One of the nice things about a favorite pop song is that it's an unconditional truce on judgment and musical snobbery. You like the song because you just do and there need not be any further criticism.Rollins' list: "This Magic Moment" (Drifters version), "Tracks of My Tears" (Stevie Wonder/Miracles), "I Only Have Eyes for You" (circa 1934; Flamingoes 1959), "Cupid" (Sam Cooke, "One of the greatest voices ever committed to tape"), "Isn't She Lovely" (Stevie Wonder).
That said, a pop song can be evaluated by several criteria. Composition, arrangement, lyrics, melody, the singer, at least. But then, there's that indefinable thing that either escapes words or at least cannot be captured by your humble scribe here. There are songs that have the power to move you, over and over again. It is quite often difficult to pin down the exact reason, and that's what makes the pop songs you like have such an intoxicating effect.
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The pop genre has some of the brightest lights in music under its umbrella. It is not a genre I spend much time in, as my taste in music has veered toward the room-clearing "You're on your own, son," variety over the last several years (see last week's column on outsider music). However, now and then, when I am in a somewhat less combative and furious state, I have time for the pop. I am not softening with age. I am calcifying.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Calcifying
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10 comments:
Calcifying is right -- There's nothing on this list that was released after Rollins was 15...
Either modern pop is as bad as I think it is, or Rollins suffers from the same syndrome as most boomers -- the inability to connect in a serious way with popular music created after the year in which they had their first date.
I think the sentiments expressed in the first graph are way more important than rating the songs he happened to pick.
I wasn't criticising the list, which shows excellent and interesting taste as you'd expect. just noticing that as with most middle aged people, Rollins is a lover of the pop music of his youth, not a lover of pop music as such.
So just perhaps the "indefinable thing" that Rollins is responding is his love of his own childhood.
(I did assume that by providing the list, you wanted your readers to do something more than just gape at it. In the future, if you don't want a response to something, perhaps you could put a little asterisk next to it...)
I thought it would be a little rude not to include the list, because that's the obvious question.
Also all very tender songs. Interesting for a guy with such a ferocious persona.
From personal experience I'd say even the response to new pop songs is often a "lost youth" sort of a thing.
Cee Lo Green's song "I Want You," to name just one, is a fantastic song on his new album. Maroon 5 continues to impress me with each new album.
There is good pop being made all the time. I don't think all new music is great, but there is some wonderful stuff out there. It is however, unlike for previous generations, a very crowded marketplace. There is more money out there being spent on entertainment/luxuries and there are more genres of pop music/more media outlets.
Today's music isn't controlled by the tastes of a few DJs who dominate the airwaves. Besides anyone who watches "The Kids Are Alright" can see how "corporate" the music of prior generations was -- as much if not more than today. One of my favorite "Bedazzled" moments is when Peter Cook ousts Dudley Moore with his new pop band. It's a golden commentary of the pop of the time.
What I thought I was getting at by posting this -- and what apparently was not clearly expressed -- was sparked by the oddness of this admission coming from this guy. Perhaps even the courage of it, given he circles I think of Rollins as running in, an assumption that may be decades out of date.
I've gotten old enough to begin finding moving rather than annoying music calculated to stir up youthful feelings. Rollins is a music guy so he may have something else in mid, as well: types of music that he rejects in his own practice that can still get to him.
I'll bet good money though that he doesn't watch those epitomes of modern pop, American Idol and Glee.... (Although a Black Flag night on Glee might even get me to tune in.)
've never actually watched "Glee." Have you? Didn't think so. But quite a few people I know and like, or even love, think highly of it. So I have reason to believe it might be "good."
I prefer the structure of "The Voice" to American Idol. The banter between the judges is -- currently -- more friendly and the singing has been quite good.
The first half of the first season of "Glee" felt a little "mean" to me. The show initially didn't feel like it had a lot of heart. It has added more heart, but it still feels a little too "ironic" for my tastes. The cameos by various celebs add to the ironic, rather than heartfelt, feel of the show.
I agree regarding Rollins. It's nice to see an "anti-mainstream rebel for anti-mainstream rebel's sake" admit that the mainstream can contain wonders. I like Rollins a lot, some of his fans -- not so much.
I'll take my Black Flag, Dickies, and Maroon 5 please.
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