|
Post by greendemon on Jul 19, 2020 21:00:52 GMT 1
I love 'Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough' - would probably be in my MJ top 10! I agree it's not the same calibre as some of his later classics, but, I mean, there aren't many songs recorded by any artist that can stand up to the likes of 'Billie Jean' or 'Beat It'.
|
|
|
Post by Shireblogger on Jul 20, 2020 7:43:54 GMT 1
The best track from MJ's 2nd best album. Yes, Off The Wall is several leagues above Bad.
Of course its a disco song. Only music snobs think disco sucks. Disco is the second of the great "feel good" music genres, behind (chronologically and quality-wise) only 50s rock'n'roll.
|
|
|
Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 20, 2020 7:57:51 GMT 1
I do love DSTYGE, and I love disco even more, I have just never been as obsessed with it as I have a lot of his music. For me, Bad is his most perfect album - 9 hit singles, all brilliant, and 2 songs which could easily have been singles.
|
|
|
Post by masenz on Jul 20, 2020 9:20:10 GMT 1
Weirdly, MJ is one of those artists that I'm not all that familiar with. Given my age (early-mid 30's) it's a bit surprising. I guess growing up, my parents weren't massive music obsessives, and what they did enjoy was the likes of Abba/Buddy Holly etc, so I was exposed to that as a kid. Then as I started to like my 'own' music I was swept up in Spice mania and so forth and by that time MJ was starting to wind down a bit as far as massive, huge hits went I guess. So in a really weird way he kind of passed me by (other than the Billie Jean/Beat It songs that literally everyone knew).
Over the last 10-20 years I've heard more of his stuff etc and this one is always enjoyable. Isn't one I would immediate associate with him, echoing the above. I'm thinking the Rihanna track perhaps encouraged people to re-evaluate this one and has helped it's streaming in later years?
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,464
|
Post by vastar iner on Jul 20, 2020 9:32:46 GMT 1
Can't stand disco. Most of it sounds tinny and derivative. Although that might be because the mainstream reduced it to lowest common denominator like with so many other genres.
DSTYGE sums up the streaming ethos to me. Blandly inoffensive, not worth the effort in fast-forwarding it, not worth the effort in investing time into listening to it. It's no "Magic Fly".
|
|
|
Post by greendemon on Jul 20, 2020 9:34:28 GMT 1
My mum liked Michael Jackson but I'm not sure if she had any of his CDs. My dad certainly didn't. I only started to discover more of his music when I was 'scouted' at my school along with a bunch of other kids to appear on stage at one of his concerts! We didn't meet MJ or anything. We were just given rags to wear on top of our actual clothes (my mother had chosen this day to dress me in rainbow dungarees and a bright pink T-shirt, thanks Mum ) and told to parade around looking sad during 'Earth Song' and 'Heal the World'.
|
|
SheriffFatman
Member
Been spending most our lives living in the Cheshire countryside
Posts: 10,946
|
Post by SheriffFatman on Jul 20, 2020 10:37:05 GMT 1
722 - Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen No. 2 in 1979
The second day running with a top 3 hit from 1979, and it's another radio classic. This song is one of those ever-present singles, never a surprise at any point in my life to hear this on the radio.
It always seems a strange one to me. Queen were very versatile and put their stamp on lots of different styles, but even so this just doesn't seem like a Queen song. In fact it's like the best thing Shakin' Stevens never did. I don't mean that in a derogaory way, it's a great song, but rock & roll revivalism isn't exactly the most challenging or critically acclaimed genre.
Gets my foot tapping, nice enough, but Queen did way, way better.
|
|
|
Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 20, 2020 10:55:19 GMT 1
I get the rock 'n' roll connection with 'Crazy little thing called love', I would actually have loved to have heard Elvis cover this, had he lived a few more years.
It's good that bands like Queen are still gaining new fans, through biopics etc., even if I don't agree with the timeline changes in 'Bohemian Rhapsody', which I find unnecessary! Anyhow, I think this is definitely up there with their best songs and is deserved of its millionaire status.
|
|
|
Post by greendemon on Jul 20, 2020 11:00:37 GMT 1
It always seems a strange one to me. Queen were very versatile and put their stamp on lots of different styles, but even so this just doesn't seem like a Queen song. In fact it's like the best thing Shakin' Stevens never did. I don't mean that in a derogaory way, it's a great song, but rock & roll revivalism isn't exactly the most challenging or critically acclaimed genre. Gets my foot tapping, nice enough, but Queen did way, way better. Agree with this assessment - decent song, nicely demonstrates how versatile Queen could be, but they have at least 20 better.
|
|
SheriffFatman
Member
Been spending most our lives living in the Cheshire countryside
Posts: 10,946
|
Post by SheriffFatman on Jul 21, 2020 9:00:33 GMT 1
721 - I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry No. 1 in 2008
I don’t like this record, for several reasons. First of all, and probably least importantly, the music. It just doesn’t seem very exciting, it drones on in the same key for too long without anything happening. For such a massive hit it is unusually unremarkable. Actually I think that’s a contradiction in terms, but I know what I mean.
We all know the music isn’t the big story here though, it’s the lyrical content. It strikes me that this is a song written (mostly) by men, and released by an industry dominated by men, but given to a very attractive young woman to sing so she can perpetuate and normalise male fantasies amongst a young, female audience. If this was really an empowering, liberating tale of female emancipation she would be singing “I kicked a dirty old man in the balls and I liked it”.
That said, I’ve read lots of praise of this song saying it started a conversation about LGBT in pop, so what do I know? It’s just not a favourite of mine. I’m not completely anti-Perry though, her next single, Hot And Cold, was great.
|
|
|
Post by masenz on Jul 21, 2020 9:25:47 GMT 1
I Kissed A Girl, as you say, is such an obvious hit created by a record label. From the 'controversial' lyrics, to the standard 2008 pop beat etc, it's like it was designed to hit #1 because that's what the label felt like that month.
In saying that, I get why it did. Never a favourite of mine, but as a pop song it totally can get in your head and I see why it did as well as it did.
|
|
|
Post by Whitneyfan on Jul 21, 2020 9:28:55 GMT 1
I really like Katy Perry. She sings punchy pop songs, and she sings clearly without slurring her words, which seems to a trend among a lot of female singers today. I'd never thought about the fact that the lyrical content was just pandering to male fantasies before, but I suppose it makes sense. It's still a catchy song though - and I found the previous one, 'U R So Gay' to be a bit more cringey. She did get much better though.
|
|
|
Post by greendemon on Jul 21, 2020 9:57:52 GMT 1
We all know the music isn’t the big story here though, it’s the lyrical content. It strikes me that this is a song written (mostly) by men, and released by an industry dominated by men, but given to a very attractive young woman to sing so she can perpetuate and normalise male fantasies amongst a young, female audience. If this was really an empowering, liberating tale of female emancipation she would be singing “I kicked a dirty old man in the balls and I liked it”. Very much agree with this assessment. I like the song, but it doesn't feel very LGBT/queer-positive to me: it does feel as if it is aimed for the straight male gaze rather than female or queer empowerment. It wasn't all that long ago but in some ways as a society we have come a long way since 2008 - a song like this appearing now would get so much more criticism than it did then - but in other ways, we have a long way to go! (I should add that I don't identify as queer in any way, so am limited in my own abilities to criticise - and of course appreciate that some may have taken a positive message from the song and its popularity ) As for Katy Perry, I do like this but I much prefer her Teenage Dream era.
|
|
|
Post by masenz on Jul 21, 2020 10:58:05 GMT 1
From my experience, it did seem somewhat of a LGBT 'positive' track. Not so much in the overall message from it, but more that it simply mentioned the topic, and was a big, positive, dancey pop track. It certainly went off in regional gay bars back down under
|
|
Roo.
Member
Posts: 17,881
|
Post by Roo. on Jul 21, 2020 12:17:41 GMT 1
She has acknowledged that she'd write different lyrics to it now because the landscape has changed so much (she and Cathy Dennis are co-writers on the song) but at the time there was more positivity around the track, especially in America where normally it would never be able to become a hit. I saw her in a tiny little 500-capacity venue in Sacramento a few months after she got big, and the song was definitely well received!
It's far from my favourite though, to me it was one of the least inspired songs on the album, and she's done so much better since.
|
|
|
Post by Shireblogger on Jul 21, 2020 17:12:37 GMT 1
Queen
A corker. One of the many remarkable things about Queen is the breadth of their songwriting and musicianship. Hard rock, synth pop, rock opera, stadium anthems, disco, retro pastiche, rockabilly. I guess that's one of the consequences of having four accomplished songwriters in your band.
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is one of my very favourite Queen tracks. It is simple but compulsive.
|
|
|
Post by Shireblogger on Jul 21, 2020 17:17:18 GMT 1
Katy Perry
Pop music at its very best. I don't think she gets the credit she deserves as a musician, with people all too keen to write her off as a disposable product of the industry. Her quality control standards have always been high, with her albums devoid of filler. Many of her videos are also quirky and reward repeat watching.
As for the lyrics, when the song came out I thought they were brave in a non-confrontational way, and therefore to be lauded. It hadn't occurred to me that both I and Katy were being manipulated by middle aged executives in suits who were jerking off to a teenage lesbian fantasy, and making a fortune whilst doing so. I'm obviously very naïve.
|
|
Good Old Days
Member
Sielos grožio niekas nepavogs, kol širdy jaunystė gros.
Posts: 3,007
|
Post by Good Old Days on Jul 21, 2020 17:29:24 GMT 1
I love almost every song from "One of the Boys". Four singles were # 1 in my retrospective chart (Ur So Gay, I Kissed A Girl, Hot and Cold, Waking Up In Vegas), but my main favourite is a titled track.
Sadly she didn't record anything wonderful after it. Last album is awful.
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,464
|
Post by vastar iner on Jul 21, 2020 22:45:12 GMT 1
And nobody remembers Jill Sobule...
I saw the Perry title before I heard the song and assumed it was a cover. I was probably unwontedly surprised by the media's total lack of mention that the same thing had been done a decade earlier. Probably payola to make Perry sound more original.
|
|
SheriffFatman
Member
Been spending most our lives living in the Cheshire countryside
Posts: 10,946
|
Post by SheriffFatman on Jul 22, 2020 8:57:42 GMT 1
720 - Still D.R.E. by Dr Dre featuring Snoop Dogg No. 6 in 2000
Well, there might be tracks on this list that I like more than this one but if so, not many. I’m not sure how to explain how much Still DRE means to me or how to discuss it without sounding like a gibbering obsessive fanboy. It is the ultimate, perfect hip hop track. The rapping is confident, funny, personal and very honest. The production is unique - genuinely, surprisingly different - and yet faultless. I had listened to lots of hip-hop before, but this song, and even more so it’s incredible parent album 2001, are what made me officially a rap fan. An odd move for someone equally obsessed with Bob Dylan maybe, but there is such power here, such incredible ability to get across a message in a way traditional songs restrict, that I was transfixed. I love words, and hip hop is the musical genre with the most power to use them.
Dre is one of my all time musical heroes, but while this maybe the peak of material released under his own name, his production credits would make the best Greatest Hits album in history. And yes I have heard Abba Gold. Absolute, blinding brilliance.
|
|