Pure Pop II

[Guy Rowland]

There is a thread in the legacy section of the forum about the joy of a perfect and pure pop song - https://thesoundboard.net/viewtopic.php?p=3018. Time for a sequel thread in The Arts.

70s, brilliantly used in the opening to the first episode of season two of LOST



90s but sounds 80s



All the way into this millennium here

[wst3]

Don't me wrong, I've had a crush on Ms. Grant since she first surfaced (just one of the reasons I envy Vince Gill, his voice and guitar chops also play a part!).

She is a remarkably talented artist!, and your example is definitely pop, but I think her foray into pop was not quite sincere. The songs just don't ring true to me (I could be alone on that).

She has, needless to say, matured over the years, as has her music, but those early attempts to crossover did not work for me.

It might also have something to do with my definition of great pop, which includes folks like XTC and Big Star, among others...

Still, I am glad you resurrected the thread!

[Guy Rowland]

XTC! This gem has one of the oddest verses - it genuinely sounds like they were drunkenly mucking about - and most sublime pop choruses:



Pop trivia - Thomas Dolby started out his musical career as a roadie for XTC.

[Lawrence]

[Guy Rowland]

I recently read Bananarama's biography. It was rather charming, wholesome and thoroughly recommended for getting to sleep. What I like about them is they were so DIY - they did their own clothes which went against the trend, they were absolutely not manufactured and they co-wrote most of their big hits. Very much their own people.

Always thought this was a brilliantly crafted pop song. A classic happy-sad, something really melancholic about it.

[progger]

I have two gold-standards for pop music, one for the "soul/RnB" side and one for the "rock" side of things.

For my taste, the perfect pop song/recording/production on the "soul/RnB" side is Michael Jackson's "Rock With You." I love it every time I hear it, to this day, even after playing it hundreds or thousands of times on gigs.

On the rock side of things, I think it has to go to "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears For Fears. Although "Head Over Heels" could swap for it... hard to say which one deserves the gold. Both are pop/rock perfection, IMO.

[Ashermusic]

Forgive me if this is a little long.

Since I resumed performing in multi-performer shows, I've usually been the only Brill Building-ish kind of guy.. Most of them are Folk=Americana.

I was chatting with one of them who is well known as a comedy writer, Tracy Newman and I remarked to her that I often felt like a duck in a barnyard of chickens.

She said, "You are! Do you know who you are, Jay? You're Neil Sedaka."

This was before he passed away. Got me thinking, and so I decided:

[Lawrence]

Jay, you look…well… different!



Have a great show, buddy.

[Ashermusic]

Jay, you look…well… different!



Have a great show, buddy.

Thanks. Working on Sedaka vocally has been WAYYYY more challenging than Elton or Neil Diamond because he had a sweet head voice he employed at times, which I have never had. So I took a lesson with a good vocal coach who showed me some techniques to practice and it's come a long way. But he was a first tenor while I am a second tenor so I have to do some songs, like "Solitaire" and "The Hungry Years", a half step lower.

[Lawrence]

Your Neil Diamond and your Elton are both spot on. I’m sure you’ll nail Neil too. I envy your ability to do those tribute voices.

[Linos]

This is certainly not pure pop. It probably falls into the singer-songwriter category. However, it's difficult to draw a clear line, particularly with the first song. Anyway, I recently discovered Kings Elliot, a Swiss singer-songwriter and pop talent.

I think her music is brilliant!

[Guy Rowland]

I posted this on the old thread, but it needs another airing. I don't know why this wasn't no1 across the globe for months, it's such a gloriously infectious song. And definitely pure pop:



The other reason to re-share it is there is a terrific breakdown of it by the producer on Music Radar. Lots of tools with which we are all familiar, but it's so interesting seeing how someone else puts them all together. He does a billion things I wouldn't do - for no good reason - and the production is spectacular. He's got great ears.

They're a proper live band, so it's interesting how the drums and bass are all electronic here pretty much yet overall it sounds like a live band. The guitars do a lot of work here.

I wish all pop today sounded like this - actual bands who play instruments and write songs together - yet they are POP. Imagine!