"I'm rocking the suburbs, I take the checks and face the facts that some producer with computers fixes all my shitty tracks"
- Ben Folds, "Rockin' the Suburbs
American pop music has no soul. It hasn't had funk and soul and heart for years. Not when the record companies spit out dreg in the name of Spears and Simpson and tell everyone how great it is, but it you'll love it. Unwrap the plastic, slit open the copyright protection tape, and all you're left with is a already-chewed wad of bubble gum.
American Idol is to blame, as is the American public who turns in to vote and catapult some shmuck to a record deal. Ruben Studdard? Fantasia Barrino?
Your honor, I rest my case with Clay Aiken.
My musical tastes cut a wide swath through music. "Is there anything you don't like?" Yeah, crap. And crap can turn up in pop, hip-hop, rap, country, punk, alternative, rock, heavy metal.
Music is nearly 100 percent subjective. It is based on the listeners' taste, which still doesn't explain Britney Spears (you want Spears? Check out Mark Ronson's "Version" take on "Toxic" with Mark & Tiggers and hear real soul, not just a "cha-CHING" of someone getting paid because shes' perky and blond).
Let's put some funk in your Friday, some everlasting soul. Put on the headphones, and dig a little goodness. From Japan, Pizzicato Five; from the good ol' US of A, New York dance-punk project LCD Soundsystem and an oldie, but a goodie, Detroit's the MC5. First, for those who may be at work and may get in trouble or streaming a bit of YouTube (employers, relax; there's just no way anyone can be productive for eight hours in a day - let your worker bees breathe) here's a Seeqpod playlist:
SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search
American pop music has no soul. It hasn't had funk and soul and heart for years. Not when the record companies spit out dreg in the name of Spears and Simpson and tell everyone how great it is, but it you'll love it. Unwrap the plastic, slit open the copyright protection tape, and all you're left with is a already-chewed wad of bubble gum.
American Idol is to blame, as is the American public who turns in to vote and catapult some shmuck to a record deal. Ruben Studdard? Fantasia Barrino?
Your honor, I rest my case with Clay Aiken.
My musical tastes cut a wide swath through music. "Is there anything you don't like?" Yeah, crap. And crap can turn up in pop, hip-hop, rap, country, punk, alternative, rock, heavy metal.
Music is nearly 100 percent subjective. It is based on the listeners' taste, which still doesn't explain Britney Spears (you want Spears? Check out Mark Ronson's "Version" take on "Toxic" with Mark & Tiggers and hear real soul, not just a "cha-CHING" of someone getting paid because shes' perky and blond).
Let's put some funk in your Friday, some everlasting soul. Put on the headphones, and dig a little goodness. From Japan, Pizzicato Five; from the good ol' US of A, New York dance-punk project LCD Soundsystem and an oldie, but a goodie, Detroit's the MC5. First, for those who may be at work and may get in trouble or streaming a bit of YouTube (employers, relax; there's just no way anyone can be productive for eight hours in a day - let your worker bees breathe) here's a Seeqpod playlist:
SeeqPod Music beta - Playable Search
3 comments:
Soooo glad you mentioned LCD Soundsystem, one of the few new(er) bands out there with some PHUNK! And the quote from Ben Folds (a HIGHLY underrated musician, in my opinion), was a nice touch.
Check out Super Furry Animals "The Man Don't Give A Fuck" for some hi-octane funk, Thom. And I believe that the Flaming Lips found their Funky muse again with At War With The Mystics.
But, alas, overall you are 100% correct: the new stuff ain't got no soul...brother!
Don't you think Amy Winehouse has soul?
She has a ton of soul; too bad she's decided not to use it.
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