posted
I've been thinking about posting this question for a while, but thought it was a little dorky to ask. This community has been so cool though, that I decided to go for it because I'm really interested in hearing what you have to say if you choose to participate, so maybe others would too:
What song(s) have you downloaded that would totally surprise your friends and/or relatives? One of mine would be "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins. I have a lot of Hip Hop & R&B on my iPod, which my friends would expect. I saw them perform this on like MTV music awards or something years ago, and just really liked it. My friends would be surprised by that one. What about you?
posted
"1979" was one of the best songs of the decade from which it came. Outstanding piece of work, by an amazing band. Out of the Pumpkins, and in addition to the eclectic Billy Corgan, you had James Iha, which was tantamount to having a producer right on the floor, right in the band. They were adept at getting exactly what they wanted out of a sound, out of a song, and never settled for less.
The song itself, came out just in time, because "Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness" was (for practical purposes), the last real Pumpkins album. After the death of Melvoin (and heroin overdose of Jimmy Chamberlain), things never were the same.
And though Corgan and Chamberlain have had quite a mix of odd and Excellent post-pumpkin results, Iha has since exploded into a musical, man-for-all-seasons. His work and collaborations with Adam Schleshinger, A Perfect Circle, Serge Gainsbourg and others have helped to cement an admirable position among music and studio elites, and this is not to mention his STERLING production work on America's comeback album "Here and Now".
As a band and an entity, Smashing Pumpkins were seriousiously under-rated; and "1979" was not only one of the best songs of it's time, but also yeilded a great music video. Fun, funny and strange.
-------------------- Respectfully,
Ben
Malory in Signature Posts: 5772 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I´ve been listening to underground music (indie, hardcore/punk, electronica) since the early 80s...I guess my friends would be really surprised if I suddenly started listening to mainstream pop music...or to bad techno
I did like this (for me unusual) song when it was new...it surprised some of my roommates that I was listening to it the whole day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6WnUfmAdI (Outkast -- Hey Ya)
quote: As a band and an entity, Smashing Pumpkins were seriousiously under-rated
I agree that Smashing Pumpkins were definitely a great band but I never really thought of them as underrated. I once went to see them in Hamburg/Germany...they played a free outdoor show. More than 25.000 (!) people came to that show to see Smashing Pumpkins...that`s not too underrated A band that was definitely underrated (in my opinion) were "Pavement". Also an amazing 90s indie-rock band from the USA that released a bunch of albums on smaller labels but never really had any commercial success. I just re-discovered them for myself...been listing to all their old, totally amazing albums lately.
posted
I stand by my statement. And though it was not weighted toward the realm of attendance numbers (much less free concert attendance) ... in my view, you could have 100,000 people show up and they'd still be under-rated.
[ March 05, 2009, 03:16 PM: Message edited by: Ben Del Amitri ]
-------------------- Respectfully,
Ben
Malory in Signature Posts: 5772 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
It probably depends on how one defines underrated...but I guess almost everybody who listens to indie rock knows The Smashing Pumpkins and owns at least one of their albums...whereas bands that (in my opinion) are just as brilliant (for example Goeff Farina`s amazing and underrated band "Karate") are almost unknown, always stay an underground phenomenon and play shows in front of an audience of 500 people. But I agree that Smashing Pumpkins are definitely underrated compared to the mindless trash that is often hyped on MTV or in the charts.
posted
Well, this isn't exactly what I had envisioned for this thread, but that's just fine. Now I know more about The SP's than I did before, since I didn't really follow them. Although popular, I've heard it said that they may not have gotten their just due because they came along around the same time as Nirvana. Any truth to that?
posted
I dunno, I think they had a good time in the limelight during their time. My brother saw them on a triple bill back in 1991 at a small venue in Dallas called "The Bronco Bowl." They were the opening act for Pearl Jam and the headlining Red Hot Chili Peppers for the "Blood Sugar Sex Magic" tour. This was before all three made it super big in the early 90's.
To your topic I suppose my friends would be totally shocked if I had a hip hop or rap song in my music selection. Ain't my thing. However, one song I do have that is totally out of character for me is this old country song by Tom T. Hall called "I Like Beer." I hate country music, but for some reason that dumb song reminded me of a family vacation from the 1970s I was on when I was a kid and that came over the AM radio. I downloaded it a long time ago.
posted
LeDaaemon I'm in your shoes man. I have 2 country songs on my ipod Waylon & Willie "Good Hearted Woman" & "Luchenbach, Texas." Shit I forgot all about "I like Beer." Fucking classic. As far as the pumpkins go, I saw them at lalapalooza in 94'. They headlined over the Beastie Boys & George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars so of course they got booed pretty bad, but they still rocked.
posted
Well, some of what I had to say has been said. Here's my penny's worth, nevertheless:
As a musician, very little would surprise my friends as regards the music to which I listen. Apart from some popular contemporary genres of music from which I feel disenfranchised, there are very few style of music I haven't played and, to greater and lesser degrees, have enjoyed (I admit I haven't played any tribal music of the Arunta of Australia but there's very little call for that between Chicago and Buffalo).
The one music style that I have eschewed, where possible, is Country - it has paid the bills from time to time, though. At some other time I'll discuss the "why" of it.
It would surprise a number of my friends to find that I have a couple of George Strait tunes, please give "Beyond the Blue Neon" a listen. Further, I really like what Willie Nelson does.
Musically, Nelson's tunes lend themselves elegantly to chord substitutions and uses "turn-arounds" that can be radically transformed. This provides the person covering one of his songs to practically perform a new song...yet the melody remains intact. For those wishing to experiment, try his often-covered "The Night Life" for a start.
Posts: 5067 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
This is a tuff one coz my music spans so far across many genres... Ummmmmmm might have to say Polka music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCAt9WcCFbM Weird Al's Polkarama for comic purposes only
-------------------- "When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit" - Dr Emmit L. Brown (Back To The Future) Posts: 7894 | Registered: Jan 2007
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