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Post by Michal on Oct 8, 2023 12:40:32 GMT
Nice to see song choices from acts thatvare very different from ABBA - and mainly not the usual suspects. 's comment made me wonder if picking "the usual suspects" tells something about you as a fan. I mean, I could name hundreds of my favourite tracks from different artists but most of them would really be the predictable choices (and partly that was the reason I didn't bother yet). I was thinking if that means I'm superficial. Does choosing the obvious hits mean the person doesn't bother with going beyond the best ofs end essential collections? That doesn't have to be the case. I think I can call myself a Queen fan, having all their albums. But if I was asked about songs from their repertoire that mean the most to me, I could probably pick a few obscure tracks but I just couldn't overlook the most famous pieces such as Bohemian Rhapsody, because they really are the best. The same goes for most other acts... I like The Rasmus or Sunrise Avenue a lot and even though I have many favourite tracks, if pressed to choose just one, I would probably settle on the obvious In The Shadows and Fairytale Gone Bad. Bryan Adams? Summer Of 69 of course! Madonna? Like A Prayer! I could go on and on. But the same goes for ABBA - when compiling a top 20, there will be some surprises but when it comes to Top 5 or Top 3, I could hardly not mention the biggest hits. So what is this thread supposed to be about? The real favourites or deep cuts? |
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Post by richard on Oct 8, 2023 13:10:48 GMT
As I think I said in the OP, Michal , this thread is about your favourite tracks - whether they be hits or perhaps obscure (to other listeners) album tracks. I also suggested contributors might be able to say, in a few words, what it is is about a track that appeals to them. But I admit that's not easy! For me, there are lots of album tracks from artists that I prefer to a some of their singles. |
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Post by Michal on Oct 8, 2023 15:14:47 GMT
richard, I know you meant the thread to be about favourite tracks but it seems that most people (me included) are reluctant to name tracks which are too obvious and johnny's comment sort of confirmed it for me. And I was wondering why is that. Should we be ashamed of being predictable and liking the obvious?
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Post by richard on Oct 8, 2023 19:11:25 GMT
Yes, it's an interesting one. Of course there are people who love music as much as I do, yet they might have completely different preferences to mine; for example perhaps some are Oasis fans, whereas I have practically no interest in them! That's why I talked about "what floats your boat' and asked maybe why, in a few words, this or that track does. But, again, I appreciate that's not always easy to do. Obviously, nothing wrong at all with having hit singles as one's favourite tracks. Its just that I don't always or necessarily equate such hits with being 'the best' of a pop artist's output (who does, I wonder?) - even though they might still be among my favourites. But often, as I said, an album track might be more of a favourite if mine. That said, I think most, if not all, of my favourite selections in this thread have been singles!   |
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Post by jj on Oct 9, 2023 12:17:38 GMT
Well isn't it pretty obvious and logical that the vast majority of people would only be familiar with artists' biggest hits?
Not many people have the time or the inclination to seek out the lesser-known tracks of artists famous for one or two (or even 5) big hits.
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Post by richard on Oct 11, 2023 10:58:35 GMT
All Over The World by Francoise Hardy; written by her, with English lyrics added later by Julian More. Earlier in this thread i chose two other tracks from Francoise (not written by her) but I did mention AOTW. Beautiful song indeed. Here's a video of Francoise, on pillows, miming the song while apparently floating through mid-60s London street lighting at night! As someone commented, health and safety would have something say about it today.  |
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Post by joseph on Oct 21, 2023 10:36:36 GMT
I like this song by Wolf Alice very much. In many ways, I've always believed friendship/platonic love to be a higher form of love than the romantic kind, you know? It certainly seems to last longer in most cases.
Either way, a beautiful song.
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Post by richard on Nov 18, 2023 13:41:24 GMT
I heard this on Radcliffe and Maconie on BBC R6 this morning, selected by their guest, actress Doon Mackichan.
One of my all-time favourite tracks, I could have just as well placed it in the "Songs That Move You" thread. Love the chordal movement in the bridge, and the heartfelt lyrics, passionately sung by Stevie Wonder. From his great double album 'Songs In The Key Of Life'. (1976)
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Post by johnny on Nov 18, 2023 14:19:47 GMT
Well isn't it pretty obvious and logical that the vast majority of people would only be familiar with artists' biggest hits?
Not many people have the time or the inclination to seek out the lesser-known tracks of artists famous for one or two (or even 5) big hits.
This is true. There's only a few acts that I have several studio albums. For most its the well known songs. Indeed there isn't the time or inclination. We as ABBA fans may rave about some obscure album track but most won't be the slightest but interested even the millions who bought GOLD. A slightly different take on "the usual suspects" is the way some people feel embarrassed by their m" from the chin-stroking brigade to say Pink Floyd, The Clash or The Jam but not say The Dooleys, Clifff Richard or dare I say it, ABBA - unless they are in an acceptable Guilty Pleasure section. It's possible to like both "the Cool" and "the Cheese". I was flicking through radio stations and one of these oldie type, Greatest Hits, Magic or whatever asked listeners to vote for a song. One was labelled "Cream", the other "Cheese". |
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Post by gary on Nov 19, 2023 20:11:00 GMT
Confession time (1): I like I Just Called To Say I Love You.
Confession time (2): I like The Chosen Few by The Dooleys.
But this is my favourite Stevie Wonder song:
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Post by foreverfan on Nov 20, 2023 8:28:54 GMT
OMG Gary, if your not taking the **** as they say.. another Dooleys fan..lol, they really do have some catchy tracks, another era and guess by today's standard very cheesy, but they deserved more success at the time...
Check out In A Riddle, Love Trap..lol...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2023 9:30:12 GMT
Confessions? I'm definitely immune from feelings of embarrassment on the music front - thanks to ABBA, basically. Having survived the colossal trauma of confessing my ABBA fandom back in '78 - quite a leap into the dark, as a dyed-in-the-wool teenage rock fan - I'm pretty bullet-proof. So you'll find in the recesses of my CD collection gems like 'The Best of Sailor', 'The Modern Romance Platinum Collection' and 'The Best of KC and the Sunshine Band', quite apart from industrial quantities of EuroPop from the last half century. I'll also 'admit' to being a big fan of Sir Cliff's work from 1976-82 - basically everything between 'Devil Woman' and 'Little Town' (apart from the execrable 'Daddy's Home', naturally). Peak Cliff. Some great stuff tucked away on those albums, this Alan Tarney number being one of my favourites: |
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Post by richard on Nov 20, 2023 11:08:26 GMT
Agree about Cliff Richard, Garry. And I've always liked his voice.
I kind of think of 'guilty pleasure' and 'cheesy' the same way: a favourite track which, I might've once ruefully acknowledged to myself, didn't accord with my 'better' tastes - whatever they are! 😃 Something that is not 'low-grade/obvious/lowest common denominator/manipulative', I suppose. Very subjective and debatable terms. But it's all relative: no doubt some classical music snobs think of pop music, including ABBA, that way. But I love the tunefulness of Dum Dum Diddle whereas I Am Just A Girl... Can't stand it.
Without fear or favour, That Same Old Feeling by Pikettywitch is a favourite of mine.
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Post by richard on Nov 20, 2023 14:56:42 GMT
Great to see Cliff Richard getting some positive attention. Much as I love The Who, I never liked the snooty, dismissive comment I've read of Pete Townshend about Cliff, nor John Lennon's.
This is one of my Cliff favourites, from 1963; so around when Beatlemania really took hold. And yes, there was pop before! Great guitar sound from The Shadows, too. Written by Cliff and Bruce Welch.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2023 16:43:05 GMT
I never liked the snooty, dismissive comment I've read of Pete Townshend about Cliff, nor John Lennon's. Cliff's always presented the softest of targets, so fair play to him that he never really got deflected from what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go with his music. Hell, he even had a crack at the Heathcliff thing - 'Misunderstood Man', incidentally, being right up there with my favourites of his. (That's a track I've always felt should have been a bigger hit. 'Silvery Rain' was another one and there were some that completely got away.) He's actually an important figure in the history of British pop music, for multiple reasons ranging from his pioneering contribution to the emergence of a distinctively British brand of rock 'n' roll, right through to his sheer longevity and his refusal to go away. Forging a 65-year career in an often alarmingly fickle business isn't to be sniffed at - though plenty of people do. At best, he's damned with the faint praise of being a 'singles artist'. In fact, albums like 'I'm No Hero', 'I'm Nearly Famous', 'Green Light' etc deserve to be much better known by lovers of quality pop music. Talking of pioneers - and picking up on that current thread about The Beatles - I reckon that (in this country) we grotesquely underestimate the importance and influence of Bob Dylan. Bob was knocking out radically thought-provoking stuff like the spine-chilling 'Masters of War' when The Beatles were still releasing singles like 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'. And in terms of breaking the mould, where on earth did this masterpiece come from??? Oh and before I forget, here's my favourite Stevie track, bar none: |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2023 22:43:31 GMT
A favourite band of mine, but can never decide which of these two (one from each 'era') is my favourite track:
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Post by Michal on Dec 13, 2023 20:16:08 GMT
Today I listened to this song by Mikael Wiehe after very long time. One of my absolute favourites. It always strikes me what an ingenious piece of music and lyrics it is, perfectly complementing each other and creating the feeling of urgency and anxiety.
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Post by HOMETIME on Dec 15, 2023 19:36:51 GMT
That really is a beautiful song, Michal . And to think it was thiiiiiiis close to being on Something's Going On. Mikael Wiehe approved an English translation but lingering qualms about ABBA's commercial status and, I think, some long-standing beef with Stig (I could be misremembering), he withdrew permission on the day of the scheduled recording. |
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Post by Michal on Jan 3, 2024 16:59:14 GMT
Yes, HOMETIME, you remember it correctly. Such a pity! I've read somewhere that Mikael was torn between the desire to get his song heard abroad and his hate for ABBA and Stig. Finally the latter prevailed unfortunately. |
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Post by Michal on Jan 3, 2024 17:05:30 GMT
Another long-standing favourite of mine:
I love the way the music flows, the lyrics and Marian Gold's voice is magical.
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Post by iiwftn on Jun 7, 2024 10:02:29 GMT
I am obsessed with this.
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Post by richard on Jun 15, 2024 11:19:41 GMT
Very sad to hear of the death of French singer, Francoise Hardy, after a long illness.
I'll quote from my post on Page 2 of this thread which expresses how I feel about her:
I find Francoise Hardy, the French singer, so appealing; and with her looks and reticent persona, for me she conveys a classiness and charm similar to the ABBA girls. And like Agnetha, she wrote - and perhaps still does - many of her own songs, one being All Over The World, a beautiful song.
Here's a brief clip of her being interviewed, I assume in the UK, back in the early 60s. She hadn't yet, but was about to see the Beatles for the first time, in Paris. Now there's a time capsule for you!
This duet with Iggy Pop - the man in the photos in the video was her husband, Jacques Dutronc - takes on added poignancy now:
And this is probably my favourite track by Francoise:
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Post by jj on Jun 22, 2024 5:28:57 GMT
Consider this fact, you guys:
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Post by richard on Jun 22, 2024 8:27:59 GMT
Yes, it's popular culture latching onto the most obvious and convenient features and over-indulging, imo. With pop music, it's rhythms, riffs and short musical phrases repeated to death with only the tiniest variation at the end of eight, or even sixteen, repetitions. Maybe this partly explains why a few young people, on hearing for the first time previous pop, find they prefer it because it sounds fresher with more going on within its brief duration.
Of course, this is not to say that pop songs employing older structures and harmonies - and better ones I'd argue - aren't being written today, but maybe harder to find? Perhaps shorter attention spans has something to do with it: the same idea needing to be really driven home?
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