Pop and the idea of bands

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

I don't really listen to bands or groups. I think poptimists has something to do with this - I certainly don't see many bands featured here, and I think they still get a bad press even among those who have rehabilitated pop to themselves? Maybe even rightly!

Do you? I feel these days like having more than one focus distracts and confuses the focus of music, making it weaker - but then I'll make exceptions for moments like golden-age Girls Aloud, when it sounded like 5 solo artists all recording at once, leading and pulling in different, exciting directions. Or at the very least - you knew who they were.

What do people think?

Comments

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Is a band more of an investment for the listener, as well as the label? I am thinking of the hours spent memorizing the members of kat-tun - it takes far more time than making up a contrarian view for a solo artist?

(Or at least there's a dichotomy - single artist: "I don't want to learn too much and ruin the magic", group: "Knowing more about the dynamic opens new pleasures in the music")

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

Possibly and possibly that's why I think of myself as liking more bands, cus I'm more invested.

I do also have a thing for layered vocals tho so bands tend to work well towards me aesthetic.

[edgeofwhatever.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's that it takes more time -- for me it's more that it takes more emotional energy. I mean, it took me about the same amount of time (but much more work!) to learn Every Single Thing about Kara DioGuardi as it did to learn Every Single Thing about Fleetwood Mac, yet being a fan of Kara feels far simpler (and a little less special). With a single artist, you're only invested in one person / point of view. With a band, you're invested in the band as a group, as well as each member as an individual -- you have a relationship with four or five people, as well as a relationship with their relationships.

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

I wonder if The Kids get more of their gang mentality fix from tv/film characters these days - i.e. its easier to write slashfic about fictional groups who already have a clear (or not so clear) narrative? McFly are kind of the exception here in that they seem to unwittingly generate narratives by just existing. I would be very surprised to hear that someone had written a fan comic called 'The Saturdays Go Mad In Somerset' or similar.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

*gets crayons*

[piratemoggy.livejournal.com]

We should totally do this in the pub. There must be highlighters to steal around here...

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to pub - not because of this comment! - but do knock yrself out :)

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Fleetwood Mac are interesting, though, because (like Abba I guess!) a lot of the energy is directed inwards - you need an interior listening position to pick up on it? Isn't that fairly rare, though? Like, N'Sync are a bad, Radiohead are a band, but I'm not sure that's true of either - but maybe it's a continuum!

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

I dunno - memorising members or memorising tracklists/producers? Not sure how many legs are on that one. kat-tun and the whole fanservice thing adds a huge element of their relationships with each other and the whole johnnyverse to love too (and I guess to some extent all bands do) - whereas solo artists are more on the "my individual talent is so immense"! but... as I said above, which single artists are really entirely individual all the time anyway? hmm.

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

I was memorizing members! It was very difficult for me, my memory isn't very good and also they wear lots of makeup, being able to say "that is Jin!" re: a magazine photo took a lot of time. Possibly other people find this easier - I know some people can recognise Girls Aloud's voices on the songs for instance!

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

heh - no I didn't mean that quite! I meant - memorising members versus (with single artists) memorising tracklists, producers... like that sort of list making fandom is easily do-able whether there's one or six or a billion! (the more people there are the less interesting they get, there's a definite curve going on with optimum amount of ppl who can be interesting together, whether it's the polyphonic spree or hey say jump who are both equal on zzzzzz)...

i am a terrible poptimist but i still forget the name of the gurls aloud who are not sarah or cheryl or nicola-if-she's-the-ginger-one. Who are the others?! i don't think girls aloud are massively exciting as a mix of people (but as individuals they can be quite fun).

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Kimberley is a primary school teacher, she finds London a bit daunting! It is the same kids everywhere, but the men here are different, she's not sure she trusts them. Sarah is boring. Nicola is the ginger one! She loves going to Portobello market. Isn't London exciting? Nadia and Cheryl are both v.pretty - Cheryl thrives in London but Nadia doesn't, she is a bit too influenced by Cheryl and ends up heartbroken, pining for the boy she left back home.

All albums after WWTNS are not canon obv.

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Also I think "which single artists are really entirely individual all the time anyway" is a total red herring! It's not like there aren't other people on Bright Eyes records, in fact Bright Eyes is technically a band! The point is that I don't listen to the bass part and learn more about Bright Eyes The Band or about Mike; I listen and think I'm learning more about Conor, rightly or wrongly. And the same with Britney, I think!

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

Why 'technically' a band?! They *are* a band! There's always been other people! And whilst you may not, I am sure there are people who do (identifying majorly with one person in a band over 'the boring one' happens all the time, whether the appeal is looks, personality or HORRENDOUS EMO THAT COULD SINK SHIPS)...

It may be a bit of a red herring yes fair enough... but...

[mostlyconnect.livejournal.com]

Hmm but but! I mean when Tanaka raps there are elements of 'This is an expression of Tanaka' and elements of 'This is an expression of kat-tun', I reckon about half half. The drum parts in Bright Eyes are like 90% 'THIS IS HOW I FEEL, LIKE THE SURFACE OF THE MOOOON' even though C.O. doesn't actually play them! I dunno, isn't a big part of the pleasure of pop pretending that Sophie Ellie Bextor is modern and sophicated but fun too, why, just listen to that synth line?