Pop! Goes the Music

[Joe Turner <cutter%umass-boston.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>]

Shelli writes:

>I like Duran Duran, too, Joe, but usually only when I'm out
>dancing, or in a particularly wild mood.  I'm not sure that they
>have an overwhelming amount of "musical integrity", and I wouldn't
>put a poster of them on my wall.  What was the last huge hit they
>had that had such a neat video?

Well, now we're getting into semantics. What do you consider "musical
integrity"? I like DD because of the quality of songwriting and production
values. Simon Le Bon really *can* sing, and the group has a knack for writing
very catchy and infectious songs when they want to. They can also come up with
songs that evoke very strong moods while also being great to listen to ("The
Cheauffer" comes to mind). Most people think Madonna is crap, but I can listen
to her stuff because I like the intricasies of the song(s) as a whole. Same for
DD, their production and engineering makes most stuff look like crud. Maybe
I'm a sucker for high production values, I dunno.

>...the problem
>of overplay.  I mean, all of us Bostonians like FNX, right?  Well,
>basically, a lot of the stuff they play, they just play FIRST.  I
>remember they used to play "Face the Face" by Pete Townshend all the
>time, and then it became top 40 (more like top 10). And more recently,
>"Manic Monday" which can be heard in 10 minutes if you put on any top 40
>station.

I think FNX's p.o.v. is that you shouldn't be listening to any other station
so you shouldn't be hearing "Manic Monday" all the time :-). Anyway, I like
the song enough that hearing it over and over again is no problem...

>This is not to say I think "alternative stations" can play
>anything and still retain their good reputation...
>...But still,  I think that being "snobby" is really only
>hurting yourself when it comes to music.  I like Madonna, I also like
>Tchaikovsky, and I like the Hoodoo Gurus.  

I agree. But 'FNX sells itself as "Rock the Boat Radio", an alternative to
hearing the same "drivel" over and over again. They're not being snobby,
they're simply playing one type of music. Does that mean WDLW is snobby
because it only plays C&W?

>I already have "Nervous Night"...and I liked the Hooters back when
>they were a nothing local Philly band.  Thus proving that the world
>is round.

As a member of the Flat Earth Society, I beg to differ... :-) The point was
that I *didn't* know them when they were a nothing Philly band. I heard of
them when they became popular. However, I didn't let the fact that EVERYBODY
ELSE was listening to them dissuade me from picking the album up. This is a
jab at those people who don't like Top-40 simply because "the masses listen
to it, and I'm MUCH BETTER than THEY are because I listen to ALTERNATIVE
music"... Grr! Those people make my teeth itch.


James Hofmann writes:

>First off, "Nervous Night" was engineered with the sole intent of making
>the Hooters a household name...

Well, it certainly did! But that doesn't take away from the quality of the
music. I don't like bands who make music to make money, but if the music is
something I find interesting and I like it, they deserve that money.

>				if you think you like that Hooters sound
>find their indie release called Amore' and listen to it!  It's a hell
>of a lot better than "Nervous Night".

Well, that's a matter of individual taste, now isn't it?

>					If you followed any of CBS's scams
>you'd have known that CBS engineers all their new groups to sound like their
>most current, popular artist - in this case, Bruce Springsteen.

The Hooters most certainly do NOT! The two "sounds" are completely different!
The Hooters are MUCH more polished than Bruce. Bruce sounds like a garage
band, especially on something like "Glory Days"...

>Hooters packed a double commercial whammy in that Cyndi Lauper had covered
>a bunch of their songs.

Yes, but I didn't know that when I heard them.

>[maybe I misinterpreted what you meant:  were you saying you liked
>"Nervous Night" or what?]

I like "Nervous Night" a HELL of a lot. See above comment to Shelli.

>Second, I'll take BOTH Prince and the Surfers any day.  I've never said
>just because an artist has what is conceived to be a mersh sound that
>I wouldn't like them.

Same here. I was merely saying that not all "mersh" songs were bad, and
not everyone likes the "in" alternative bands...

>		       I think the Purple One has a lot more in common
>with the B-hole than you think, Joe, in that he basically built his
>career on his own merit and didn't let anyone from Warner Bros come in
>and say "here, you have to sound this way in order to sell" or, "you can't
>make a song about incest if you want to be a top radio star."

Good for them. I'd rather take "Jack U Off" than ANY "Night Ranger" song.
In fact, I'd take "Going Down to Florida" over any "Night Ranger" song.

>								I can't
>really say the same for the Hooters unfortunately - and being from the
>Phillie area, I go way back with The Hooters (they played at a multi-school
>party back in '79 - they're still doing pretty much the same songs btw,
>Zombies and Amore' etc etc)

Even so, I like their sound. Unless I have pegged them wrong, they write
music FIRST because they want to, and SECOND because they need to eat.

It's a real two-edged word. I want to be altruistic and sneer at any band
that is plastic and packaged - but what happens when I discover a song I
like? A fluke? Or is my value system fucked?

				Save your parity bits for big cash prizes!
						Joe

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