MetaFilter posts tagged with popmusic and music

To put right what once went wrong

danhon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:25:12 -0800

Christopher Bird at Mighty God King has written some corkers in the past - from his ejection from Livejournal owing to his review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to his frequent conversations with Flapjacks and Photoshopping of Final Fantasy Covers (previously). He's really outdone himself this time, with Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer. Read it, and, quite possibly, weep. Bonus points to the first person who constructs a Primer-level explanation of what happened.

Right Here, Right Now, etc etc

sleevener — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:55:16 -0800

Poet and poetry/film/music/culture critic Joshua Clover has been posting excerpts from his upcoming book 1989: Bob Dylan Didn't Have This to Sing About over at his blog. These are short, articulate lyric essays on the entwined fates of the pop music and history of (and around) the year 1989. To find the excerpts on the blog, look for the book's black, white, and yellow cover image as you scroll down (although all of his posts are worth a read). Here are a few of my favorites, if you're looking for a place to start: Jesus Jones, from the book's intro, which poses this question: "Having turned its 200-second attentions on a fairly regular basis to politics, to social change, to revolution, what does pop music do when confronted with an overwhelming surfeit of same?" Sinead O'Connor and "Nothing Compares 2 U" Public Enemy's multi-faceted approach Grunge, shame, and the word "creep"

Ziggy really sang, screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo

fire&wings — Sun, 03 May 2009 12:53:06 -0800

Of all the pretenders to the throne of "British Elvis" in the pre-Beatles UK music scene, none had the swagger or moves quite like Vince Taylor. His stylings, pitched halfway between Gene Vincent and Pressley, found success in the early 60's, especially in France. The man who Joe Strummer described as "the beginning of British rock'n'roll," was on the verge of stardom in 1963, but already hooked on a cocktail of Preludin, speed, LSD and alcohol, he instead fell apart. Believing himself to be the apostle Matthew or the son of God, he gave sermons on stage while wrapped in a white sheet, ate only eggs, and carried around a map of Europe, trying to point out to people where the UFO's would land. David Bowie, living in London in 1966, met and was transfixed by this already burnt out, drug addled heartthrob who had "fallen into a chasm too deep to ever climb out of." Inspired by the rock star who "thought he was some composite between the Son of God and an alien," he put pen to paper. The song? Ziggy Stardust. From the late 1960's it was all downhill, and although Taylor emerged sporadically for various comebacks, a few albums (including 1972's "Vince is alive, well and rocking in Paris") his later years were for the most part a blur of incoherent performances on small scale tours and periods spent in religious communes and psychiatric wards. He died in 1991 after a short period working as an aircraft mechanic in Switzerland. --- Vince Taylor: * There's a Whole Lotta Twistin' goin' on * Shakin' All Over * Peppermint Twist * Too Much * 20 Flight Rock * What I'd Say * Brand New Cadillac (audio only)

Long live the the Village Green - and the Mellotron

joseph conrad is fully awesome — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:55:25 -0800

The Mellotron features prominently on the 1968 album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, more commonly referred to as The Village Green Preservation Society. The weird, eerie quality of this electronic keyboard, which uses pre-recorded tapes of individual sounds such as strings and woodwind instruments, worked well with singer/songwriter Ray Davies' nostalgic, backwards looking sensibility. For Kinks Mellotron goodness, try Sitting By The Riverside, Phenomenal Cat, All Of My Friends Were There, Animal Farm, Starstruck, and Days, the last of which was originally intended for Village Green but dropped from the final playlist. Bonus Mellotron, not on Village Green: Autumn Almanac, which "relies heavily on the MkII trombones and mixed brass". Nicky Hopkins and Ray Davies played the Mellotron on Village Green. Upon its release, reviews were favorable but the public ignored it, in no small part because it was so at odds with the cultural and rock/pop climate at the time. Village Green is now considered a godlike album and a cult favorite, prompting Ray Davies to state in the 2004 re-issue liner notes, "It's the most successful failure of all time." Previously

I just want your extra time, and your... Mix.

Eideteker — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:21:11 -0800

Classic tracks: Can't seem to face up to the facts? Searching for the heart of Heart of Gold? Mix Online delves deep into your favorite jams, to find out what was in the air when they were conceived. Know what I mean? via

Radiodiffusion Internasionaal -- popular world music of the 60's and 70's

cog_nate — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:51:05 -0800

"Radiodiffusion Internasionaal is devoted to the evolution of popular music from Africa, the Middle East, India and Asia and the proliferation of Western influences on these non-Western cultures. The focus is primarily the music from the mid 60's to the mid 70's." (Description from the front page of the site.) Slightly differently formatted version of the website here. Nice set of links, too (scroll down to the Words and Pictures section).

The New Yorker: The Gerbil's Revenge

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:09:30 -0800

Tourists black out reflective retinas in snapshots before printing them, and millions of people refer to strangers they’ve never spoken to as friends, because they’ve connected through a social-networking platform. [...] It should come as no surprise, then, that singers sometimes choose to correct recorded flaws in pitch with modern software, like Antares’s Auto-Tune.

Sasha Frere-Jones on auto-tuning, in The New Yorker. Non-print version

Via Antares's own site, interestingly enough.

Previously: 1, 2

Sasha Frere Jones's personal site, New Yorker blog.

Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam

goodnewsfortheinsane — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:49:11 -0800

Here is an alphabetical list of the most popular music stars real names.

Otters in Lithuania

meech — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:41:48 -0800

The best/worst in Lithuanian music: the catchy Otter in Love, DJ Dago's rave music, Suopis ir Rambynas' folk music and Mr Valdas Karklelis and his creepy and [NSFW] pervy writhing . All these videos are linked by one company (who had something to do with Karkelis' new website). I think maybe this is parody except maybe it's not. I can't tell. Valdas Karklelis seems real - his Geocities page and odd TV appearance make me believe in him. Can any Lithuanians explain what is going on?

Famous First Words

wendell — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:30:00 -0800

The 25 Best Pop Song Opening Lyrics, like EVER - a spinner.com 'hit list', complete with wry commentary and abruptly cut-off audio clips. Bonus: 25 more, suggested by people who don't work for the webside. If you are as annoyed by the one-item-per-page format as I am (and if you don't have AdBlock, the video ads are extra annoying), here they all are sorted by artist name: 50 Cent #22, Fiona Apple #24, The Beatles #4 R11, Beck #7, Bon Jovi #10, Johnny Cash R13, The Carpenters #6, Elvis Costello #11, The Doors R8, The Eagles R14, Erik B and Rakim R12, Merle Haggard #18, Jimi Hendrix #14, Human League #25, Michael Jackson #15, Joe Jackson R5, Rick James #1, Jefferson Airplane R18, Led Zeppelin R10, Jerry Lee Lewis R24, LL Cool J #5, Lynyrd Skynyrd R6, Madonna R21, George Michael #19, Nirvana R19, Roy Orbison #12, Ozzy Osbourne R23, Pavement #16, Carl Perkins #8, Tom Petty R20, Prince #17 R25, The Ramones #3, Otis Redding R15, The Righteous Brothers #23, The Rolling Stones #2 R1, Bob Seger R17, The Sex Pistols #20, Simon & Garfunkel #21, Paul Simon R22, Sir Mix-A-Lot (!?!) R2, The Smiths R16, Patti Smith #9, Bruce Springsteen R4, Rod Stewart R7, Three Dog Night (?)R3,Weezer #13, Warren Zevon R9.

Faking It: the quest for authenticity in popular music

jason's_planet — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 07:58:34 -0800

“We consider the 'primitive' music of blues singers such as Leadbelly to be more authentic than that of the Monkees. But all pop musicians are fakes . . . Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor . . . have turned out their personal record collections to produce a persuasive defence of inauthenticity as the defining characteristic of great popular music[.]” (via)

Pure, perfect pop music for the early 90's popkid in all of us

Kattullus — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 16:46:53 -0800

Waaaaaah! was an early 90's indie label of with an ever-changing number of a's in it's name. The owner of the label has put the entire catalog onto his site for download in mp3 format. He indicates which songs he likes the best by putting a very, very tiny picture of a kitten next to the songs. Artists include The Field Mice, White Town, They Go Boom, BMX Bandits, Dufflecoats, The Bedfloweres and Strawberry Story. You can see pictures of the bands on the site. If you spent your youth saying things like "this is pure, perfect pop music, why isn't this on the radio" then you've probably already clicked the link.

Her home is a factory.

jmhodges — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 07:36:50 -0800

The limits of pop music, and Marxist critical theory, by way of the Gang of Four.

1) Buy webcam. 2) Put something you found around the house in your hair. 3) ????????? 4) Profit!

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:09:40 -0800

One of the great virtues of the internet is the manifold ways in which it has revolutionised the arts. The postmodern works of contemporary artists Pomme & Kelly (Google Video), when viewed together in context, form a striking example of a well-placed critique of popular culture, and modern living at large. The zeitgeisty meta-irony of their seemingly content-free interpretations of popular songs are only enhanced by the fact that, in a clever keeping with style, they blog about it as well.

Morrissey's Quarry

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 26 Apr 2004 20:12:18 -0800

A Bigger Splash: What Sunny California Did To Miserable Manchester Man Morrissey. His new album, "You Are The Quarry", is released on May 17th in the U.K. and the next day in the U.S. But the problem is: does anyone still care? I do! [More inside.]

Don't turn around, oh oh! Der Komissar's in town, oh oh!

ashbury — Mon, 19 Jan 2004 20:01:22 -0800

onehitwondercentral.com I just discovered a song that I haven't heard in twenty years over there: pac-man fever, by Buckner and Garcia. What long-lost tune do you need to remember?

Worst song of the summer.

jmgorman — Fri, 30 May 2003 11:59:59 -0800

Take off your shoes. Look out folks, we have a new candidate for worst song of the summer.

la reina es muerta

padraigin — Tue, 18 Mar 2003 12:02:54 -0800

Guillermo, it was really nada. Back in my day, Morrissey's fans were closeted gay boys, the girls who loved them, and oddly, Mormons. Now, he's the idol of Latinos, especially in LA. Is it a cultural connection with melodramatic poetry or artistic narcissism? Is it identification with Morrissey's lyrics of disenfranchisement, or a rebellion against traditional Latin machismo? Is it the hair?

witchstone — Fri, 02 Aug 2002 08:25:36 -0800

break/doWn: translating the hits for the masses. Spent any sleepless nights wondering what those pop songs stuck in your head are really all about? Well, music-critic.com has done the work for you. For instance, did you know that when Britney sings "I know I may come off quiet, I may come off shy/But I feel like talking, feel like dancing when I see this guy" she's saying "I've spent the last three years carefully crafting a "good girl" image of myself for the public/But I'm ready to throw it all away for a one night stand with that guy over there." break/doWn has 13 "hits" translated just for you! (scroll down the the bottom of the page for other songs)

aaron — Wed, 24 Apr 2002 14:19:19 -0800

For the first time in forty years, there is not a single UK act on the Billboard top 100 singles chart. A lot of people argue that it's because manfactured crap is interchangable, so there's no need to import it, but plenty of American artists still make it in the UK, so I'm inclined to believe there's something else at work here. Any ideas as to what that something might be?

Lanternjmk — Wed, 06 Feb 2002 09:13:59 -0800

Tiffany goes Topless 80's teen pop sensation Tiffany will appear in a photo spread in an upcoming issue of Playboy. She says "it's time the world realizes she's no longer 18 but a wife and mother."

owillis — Fri, 06 Apr 2001 12:16:17 -0800

Britney's Battle Plan? Leaked document or Internet bs, you make the call...