Unpopular Opinions about Music

[Snowball II]

1 minute ago, CaughtOnTape said:

Because he wasn't toeing the line as far as his comments about their breakup.  He was being honest concerning the media machine surrounding her and eluding to her manipulation of said media.  He was making people turn a spotlight onto her, even though it was a tiny one.  And she (as per usual) exploded it into something it wasn't because she can't deal with people thinking she sucks.

Which is how a lot of her relationships seem.  She spends not even a week with Jake Gyllenhaal and he gets a song written, John Mayer took her on a date and didn't fall at her feet and she tells the whole world he's a dickhead, she spends a month and a half with Harry Styles and he gets an entire album eluding to him cheating on and toying with her poor little country girl heart....blah blah blah.

Anyone seeing a pattern here?  I'm guessing Calvin had some receipts on her and that's why she decided to distract everyone with the bullshit Tom Hiddleston relationship.  You'll notice everyone quit talking about her targeting of Calvin once she and Tom were made public.  

Bolded because I never understood the nature of Taylor and John's relationship, and I'm one of the million people who suspect this is the real reason she blasted Katy Perry with Bad Blood, not the hired backup dancers thing.  How long did she and John date?  Were she and Katy best friends, or were they just acquaintances?  I don't remember Taylor and John being a serious thing, and I don't remember Taylor and Katy being BFF's, so this whole feud with Katy has always struck me as slightly unhinged.  Were all three parties closely tied at some point in time while I blinked and missed it?  For all of Taylor's talk about how "there is a special place in hell for women who don't like other women" and all that, I never understood why she acted like Katy betrayed her by going out with John.  Of course, the fact that she tried to cover up the true reason with the stupid backup dancers excuse tells me everything I need to know...

[Silver Raven]

42 minutes ago, Hrairoo said:

I can't wrap my head around why we are supposed to be so impressed with the idea that Taylor wrote that song.  I don't know much about songwriting, but all I hear is "Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-OOH", over and over again.  From what I could tell, her insistence that she was the master songwriter behind it was fueled by getting back at Calvin Harris, for some reason.  I don't think he did anything, but that's Taylor, for you.

It's You you you you, but I agree with you.

[truthaboutluv]

Quote

Because he wasn't toeing the line as far as his comments about their breakup.  He was being honest concerning the media machine surrounding her and eluding to her manipulation of said media.  He was making people turn a spotlight onto her, even though it was a tiny one.  And she (as per usual) exploded it into something it wasn't because she can't deal with people thinking she sucks.

The thing is I don't think he did do that. At least not until the weird Hiddleston whirlwind started and there was a comment on his Instagram or a comment he liked alluding to her manipulation of the media that he later claimed wasn't him. But right after the breakup, the only comment Calvin made was a tweet where he stated to the tabloids that there was no story and this was just two people who cared about each other amicably ending things. Taylor even retweeted the tweet.

Then two weeks later Hiddleswift was a thing and the media started going in on her and them and mocking them mercilessly and so out of nowhere she "leaked" that she was one of the writers on the song and seemed to suggest that she was hurt when after doing the song together, Calvin mentioned not thinking them working together was a good idea in some interview. So of course somehow suggesting that he did her wrong.  And that's when he went in on her on twitter. 

[vibeology]

46 minutes ago, Hrairoo said:

Bolded because I never understood the nature of Taylor and John's relationship, and I'm one of the million people who suspect this is the real reason she blasted Katy Perry with Bad Blood, not the hired backup dancers thing.  How long did she and John date?  Were she and Katy best friends, or were they just acquaintances?  I don't remember Taylor and John being a serious thing, and I don't remember Taylor and Katy being BFF's, so this whole feud with Katy has always struck me as slightly unhinged.  Were all three parties closely tied at some point in time while I blinked and missed it?  For all of Taylor's talk about how "there is a special place in hell for women who don't like other women" and all that, I never understood why she acted like Katy betrayed her by going out with John.  Of course, the fact that she tried to cover up the true reason with the stupid backup dancers excuse tells me everything I need to know...

I can clear up a bit of it. Taylor and Katy were never close friends. Katy was always close with Rihanna and Taylor always had Selena and her model friends but they were friendly at events for a while. Taylor and Katy ran in similar enough circles that they did hang out at after-parties and events and were polite and chatty with each other. Taylor "dated" John Mayer for a very short period of time and got her song material out of it. Katy genuinely dated John Mayer for a while. I do think a big part of Bad Blood was the John Mayer thing, plus the added annoyance of the dancers. You know how when you're already mad at someone everything they do makes you more angry (bitch eating crackers!)? That's what I think happened, with the addition that as Taylor moved into pop music, they became rivals for radio play and sales and a full-blown rivalry was born.

I don't discount the backup dancer thing; it probably bugged Taylor to learn that those dancers would rather work for Katy. I just think it was a confluence of events and a woman who takes every little slight and plays up being the victim because it's how she rolls.

[KatWay]

I think Taylor is more about ego than anything else and what bugged her about the John Mayer thing is that she was clearly just a fling for him but he was quite hung up on Katy for a while. She's the one who he kept talking about in interviews etc.

Same with the dancers thing, they made it clear they preferred Katy and that hurt Taylor's "everyone wants to be part of my squad" feelings.

Honestly I don't care much for either Taylor or Katy, but I have no doubt Taylor can be petty as hell when she's feeling wronged and she often does.

[cpcathy]

My unpopular opinion is that I don't hate John Mayer and I wish he and Katy would get back together. I'll run away now.

[27bored]

Except being blonde made her one of many blonde country singers. There is nothing different about a blonde country singer. 90 percent of them are blonde. Taylor's appeal wasn't being blonde. It was singing cute songs about boys who supposedly broke her heart and convincing her fans she was just like them - kind of gawky and dorky and relateable. Taylor will fade when her fans no longer buy into her accessibility and so called realness and see her for the shrewd and calculating businesswoman she is.

Eh, it's not that many. And I'm moreso talking about her crossover success. I do think if Taylor was a brunette, she'd just be another chick who sings country, not the biggest pop star since Britney.

Except the swearing and half-rapping didn't really start until her

Beyonce album. Beyonce has actually shifted her vibe in her last two albums. Yes, she was singing pop songs and had the sexy costumes and moves, but she wasn't as openly and vocally sexual and provocative as she has been on her last two albums. 

Beyonce has been singing less and less since I Am...Sasha Fierce. Her last big hit was "Single Ladies", a song with about five notes in it. She cursed a little before her self-titled album, but the provocative stuff was after she stopped being managed by her father. I think Beyonce was on a bit of a downturn after 4, but then she did the surprise album thing and all of a sudden she was this goddess who was everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Well yes, because it would be inauthentic and likely suck because it would not be true to who she is - personally and artistically. 

Not necessarily. Hair length and weight loss has nothing to do with integrity. Adele's appeal is in her vocals, her personal songs, and her relate-able personality. But I think it helps her seem relate-able if she's overweight with short hair. I know that's weird and I can't really defend this, or any other hunch I have, but I do think it's true.

Except the white-boy rap stuff kind of flopped so I don't see that as the reason behind his success. His success has been based on his folk-pop roots. 

Did it? Ed Sheeran's last album didn't flop, and between "Don't" and that other song with the music video of him as a puppet were hits. "Shape of You" isn't a return to his roots and this most recent album didn't flop.

Except she mattered for about a year because "controversy" and then no one cared again. Because again, it was fake and inauthentic. 

Miley has "mattered" for longer than a year, but you're right, it is fake and inauthentic.

Well I'd wager to say Anti was technically a flop (unless you count that million album sales that was really a deal her label worked out with Sony, where the album was automatically downloaded to a million people without their actually physically choosing to buy it) but more than that, Rihanna was with one guy for awhile when she blew up with

Good Girl Gone Bad -  Chris Brown.

Of course that was pre the incident. But they'd been together for years before that happened. Rihanna's success or lack thereof has nothing to do with whether or not she's in a relationship, in my opinion, because Rihanna doesn't write her own songs. She's still one of the few pop stars who still just get stuff handed to them. So her success is really based on whether or not she can keep getting hit songs from popular songwriters/producers.

Her success will dry up when the next big thing comes along and the top writers/producers are more interested in giving their material to that person. Not to mention that Rihanna was with Matt Kemp for awhile after Chris Brown, while her career was doing just fine. 

It wasn;t until her tumultuous break up with Chris, followed by kinda/sorta getting back with him, then leaving again, that her reputation for being a bit of a maneater came along. It's played into her mystique -- a mystique that I think would be ruined if she was photographed being cute with some dude who's as desirable as she is.

[Snowball II]

4 hours ago, vibeology said:

I can clear up a bit of it. Taylor and Katy were never close friends. Katy was always close with Rihanna and Taylor always had Selena and her model friends but they were friendly at events for a while. Taylor and Katy ran in similar enough circles that they did hang out at after-parties and events and were polite and chatty with each other. Taylor "dated" John Mayer for a very short period of time and got her song material out of it. Katy genuinely dated John Mayer for a while. I do think a big part of Bad Blood was the John Mayer thing, plus the added annoyance of the dancers. You know how when you're already mad at someone everything they do makes you more angry (bitch eating crackers!)? That's what I think happened, with the addition that as Taylor moved into pop music, they became rivals for radio play and sales and a full-blown rivalry was born.

I don't discount the backup dancer thing; it probably bugged Taylor to learn that those dancers would rather work for Katy. I just think it was a confluence of events and a woman who takes every little slight and plays up being the victim because it's how she rolls.

Thanks for the info.  I hate reading/hearing everything about their rivalry; it just feeds into that, "Women are super competitive bitches and can't really be friends" BS that so many people believe, and I think Taylor wants to keep it going because she thinks it works to her advantage, but I have to wonder how talented of a songwriter she is if she constantly feels the need to manufacture drama in order to have something to write about.  I get a mean girl vibe from her, and I really don't like it.

[truthaboutluv]

7 hours ago, 27bored said:

I do think if Taylor was a brunette, she'd just be another chick who sings country, not the biggest pop star since Britney.

Except Taylor was never really country. Other than her first album where she co-wrote all the songs with very talented country singer/songwriters and the producers were also country music producers, her music has always veered toward the pop sound because her voice is and always has been weak. So her appeal has had nothing to do with being blonde per se, in my opinion but being like every famous pop singer in that she writes catchy songs with good hooks. That's really all most pop songs are. 

7 hours ago, 27bored said:

I think Beyonce was on a bit of a downturn after 4, but then she did the surprise album thing and all of a sudden she was this goddess who was everywhere and nowhere all at once.

I don't disagree with any of that and why I've always said that I do think part of the lauding of both the Beyonce and Lemonade album was for the visual, surprise element rather than the quality of the songs itself. But interesting you mention her downturn with 4 because I think that was one of her most underrated albums, where she did plenty of singing and started experimenting with a more R&B/Urban sound as opposed to the more pop music she was making prior.

7 hours ago, 27bored said:

Not necessarily. Hair length and weight loss has nothing to do with integrity. Adele's appeal is in her vocals, her personal songs, and her relate-able personality. But I think it helps her seem relate-able if she's overweight with short hair.

I wasn't referring to her getting a haircut and losing some weight with regard to integrity. I was referring to this comment you made:

Quote

If Adele got to the point where she might actually wear a bathing suit, and stopped wearing the sensible businesswoman bob, a lot of people are going to be like, "Hello? Uh, buh-bye"

And yes, if Adele suddenly showed up performing in a bodysuit with her ass out, I imagine many would be confused because it would clearly be her being something she's not. 

7 hours ago, 27bored said:

Miley has "mattered" for longer than a year, but you're right, it is fake and inauthentic.

I was being facetious with the year comment but the point is, she was all the talk around the year Bangerz was released because of all her antics and the videos and the performances but by the time her tour was going on, people were already losing interest and by the next year, yeah, no one really cared. And she's since done some other crazy shit that again, no one cared about. Didn't she release some album, I think for free, that she declared she didn't care about sales, which was good because no one really cared. And now she's back to being engaged to Liam Hemsworth and looking nothing like Bangerz Miley and everything like the person she was before she decided she  was so "hood" and "real".

Edited May 2, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[UYI]

51 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

 

. Didn't she release some album, I think for free, that she declared she didn't care about sales? 

Online and for free, yes. At the end of the VMAs in 2015--which she hosted--she announced the online release of that album. (Bangerz came out in 2013.)

And if I have a UO, it's that Miley seems like a better person than her image in 2013 made it look like (looking back, the reaction over her 2013 VMA performance--no matter how bizarre it was--seems a BIT over the top to me)--she is a strong advocate for LGBTQ rights, and even founded an organization for LGBTQ homeless youth. But because she isn't known for a conventional style/her causes aren't "safe" enough for some people, she'll never be recognized in as much of a positive light. I mean, I'm not into tattoos or twerking--and some of her stunts in 2013 were definitely too much--but I'll acknowledge that I like both Miley's advocacy work and her singing voice. I actually really like "Wrecking Ball" (the song, not so much the video). 

Edited May 2, 2017 by UYI

[truthaboutluv]

I liked Miley just fine. Hell, I even watched a few episodes of Hannah Montana back in the day and my unpopular opinion is that I think she's a better singer than some give her credit for. I also thought Bangerz was a decent album. The issue I had with Miley during that period is that I found her faux ratchet, ghetto shtick offensive. I had no problem with her wanting to change her sound and try something new.

I think it's great for artists to experiment with different sounds and genres. What annoyed the hell out of me was that it wasn't enough for her to simply add more hip-hop/urban sounds to her music. Suddenly she was "twerking" with her barely existent ass, couldn't keep her tongue in her mouth, constantly naked and vulgar as possible, etc. It just felt like in her mind, being more hip-hop/urban = being ratchet, vulgar and crude. And then her massive group of equally privileged white female fans started emulating the same obnoxious behavior and defending it with the tired crap many of them use.

Miley's whole Bangerz era was a perfect storyline for Dear White People and that's what I had a problem with.

Edited May 2, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[Snowball II]

I wanted to like Bangerz more than I did.  I only like three tracks from that album and the rest is filler, to me.

[UYI]

6 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

 

I think it's great for artists to experiment with different sounds and genres. What annoyed the hell out of me was that it wasn't enough for her to simply add more hip-hop/urban sounds to her music. Suddenly she was "twerking" with her barely existent ass, couldn't keep her tongue in her mouth, constantly naked and vulgar as possible, etc. It just felt like in her mind, being more hip-hop/urban = being ratchet, vulgar and crude. And then her massive group of equally privileged white female fans started emulating the same obnoxious behavior and defending it with the tired crap many of them use.

 

Put like that, I definitely agree. 

[SerenityInSpace]

James Blunt is highly underrated and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.

Ok, I won't. I have the arm strength of a noodle.

[27bored]

One last thing about Miley. I guess this is a UO, but I might be able to tolerate her if she stops with the Bieber hair, fake ratchetness, and smoking pot. I know it might seem calculated, and it probably is to some extent, but it's not like I was checking for Miley back when she was in the thick of her antics. So a switch-up could only help things.

UO: Michael Jackson is overrated. There, I said it. I think Michael was a creature of his time, in that, everything in the 80s seemed bigger and larger than life, but I don't know if Michael is as iconic as people make him out to be. I know a lot of male pop stars say he inspired them (Usher, JT, Chris Brown, etc), but...I think that had to do with the time they were born in more than anything else. And why is it just singing-and-dancing. One thing about MJ that I really haven't seen from a male pop star since (and given his heyday is over 30 years old, that's telling) is that he wasn't just a lothario. Michael had songs that told stories, songs that were from a certain vantage point. Nowadays, male pop stars are only about ooh-baby-baby-you're-so-fine. But I don't think Michael is this unparalleled God of music the way some people think he is. I don't think pop music is as relevant as it was in the 80s and I don't know how influential he is given most of his influence just leads to, well, dudes who dance and sing too.

[UYI]

4 hours ago, 27bored said:

One last thing about Miley. I guess this is a UO, but I might be able to tolerate her if she stops with the Bieber hair, fake ratchetness, and smoking pot.

Well, she just made a big deal in her latest Billnoard cover story about not smoking pot for THREE WHOLE WEEKS (OMG! WILLPOWER! -_-), and how she wanted to try stopping because she wanted her mind to be sharper for her work, so that one seems to have come true. For now, anyway. Or sorry, THREE WHOLE WEEKS! 

4 hours ago, 27bored said:

 

UO: Michael Jackson is overrated. There, I said it. 

I'm a bigger Prince fan overall, for sure. That may not have been the point here, but I don't know how many people in that eternal debate generally pick Prince. But I certainly will. 

Edited May 15, 2017 by UYI

[cpcathy]

Prince over Michael Jackson til the end of time! I didn't love every one of his songs, but dayyam, he was talented. Michael Jackson was just a pop machine and his songs don't hold up. Except "Don't Stop." I will always shimmy to "Don't Stop."

[Shannon L.]

17 hours ago, 27bored said:

I think Michael was a creature of his time, in that, everything in the 80s seemed bigger and larger than life, but I don't know if Michael is as iconic as people make him out to be. I know a lot of male pop stars say he inspired them (Usher, JT, Chris Brown, etc), but...I think that had to do with the time they were born in more than anything else. And why is it just singing-and-dancing. One thing about MJ that I really haven't seen from a male pop star since (and given his heyday is over 30 years old, that's telling) is that he wasn't just a lothario. Michael had songs that told stories, songs that were from a certain vantage point. Nowadays, male pop stars are only about ooh-baby-baby-you're-so-fine. But I don't think Michael is this unparalleled God of music the way some people think he is. I don't think pop music is as relevant as it was in the 80s and I don't know how influential he is given most of his influence just leads to, well, dudes who dance and sing too.

I loved both Michael and Prince when I was a teenager (I graduated high school in 1987, so I was front and center for the height of their popularity), but now, I prefer Prince's music to Michael's by far.  I still like some Michael songs, but not as many as I used to.  I can understand him influencing a new generation of singers back then, but now, this many years later, I shake my head when I see a younger person pull out his moves.  It's been way over for me for a while now.  Also, back in the day, it always gave me the creeps to see a young man do that crotch grab/hip thrust thing that he did.  I never liked that move to begin with, but the younger the performer was, the ickier I felt about it. 

[Enigma X]

I was just coming to say, since there seems to be a need to compare Prince and MJ although they have two completely different styles, I prefer Prince and thought he was very talented.  I loved most of his music pre-Jehovah Witness. I like only a few MJ songs.

[truthaboutluv]

2 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

I was just coming to say, since there seems to be a need to compare Prince and MJ although they have two completely different styles

This. One major difference between the two is that Prince was a musician (and a brilliant one at that. Dude played like five or six instruments) and Michael was not (I know there's been some debate about this with people who worked with Michael saying he could play a few adequately but conventional wisdom says he wasn't really a musician as much as he was a singer). Not that that makes one necessarily better than the other but just saying it's one reason I don't compare the two. Personally I love Michael and Prince's music equally and I think plenty of Michael's music still holds up. Go to a house party or even a club and see people's reaction when they play Thriller, Beat It, Wanna Be Starting Something, etc. 

I do understand why Michael is as lauded as he is. I think his impact was in how he changed the pop star visual/phenomenon. Michael changed videos from artists just standing around and singing their songs to full on visual spectacles and mini-movies. His shows were spectacles and an experience, versus an artist just standing on a stage and singing. He was truly a performer and that's how in my opinion, he impacted pop music. And in my opinion, that did transfer to a lot of what we see in pop music today. YMMV of course. 

And now for my unpopular fave for the day. I think Hanson was greatly underrated and I will challenge anyone who says Middle of Nowhere wasn't an awesome pop album. I also think they were very talented but unfortunately, by the time their second album came out, the fickle fangirls had moved on to the explosion of Backstreet Boys vs. N'Sync and that wasn't Hanson.

Much like I said above about Prince being a musician and Michael wasn't really, there was a similar difference between Hanson and Backstreet Boys/N'Sync where the former was an actual band who played instruments and wrote all their songs and the latter were more of the synchronized dancing/stage spectacle group. And unfortunately for Hanson, that's what their fans had gravitated towards. But I love their music and Penny & Me is one of my favorite songs. 

[GaT]

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

And now for my unpopular fave for the day. I think Hanson was greatly underrated and I will challenge anyone who says Middle of Nowhere wasn't an awesome pop album. I also think they were very talented but unfortunately, by the time their second album came out, the fickle fangirls had moved on to the explosion of Backstreet Boys vs. N'Sync and that wasn't Hanson.

I have never understood the popularity of MMMBop, to me it was just an annoyance.

[vibeology]

2 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

And now for my unpopular fave for the day. I think Hanson was greatly underrated and I will challenge anyone who says Middle of Nowhere wasn't an awesome pop album. I also think they were very talented but unfortunately, by the time their second album came out, the fickle fangirls had moved on to the explosion of Backstreet Boys vs. N'Sync and that wasn't Hanson.

Much like I said above about Prince being a musician and Michael wasn't really, there was a similar difference between Hanson and Backstreet Boys/N'Sync where the former was an actual band who played instruments and wrote all their songs and the latter were more of the synchronized dancing/stage spectacle group. And unfortunately for Hanson, that's what their fans had gravitated towards. But I love their music and Penny & Me is one of my favorite songs. 

I love Hanson and I feel like if they hadn't been child stars, they'd be a well respected indie band today. The problem is people think MMMBop and write off everything they've done since. That song pays the bills but it's also probably held them back from gaining the respect they'd otherwise get as musicians and songwriters.

[Silver Raven]

9 minutes ago, vibeology said:

I love Hanson and I feel like if they hadn't been child stars, they'd be a well respected indie band today. The problem is people think MMMBop and write off everything they've done since. That song pays the bills but it's also probably held them back from gaining the respect they'd otherwise get as musicians and songwriters.

Strangely enough, "Selfie" hasn't doomed The Chainsmokers.

[UYI]

8 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

And now for my unpopular fave for the day. I think Hanson was greatly underrated and I will challenge anyone who says Middle of Nowhere wasn't an awesome pop album. I also think they were very talented but unfortunately, by the time their second album came out, the fickle fangirls had moved on to the explosion of Backstreet Boys vs. N'Sync and that wasn't Hanson.

Much like I said above about Prince being a musician and Michael wasn't really, there was a similar difference between Hanson and Backstreet Boys/N'Sync where the former was an actual band who played instruments and wrote all their songs and the latter were more of the synchronized dancing/stage spectacle group. And unfortunately for Hanson, that's what their fans had gravitated towards. But I love their music and Penny & Me is one of my favorite songs. 

Todd in the Shadows confessed at the end of his One Hit Wonderland episode that he's actually a huge Hanson fan, for many of the reasons you stated (and despite never liking MMMBop). Like you, he also loves "Penny & Me."

[MyAimIsTrue]

21 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

loved both Michael and Prince when I was a teenager (I graduated high school in 1987, so I was front and center for the height of their popularity), but now, I prefer Prince's music to Michael's by far. 

I graduated from high school in 1983 so MJ's "Thriller" album was everywhere but so was Prince's album "1999" to a lesser degree.  It was edgier and much more daring, and then of course "Purple Rain" was the soundtrack to my sophomore year of college.  I'll take Prince any day over Michael Jackson.

[Snowball II]

Add me to the the list of those who prefer Prince over MJ.  I like MJ a lot, but Prince was more of an artist, IMO.  Also, I think his stuff holds up a little better than MJ's stuff.  That's not to say that people still don't love a lot of MJ's songs, but Purple Rain isn't as dated as Thriller is.  I will even go so far as to say the filler songs on Thriller suck balls.  "The Girl Is Mine"?  Da fuq is that?

Edited May 17, 2017 by Hrairoo

[MyAimIsTrue]

11 hours ago, Hrairoo said:

I will even go so far as to say the filler songs on Thriller suck balls.  "The Girl Is Mine"?  Da fuq is that?

The only thing that even remotely saves "The Girl Is Mine" for me is Paul McCartney since he can even make cheese wonderful.

[ennui]

On 5/15/2017 at 10:17 AM, truthaboutluv said:

I do understand why Michael is as lauded as he is. I think his impact was in how he changed the pop star visual/phenomenon. Michael changed videos from artists just standing around and singing their songs to full on visual spectacles and mini-movies.

I am not a fan of Michael Jackson, but he was MTV in the beginning. He revolutionized music videos, and the Thriller album was huge. In addition, he was a child star, familiar to millions from his TV appearances with his brothers. He grew up before our eyes. It was exciting.  

[Silver Raven]

Quote

I am not a fan of Michael Jackson, but he was MTV in the beginning.

Actually, no, there was a big controversy because MTV would not play videos by black artists, and it was only when they first started playing MJ videos that minority artists broke through on the network.

[WendyCR72]

19 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

The only thing that even remotely saves "The Girl Is Mine" for me is Paul McCartney since he can even make cheese wonderful.

"Say, Say, Say" with them was also cheesy as all hell, including the video. I do recall Linda McCartney also appeared in the video.

As for Michael Jackson, you could not escape Thriller, I agree. But while it was okay, it really wasn't my style. And, rationally or not, business or not, I think Jackson buying out the Beatles catalog under McCartney really sucked. (Of course, Beatles management sucked worse for even letting the catalog go to begin with, but still...)

Edited May 18, 2017 by WendyCR72

[MyAimIsTrue]

I will admit that I loved the song "Say, Say, Say," really for Paul McCartney and also because it was popular during a good time in my life so I associate happy memories with it.  And yes, it was a total dick move for MJ to buy the Beatles catalog from under Macca and stick it to a friend like that.

[truthaboutluv]

10 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Actually, no, there was a big controversy because MTV would not play videos by black artists, and it was only when they first started playing MJ videos that minority artists broke through on the network.

I may be mistaken but I think the poster was suggesting that Michael's music and videos at one point were the biggest thing on MTV and in some ways, revolutionized the network. Also, it was my understanding that Michael threatened to not allow MTV to air his videos if they didn't start showing more black artists and that's when they did. It wasn't that Michael broke through and automatically they were so welcoming of other black artists. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[SirOsisOfLiver]

MTV had been on the air for two years before Thriller. Jackson's label threatened to pull all their acts from MTV if they wouldn't show Thriller. MTV caved and gave in to the pressure.

[27bored]

I have to echo the Hanson like. Their first album looked like an indie lesbian folk band sold at Lilith Fair, but once you get passed that, it was a nice slice of 90s pop. One song I would suggest from that album is "Yearbook". It's so anguished and overwrought and vaguely socially conscious...it's great. I could see a great music video for that song even now.

[CaughtOnTape]

There is no better song to blast with your windows down during a summer heat wave than Penny & Me.

That's not an opinion.  It's fact.

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, CaughtOnTape said:

There is no better song to blast with your windows down during a summer heat wave than Penny & Me.

That's not an opinion.  It's fact.

Preach.

[DarkRaichu]

Speaking of MJ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE BAD.  It was the only cassette tape I could listened to from end to end side 1 and 2, repeat.  So it was the only tape that was not worn out on 1 part due to too much FF & RWD.  And yes, I am older than some of you :P

Here is my UO:  I even love the track "Just Good Friends" with Stevie Wonder that nobody knows about because it was buried at the end of Side 1 of Bad.  
 

[27bored]

Here's a real UO, in three parts:

1. I like Iggy Azalea

1a. I like her better than Nicki Minaj

2. I think "Black Widow" is Top 10 best pop songs of the past ten years.

3. I hope she sticks around and continues to make music for awhile.

I wasn't a huge fan of "Fancy". It was...alright, but it was kind of all of the place and a bit of a novelty song. That being said, I don't think I realized until I saw her on SNL that Iggy is a star. She has presence, poise, she hits her marks, she plays off her dancers/Rita Ora well, and she has a cool, sexy vibe about her. It's harder than one would think for female pop stars to come off as legitimately sexy instead of female female impersonators, but occasionally they do and I think Iggy managed to do that more consistently than any of her contemporaries.

I know the knock against her is she's appropriating black culture and has a fake accent, but: hip-hop has been fake loooong before Iggy, and I would say that she manages to come across more natural than most hip-hop artists, especially Nicki Minaj. Nicki always seems to be trying to way too hard and comes off way too fake. Like, there's nothing intriguing and interesting about her. She and Iggy are equally matched when it comes to stealing the show on songs, though. On some of their better known features, Iggy and Nicki can out pace their counterparts, but I don't know if Nicki is better simply because she probably writes her own rhymes and Iggy probably doesn't.

"Black Widow" is a great pop song, and even though both Iggy and Rita Ora are kind of industry punchlines, they both should be proud of their work on that song. I hope Iggy comes back with some more great, forward-thinking pop tunes. I can appreciate a good femme-fatale and I have to say, none of her contemporaries do it better than her.

[proserpina65]

On ‎04‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 10:44 AM, Hanahope said:

I can't remember the last time I was turned on to a new singer or band from the radio.  Every new singer or band that I've gotten into in the last 7-8 years is something either recommended from a friend, or was a track during one of my gym's work-out programs.  Every time I turn on the radio it is the same songs and frankly, I find them all rather bland and 'commercial'.  Then of course, they go on to win grammys and it just makes me shake my head.

Thanks to an alt-rock station I listen to, I knew about Bastille, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Lumineers, Of Monsters & Men, and Vance Joy (among others) long before they ever hit mainstream Top 40 type radio.  But if I had to depend on Top 40-ish radio for new music, it would be a long wait.

[Silver Raven]

9 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Thanks to an alt-rock station I listen to, I knew about Bastille, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Lumineers, Of Monsters & Men, and Vance Joy (among others) long before they ever hit mainstream Top 40 type radio.  But if I had to depend on Top 40-ish radio for new music, it would be a long wait.

Although I agree with the sentiment, the less I hear from Of Monsters & Men, the better.

[Hanahope]

20 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Thanks to an alt-rock station I listen to

I guess I need to go radio channel surfing and hope I land on one during music, as opposed to commercials.  I didn't grow up where I currently live, so I mostly have to find the channels myself.  But so far, other than 'top 40', I've only found the 80-90s "classic rock" station (with a few 00s thrown in), and the  60-70s "old classic rock station".  And then I have to hope that the station will actually name the band/song, they don't always do that.  Almost makes me nostalgic for the olden days of MTV where you could see the name of the band/singer/song on the video (as if I had time to watch music videos anymore anyway).

[proserpina65]

8 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

I guess I need to go radio channel surfing and hope I land on one during music, as opposed to commercials.  I didn't grow up where I currently live, so I mostly have to find the channels myself.  But so far, other than 'top 40', I've only found the 80-90s "classic rock" station (with a few 00s thrown in), and the  60-70s "old classic rock station".  And then I have to hope that the station will actually name the band/song, they don't always do that.  Almost makes me nostalgic for the olden days of MTV where you could see the name of the band/singer/song on the video (as if I had time to watch music videos anymore anyway).

If you live near Philadelphia, the station I listen to is 104.5fm.  It's not perfect (too much Red Hot Chili Peppers), but it's mostly good.

[Hanahope]

5 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

you live near Philadelphia, the station I listen to is 104.5fm.  It's not perfect (too much Red Hot Chili Peppers), but it's mostly good.

thanks for the tip.

[Silver Raven]

2 hours ago, Hanahope said:

And then I have to hope that the station will actually name the band/song, they don't always do that.

That's why I've taken to using the Shazam app so often.

[wanderingstar]

I think I am the only person on earth who does not like the song "I Will Survive."

[GaT]

12 minutes ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I think I am the only person on earth who does not like the song "I Will Survive."

The only other person. 

[UYI]

I am not a fan of the song "Pour Some Sugar On Me." I like "Love Bites", I like "Hysteria", and there are other Def Leppard songs I like. But I just don't like PSSOM. And I'm not really sure why, either. 

Edited June 6, 2017 by UYI

[Blergh]

On 6/5/2017 at 6:11 PM, GaT said:

The only other person. 

 

On 6/5/2017 at 5:56 PM, Gillian Rosh said:

I think I am the only person on earth who does not like the song "I Will Survive."

 Me three! Maybe we could form a support group!

I always preferred Jody Whatley's 'I'm Looking for a New Love, Baby' .

[UYI]

Not a single, unlike anything else the Eagles ever did, but one of their very best songs.

[nicepebbles]

I love Black Widow as well. I feel like liking Rita Ora is unpopular. I'm not sure why. I habe her add one of my stations on Pandora. I don't see how any of her songs are worse than what's out there. I've read a couple of interviews of her and she comes off fine.