The Sounds of Our Lives (formerly General Music Discussion)

[UYI]

I'm a few days behind on Stereogum's Number Ones series by Tom Breihan. Here we go:

https://www.stereogum.com/2054426/the-number-ones-kc-the-sunshine-bands-thats-the-way-i-like-it/franchises/the-number-ones/

https://www.stereogum.com/2054604/the-number-ones-silver-conventions-fly-robin-fly/franchises/the-number-ones/

https://www.stereogum.com/2054791/the-number-ones-the-staple-singers-lets-do-it-again/franchises/the-number-ones/

https://www.stereogum.com/2054959/the-number-ones-bay-city-rollers-saturday-night/franchises/the-number-ones/

[Anduin]

My family was talking about music today, and my mum reminded me of a funny story. 1995 or 96. I was a teen. One day I was walking along a city street when a man approached me and started talking. For some reason, possibly basic politeness, I didn't give him the brush-off. Indeed, we went back to his office. Boy, I was way too trusting. I would never leave the public eye with a stranger these days. Anyway, he tried to sell me a book. Dianetics, by L Ron Hubbard.

However, I didn't have enough money, having just bought a CD. Oh, he says. He's into music. What did I buy? Blood & Valour, by Aussie band Bestial Warlust. The conversation wrapped up soon after and I went back to my business. Saved from Scientology by the power of metal. 🙂

[jenniferhartwell]

18 hours ago, GaT said:

I think you're seeing it correctly, because I'm seeing the same thing. I'm hoping it's one of the instances where they didn't realize what would happen to the material under the lights, & not a deliberate choice.

You feel sorry for the girl pictured - Young Talent Time's young Courtney Compagnino - having to sing in front of a concert crowd of children and their parents in an outfit that makes her look almost naked.

[Dandesun]

On 7/29/2019 at 10:52 AM, UYI said:

Also: For those of you who are interested, music journalist Tom Briehan of the music website Stereogum has a ongoing series called the Number Ones, where every week he talks about every song that has ever hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in America (starting in 1958, the beginning of the modern era for the charts). He usually posts a new article every Friday, but he was on vacation this past week, so he just posted the newest song today. He's currently up to the year 1975:

And here's his delightful skewing of "(You're) Having My Baby." 🙂

https://www.stereogum.com/2045758/the-number-ones-paul-ankas-youre-having-my-baby-feat-odia-coates/franchises/the-number-ones/

And finally, here's the archive of the entire series. "Listen to What the Man Said" by Wings is the newest song being covered today, while "Love Will Keep Us Together" by the Captain and Tennille was covered the week before he went on vacation. This link takes you back from there. 🙂 

https://www.stereogum.com/category/franchises/the-number-ones/

If y'all are interested, I'd be happy to post each new article every week here. It will be fun! 

I didn't know this existed and now I have a full on time sink that will take me a good long time. What a wonderful option for ignoring work as much as possible!! Woot woot!1

Thank you for this gift.

[27bored]

I think I’ve said it before but Nicki Minaj is actually an underrated singer. She’s at least as good a singer as Rihanna. Here’s an under-the-radar song — that sounds 2016-ish even though I think it came out last year — by her and ZAYN. It’s kinda nice. 

[UYI]

 For the first time since April, we are now living in a world where "Old Town Road" ISN'T the number one song in America.

The song that takes its place? The one that spent most of the summer right behind it at number two--"Bad Guy", by Billie Eilish.

[27bored]

Billie Eilish is definitely for the kids. Can’t say I get it.

[WendyCR72]

Today, August 22nd, would have been Layne Staley's 52nd birthday. This site offers a sort of life in pictures, from his glam band Sleze, onward...

[WendyCR72]

Damn, Eddie Money has been diagnosed with stage IV esophageal cancer.  😞 And it has already spread to his liver and stomach.

[AimingforYoko]

Because 2019 can't get any weirder: Hasbro buys Death Row.

[WendyCR72]

28 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Because 2019 can't get any weirder: Hasbro buys Death Row.

And the oddest business transaction award goes to...

[Anduin]

I hate to be a killjoy, but the article has some more info as to why.

Quote

The deal came as part of Hasbro’s acquisition of Entertainment One, which it just picked up for a whopping $4 billion (via Deadline). Hasbro — which is behind such properties as Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony — was primarily interested in eOne’s preschool brands like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks, but they also snatched up the music of Tupac and Dr. Dre in the sale.

Entertainment One bought Death Row a few years ago.

[UYI]

There have been three different number one songs since "Old Town Road" was dethroned three weeks ago.

1. "Bad Guy"--Billie Eilish

2. "Senorita"--Shawn Mendes feat. Camila Cabello

And now, as of this week, the best of all IMO:

3. "Truth Hurts"--Lizzo

[WendyCR72]

Yep, at almost 47, I am officially in "get off my lawn" territory. Never heard "Old Town Road" (true! I stay away from local radio and do SiriusXM!) and have never heard any of the above songs.

[janie jones]

I do listen to local radio, but not the stations that would play it.  I've only heard "Old Town Road" because someone posted a video here, and I'm not sure I'd recognize it if I heard it again. 

[UYI]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

Yep, at almost 47, I am officially in "get off my lawn" territory. Never heard "Old Town Road" (true! I stay away from local radio and do SiriusXM!) and have never heard any of the above songs.

At 30, I kind of feel like I don't fit in anywhere--I can sound of out date talking about older music among friends my own age or younger, only to sound way too young among those older than me talking about new stuff.

And then there's my country music love...well, we won't even go there. 😉 

[WendyCR72]

24 minutes ago, UYI said:

At 30, I kind of feel like I don't fit in anywhere--I can sound of out date talking about older music among friends my own age or younger, only to sound way too young among those older than me talking about new stuff.

And then there's my country music love...well, we won't even go there. 😉 

Hey, enjoy what YOU enjoy, @UYI and don't let anyone bring you down. Including me.  😉

[27bored]

Bad Guy, Senorita, and Truth Hurts all suck, so you guys aren’t missing anything.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, 27bored said:

Bad Guy, Senorita, and Truth Hurts all suck, so you guys aren’t missing anything.

I agree, & the videos suck too. Why does Billie Eilish always have stuff coming out of her eyes or nose in her videos? And please people, stop talking about how "steamy" the Senorita video is because, no, no it's not. It looks like some grade school kids put on a play of what they think grownups do when they're not around.

[UYI]

Okay I'm going to have to stand up for Lizzo here, because "Truth Hurts" does NOT suck (IMO, of course!). And her BET Awards performance was AWESOME. That FLUTE moment!

23 minutes ago, GaT said:

And please people, stop talking about how "steamy" the Senorita video is because, no, no it's not. It looks like some grade school kids put on a play of what they think grownups do when they're not around.

Definitely agree with you here. It's EMBARRASSING seeing how hard they're trying to look like a couple right now. Bless their hearts, they just look stupid.

...And yet, I actually don't hate the song itself. Go figure. -_-

Edited September 4, 2019 by UYI

[Bastet]

18 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Yep, at almost 47, I am officially in "get off my lawn" territory. Never heard "Old Town Road" (true! I stay away from local radio and do SiriusXM!) and have never heard any of the above songs.

When I started working out of my home office the vast majority of the time, I fell out of touch with current music; I mostly only hear new stuff on the radio, and I only listen to the radio in my car.  So for several years now, I haven't been hearing much new music.  If it wasn't for this Music forum, it would be even less.

I heard part of "Old Town Road" on NPR, when the chart removal controversy was news.  I didn't listen to it in its entirety until it was posted here, though (and I've never heard it on the radio).  I thought it was annoying, but once I saw the video (also thanks to this forum), that made me laugh and made the song catchy to me.  I still don't listen to it, but I do cackle at how it pissed people off, and enjoy how it has brought other people together, so I like it just for that.

"Bad Guy" I looked up when someone here posted about it, and realized I'd heard a snippet on the radio a few times but never stopped and listened to it.  It's not my thing, but it's okay.

"Señorita" is another one I looked up upon seeing it criticized here, and that was my first and only time hearing it.  Hard pass.

"Truth Hurts" I just looked up now - it turned out to be another one I've never heard when going around the radio dial - and made it 18 seconds.

[27bored]

7 hours ago, UYI said:

Okay I'm going to have to stand up for Lizzo here, because "Truth Hurts" does NOT suck (IMO, of course!). And her BET Awards performance was AWESOME. That FLUTE moment!

Yeah, credit where credit is due, that flute twerk was pretty good. Still, the song just feels like a novelty kind of thing. Like she wrote and recorded it in thirty minutes just on a lark. 

And Lizzo’s whole vibe just reminds me of that time MoNique hosted the BET Awards and opened the show dancing to Crazy in Love with other big girls. It’s like she saw that and said “hold my Hennessy”.

Or maybe I’m just being a bitch because I’m sick.

[jenniferhartwell]

The reason American popular standards/big band won't come to FM and oldies formats won't come back to commercial radio is because of advertisers. Older people have been burnt and know what works and what doesn't, and are willing to do research to find the best product so it takes more advertising impressions to make a sale. Younger people are more willing to jump on the latest trend, and buy a ton of stuff they don't need on the basis of a commercial. All this "but older people have more time/disposable income!" is from old people who don't accept reality.

[SunnyBeBe]

On 8/14/2019 at 12:02 PM, 27bored said:

Eesh, nothing’s ringing a bell. I’d suggest Forever with Drake and some other people, but I think you’d have recognized Eminem (he’s in it) and I don’t think are a bunch of f-bombs in that song. Another random guess is I Don’t Fuck With You by Big Sean and E-40.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think that I found it though!  It doesn't have as many F bombs as I recalled, but, I think it's it. I actually heard it on a Cadillac commercial!!!  Here it is.

[UYI]

From the New York Times: Tina Turner is Having the Time of Her Life.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/theater/tina-turner-musical.html

[27bored]

Don’t Call Me Angel by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana del Rey is #1 on trending. 

The song isn’t the bop it should be. It’s the lead single for the new Charlie’s Angels movie. But they got three chicks who just aren’t doing it for me. For one, I don’t find any of them sexy. Ariana is cute, Lana is at best kind of pretty, and Miley looks rose hard and put away wet. I have no idea why she’s aging badly (well, I have an idea, but I have no confirmation). 

That said, Miley works the best for the song and video. Ariana is still doing the pretty girl doing pretty singing while looking pretty thing, but there’s too much of her. She has a verse and she sings the hook. Then Lana, who I’ll admit I was most interested in hearing what she did with the song, comes in and basically does an entirely different song. To be fair, I wish they would’ve left her part out and wrote an entire song around it because it works in its own way. She invokes a certain menace that could work on its own, but in a big pop song like this is supposed to be? It sounds out of place.

I hope pop music makes a comeback, but I’ll be honest and say I wish this song had a female rapper on it. I think an Iggy Azalea or Meg thee Stallion (whom I would’ve preferred) would’ve worked great. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by 27bored

[WendyCR72]

Eddie Money (of "Shakin'" and "Two Tickets To Paradise" fame) has died at 70.

[Anduin]

I just stumbled across Frozen Crown. Now, neither song nor video really move me, but I noticed the guitarist. Outside of Japan, she's the only non-white female metaller I can think of. I'm a white man myself, but I like my music to be different. Expansive. Apparently Thalia Bellazecca is Italian-Cuban. And more importantly, she's a fellow lefty!

But here's the horrifying thing. People born in 2,000 are now adults. When did that happen? If you'd asked me ten minutes ago, I'd have told you that they were still in primary school. Bloody hell, kids grow up.

[UYI]

I absolutely love Lana Del Rey's new album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (NFR! for short). There are a few music critics who feel it's one of the best pop albums of the year, if not THE best, and, well, I can see (or in this case, hear) why.

She follows her muse to the point where she'll never fully be a mainstream pop artist with big top 40 hits, but that's okay. Her fan base is loyal and she's true to herself. That's enough. 

Also, I LOVE the cover she does of Sublime's "Doin' Time". She somehow makes it work, both for herself and within the context of the album.

Edited September 14, 2019 by UYI

[UYI]

3 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Eddie Money (of "Shakin'" and "Two Tickets To Paradise" fame) has died at 70.

I just found out maybe two days ago that Ronnie Spector was the one singing with him on "Take Me Home Tonight". I have NO IDEA why it took so long for me to find that out, but there it is.

I wondered after the announcement that he had stage 4 cancer a few weeks ago how much longer he had. RIP. 😢 

Edited September 14, 2019 by UYI

[27bored]

8 hours ago, UYI said:

I absolutely love Lana Del Rey's new album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (NFR! for short). There are a few music critics who feel it's one of the best pop albums of the year, if not THE best, and, well, I can see (or in this case, hear) why.

She follows her muse to the point where she'll never fully be a mainstream pop artist with big top 40 hits, but that's okay. Her fan base is loyal and she's true to herself. That's enough. 

Also, I LOVE the cover she does of Sublime's "Doin' Time". She somehow makes it work, both for herself and within the context of the album.

Yeah, her latest album has gotten good reviews. I think Lana has wisely not stopped working since 2012. She’s had a few minor hits, but I was surprised to realize that she’s released six albums in seven years. Homegirl is working, which is why she has an audience. Most artists would’ve taken a break by now. 

Also, low key I think Halsey’s whole sound is basically a rip-off of Lana. I’ve seen videos where people have done side-by-side comparisons of Halsey and Lana and it’s eerie. Some of that may be producers plagiarizing themselves, but some of it is, you know, let’s do this thing over here.

[UYI]

2 hours ago, 27bored said:

Also, low key I think Halsey’s whole sound is basically a rip-off of Lana. I’ve seen videos where people have done side-by-side comparisons of Halsey and Lana and it’s eerie. Some of that may be producers plagiarizing themselves, but some of it is, you know, let’s do this thing over here.

I think when all is said and done, Lana is going to go down as one of the most influential artists of this century, certainly the first half of it (if she hasn't already, of course). I mean, Taylor Swift alone on quite a few songs from 1989 onward (this newest album included), Lorde, Halsey...she may not have the bigger hits they have all had, but the influence is clear. 

[Pickles Aplenty]

Okay, so, I totally don't get Lana del Ray.  Granted, I haven't listened to an album of hers in its entirety, but what I have heard has been slow, and melancholy.  Total downer music, the kind I want to slit my wrists, to.  What is the appeal?

Edited September 14, 2019 by Billina

[UYI]

19 minutes ago, Billina said:

Okay, so, I totally don't get Lana del Ray.  Granted, I haven't listened to an album of hers in its entirety, but what I have heard has been slow, and melancholy.  Total downer music, the kind I want to slit my wrists, to.  What is the appeal?

I think this is something where I can't really explain it. I just...like her, despite myself. There's a calming softness to a lot of her songs, at least to me. And I guess some of her more melancholic songs I find comforting when I need something in that lane.

I know that doesn't help much, but sometimes you can't really explain it. You just...like it. 🙂 

I don't know, I should probably talk more about older music here, as I know talking about the newer stuff can be kind of annoying for some, and I definitely don't want to be annoying to anyone! When I posted about "Truth Hurts" here recently, I thought some in particular might like the energy it has but that wasn't the case, and I felt so guilty for misjudging the mood here, lol. 

Edited September 14, 2019 by UYI

[Pickles Aplenty]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

I don't know, I should probably talk more about older music here, as I know talking about the newer stuff can be kind of annoying for some, and I definitely don't want to be annoying to anyone! When I posted about "Truth Hurts" here recently, I thought some in particular might like the energy it has but that wasn't the case, and I felt so guilty for misjudging the mood here, lol. 

Dude, you don't have to apologize every time someone has an opinion that's different from yours.  I'm not putting you down, the topic of Lana del Ray came up, and I joined in the discussion.  You're allowed to like whatever you like, and talk whatever you want to talk about.  There is no need to gauge the mood, since we ALL have different opinions.  It's fine.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Billina

[UYI]

1 hour ago, Billina said:

Dude, you don't have to apologize every time someone has an opinion that's different from yours.  I'm not putting you down, the topic of Lana del Ray came up, and I joined in the discussion.  You're allowed to like whatever you like, and talk whatever you want to talk about.  It's fine.

Oh no, I know you weren't! Just recently here I've discussed some more newer music, and some of the older posters' eyes glazed over a bit. I'm just trying to stay mindful of that, lol. There's plenty of new music I don't listen to in favor of older music myself. I admit to being sensitive and worrying sometimes about steering things in the wrong direction. My issue completely. 🙂

(I should say her last name is spelled "Del Rey", though, although she did originally spell the second part of it with an "a"--her birth name is Elizabeth Grant. 🙂 )

Edited September 14, 2019 by UYI

[GaT]

20 hours ago, 27bored said:

Don’t Call Me Angel by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana del Rey is #1 on trending. 

The song isn’t the bop it should be. It’s the lead single for the new Charlie’s Angels movie. But they got three chicks who just aren’t doing it for me. For one, I don’t find any of them sexy. Ariana is cute, Lana is at best kind of pretty, and Miley looks rose hard and put away wet. I have no idea why she’s aging badly (well, I have an idea, but I have no confirmation). 

That said, Miley works the best for the song and video. Ariana is still doing the pretty girl doing pretty singing while looking pretty thing, but there’s too much of her. She has a verse and she sings the hook. Then Lana, who I’ll admit I was most interested in hearing what she did with the song, comes in and basically does an entirely different song. To be fair, I wish they would’ve left her part out and wrote an entire song around it because it works in its own way. She invokes a certain menace that could work on its own, but in a big pop song like this is supposed to be? It sounds out of place.

I hope pop music makes a comeback, but I’ll be honest and say I wish this song had a female rapper on it. I think an Iggy Azalea or Meg thee Stallion (whom I would’ve preferred) would’ve worked great. 

So I've seen this video more times than I want to already, & the song is nothing IMO. It's not catchy, it's not interesting, it's not memorable (and neither is the video). It seems more like an Ariana song featuring Miley & Lana, than a song with 3 equal performers.

[UYI]

12 minutes ago, GaT said:

So I've seen this video more times than I want to already, & the song is nothing IMO. It's not catchy, it's not interesting, it's not memorable (and neither is the video). It seems more like an Ariana song featuring Miley & Lana, than a song with 3 equal performers.

It does list Ariana as the lead artist on YouTube, which given the concept (supposed concept, whatever), kind of surprised me. Because I agree with you--you'd think they all would be listed as and perform as an ensemble. 

Edited September 14, 2019 by UYI

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Billina said:

Dude, you don't have to apologize every time someone has an opinion that's different from yours.

Bless.

21 hours ago, 27bored said:

Don’t Call Me Angel by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana del Rey is #1 on trending. 

The song isn’t the bop it should be. It’s the lead single for the new Charlie’s Angels movie.

It has no oomph.  As the lead single for that film, it's a big ball of blah.

As for Lana Del Rey, I cannot name one of her songs, so during breaks in football I am looking up her singles, to see if I recognize some and just didn't know who sang them.  None yet (I've only listened to two, going in chronological order), but I like her voice and kind of dig the downer vibe.

[UYI]

6 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Bless.

*waves to @Bastet* I had a similar moment before, earlier this year (which you had pointed out back then). I'll relax. 🙂

(BTW: The PBS documentary on country music by Ken Burns is almost here! Can't wait!)

For those who are interested, Todd in the Shadows and Spectrum Pulse are great YouTube channels for reviews of current pop songs/albums. There are other reviewers out there, too, but those two are my favorites. Grady Smith is good, too, but he is primarily a country music reviewer. 

[27bored]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

*waves to @Bastet* I had a similar moment before, earlier this year (which you had pointed out back then). I'll relax. 🙂

(BTW: The PBS documentary on country music by Ken Burns is almost here! Can't wait!)

For those who are interested, Todd in the Shadows and Spectrum Pulse are great YouTube channels for reviews of current pop songs/albums. There are other reviewers out there, too, but those two are my favorites. Grady Smith is good, too, but he is primarily a country music reviewer. 

Three beta male douches with questionable taste!

Todd’s that one guy in Intro to Women’s Studies who hates Chris Brown and the word moist as much as you do, Spectrum Pulse is the type of guy your mom would set you up with. Grady’s alright. He’s a little dry toast, but he’s not a dick like Todd. I do want to send him a message telling him to “let her out”. Sometimes he has these little sassy moments that’s kinda funny since he’s talking about Country music.

[UYI]

I can't remember if this was posted here already or not, but just in case:

There is word that new music from Adele is coming VERY soon (this article here doesn't say much, but I've seen November listed elsewhere). On one hand, I'm definitely sad to hear about her divorce, and hope she and her young son are happy. But on the other hand? Yeah, I'm a fan and I'm excited to hear her again.

https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a28911300/adele-new-music-coming-report/

[UYI]

I just shared this in the country music thread, but I had to share it here, too: Last week, in preparation for the premiere of her new talk show, Kelly Clarkson had a Q&A live stream on YouTube, and the topic of country music came up, and she went OFF on the state of modern country music. Just an AWESOME rant. Start at 6:40 if you just want that part. (Also, for those who don't know: Kelly's husband is Reba McEntire's former stepson.)

[UYI]

Ric Ocasek, the lead singer of the Cars, has been found dead in his New York City town house.

I've always loved that band. RIP. 😢

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Ric-Ocasek-Cars-Singer-Dead-in-NY-at-75-560430391.html

[Annber03]

This is perhaps my favorite song of theirs:

[WendyCR72]

Was just coming to post about Ric Ocasek! No idea why this one shocks me -as he was 75 - but it does. Now both driving forces of The Cars, Ben Orr and Ric Ocasek, are gone.  😞

[UYI]

1 hour ago, WendyCR72 said:

Was just coming to post about Ric Ocasek! No idea why this one shocks me -as he was 75 - but it does. Now both driving forces of The Cars, Ben Orr and Ric Ocasek, are gone.  😞

I have actually heard some conflicting reports about his age--some say he was 75, others say he was 70. There's apparently some dispute about his actual year of birth (and given his signature ageless look, I can see why!).

Either way, this shocked me, too. Eddie Money's wasn't as shocking, given the announcement about his condition a few weeks ago (although I didn't expect him to go QUITE this fast). But this? Yeah, it just feels so out of nowhere. 😢 

[WendyCR72]

6 minutes ago, UYI said:

I have actually heard some conflicting reports about his age--some say he was 75, others say he was 70. There's apparently some dispute about his actual year of birth (and given his signature ageless look, I can see why!).

Either way, this shocked me, too. Eddie Money's wasn't as shocking, given the announcement about his condition a few weeks ago (although I didn't expect him to go QUITE this fast). But this? Yeah, it just feels so out of nowhere. 😢 

Other online places state he was born in 1944, so 75 would fit. But yeah, he certainly didn't look it! I had no idea that he and Ben Orr were a decade older than their new-wave peers when they broke through.

[catlover79]

He actually went to high school here in the Cleveland area...and graduated from Maple Heights High School in 1963. My dad went to the same school before transferring to a different school in the area in 1962. I never knew that my dad and Ric Ocasek went to the same school at the same time (though they weren't in the same class)!!

[Pickles Aplenty]

Well, I'm a huge Todd In the Shadows fan, and just started listening to his podcast with Dany Roth.  Never heard of Spectrum Pulse, or Grady Smith.

I am also excited about Ken Burns country music doc, but I still haven't finished Jazz, yet.  And that came out, like, 27 years ago.

It's a shame about Eddie Money and Ric Ocasek.  I used to listen to a Cars greatest hits CD at my workplace at a time when people still listened to CD's.  Everyone loved it.  It was one of the few CD's we could all agree on.