New Pop

Jun. 7th, 2006 01:35 pm
[identity profile] freakytigger.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] poptimists
If you haven't voted in the Poptimists demographic survey, please do!

It makes interesting reading (FOR ME!) so far - we have a couple of years clearly in front as far as pan-generational excitement goes, and the agegroup distribution patterns are intriguing too - more detail on all this when I've got more votes in. The agegroup distribution is shaping up as expected - the majority of Poptimists (about 2/3) are in their twenties, with a handful under and a chunk over.

Something which does interest me in terms of the results - very few votes so far* for the early 80s, 80-83, the years of New Pop. New Pop has been repeatedly invoked - often by people who wouldn't consider themselves 'poptimists' I grant you - as a kind of pop ideal. Certainly as far as this - hugely unrepresentative - community goes, though, the number of people who remember it as exciting is dwindling. To recall New Pop as a critical moment you need to be 35 or more, I'd guess - even to remember it clearly as a pop moment you'd need to have hit 30. At some point New Pop is going to shift from being a beacon of inspiration to a stick to beat the kids with - perhaps that point has already passed...?

*(it's v.unscientific of me to mention this as there may now be a spike).

Date: 2006-06-07 03:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jauntyalan.livejournal.com
i am so ignorant. i have never heard of this era's name of which you speak. however it was great.</oldgiffer>

Date: 2006-06-07 03:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blue-russian.livejournal.com
Yes, I too am somewhat fuzzy on what the "new pop" canon would constitute, although Adam Ant is somehow coming to mind. Is there a Rough Guide to New Pop out there?

Date: 2006-06-07 04:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thenipper.livejournal.com
I imagine it would be something like

Adam + the Ants: 'Antmusic'
Dollar 'Handheld in Black and White'
ABC 'The Look of Love'
Human League 'Don't you want me?'
Heaven 17 'We don't need this fascist groove thang'
Scritti Politti 'The "Sweetest Girl"'
Orange Juice 'Rip it up'
Associates 'Party fears two'
Depeche Mode 'See you'
Altered Images 'Happy birthday'
Soft Cell 'Tainted Love'
Frankie goes to Hollywood 'Relax'
Propaganda 'Duel'
Scritti Politti 'Wood Beez'
Pet Shop Boys 'West End Girls'


Jess cobbled this (http://pitchforkmedia.com/features/weekly/new-pop/index.shtml) together from his reading of Reynolds' book, but his is a rather elastic definition.

Date: 2006-06-07 04:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dubdobdee.livejournal.com
DON'T TRUST REYNOLDS ON THIS
i. he hates pop
ii. he is always careful to redefine "popism" as something stupider than it ever was
iii. er as promised above i will look this up but KIM WILDE and HAIRCUT ONE HUNDRED people, also DOLLAR -- and probably NOT the PSBs, though i doubt i can justify this except to cite the NME's extreme suspicion of Smash Hits

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