I like what you say about Daniel Powter and James Blunt. I get extremely uncomfortable with the mindless 'James Blunt is rhyming slang' stuff that goes on over here, even in places I'd generally expect to be above that kind of slur because clearly, people like him. I can't really understand why, either but that ought to be something of interest more than something that receives the gut-reaction snotty 'eww look at those common non-musos listening to bad music' comments it's had.
My mum (who was delighted this year to receive the new Meatloaf album for Christmas and whose in-car tape collection contains largely Black Sabbath and Motorhead) uncharacteristically last year asked for 'Back To Bedlam' for her birthday. She said she was a bit disappointed by how samey a lot of it was but she likes 'You're Beautiful' because she says the dichotomy (right word? probably not) between the apparently romantic ballad and the fact the narrative is actually Mr Blunt lusting after someone else's girlfriend whilst he's sitting on the tube, stoned off his face, is appealling. I can't really get past the fact I find the repetition of the words 'You're Beautiful' intensely annoying but I thought that was an interesting response to the song. I have the feeling a lot of people just hear it as romantic but still... err, I've derailed my train of thought.
I do find the rise of what you call 'aggressively ordinary' (which is a phrase I like) music interesting. It sells in great numbers and yet it doesn't seem to me to be the sort of thing anyone could buy; I suspect this is partly caused by the rise of iTunes etc. since it's now easier to buy singles but then I also think it might be symptomatic of Terry Woganism, whereby the kids (who are a lot of the aggressively ordinary buying demographic over here, at least, I suspect) are too scared to buy music that their parents/music critics/whoever will say is crap because anything that might have been encouraging them to buy that kind of thing has either died or turned against them or both and kids do, usually, need some kind of encouragement. Then again, maybe that would only be forcing a different set of values, musically, upon them but I naturally think it would be a better one, since it would be one I'd approve of.
My iTunes theory fails to account for album sales, I've just realised, since most people still buy hardcopy albums. Arse.
The other thing is... have music tastes actually evolved much post-Beatles? I was just thinking about that Powter song and it's rather Paul McCartney. I mean, I know The Beatles had far more interesting moments but as someone who didn't hear them at the time, they do sound rather MOR to me.
I forget where I was going with that paragraph or, indeed, this entire comment. I may, of course, have been vastly misinterpreting what you said as well.
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My mum (who was delighted this year to receive the new Meatloaf album for Christmas and whose in-car tape collection contains largely Black Sabbath and Motorhead) uncharacteristically last year asked for 'Back To Bedlam' for her birthday. She said she was a bit disappointed by how samey a lot of it was but she likes 'You're Beautiful' because she says the dichotomy (right word? probably not) between the apparently romantic ballad and the fact the narrative is actually Mr Blunt lusting after someone else's girlfriend whilst he's sitting on the tube, stoned off his face, is appealling. I can't really get past the fact I find the repetition of the words 'You're Beautiful' intensely annoying but I thought that was an interesting response to the song. I have the feeling a lot of people just hear it as romantic but still... err, I've derailed my train of thought.
I do find the rise of what you call 'aggressively ordinary' (which is a phrase I like) music interesting. It sells in great numbers and yet it doesn't seem to me to be the sort of thing anyone could buy; I suspect this is partly caused by the rise of iTunes etc. since it's now easier to buy singles but then I also think it might be symptomatic of Terry Woganism, whereby the kids (who are a lot of the aggressively ordinary buying demographic over here, at least, I suspect) are too scared to buy music that their parents/music critics/whoever will say is crap because anything that might have been encouraging them to buy that kind of thing has either died or turned against them or both and kids do, usually, need some kind of encouragement. Then again, maybe that would only be forcing a different set of values, musically, upon them but I naturally think it would be a better one, since it would be one I'd approve of.
My iTunes theory fails to account for album sales, I've just realised, since most people still buy hardcopy albums. Arse.
The other thing is... have music tastes actually evolved much post-Beatles? I was just thinking about that Powter song and it's rather Paul McCartney. I mean, I know The Beatles had far more interesting moments but as someone who didn't hear them at the time, they do sound rather MOR to me.
I forget where I was going with that paragraph or, indeed, this entire comment. I may, of course, have been vastly misinterpreting what you said as well.