MetaFilter posts tagged with pop

What It’s Like When A Label Won’t Release Your Album

reenum — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:44:33 -0800

What It’s Like When A Label Won’t Release Your Album

A taxonomy of high male voices, both classical and popular

rollick — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:45:48 -0800

Men Getting High: Falsettists, Countertenors, Pop, Rock, and Opera

Things that don't really exist until the internet makes them happen

rollick — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:36:02 -0800

The Numbers One: robopop or real life?: A bizarre and oddly compelling mystery album of incompetent pop covers.

Say you love me or I’ll kill you!

Rory Marinich — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:21:22 -0800

Jun Togawa is sort of like what you'd get if you crossed Kate Bush and Mike Patton. Togawa, who became known in Japanese culture after appearing in a bidet commercial, was half of the electro-cabaret band Guernica, which sometimes sounded very classical and sometimes sounded very new wave and sometimes much stranger. Somewhat more straightforward is her rock outfit Yapoos, which similarly varies quite a bit in sound and style. Her solo work, unsurprisingly, is quite melodramatic, with some very interesting arrangements, both parodically poppy and funky. I particularly like her covers of All Tomorrow's Parties by the Velvet Underground, Brigitte Fontaine's Comme à la Radio, and – weirdly – Pachelbel's Canon.

Around the Beatles: a one-off TV variety show from 1964

filthy light thief — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:42:35 -0800

In 1964, The Beatles put together a one-off variety show, with musical numbers specially pre-recorded for the show, presented in the style of theater-in-the-round. Around the Beatles was aired in the UK and later that same year in the US, but never commercially released. The show includes The Beatles performing a scene from A Midsummer's Night Dream, with Paul McCartney as Pyramus, John Lennon as his lover Thisbe, George Harrison as Moonshine, Starr as Lion, and Trevor Peacock (the only actual actor in the lot) in the role of Quince. A color clip of that was posted previously, but you can watch the entire (almost) hour-long show with The Beatles' segments accompanied by seven other musical acts, on Dailymotion or YouTube, though it's in black and white. The full show features performances from other hit pop artists of the time, including Long John Baldry, one of the first British vocalists to perform folk and blues, the brilliant mimic of other artists, P.J. Proby, the girl group The Vernons Girls, who were formed by the Vernons Football Pools, singer Cillia Black, Sounds Incorporated, the Kentish 'Wall Of Sound', and the young Jamacian singer, Millie (Small). More fun facts: This was one of Trevor Peacock's earliest performances in an adaptation of Shakespeare. He went on to perform in various BBC TV adaptations of Shakespeare plays throughout the 1980s. Though The Beatles covered a ton of songs over the years, this rendition of Shout, originally by The Isley Brothers, is longer than the version included on Anthology I.

Batman vs Eggman

Charlemagne In Sweatpants — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:20:27 -0800

Batman solved the 'Paul Is Dead' Beatles' mystery in a 70s Batman story.

The Japanese Version

Monsieur Caution — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:19:13 -0800

In the late '80s, documentarians Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker spent six months in Tokyo looking at how symbols and imagery familiar to Americans had been appropriated and given new significance in Japan. Though more than 20 years old, the resulting video remains popular in undergraduate courses across the social sciences and humanities in part because it's so entertaining.

Viewing guide distributed with the video.
Transcript of the video.
Viewing notes from Anthro 254 at Yale.
Critical commentary by a prof of Japanese history at Columbia.
Source for the DVD.

"Your dad's a nutter! A skinhead priest!"

Kitty Stardust — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:08:50 -0800

Johnny Rotten reviews "Katy Perry: All of Me." [SLYT] Via Dangerous Minds.

I pressed the irony control, and around me halftone dots filled the sky

Artw — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:26:29 -0800

Comic artists razz Lichtenstein with the Image Duplicator show

Laura Marling

threeants — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:45:43 -0800

Singer-songwriter Laura Marling will release her latest album, Once I Was an Eagle, this May. She's shared a first song off of it, "Where Can I Go?" This will be the fourth LP unassumingly put out by 23-year-old Marling, who cut her teeth in London's vibrant indie folk scene. Some of her songs sound rooted in the folk music traditions of the British Isles; others hearken back more, maybe, to Joni Mitchell and peers; still others feel right at home alongside Marling's folk-pop contemporaries. She's collaborated on performances and tracks with Johnny Flynn, Ryan Adams, Mystery Jets, Rajasthan's Dharohar Project, Mumford and Sons, and Noah and the Whale. (Previously on MeFi.)

The 100 Most Influential Singles of the 1960s

item — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:04:52 -0800

The 100 Most Influential Singles of the 1960s. [via mefi projects] Mefite jonp72 says, "I liked Pitchfork's list of the 100 best songs of the 1960s* for creating a canon of great 1960s songs instead of keeping the focus solely on albums, but I wanted to create my own revisionist take on such a list with the constraint that I limit myself to songs that were actually released on 45rpm singles. In addition, to make the list more interesting, I decided to focus on records that I thought were the most influential rather than songs that I considered the coolest or the best or the most pleasurable." *It's actually Pitchfork's 200 best songs of the 1960's, but who's counting? Besides, jonp72's list is far more interesting than smelly old Pitchfork's. It's an extremely well thought-out article that profiles each of the hundred songs in a well-written and informative fashion. I felt that it'd be nice to have links to the songs, as there were a few tracks that even a music supersnob such as myself wasn't immediately familiar with. Here's youtube links to around 99% of the tunes: 1. The Everly Brothers - Cathy's Clown / Always it's You 2. Roy Orbison - Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel) / Here Comes That Song Again 3. Johnny Kidd (& The Pirates) - Shakin' All Over / Yes Sir, That's My Baby 4. Wanda Jackson - Let's Have a Party / Cool Love 5. The Shadows - Apache / Quartermaster's Stores 6. Chubby Checker - The Twist / Toot 7. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Shop Around / Who's Lovin' You 8. John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (Parts 1 & 2) 9. Bobby Parker - Watch Your Step / Steal Your Heart Away 10. Tony Sheridan - My Bonnie / The Saints 11. Bruce Channel - Hey! Baby / Dream Girl 12. Ray Cathode - Time Beat / Waltz in Orbit 13. Dick Dale - Miserlou / Eight Till Midnight 14. The Tornados - Telstar / Jungle Fever 15. Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Green Onions / Behave Yourself 16. The Ventures - The 2,000 Pound Bee (Part 1) / The 2,000 Pound Bee (Part 2) 17. The Rooftop Singers - Walk Right In / Cool Water 18. Bob Dylan - Mixed Up Confusion* / Corrina Corrina 19. The Beatles - Please Please Me / Ask Me Why 20. The Kingsmen - Louie Louie / Haunted Castle 21. The Ronettes - Be My Baby / Tedesco and Pitman 22. The Jaynetts - Sally, Go 'Round the Roses / Instrumental Background to Sally, Go 'Round the Roses* 23. The Beatles - She Loves You / I'll Get You 24. The Rolling Stones - I Wanna Be Your Man / Stoned 25. The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird / King of the Surf 26. The Beach Boys - I Get Around / Don't Worry Baby 27. The Animals - The House of the Rising Sun / Talkin' 'Bout You 28. Chuck Berry - You Never Can Tell / Brenda Lee 29. The Kinks - You Really Got Me / It's All Right 30. Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddam / Sea Lion Woman 31. Them - Baby Please Don't Go / Gloria 32. The Primitives - The Ostrich / Sneaky Pete 33. The Sonics - The Witch / Psycho 34. Yardbirds - For Your Love / Got to Hurry 35. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man / I Knew I'd Want You 36. Gloria Jones - Tainted Love / My Bad Boy Is Coming Home 37. Kim Fowley - The Trip / Big Sur* 38. The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction / The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man 39. James Brown - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Parts I & II) 40. Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone (Part I) / Like a Rolling Stone (Part II) 41. The Kinks - See My Friends / Never Met a Girl Like You Before 42. Yardbirds - Evil Hearted You / Still I'm Sad 43. The Who - My Generation / Shout and Shimmy 44. Monks - Complication / Oh, How to Do Now 45. Gypsy Trips - Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies / Ain't It Hard 46. The Great Society - Someone to Love / Free Advice 47. Prince Buster - Al Capone / One Step Beyond 48. The 13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me / Tried to Hide 49. The Byrds - Eight Miles High / Why? 50. Love - Hey Joe / My Little Red Book 51. The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black / Long Long While 52. The Beatles - Paperback Writer / Rain 53. The Creation - Making Time / Try and Stop Me 54. The Velvet Underground - All Tomorrow's Parties / I'll Be Your Mirror 55. Four Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There / Until You Love Someone 56. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations / Let's Go Away for Awhile 57. Frank Zappa - Trouble Comin' Every Day / Who Are the Brain Police? 58. Godz - Lay in the Sun / I Want a Word With You 59. The Velvet Underground - "Loop" 60. The Ethix - Skins* / Bad Trip 61. The Doors - Break On Through / End of the Night 62. The Beatles - Penny Lane / Strawberry Fields Forever 63. Soft Machine - Love Makes Sweet Music / Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' 64. Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne / Candy and a Currant Bun 65. Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze / 51st Anniversary 66. Scott McKenzie - San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) / What's the Difference 67. The Parliaments - (I Wanna) Testify / I Can Feel the Ice Melting 68. The Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today / People Get Ready 69. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat / Here She Comes Now 70. Sly & the Family Stone - Dance to the Music / Let Me Hear It From You 71. The 1910 Fruitgum Company - Simon Says / Reflections From the Looking Glass 72. Bob Dylan - All Along the Watchtower / I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 73. Cream - Sunshine of Your Love / SWLABR 74. Larry Williams & Johnny Watson - Nobody / Find Yourself Someone to Love* 75. Les Yper Sound - Psyché Rock / Too Fortiche 76. Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues / Out of Focus 77. MC5 - Looking at You / Borderline 78. The Byrds - You Ain't Going Nowhere / Artificial Energy 79. The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash / Child of the Moon 80. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire! / Rest Cure 81. The Temptations - Cloud Nine / Why Did She Have to Leave Me (Why Did She Have to Go) 82. Desmond Dekker & the Aces / Beverley's All Stars - Israelites / The Man 83. Os Mutantes - A Minha Menina / Adeus Maria Fulô 84. Silver Apples - You and I / Confusion 85. Lothar and the Hand People - Machines / Milkweed Love 86. James Brown - Give It Up or Turn it a Loose / I'll Lose My Mind 87. The Inner Space - Agilok & Blubbo / Kamera Song 88. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams / Motor City Is Burning 89. James Taylor - Carolina in My Mind / Taking It In* 90. Dick Hyman - Topless Dancers of Corfu / The Minotaur 91. The Winstons - Color Him Father / Amen, Brother 92. David Bowie - Space Oddity / Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud 93. Funkadelic - I'll Bet You / Qualify and Satisfy 94. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son / Down on the Corner 95. Jackson 5 - I Want You Back / Who's Lovin You 96. John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Cold Turkey / Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow) 97. The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog / 1969 98. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King (Parts 1 & 2) 99. Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love / Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman) 100. The Shaggs - My Pal Foot Foot / Things I Wonder and finally, I get to add one of my own because I just did a lot of computering to make this list. They're not really very good songs, and probably not all that influential, but who cares - I wanted it to be on this list and now it is: 101. Zager & Evans - In the Year 2525 / Little Kids *denotes shit that wasn't on youtube in an easily-findable spot. Feel free to prove me wrong. I did my half-assed best to try to link to the single versions of each song, but even in this infotainment superage I had trouble with some songs. Instead, I linked to the closest approximation of each single. I'm going to assume right here and now that there're likely a few mistakes in my linking, as I made this post while watching Dredd 3D (minus the 3D).

It was happy at the start...

Rory Marinich — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 09:39:35 -0800

Jon Brion gets around. As a composer, he scored some of the best movies of last decade and change – Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York, and I ♥ Huckabees. As a producer, he's worked with Fiona Apple, Kanye West, Aimee Mann, and the excellent bluegrass outfit Punch Brothers. He writes pop music like the best of them – witness Meaningless, Knock Yourself Out, Here We Go, or Didn't Think It Would Turn Out Bad for a nice sampler of his style and range. His live shows are notoriously whimsical and eccentric – he's apt to perform Radiohead's "Creep" in the style of Tom Waits, or cover Stairway to Heaven as a one-man band, recreating all the parts to its climax on the fly.

Can Bruce Dern save mankind from Adam Ant?

Charlemagne In Sweatpants — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:41:13 -0800

World Gone Wild is a 1988 post-apocalyptic film with English pop singer Adam Ant as the villain. The entire film can be watched on YouTube. Via Armagideon Time.

I'm gonna bash that...

Charlemagne In Sweatpants — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:52:00 -0800

Mining Boom are a Perth band whose videos for the fuzzed out pop songs Telecom and Craigie (NSFW language) use found footage to invoke and skewer a sense of nostalgic Australiana.

Oggi Sono Io

Charlemagne In Sweatpants — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 19:43:52 -0800

Alex Britti's 'Oggi sono io' covered by Italian pop star Mina, who recorded it in one take. An English translation of the lyrics.

Shinier, happier people.

schmod — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:30:17 -0800

Major scaled is a Vimeo user who digitally transposes sad songs into a major key. Here's their cheerful rendition of REM's Losing My Religion. Also: Metallica - Nothing Else Matters The Doors - Riders of the Storm Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing

One Nation Under a Brolly

scruss — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:47:11 -0800

In the 1980s, there were twee bands, and then there was Trixie's Big Red Motorbike. Formed in Shanklin, Isle of Wight in 1981, TBRM were brother and sister Mark & Mel Litten, sometimes assisted by Jim Bycroft on sax and Jane Fish (of The Marine Girls — whose most famous alumna you would have heard if you were alive in the 90s [previously]) on backing vocals. Their sound, lofi, their artwork handmade. Their first single was sent to John Peel [passim], who proclaimed they'd “wipe the floor with the competition” and had them in for two sessions. The complete recorded output of Trixie's Big Red Motorbike is:

A year or so ago, Mark and his daughter Jane reformed TBRM on another small island far from England, Shikoku [previously]. They've got the sound right down: Trixie's Big Red Motorbike.

iTunes Music Festival

zarq — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 22:07:04 -0800

For the 2012 iTunes Music Festival, 65 acts (including P!nk, One Direction, David Guetta , Jessie J, OneRepublic, Ellie Goulding, Andrea Bocelli, Matchbox Twenty, Muse and many others) performed at the Roundhouse in London throughout the month of September. 40 performances are available in full online. I listed the acts whose performances aren't available on youtube, in case anyone was curious. 2012 1 September: Usher 2 September: Ed Sheeran + Charli XCX + Rudimental 3 September: Olly Murs + The Milk 4 September: Plan B + Delilah + Ryan Keen 5 September: Emeli Sandé + Bastille (Playlist) + Gabrielle Aplin 6 September: JLS + Conor Maynard 7 September: Elbow + Bat for Lashes 8 September: Jack White + Band of Horses 9 September: deadmau5 + Foreign Beggars 10 September: Norah Jones + Beth Orton 11 September: The Killers + Jake Bugg 12 September: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds + The Soundtrack of Our Lives 13 September: P!nk + Walk the Moon 14 September: Labrinth + Josh Kumra 15 September: David Guetta + Calvin Harris 16 September: Rebecca Ferguson + Laura Mvula 17 September: Example + DJ Fresh + Hadouken! (Playlist, not the complete show) 18 September: Andrea Bocelli + Laura Wright + CARisMA 19 September: Matchbox Twenty + OneRepublic 20 September: One Direction + Angel 21 September: Jessie J + Lonsdale Boys Club 22 September: Biffy Clyro + Frightened Rabbit 23 September: Robert Glasper Experiment, Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4. (There is an hd version, but the sound cuts out after about an hour. Guests for the performance: Lionel Loueke, Bilal, Lalah Hathaway, Alan Hampton, Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Phonte and MF Doom.) + José James 24 September: Mumford & Sons + Willy Mason 25 September: Lana Del Rey + Benjamin Francis Leftwich 26 September: Ellie Goulding + Haim 27 September: Madness + Reverend and The Makers 28 September: Alicia Keys (Lower quality) + Lianne La Havas 30 September: Muse Previous Years 2010 3 July: Black Spiders 4 July: Two Door Cinema Club 25 July: Europe 2011 4 July: Linkin Park 6 July: Arctic Monkeys + Miles Kane 7 July: Adele 9 July: My Chemical Romance 12 July: The Script 18 July: Rumer 20 July: The Wanted 30 July: James Morrison (playlist)

Truth is just like time; it catches up and it just keeps going

Navelgazer — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:59:16 -0800

You either know who Dar Williams is or you don't, but chances are that if you know her music, you've got a bit of a story behind that. Her folk songs are rarely if ever heard on the radio, but via word-of-mouth, she tends to find fans across the U.S. and the world. For my own story, word-of-mouth somehow found the drama kids at Bartlesville High School in Oklahoma in the late nineties. Songs like "The Pointless Yet Poingant Crisis of a Co-Ed" celebrated us while giving us some perspective, but it was quieter moments, like riding home through forested roads in the dead of morning, listening to "Are You Out There" while getting my girlfriend home way too late, or sitting at home listening to "As Cool As I Am" over and over and starting to understand feminine perspectives, which made me fall in love with her voice and worldview. Which led me to writing my college admissions essay about her "classic," "The Christians and the Pagans," which got me into NYU and then that girlfriend, by then an ex, even, sent me off to the east coast with a kiss and a mix-tape which concluded with her singing, a capella, my favorite line from "Iowa (Travelling III)," "And so for you, I came this far, across the tracks, ten miles above the limit and with no seat belt, and I'd do it again." In college, I spread the gospel of her the best I could, which led one of my friends to giving me tickets to a show of hers at Irving Plaza for my birthday. That show turned out to be a recording for her live album, so I like to imagine that I can hear my own cheering in the background of thwat intimate-ish space, but I know that I hade to be there to understand that she is as much a storyteller as songwriter, and that one needs to hear "The Babysitter's Here" and "When I Was a Boy" in person to get the full effect. Her brand of folk isn't a revolution. It is about therapy, or stumbling through self-reflection, or the beauty in the mundane, rendered with humor and sympathy. But it is brilliant. And it should be heard. Some other choice tracks: The Ocean What Do You Hear in These Sounds? After All Playing to the Firmament (endearing teenage cover version) Southern California Wants to Be Western New York

"Shine Brighter"

zarq — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:19:43 -0800

DJ Earworm has released his annual "United State of Pop" mashup of the year's 25 most popular songs according to Billboard's charts: Shine Brighter. Related * Lyrics Video * Download the MP3 on SoundCloud * Official Site The Videos * Gotye and Kimbra - Somebody That I Used To Know * Fun - Some Nights * Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe * Maroon 5 - One More Night * Fun. and Janelle Monáe - We Are Young * Maroon 5 and Wiz Khalifa - Payphone (Explicit) * Ellie Goulding - Lights * Rihanna - Diamonds * Bruno Mars - Locked Out Of Heaven * Ke$Ha - Die Young * Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) * Flo Rida - Good Feeling * Nicki Minaj - Starships (Explicit) * The Wanted - Glad You Came * Adele - Set Fire To The Rain * Lumineers - Ho Hey * One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful * Flo Rida and Sia - Wild Ones * Phillip Phillips - Home * Bruno Mars - It Will Rain * Katy Perry - Wide Awake * Alex Clare - Too Close * PSY - Gangnam Style * Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together * Flo Rida - Whistle Past Remixes 2007: United State of Pop Previously 2008: Viva La Pop Previously 2009: Blame it on the Pop Previously 2010: Don't Stop the Pop Previously 2011: World Go Boom Previously Previously and Previouslier * Like, OMG Baby * Party on the Floor * Fly Bonus Rewind YouTube Style 2012. The site invited some of their members to star in an end-of-year mash-up. Included here solely for a moment of awesome: at 1:48 Felicia Day parodies "Call Me Maybe"

We're a long way from Danny Wood's Zubaz

Diablevert — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:45:10 -0800

BigBang, "Fantastic Baby" (slyt, K-pop).

I Think I've Finally Had Enough

Lutoslawski — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 14:07:59 -0800

Daniel Kim is back again this year with the Pop Danthology 2012, a mega mash-up of 55 pop songs from 2012 (SLYT).

Skouteris / PopLove

zarq — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:18:42 -0800

Robin Skouteris is a music and video producer, remixer and DJ based in Athens who creates mashup remixes, (like Deep and Sour and Looking for Sunshine) and a few parodies. His latest remix was released yesterday: "PopLove." * YouTube Channel * Facebook He has 6 albums of remixes/mashups available for free download: * VS1: The Vs Experience, Volume 1 (2007) * VS2: The Vs Experience, Volume 2 (2008) * VS3: The Vs Experience, Volume 3 (2009) * VS4: The Vs Experience, Volume 4 (2010) * VS5: The Vs Experience, Volume 5 (2011) * VS6: Reincarnation (2012) Album Tracklists & Info

Noodles are the smell of denial and you will never grow up

Rory Marinich — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 16:20:05 -0800

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names write music with a warmth and simplicity that really hits the spot on chilly autumn days. My favorite songs of theirs are Noodles and Trees and Squirrels; their better-known songs include Funeral Face, Rent a Wreck, and Loop Duplicate My Heart.

Man Machine Music

Artw — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:12:11 -0800

A brief history of cyborgs, superhumans and robots in pop music