Popular Music with Attitude.

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Yea the dance scene generally doesnt care where you come from, as long as you are sound and having fun. :)
I know what you mean about lyrics though. Listened to Dylan for decades and marvelled at some of his play with ideas in his lyrics.
Like in 115th Dream, where he imagines being on the Mayflower, then on landing in America is in the 20th century and a cop throws them 'all in jail for carryin' harpoons', he picks up a phone and a 'foot came through the line'. Then he goes back to the ship, so back in time, bumps into Columbus and asks him why 'he didn't drive a truck'. And Subterranean Homesick Blues mixing up ideas and using juxtaposition. Surreal. Suggesting ideas but letting them form in the listener's mind.

Nick Cave can craft lyrics, Joni Mitchell and Morrissey, etc. All were inspired by great poets and carrying on the tradition through song.

And then I find myself listening to and loving Underworld where they just repeat ' Ride the Train and Dark Train', but it's that driving beat and building to a crescendo.

This thread has definitely brightened up a freezing January.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGsn3R71xOQ&ab_channel=%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%94
 
115th Dream is really great! I only really know a few of Bob Dylans greatest hits, Blowin in the Wind, Mr Tambourine Man, and Times They Are A' Changing. Nick Cave, only Red Right Hand which I really like and the Kylie Minogue tune. Joni Mitchell I love the live version of Big Yellow Taxi and know little else :) I have all that to look forward too sometime.

Like I say I just tend to skim the surface of stuff and then something else grabs me and I'm off.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlI7vaxBm9o


Tom I've got most of his albums, Rain Dogs is an all timer.

I've been trying to find examples of great lyrics in my library, its tough because a lot of what I love is very personal. There are lines in a lot of tunes I love that make my hairs stand on end but objectively speaking they maybe aren't all that great if they don't hit the same spot for you.

William Shatner though, genius lyricist :p

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDMz5RL-wvM
 
115th Dream is really great! I only really know a few of Bob Dylans greatest hits, Blowin in the Wind, Mr Tambourine Man, and Times They Are A' Changing. Nick Cave, only Red Right Hand which I really like and the Kylie Minogue tune. Joni Mitchell I love the live version of Big Yellow Taxi and know little else :) I have all that to look forward too sometime.

Like I say I just tend to skim the surface of stuff and then something else grabs me and I'm off.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlI7vaxBm9o


Tom I've got most of his albums, Rain Dogs is an all timer.

I've been trying to find examples of great lyrics in my library, its tough because a lot of what I love is very personal. There are lines in a lot of tunes I love that make my hairs stand on end but objectively speaking they maybe aren't all that great if they don't hit the same spot for you.

William Shatner though, genius lyricist :p

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDMz5RL-wvM
I think some people hear the lyrics, some maybe focus on guitars. I realised I got it slightly wrong, it's just some songs with lyrics that are in a foreign language that don't appeal to you. How is your Finnish coming along?

I suppose I tried to listen to a few albums that are considered classics, like reading classic books and watching classic films. Yes I get that about some lyrics being personal to people at certain times. Maybe help get through a certain time or make some sort of sense of it.

So early Dylan often appeals to the young who feel radical at that age. I also had some live stuff by Bruce Springsteen I loved The Ghost of Tom Joad(Grapes of Wrath ), Across the Border and Youngstown which probably tied in with some films like The Deer Hunter.

And later I liked Blood on the Tracks(Tangled up in Blue, still listen to) and Desire by Dylan. Nick cave has always been a bit dark and that appealed to me at a certain time, he did one called The Carny which reminded me of that film Freaks.

Tom Waits is brilliant and unique.

Joni Mitchell's classic Blue, adventure and relationships. This is River which seems appropriate for this time of year.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpFudDAYqxY&ab_channel=sherrylynn70akaSentimentalJourneyProductions
 
Billy Joel is probably my fav songwriter, worth exploring if you're not familiar.
Pretty much only Uptown Girl, and We Didnt Start The Fire. Thats one I always liked. I'm sure I'll bump into more, if you dont feel like posting one up?

I havent really listened to much Springsteen either and enough people bang on about him I should probably check him out more. Bit before my time, I know its wrong but I always get a bit of a Dad rock feeling about those guys that stopped me before. Not even really stopped me, but in a way they're so in the foreground I look through them if that makes sense.

My Finnish is just OK. I can speak to people one on one and express myself fine, written is more difficult because the grammar is pretty intricate. Capital region most young people speak English, many older people too, but less so. People are usually pretty forgiving and excited that I can speak any Finnish at all, many foreigners dont bother here.

Uhhh, how about some Gomez

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwFbsnKZ0rc
 
Pretty much only Uptown Girl, and We Didnt Start The Fire. Thats one I always liked. I'm sure I'll bump into more, if you dont feel like posting one up?

I havent really listened to much Springsteen either and enough people bang on about him I should probably check him out more. Bit before my time, I know its wrong but I always get a bit of a Dad rock feeling about those guys that stopped me before. Not even really stopped me, but in a way they're so in the foreground I look through them if that makes sense.

My Finnish is just OK. I can speak to people one on one and express myself fine, written is more difficult because the grammar is pretty intricate. Capital region most young people speak English, many older people too, but less so. People are usually pretty forgiving and excited that I can speak any Finnish at all, many foreigners dont bother here.

Uhhh, how about some Gomez

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwFbsnKZ0rc
I felt the same about Bruce, he was played by certain people, Born in the USA and all that and the hype put me off.
And he really does play up to the blue collar hero. But then I heard those live versions and a few more in the set and I appreciated a different side to him, more real, more from the heart. Like he was really singing about the downtrodden and forgotten people in the US.

I really enjoy the way producers approach music now. When I was young everything was seperate. I'd go to a club with three rooms and it would be a different genre in each. Or I'd go to Punk club one night, a Rock and Roll club the next, Dance club the next. Then I'd be at some geeky sound art place where we'd listen to obscure weird sounds.

Now producer mix it all up and layer it. In one tune you'll hear Billy Holiday, hip hop, the voice of an announcer at Grand Central station, some seagulls squawking, jazz, some film clips, and mission control talking to astronauts, etc, sometimes maybe 500 samples or more mixed into one tune in complex ways. Modern tech makes it easier.

I was thinking about that Zen idea of random accidents. A great tune is Voodoo Ray. The story goes that he was trying to record a clip from a Derek and Clive skit which said 'Voodoo rage', but with limited recording space on early tech, just caught the first part. Acid House classic.

Also Bristol was a hub for Drum and Bass and that seems to have it's origins in a simple break, the Amen break from a 1969 Soul band The Winstons.

Yes it's weird because I only learnt Spanish by talking it, but didn't know the grammar. Never studied it and knew nothing about S. America before I went there. Just bought a random one way ticket.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7vxHOCeiQ4&ab_channel=RhamRecords
 
Nice to know we've a range of members living in different places with such varied tastes. Didn't know the first track , but yes to the second two, especially like Royksopp(didn't even realise where they were from).

I was thinking about Japanese music after our talk yesterday, and many of the women do sing in a high pitch(she's a bit lower), and also I did hear a sublime Ryuichi Sakamoto track yesterday.

These guys Taiko Drummers are amazing, the rythmns and power, plus the way they train, and the discipline. I did see some live a number of years ago.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7HL5wYqAbU&ab_channel=AgoraVoxFrance
 
Born in the USA
A song misunderstood by most, it's actually a criticism of some aspects of USA life—which we won't get into here :)

if you dont feel like posting one
Timing is everything! As in, I don't have as much some days :)
My Billy Joel favs are:
Piano Man
Goodnight Saigon
Allentown

Fun interview with Stephen Colbert where he ranks his own top-5:
1. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
2. She's Right on Time
3. You May be Right
4. And so it Goes
5. Vienna

If you like him, he's an absolute treat, both a great story teller and a great performer—with a lot of great songs out there.
 
I only really remember Up town Girl, but there were some singer song writers, and writing teams that could really craft a lyric back then.

Paul Anka wrote for Frank as did Johnny Mercer (Summer Wind) from Heinz Meier , Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Aretha(Say a Little Prayer). Lieber and Stoller, Holland/Dozier/Holland. I even heard of some upstarts called Lennon and McCartney.

(you've got me intrigued by Born in the USA now)

I liked Neil Sedaka

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtIibcNDQ6o&ab_channel=OceanKingNY
 
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Okay enough of that. One thing that Britain has, maybe our most successful industry is great music. It's our most vibrant and creative scene. And is constantly buzzing, almost alive.

This track is uplifting and makes me feel happy(+the Berlin audience).
It also reminds me of the film Trainspotting, and the book which I read with it's English/Scottish dialects, exciting times.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krN3ledny-Y&ab_channel=TelekomElectronicBeats
 
Liking those Billy Joel lyrics, havent had time to sit down and listen to any music for a bit but I browsed the lyrics and like where hes coming from.

But I'm a little disappointed no one mentioned Simon and Garfunkel yet! My mother would play it all the time when I was a very young kid and they got stuck in my soul somehow.

She loved Bridge Over Troubled Water, but my favourite has always been The Boxer.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFML_pxlY


Born Slippy is a classic, but definitely from a different era from all those others.

More uplifting one randomly found a while ago on a dive, always puts a smile on my face,

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t2-rJo5bdw
 
Yes I hadn't heard any Simon and Garfunkel for years, but heard The Sound of Silence again a few years ago and had to add some to my playlist, heard Frank Loyd Wright for first time. But The Boxer is poignant and a classic track.

@Frindis I also remembered that I had ten DJ sets from Norway on my playlist(experimental). It must have had a strong music scene for quite a while. John Peel made a special live show from Trondheim and towns and I don't remember him making a visit to any other country like that, and the audiences certainly knew who he was.

It was a while ago and Smalltown Supersound label is mentioned.

I like the way all these aspects of culture link together. S&G obvously reminds me of The Graduate, and also a song about a famous architect F.L. Wright.

There are a few special music videos out there. One favourite of mine is when First Aid Kit sing America to Paul Simon.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBwKp6QhIvE&ab_channel=PolarMusicPrize
 
I just watched a YT vid about Fallingwater, aptly named and a work of art. He designed it in 2 hours!
I think architects in America seem to want to break free of traditonal designs and I like the way it's partly built into the landscape.
In Britain I often think the country is trying to progress but often looking backwards, so you get modern copies of Tudor or Georgian designs. And generally when they take inspiration from architects like Le Corbusier, they make a pig's ear of it.

Thankfully our music scene is mostly progressing through young people, and even though they are aware of the past are progressing forward.

Perfect for a chilled Sunday afternoon>

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9miZMOwyXs&ab_channel=KUTXAustin
 
Trouble is when I post a tune, like the Goat 'run to your mama' or Arlo above is I can't stop singing certain lines for days.

I was thinking that after your Cream track(interesting audience, and Ginger Baker, drummer respect), I started listening to bands like Deep Purple and a few other rock bands, and then I saw a poll on my classroom wall of students favourite bands. Right at the bottom with one vote, was Pink Floyd, intrigued I listened to Dark Side of the Moon every night. Change of direction for me.

I think the Roling Stones listened to music from all over America, gave it an English twist and sold it back to the Americans and then got to play with their influences. Had a few of their albums as well.

I enjoyed this a few years ago, Leon Bridges has an old style vocal and Khraungbin are interesting, Texas Sun.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzHVrUBuRF8&ab_channel=TravisLopes
 
I like the way we've stretched the meaning of the word 'attitude' in this thread and we have travelled back and forth in time and place.

I was listening to an old mini disk yesterday. It was from that time when many people did that and listened to what was called 'world music'.

Another influential DJ/presenter to me was Andy Kershaw, wth his northerness and passion for African music. He would travel all over the continent recording well know musicians in places like Mali, as well as recording complete unkowns.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf1niujMXtM&ab_channel=AliFarkaTour%C3%A9
 
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Couldn't resist this after our chatter. Cool for Cats. There are a few song like this which I see as quintessentially British because of the vocal style and reference to Brit culture and life. Others would be; The Kinks Waterloo Sunset, Blur Parklife, Squeeze Up the Junction, some Beatles and The Streets Weak become Heroes, etc.

So do we have any members living anywhere else. We've had America, Finland and Norway.........

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-PjWBRFQ94&ab_channel=Betaman31252
 
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