betting on what pop music will stand the test of time

Slate commissioned a poll of music critics about what songs released starting in the 1990s will stand the test of time and form the next Great American Songbook (without necessarily meaning that they will be covered - I can see Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" becoming a new standard and there are signs that Drake's "Passionfruit" is headed that way but it's not the song by him that voters chose.) It's interesting to me because I think many people would've written off ABBA in 1978 as disposable bubblegum but their music has stood up very well and they may be more popular than ever in America now. [slate.com]

Well...........this assumes the audience mirrors the writers in breadth and taste - ie no one who listens to that Liz Phair song is listening to Call Me Maybe and if they are it suggests a lack of a listener's aesthetic really (ie its random playlist generated maybe?).

Beyond that, it assumes that the already bad taste of popular music at any given moment will be clung to which would therefore be "legitimizing" that bad taste in the first place.

But the real issue is the arbitrary nature of it I guess - why "Seven Nation Army" and not "Song 2" (it's equivalent perhaps). Now having said all that I'd argue "Bad Romance" is a big omission here - it defines a sort of song POV that people can play all the time - it's the flip of the song at #3.



Post Edited (10-18-18 10:54)

I recall ABBA's American resurgence beginning when the movie MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING used "Dancing Queen" around the time ABBA GOLD was released. I took a look at the RIAA's website, and it lived up to its name and went gold in a year, platinum in two years and has now sold 6 million copies. During the '70s, they had one platinum album and four gold albums in the US, which is great success by most bands' standards but short of their European superstardom.

I'll put a playlist of these together for listening later, and see if I can concur with . At least twelve of the thirty songs are drawing a complete blank from me. And at least four others could disappear from existence entirely without me ever missing them.

From what I've read and gathered, most one-hit wonders seem to develop a sense of resentment over that hit. Blur has expressed disdain for "Song 2," complaining that in America, they're just known as "the band with the 'whoo-hoo' song." (Never mind that countless bands would love to become known for anything.) If I were Carly Rae Jepsen, I'd probably be sick to think that I'd be remembered for such a boring trifle as "Call Me Maybe." Of course, that nauseating little ditty could set her up well financially for a long time.

"Who could have predicted that “Don’t Stop Believin’ ”—which was, upon its release in 1981, a flop from a critically derided band—would become the 20th century’s best-selling digital download? "

I would have. One couldn't avoid that song on the radio back then and I thought Escape was a huge album as well ("Open Arms" was on that album). This type of list is just a way of critics assuring themselves that what they like now will still be culturally relevant in the future.

It used to for a song to stay relevant was to be included in a hit movie, now it's more likely a TV show (which is how Don't Stop Believin' came back.)

Interesting that you mention Abba, Steevee. I think those who wrote off the Swedish quartet's music back in the day (and afterward) probably were put off more by the image than anything else. I've often felt that, everything else being equal, if Abba had come along a decade sooner, Benny Anderson & Bjorn Ulvaeus would be seen as the equals of Lennon & McCartney. Abba just had the "misfortune" to come along during a more tacky period of fashion.

Yeah, I'd agree, Abba has become far more popular today in America than they ever were. Since the foursome called it a day, their music has found increasing appreciation among listeners who could hear the pure pop craft, removed from the fashion. Of course, it took something else tacky and cheesy to make Abba's music so ubiquitous in America: the musical Mamma Mia.

What I find interesting is that you can't even sing along to many of those songs. Isn't that kinda the point of a "song book"? I get that some songs are recognizable for one reason or another (e.g., "In Da Club"). I'd venture to guess, however, that even though a lot of Americans know the line "It's your birthday," most couldn't tell you what song it came from.

Or I'm just missing the point entirely, which is highly probable.

> It used to for a song to stay relevant was to be included in a hit movie, now it's more
> likely a TV show (which is how Don't Stop Believin' came back.)

I beg your pardon, but did it ever go away?

Just as you mentioned, Heff, that song was inescapable (no pun intended) when it was new, and has never been very far away since then. I'm sure I'll hear it somewhere -- grocery store, open window of a passing car, TV show or commercial -- within the next week. I have no idea what yardstick the writers of that article are using to measure a "flop."

Quote

I recall ABBA's American resurgence beginning when the movie MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING used "Dancing Queen" around the time ABBA GOLD was released.

That would actually be Muriel's Wedding. The only thing I know about that particularly movie is that it's credited with the ABBA resurgence.

My Best Friend's Wedding revived "I Say A Little Prayer."

And here endeth today's session of Brad Drops a Little Rom-Com Knowledge on the Crowd.

I always think of 'the great American songbook' as being the obvious examples of porter, Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, etc... you get my gist. The songs have little to do with a particular performance (as they've all been interpreted ad nauseum) but rather the actual songwriting.

Shockingly, I'm familiar with every song on the list. While many (maybe all?) might be great records, are they great songs? Does it matter? Beyoncé's 'single ladies' probably is an amazing performance and record... but song? Who would even dare cover it (in a non-ironic way)?

The placement on the list seems arbitrary.... is number 7 really eight spots better than number 15?

What's my point? That the music of recent years may sound great but may not be great "songwriting"? Hell, I'd say the same thing about prime new order. And all the classic Michael Jackson tracks, for that matter.

The article is actually pretty fun reading....but complete bullocks.

Oh, and why argue the merits of ABBA. Their songs are undeniably catchy. Call it 'clinically so' if you must, but they are amazing concoctions.

Bip makes the point very well. It's called "the great American songbook" because it's a collection of great songs. Those songs have achieved such hallowed status because they've held up long after any context that surrounded their creation has faded.

The songs in the Slate article have become famous as arresting (or at least attention-getting) performances, and very popular records, but most of them don't seem likely to draw a lot of interpretations in the future. Hip-hop artists, in particular, tend to take a dim view of covering other hip-hop artists.

This isn't to say that nobody in the 21st century has the capacity to write songs that'll endure past their place & time, or that won't draw artists to re-interpret them in the future. Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" comes to mind.