Is this Pop Musics golden era?

Earthhorse

Dudess wrote: »

No, that's actually La Serenissima by Rondo Veneziano...

Thank you, kind lady. I was googling "Vangelis robotic gondalier" there and beginning to think it wasn't him.

Dudess wrote: »

The Blade Runner soundtrack is astounding...

I like it mostly but I hate that 40's number they have on it. Really makes me wanna punch the speakers.

Earthhorse wrote: »

This thread is remind me of our old collection of records.

This thread is remind me of our fail English.

Latchy

I like this thread .It enables us to remember our musical heritage past and present

Blisterman

I'd like to put forward an every second decade theory, in that every second decade is a good one for pop music.

60's Pop - Great (Beatles, Motown etc.)

70's Pop - Rubbish (The Carpenters, The Osmonds etc.)

80's Pop - Great (Michael Jackson, Prince etc.)

90's Pop - Rubbish (Boyzone, Backstreet Boys etc)

00's Pop - Well, I can't argue with Pighead, now can I?

Latchy

I think there is some great music around today but a lot of artists are still caught up between commercial success at a cost of losing artistic credibility which sounds kinda snobbish ,but nearly all big groups and artists down the decade have secumbed to the lure of the £ and $ .You only have to look at the massive sums offered to a group like the Eagles to reform and the back catalogue re-releases of groups/artists from all decades mentioned .One or two commercial hits and a band can go in a different direction .

noby

Quoting The Carpenters as an example of rubbish blows a big hole in your theory, though.

Glassheart

Blisterman wrote: »

I'd like to put forward an every second decade theory, in that every second decade is a good one for pop music.

60's Pop - Great (Beatles, Motown etc.)

70's Pop - Rubbish (The Carpenters, The Osmonds etc.)

80's Pop - Great (Michael Jackson, Prince etc.)

90's Pop - Rubbish (Boyzone, Backstreet Boys etc)

00's Pop - Well, I can't argue with Pighead, now can I?

What about Fleetwood Mac,Abba and The Bee Gees?!!!

Latchy

noby wrote: »

Quoting The Carpenters as an example of rubbish blows a big hole in your theory, though.

The lead guitar solo on ' goodbye to love ' would not have being out of place on any heavy rock single release .The Carpenters made some great pop records and Karen Carpenter may have come across as a bit geeky but she had an amazing voice

noby

Indeed she did have an amazing voice. Not a bad drummer either.
Her brother was a fantastic arranger too.

Latchy

Not doubting her drumming skills for a minute but she did look a lil out of place behind the drums with her nylon floral dress, but still it was the 70s and i think the drums was another way of hiding herself away.She was a very insecure person in real life hence her sad tragic death from bulmia .I think richard felt out of place a bit with Karen getting amost of the attention

Nailz

Glassheart wrote: »

What about Fleetwood Mac,Abba and The Bee Gees?!!!

TFR!!! I'm no fan of pop, but ABBA are a whole different class...

grumpytrousers

And NONE of you klutzes has even mentioned Madness yet!

I sorta agree with Pighead that the 'great' songs of today are just as good as the 'great' songs of yesteryear. In other words, y'know, take say that 'Song 4 Mutya' from last year by Groove Armada and it was just summertastic pop writ large. And it had a synth line that sounded like OMD.

The thing is that there's few too artists that are consistently producing decent pop songs that capture the consciousness of the listening public. It almost seems 'by numbers' that an artist will release a lead-off single that's funky as bedamned. The next single will be a slow ballad. The next one a duet with Timbaland. It's a bit 'conveyor belt'. And it's only the people who buy into 'slow ballad' tunes that realise that it's the new Rihanna song or whatever. Or the 'R'n'B' heads who get the rapper she's doing the other song with!

I think, with the exceptions of say Sugababes and Girls Aloud there have been bog all in the line of good 'singles' bands in the last ten years. I love my pop music. I love all kinds, actually. Exile on Main St by the Stones is the most played album i have on iTunes followed by London feckin Calling, but in trying to keep 'up to date' i went to buy a few 'hits' compilations of a few pop artists. The two i've mentioned were the only two that appear to have had the consistency.

Apart from Pet Shop Boys obviously. But they've not troubled the charts in aeons.

Dudess

Ahem...

Dudess wrote: »

If, with the term "golden era", we're talking in terms of the quality - in general - of chart music, my personal choice would be the late 70s/early 80s - '77 to '83 or thereabouts. Some punk was getting lots of airplay, then there was the likes of Stiff Records: Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Squeeze. There was Blondie, Gary Numan/Tubeway Army, Kate Bush debuted Wuthering Heights in '78, the Jam. 2Tone (ska): The Beat, The Specials, Madness. There was Dexy's Midnight Runners, the really good quality New Romantic stuff (Soft Cell, Visage's Fade To Grey, Japan, early Spandau and Ultravox were class, Heaven 17, Human League - quality pop). Stuff on the Postcard label up in Scotland like Orange Juice and Altered Images, Kim Wilde was the equivalent of Rihanna at the time - no comparison, and Duran Duran were pretty much the boyband of that era - Beethoven-esque compared to Weslife...

All this stuff wasn't just acclaimed at the time, it was in the top 10.

And as Thatcherism gained a hold and people became richer and greedier there really was a marked change in pop music - things started to get so bad from '84. Kinda sums up for me the whole notion of a recession leading to better music...

The 90s, in my opinion, was an absolutely atrocious decade for chart/pop music - apart from 1990 (some cracking tunes that year and Madchester was in the air). 1991 makes me shudder though, 1996 worse again.

Right now there is some truly appalling stuff doing the rounds - as bad as, if not worse than, the 90s. However I see what Pighead's saying too: there is some really good slick funk/R&B - Timbaland and the Neptunes being pretty much solely responsible for it. And yeah, some other random good tunes this decade: Stronger by Sugababes is fantastic, as is All The Things She Said by tAtU. Have to admit I also found the first two Girls Aloud singles absolutely great.

grumpytrousers

okay - MOST of you klutzes..

my point about a lack of consistancy still stands though; its the consistancy that's missing nowadays. You could pick up a Madness/The Jam/Blondie (happy, are you!) best of, and it's all killer and no filler.

take most artists today and the solid, honest to god craftsmanship of writing a decent 3 minute tune isn't there. Most acts are nowadays too busy trying to sound like their next single was beamed in from the year 2025, rather than honestly slaving over in a sweaty studio with ropey air-con like they should be! There's too much store put into 'oh we've got Pharrell producing one track, and Xenomania doing a few more'...

Madness used Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley from start to finish, employed the same plinkyplonky piano sound all the way through and kept a bloody saxaphone player in wages for HOW long?

Nailz

I still think nowadays music is shìte! But I like Weezer and Dropkick Murphy's and the likes.

Howard the Duck

One of my favourite pop bands from the 80s would be the house martins

grumpytrousers

The Housemartins were indeed quite a wonderful little band. Can't think of any of their singles which were crap - if i ever hear 'Me and the Farmer' i have to stop what i'm doing just so i can sing along!

the compilation 'now that's what i call quite good' is worth picking up if you've not got it already. Never mind the recent compilation cash-ins - that's what you want, and perhaps the Live at the BBC one as well!

---

Now playing: The Clash - Spanish Bombs
via FoxyTunes

spoonbadger

Today every single genre is releasing 3 minute pop songs in an attempt to lure in the pop lovers.

Yes, yes they are. But the key here is that they're *3 minute pop songs*. Some people prefer a little more depth than "umbrella", even in pop......even in modern pop

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.

No. Justin timberlake is just another commercial tool. He lends his voice to disgustingly bad crap written by music execs. . Take "sexyback" as an example. That song is just one long string of weak innuendo. The lyrics are terrible, the music behind 'em is pathetic, and the vocals are just Justin doing his "mock-sexy" voice ('bout as sexy as a turd in a shopping bag).....Oh!, i forgot. Somewhere near the end he sticks in the word "fu**ers"....and it gets faded out.....and all his silly fans think "oh,he's deadly like!!".

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

Big hairy men with guitars and attitude?. You mean musicians who could actually play instruments and write their own stuff?. And by attitude you mean geniune people with personalities rather than faceless corporate tools and britney wannabes?......

....yeah, i too wish it was still the 60s.

/rant

katy brock

ZakAttak wrote: »

There is no such thing as a golden era of anything.

What about the golden era of punk rock 1976-1979. I heard that one week in 1978, sixteen of the top 20 in the U.K. singles chart were pop outfits?

Latchy

katy brock wrote: »

What about the golden era of punk rock 1976-1979. I heard that one week in 1978, sixteen of the top 20 in the U.K. singles chart were pop outfits?

It is generaly accepted that he punk rock scene only lasted a year and The original concept was lost by 77 .What came after it was new wave and alternitive .People were still wearing the pins through the nose and mohican hairstyles for a few years but like the summer of 67 the original idea faded out with recriminataions of one sort or another by sex pistols and other bands bands like Clash and the Jam .All that spitting couldent go on for 4 years .