Misery Wednesday

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

A couple of weeks ago we did a thread on what's exciting you about music at the moment.

Here's its inverse: what's annoying you about music at the moment, and why? I'm tempted to ban discussion of Kate Nash upfront - anyway I'm not really after specific acts, more the trends and ideas that make those acts' popularities a bad thing.

And - what do you think could be done about it (if anything)?

(Orgafun update: the missing Pop Open player has been located and a track is hopefully on its way)

Comments

Some things I don't like...

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

1. So OK the list of favourite Facebook music linked by avv the other day was miserable but the qn is WHY do I dislike it so much? I think it's the way this stuff is so unembarrassing, even potentally, it's like the formula for "acceptable music" has been found and it turns out to be mid-paced rock by an endless turnover of vaguely trendy young men. I don't want rebellion, I want vulgarity! Mind you I thought the same about clothes and hairstyles in the mid-90s, that a Fukuyama style end of hist. had been reached (and they WERE rly boring) but people snapped out of it and look much hotter and funnier and stupider now (I remain as rub a dresser as always of course).

1a. I'm tempted to blame this on Radio 1, the inevitable consequence of their giving up on Smashie and Nicey et al. But I hated the Smashie/Nicey R1 quite a lot too, they've just replaced phoney enthusiasm for life with phoney enthusiasm for music.

2. A bit annoyed that the default mode of music-making is STILL the album. (cf the Radiohead giveaway thing). And the 40-50 minute album at that. Actually no I don't mean "music-making", I mean getting attention for music.

3. "Early Winter" getting pulled off the schedules for the awful "Now That You Got It" - why Gwenbo why?

Re: Some things I don't like...

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

The Radiohead copycats, who all seem to be claiming that since they too are "selling" their albums at whatever price consumers wish to pay, they also deserve credit for being innovative.

It's not a new idea if it's already been done, FULES.

Re: Some things I don't like...

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The more people who do it the better an idea it is! Rhead were very clever to start it, not only because it suits their thinking-digitalists brand image but also because if everyone's using honesty boxes a low pricing level will be found very quickly.

Re: Some things I don't like...

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

Agree re the album thing of course. Radiohead should've just said 'we have a bunch of songs you can download for whatever you think they're worth' - it's up to you to decide what order they should go in and you can design or pick your own artwork etc.

Re: Some things I don't like...

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Well early impressions (like pot80's) suggest that this is an album album, i.e. there's a compositional logic behind the order, selection, etc. And that's usually how this particular band like to roll, so fine. But I agree it would be nice if a big name band did try and use the new distribution formats to experiment with its musical formatting too.

(My apologies for not considering Ash a big name band, Shine fans)

Re: Some things I don't like...

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

One criticism I'm surprised hasn't come up more is that Radiohead seem to be ripping off the hardcore fans quite badly on this - you get an extra CD of songs with the £40 physical purchase not available to d/l for free - so basically they're offering half the album for free, and saying that anyone who wants the full album has to pay £40. I don't have too much sympathy though for anyone still caring about Radiohead in this day and age.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of posting something on poptimists which might count - I was talking to Aly & AJ's PR yesterday about their success, which I assumed would get them easily into the top 10 next week (I keep seeing their name pop up everywhere, the critical consensus is positive etc) - but apparently 'Potential Breakup Song' is only top 20 in the midweeks! ie my litmus test has FAILED - if that song isn't a hit, I hold out no hope for any new pop act of this type succeeding. And apparently it's all down to radio, which completely rejected PBS. I can't believe they'd reject it on the basis of the song itself, which is about as catchy a pop song as I've heard this year, and I think it's clear that it's a kneejerk response to who Aly & AJ are - ie blonde American Disney sisters.

I also read something recently about how Jo Whiley, when premiering the new Sugababes single, was all sneery and tried to distance herself from it.

So I guess my beef right now is the stifling conservatism of radio programmers, and the frustration that such an archaic/annoying medium is still apparently so important.

I also looked up the lyrics to the Specials song covered on the Stylus jukebox as the comments piqued my interest - those are some really vile, snobbish, sexist sentiments there!

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

What I want to know about the Kasabian cover is which member of the band - if any - is doing the backing vocals and keeping the very strong West Indian patois?

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

omg delete kasabian now (AND the specials)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I think radio has been conservative for a very long time really - there's always been a sense of "who our listeners will/won't want to hear", and some people have fallen outside that. Back in the late 90s I remember there being a lot of grumbling because Crowded House were getting ignored by Radio 1 - now if a young band came along with Crowded House style songwriting they'd be right on there. I don't think you can say "hurrah pop is all about image" and then complain about judgements being made on that basis.

The big shift though happened when the gatekeeper criteria at Radio 1 shifted from "we can't play this, it's too weird or horrible or rude" to "we can't play this, it's too unhip" - but I guess the gatekeeper criteria I remember from my youth had themselves shifted several times.

[avv.livejournal.com]

wasn't 'chewing gum' rejected by r1 on the basis that it wasn't exactly pop and wasn't exactly dance?

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

lex, i think the stylus comments on the lyrics miss the point. they're MEANT to be unpleasant. the narrator is being a prick. well that's always been my take.

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

yeah, i'm not so sure about that alang -- the specials (and two-tone generally) walked a really odd line between parochial coventry council-estate laddishness (oi except militantly multiracial) and "progressive" opinions (cf esp. the special aka, and the third LP); some of the complexity and tension of ditto also evident in "this is england"

also of course terry hall's deadpan (which still always makes me grin) ironises EVERYTHING, in any direction you want -- get-out clause ahoy

it's what made them so exciting and fascinating at the time, but it also pulled them apart fast

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

'and I think it's clear that it's a kneejerk response to who Aly & AJ are - ie blonde American Disney sisters.'

it's too "fast/weird" maybe - and i still think it could use a better vocal treatment. i do like it tho, and it may well be that these aren't the reasons it's being ignored but i think the fact that it's 'American teenpop' by an act not established for 5 years or more may be the biggest factor. maybe it's not quite 'rock' enough like 'Girlfriend' or 'Since U Bene Gone'.

Aly & AJ

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

It's not just radio - I haven't seen them on Hits!TV much at all, and they're usually very receptive to non-guitar pop. It's all been Timbaland, Timberlake and Rihanna on repeat (fine, but not exactly inspiring).

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

"I also looked up the lyrics to the Specials song covered on the Stylus jukebox as the comments piqued my interest - those are some really vile, snobbish, sexist sentiments there!"

This is very amusing coming from Mr 'I have no moral compass and will forgive anything for a hot beat especially homophobic dancehall' though.

[koganbot]

Lex, in the U.S. the "Potential Breakup Song" jumped in at 17 almost entirely on the basis of downloads but then slipped and got very poor radio play outside of Disney, iirc barely reaching the 50s on mainstream Top 40 and doing way worse overall. Meanwhile it was boffo on Radio Disney, of course, and it does very well on online video views (#5 this week on Launch Yahoo, even though it's been around for a couple of months). But then it's done better than any other Disney song not by Hilary Duff as far as crossing to the mainstream. My guess is that in its attempts to go mainstream it's actually stronger in Britain than in the U.S. And my bet is that your analysis is on the money: if a track is associated with teenpop, radio will decide that it will drive away teen male and adult listeners, so spins will be few. If downloads and airplay build or even stay steady in Britain over the next few weeks that'll be better than I expect.

Pardon my enthusiasm

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

I'm not in the mood for negativity today :(
...or should that be :D ?

Reason #1: Teri Wagon played the new Kylie single, '2 Hearts', this morning - and it's GREBT. Slowed down glam rock beat (POUNDING piano) with "Goodies" style swooping sine-wave bleeps, and not a bad tune either. Hopefully it'll be up on youtube within 24 hours.

Reason #2: he also played the new Roisin Murphy, which is great as well.

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

- Pointless and inane attempts to 'right wrongs' of past by phonies like NME re 'God Save The Queen'. shouldn't you guys be championing NEW music to the top spot?

- The impending fixation by media on Christmas #1. All we can do is ignore them all I guess.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The NME campaign - an update: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7037353.stm

Arf Arf

EASY

[celentari.livejournal.com]

Unblinking acceptance of sexist lyrics and images in rap and R'n'B.

Re: EASY

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

It's probably a lack of paying attention, but my general impression is that the level of really horribly sexist lyrics in hip-hop has dropped from a few years back. (Or maybe it's just that they stand out less in a much more generally sexualised / sex-oriented pop culture)

Re: EASY

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

This is something I was thinking about the other day when listening to the MIA album. The whole album is a massive big "HELLOOOOOOR THIS IS MIA" My Album Let Me Show You It - it's all hers and her personality is stamped all over it. And then there's the Timbaland track at the end that, first of all sounds completely at odds with the other songs (it's *his* track and she should feel GRATEFUL to be appearing on it etc), and then the bit that makes me CRINGE: Timbaland calling MIA "baby girl".

- MIA is NOT Timbaland's object of affection, that's quite clear from the tone of the song
- Baby girl is not generally accepted as a term of respect, professional or otherwise
- So basically Tim is 'putting her in her place' and dismissing the last 11 tracks as infantile. This makes me angrier than a very angry thing.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I think my main beef is the reliance on the US for RnB and pop. Is the UK even capable of launching a homegrown pop act at the moment?

Actually, I challenge someone to name me a new UK pop act who has hit the top ten in 2007. That isn't Kate Nash. Is she really the best we can do?

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Booty Luv have brushed the top ten at least haven't they? *optimistic*