Seemingly Intractable Questions In Pop, No.1 in a Series

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

How do you make pop work on TV?

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

The only problem with putting live music on telly is that IT SOUNDS AWFUL. Even the tightest musicians sounded ropey playing live on Top of the Pops - your telly might have surround sound or whatever but the sound engineers at live gigs or festivals are making sure it sounds good for the crowd THERE, not you at home. Live vocals can work fine against a backing tape though, there's fewer variables to get wrong.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

the issue of sound is really REALLY fundamental i think

does anyone apart from themetune composers actually give any thought to how what they're doin sounds on a TV? (ok yes soundtrack composers but cf WHO for the level of thinking applied, which is NOT VERY MUCH)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

This is why miming was generally the best option.

And why even the hoariest of fifty-quid men remembers the CLOTHES and LOOKS and impression of general COOLNESS when they think of "legendary pop TV moments" rather than remembering the magnificent interpretation of a song.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

How do classical concerts manage it?

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Usually they're better musicians. They actually get paid a wage for playing (I have no idea if its a decent one or not though) instead of an advance to be flushed away on booze and 'recording albums'.

Also orchestral instruments are designed for playing 'live' instead of being tweaked through an amplifier/mixing desk. Plus orchestras are usually quite big so less amplification required + less obvious if one of them makes a mistake.

This is why the Proms work very well on telly, and live pop music (eg Glastonbury coverage) is mostly terrible.

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

There is something quite terrible about Proms TV at times. Watched last night's concert on BBC4 and there were times when they would focus upon an instrument that wasn't quite the centre of attention for that segment of time. Plus I couldn't hear some of the segments well enough.

BUT, crucially, two out of the three did seem to overcome any of these limitations to give some excellent telly moments. I

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i don't get this. i've never watched Later With Jools Holland and thought 'this sounds terrible' beyond my actual dislike of the artist playing in the first place. music regularly sounds fine if not great on TV!

[blue-russian.livejournal.com]

i concur

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Really? Perhaps it's just me.

I am biased against Jools Holland after seeing Elastica do a set for him and they were pretty awful. It was HIS FAULT.

[anatol-merklich.livejournal.com]

I think I only saw about two of them or something due to artists I'd want to see hardly ever being there, but surely MTV Unplugged did this correctly? Live setting, but optimized for TV sound (I suppose)? Maybe before its time wasnit; I really liked The Cure's set as it was with all its violins, tiny toy pianos etc on a 90s type TV set, but with a wall-size TV, high-end audio etc I might have been blown properly away.