Remember when the music
When I was 15 I became obsessed with the music of Harry Chapin. I thought his "story songs" were fantastic and they spoke to my teenage concepts of justice/injustice, love and regret.
Imagine my heartbreak when I read a Rolling Stone review that called one of his records "… a collection of story-songs as mundane, vacuous, overblown and cliché-ridden as any he's ever written." And as for Harry himself, well, apparently "No singer/songwriter, not even Rod McKuen, apotheosizes romantic self-pity with such shameless vulgarity."
Ouch and double ouch.
There's a post in me about being an asshole critic (on the radio I sometimes blasted bad movies that had somehow personally offended me with vitriolic intensity) but that's for another day. Today it's about being a fan of the terribly uncool.
Exhibit ABBA
"No, seriously, have you ever been attracted to guys?"
That was Perla's reaction to the story of how I'd named at least 10 songs off ABBA Gold when talking to Matt about VH1's World Series of Pop Culture. Thanks honey.
Her little dismissive remark reminded me of the time Jay said Nellie McKay was for "kids" (but seeing as how his mommy still combs his hair maybe it was a compliment).
For the record, ABBA produced a lot of cheese, but they also produced pop gems that I dare anyone to assail. Sure, for every "Like an Angel Passing through My Room" there's a "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)," but have you heard Nirvana's With the Lights Out box set? 'nuff said.
ABBA's production rivals that of Phil Spector in its sheer inventiveness and musical power, listen to "Waterloo" or "The Winner Takes It All" and tell me those aren't great songs. (Seriously... do it. No? Fine, be that way).
Ironically the critical reception to ABBA (even in Rolling-fucking-Stone) was excellent, and it's only an extension of the disco backlash that sent a lot of people's perception of the group into the gutter. That perception hasn't been helped by the blue-hair friendly musical "Mamma Mia!” Oh, Broadway, over 100 years of ruining it for straight people.
Billy Joel
No, not Billy Joe Royal, Billy Joel.
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but for a lot of people the Piano Man himself is anathema. For these hipster douchebags he ranks next to Neil Diamond in the Sunny 99.9 play list of the damned. Although if you think about it, if anyone's playing in Hell it's probably all those Christian acts that betrayed God and succumbed to the devil's music, like Creed or poor Amy Grant (sorry Amy, I don't make the rules).
But anyway, back to Billy Joel.
I know he's not cool; he's too damn popular for that. If he were unpopular he'd be Marshall Crenshaw or Ron Sexsmith, great pop singer/songwriters I've never had to defend because nobody's heard of them. Joel has serious ambitions, he even "retired" in 1993 to write classical piano pieces, but he doesn't take himself too seriously, is a great piano player and has crafted great songs like "Piano Man," "Just the Way You Are," "Honesty," "An Innocent Man," and countless others.
Jim Steinman
Calling your only record Bad for Good is not a smart move when you're the driving force behind such classics of bombast as "Bat out of Hell," "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" and "Rock n' Roll Dreams Come True." But Jim Steinman -- through Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler and even Celine Dion -- has produced some of the best of the worst.
These songs are so crazy-wrong that defending them is, well, crazy and wrong. But just like some of the more misshapen personalities in the newsroom, you can't help but love them in spite of yourself.
Here's a little rundown. Weep before the master.
- "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
- "Making Love Out of Nothing at All"
- "It's All Coming Back To Me Now"
- "I’d Do Anything for Love, but I Won’t Do That"
- "Two Out of Three ain't Bad"
- "You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth"
- "Stark Raving Love" (not a hit just a ridiculous title)
Next time
We take a look at the president of Borundi's record collection in alphabetical order. First up: A Gun Called Tension and Air Supply.
Imagine my heartbreak when I read a Rolling Stone review that called one of his records "… a collection of story-songs as mundane, vacuous, overblown and cliché-ridden as any he's ever written." And as for Harry himself, well, apparently "No singer/songwriter, not even Rod McKuen, apotheosizes romantic self-pity with such shameless vulgarity."
Ouch and double ouch.
There's a post in me about being an asshole critic (on the radio I sometimes blasted bad movies that had somehow personally offended me with vitriolic intensity) but that's for another day. Today it's about being a fan of the terribly uncool.
Exhibit ABBA
"No, seriously, have you ever been attracted to guys?"
That was Perla's reaction to the story of how I'd named at least 10 songs off ABBA Gold when talking to Matt about VH1's World Series of Pop Culture. Thanks honey.
Her little dismissive remark reminded me of the time Jay said Nellie McKay was for "kids" (but seeing as how his mommy still combs his hair maybe it was a compliment).
For the record, ABBA produced a lot of cheese, but they also produced pop gems that I dare anyone to assail. Sure, for every "Like an Angel Passing through My Room" there's a "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)," but have you heard Nirvana's With the Lights Out box set? 'nuff said.
ABBA's production rivals that of Phil Spector in its sheer inventiveness and musical power, listen to "Waterloo" or "The Winner Takes It All" and tell me those aren't great songs. (Seriously... do it. No? Fine, be that way).
Ironically the critical reception to ABBA (even in Rolling-fucking-Stone) was excellent, and it's only an extension of the disco backlash that sent a lot of people's perception of the group into the gutter. That perception hasn't been helped by the blue-hair friendly musical "Mamma Mia!” Oh, Broadway, over 100 years of ruining it for straight people.
Billy Joel
No, not Billy Joe Royal, Billy Joel.
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but for a lot of people the Piano Man himself is anathema. For these hipster douchebags he ranks next to Neil Diamond in the Sunny 99.9 play list of the damned. Although if you think about it, if anyone's playing in Hell it's probably all those Christian acts that betrayed God and succumbed to the devil's music, like Creed or poor Amy Grant (sorry Amy, I don't make the rules).
But anyway, back to Billy Joel.
I know he's not cool; he's too damn popular for that. If he were unpopular he'd be Marshall Crenshaw or Ron Sexsmith, great pop singer/songwriters I've never had to defend because nobody's heard of them. Joel has serious ambitions, he even "retired" in 1993 to write classical piano pieces, but he doesn't take himself too seriously, is a great piano player and has crafted great songs like "Piano Man," "Just the Way You Are," "Honesty," "An Innocent Man," and countless others.
Jim Steinman
Calling your only record Bad for Good is not a smart move when you're the driving force behind such classics of bombast as "Bat out of Hell," "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" and "Rock n' Roll Dreams Come True." But Jim Steinman -- through Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler and even Celine Dion -- has produced some of the best of the worst.
These songs are so crazy-wrong that defending them is, well, crazy and wrong. But just like some of the more misshapen personalities in the newsroom, you can't help but love them in spite of yourself.
Here's a little rundown. Weep before the master.
- "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
- "Making Love Out of Nothing at All"
- "It's All Coming Back To Me Now"
- "I’d Do Anything for Love, but I Won’t Do That"
- "Two Out of Three ain't Bad"
- "You Took the Words Right out of my Mouth"
- "Stark Raving Love" (not a hit just a ridiculous title)
Next time
We take a look at the president of Borundi's record collection in alphabetical order. First up: A Gun Called Tension and Air Supply.
posted by Wendy at 6:09 PM
1 Comments:
What the hell? I don't even remember listening to McKay, but even if this quote is accurate, my mommy lives in Kansas, asshole!
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