Duel of the double female fronted bands: ABBA vs B-52's

<i> see how we are / big black sun feel like the sweet spot</i>

I could cosign this on the right day.

Oh wait, More Fun... /Big Black Sun I mean. See How We Are is a bit post-peak.

Apologies 4 derail

I actually think ABBA is best enjoyed in album form, and they finished off with a real classic album.

Also many xxxposts

But I think someone could cover "Roam" by the B52s and it could work

I was thinking that and "Deadbeat Club". And of course, Sinéad did it with "Ain't It a Shame".

The B-52's seem to have a sort of uncoverability akin to the Sugarcubes, where it's essential that it is them performing the songs, but the songs themselves are quite strong. I dunno. I just never liked ABBA that much. The Bee Gees were more interesting to me.

Gibb bros are light years ahead of ABBA imo

So, Οὖτις, no sitting on the fence here, ABBA yay or nay?

I will rate ABBA above Fleetwood Mac fwiw

mostly because their songs work on that archetypal pop level that JCLC was referring to, their best material is catchy and bouncy as hell. FM doesn't have anything like that imo, their appeal is more tightly bound up with the personalities of the players and their band mythology, which bores me. (Which is just to say that other bands, like the B-52s, say, have better mythologies and personalities lol, or at least ones I just find inherently more interesting or appealing)

I don't think of FM that way at all, though. Looking at JCLC's criteria, "Landslide" has to be one of the most-covered songs of the last 50 years. As often as not, guitar students don't even know it as a FM song ime.

M doesn't have anything like that imo, their appeal is more tightly bound up with the personalities of the players and their band mythology, which bores me.

lol what

With that rhythm section? With that (former) guitarist? Maybe to sell copies of Rolling Stone the mythos worked.

in what world aren't "Don't Stop" and "Gypsy" bouncy as hell

(No data to back the first claim, which I pulled out of my ass. Point is that it has clearly been covered a lot, and successfully.) 2xp And yeah, "Never Going Back Again" is an all-time great fingerpicking song.

ABBA are great of course. B-52's are basically my favourite band right now. I'm voting for Ace of Base.

Don't turn around

all that jmm wants is another bABBAy

lol

Kate and Cindy made/make harmonies like few in the world of rock/pop and are as in-tune with each other as Hazel and Alice.

B-52's all day.

fun fact: ace of base are nazis

bump

how do all these Fleetwood Mac songs get stuck in my head, must be their personalities and backstories that I don't think about at all?

what can I say, I've never had a Mac song stuck in my head

whereas "Take a Chance on Me" was burned into my brain (via the Muppets!) as a youngster.

Both bands are about the best at what they do. You could make an awesome split 7" in the sky with the B52s and Abba covering a tune of each other.

I enjoy the timbre of the B52 vox more - Roam gives me an ASMR, goosebump type reaction, while is ABBA is just like “more champagne please.” Also gotta keep in mind the difference in production styles, B52s all crisp and treble, ABBA hazy and lush

ABBA, the Mac, the B-52's -- all awesome, y'all are cracked
.

Mindbogglingly, heartbreakingly cracked

Agnetha and Frida's voice are undistinguishable to me, while I can mostly tell which part is Kate and which is Cindy. This is not a pro or a con, just an observation.

That's not a dis though

This is the ABBA song I discovered in the last two years that affirmed their holyshitness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsznMjw-BsI

Practically the last thing they recorded, this song and the two songs from the Under Attack single are what happened when the ABBA boys got hold of Oh No It's Devo and decided to give it one last crack at staying relevant.

Practically the last thing they recorded, this song and the two songs from the Under Attack single are what happened when the ABBA boys got hold of Oh No It's Devo and decided to give it one last crack at staying relevantimprove it in every way.

don't you go underrating Devo Alfred

DEVO is so great now Alfred's probably gonna cyberbully them with faint praise in a top ten list

I checked his blog, he has already said they are good but...improving on Devo? It is not possible.

I like Devo!

I hear more Dollar than Devo in "I Am the City."

obviously ABBA is amazing, effortlessly keeping abreast of all the changes in 70s pop and leaving their indelible stamp on every genre they worked in, but B-52's had a deeper bag of tricks, they took more risks and pulled them off way more (in no way is ABBA more 'versatile') and their albums are filled to the brim with 'free lunches.'

Sometimes I think they were the best band in the world

It's true, B-52's were kind of the ultimate free lunch band.

Where does Stereolab fit in the double female fronted pantheon?

If Kate could sing well , this wouldn't even be a question. But Cindy is a breathtaking singer and Kate makes it work somehow anyway, so they will probably still win.

Cindy is otherworldly, the abba gals seem somewhat cipher-like but maybe there was more there, not really a fan although recognize the melodic strengths of the band. But Cindy is something so compelling, not to sell Kate short

some of kate's finest guest vocals, up there with "me in honey"

http://spillmagazine.com/spill-album-review-dba-downes-braide-association-skyscraper-souls/

Abba was rubbish and the stage presence of the two girls was so unbelievably sterile and uncool. The B52's were so much more exciting and they were bursting with so many ideas. Abba was a sleepfest in comparison.

they aren't girls

who cares about stage presence? ABBA were a studio band through and through.

I dunno, this seems terrific to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G5129BMoXg

Cold, sterile, miserable Scandinavians ftw.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.