines.

You're right, this hasn't been the case before- but its got nothing to do with the music.

Get with the times.

noby

In 1984 we had the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince and the Revolution, Cyndi Lauper, Wham, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Madonna. I'm sure there's others if I went digging. This was all good, credible, pop, before the likes of S.A.W. got their greasy mits on it.