Come back Simon Reynolds all is forgiven

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Come the 21st century, however, and the mainstream began to congeal into a certain beige perma-blandness, neither soulful or soulless, semi-tasteful, efficient pop fare made by capable, acceptable sorts, a music rich in everything but inspiration.

Oh good grief...

Comments

Old man says 'kids these days wot r they like'

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Pop is no more or less bland now than it was in the 70s or 80s.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

David Stubbs has never liked pop, he's just pretending that he used to like it. The 1982 example is a massive giveaway - none more safe :)

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

everyone of a certain age is increasingly become a parody of themselves :(

ps ADORNO ON A POGO-STICK!

[plumsbitch.livejournal.com]

wot Kat said. Lazy writing too.

[rechabite.livejournal.com]

FWIW Wingco has never really been in bed with pop; he spent the whole of 1984 listening exclusively to Stockhausen. Simon R wasn't that different; I used to sell records to both of them back in the eighties Music Market day. Wingco was well up on his Soul Weekender funk 12-inches though; Laura and I used to go to his club nights at St Clements where he'd play things like Vicki D's "This Beat Is Mine" and Evelyn King's "I'm In Love" to ourselves plus about three confused Goths. Great days to be sure.

Don't really see what the deal is with willing necrophilia towards decade's end - the death of XYZ - on the part of fortysomething Oxbridge music punters though, yours sincerely, fortysomething Oxbridge music punter ahem.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Not that he's entirely wrong though - the charts are an erratic mechanism for reflecting exciting stuff and they haven't done that as well as they might.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

The conclusions show that what he thinks is the standard for genuine quality, daring music is rock (which is why his classic examples are almost all rock-sensibility poppish acts). This has been a dubious narrowness since rock was born, whenever that was, but it's insane over the last couple of decades.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

Has there ever been a time where music was free of middle aged and old people saying things analogous to "it were all fields around here when I were a lad"?

[agincourtgirl.livejournal.com]

So I take it that there's a lot of swearing in this piece? Because the library computer won't let me see it due to 'profanity' (also 'pornography' for what it's worth).

Pop is great now, pop is always great because music is always great. Of course, it depends on what you call 'pop' I suppose...

[edgeofwhatever.livejournal.com]

Well, that was a lovely example of a logical fallacy.

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Other commenters have already made most of the sensible points I would have made. But frankly, I think anyone whose raison d'ecrire is to fanboy Paul fuckin' Morley, deserves everything they get and then some.

And I ADORE post-punk pop sensibilities - give me 1982 any day you like. But using those acts as lazy flag-waving, balustrade-storming battering rams (mixed metaphors ftw) against young persons' chart music is borderline insulting - it's not as if music journalists at the time weren't making the same argument Stubbs is *about* ABC, Heaven 17, Soft Cell, blah blah zzzz! His presentism is very nearly astounding.

[skyecaptain.livejournal.com]

Some random samples of those occupying the charts throughout the decade give a sense of the encroaching flavourlessness. So, in December 2002, we have Blue & Elton John, Robbie Williams, Gareth Gates, Eminem, Las Ketchup, S Club 7, Pink, The Cheeky Girls, Daniel Bedingfield and Atomic Kitten. In December 2004, it's a revived Band Aid version of 'Do They Know It's Christmas', Natasha Bedingfield, Ice Cube, Nelly and Christina Aguilera, Green Day, Destiny's Child, Girls Aloud, U2. The winter of 2006, meanwhile, yielded Take That, Nelly Furtado, Gwen Stefani, Jamelia, U2/Green Day, Justin Timberlake and Emma Bunton.

Phew, I'm glad that all of those artists listed together like that after the word "flavourlessness" explains itself.