"Oh, I know she's still front cover type material (less sincere chaps might say only through the size of her buttocks and mammaries, but I won't) and I know 'Never For Ever' will once again be clung to a nation's collective bosoms, but really the formula does grate so that I'd stop somewhat short of describing the girl as a brave new force in the world of popular music." -- a line from a Kate Bush review in, I think it was, the '80s;
earlier, coverage in the '70s tended to indulge said "less sincere chaps" or lean on David Gilmour as the source of her success. but don't take it from me: http://gaffa.org/reaching/ro_int.html
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 20:32 (seven years ago) link
xpost Ahhhhh I love that interview so much. So relentlessly on point.
― Tim F, Friday, 24 March 2017 20:33 (seven years ago) link
As for Charli XCX, I only listened to the snippets on iTunes b/c lol who has time at this point, but it struck me as a partial reversion to the approach of the Super Ultra mixtape, which actually was probably my main Charli release all things considered.
― Tim F, Friday, 24 March 2017 20:34 (seven years ago) link
"The former LA 'rock chick' has been reinvented as an introspective singer/songwriter in the great tradition of Joni Mitchell or Suzanne Vega. A corporate makeover by a major label? Probably." -- the beginning of a Tori Amos feature circa _Little Earthquakes_ in NME
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 20:35 (seven years ago) link
tsk, you can prove anything with facts
― millwallreptile (Noodle Vague), Friday, 24 March 2017 20:35 (seven years ago) link
There's definitely a persistent theme of a drawbridge mentality - all right, we'll allow these (venerable) women in, but any of you new ones outside the gates are automatically suspect.
It's a shame that no one has ever come up with any concepts with which to describe this binary approach to assessing women's worth.
― Tim F, Friday, 24 March 2017 20:38 (seven years ago) link
i'd be curious to know if bono could write a song without the edge *and* adam *and* larry *and* eno and god knows who else, damn there are so many people in that machine, but for some reason no one ever asks about that.
― fact checking cuz, Friday, 24 March 2017 20:42 (seven years ago) link
I'm just quoting these in response to the hilarious bullshit that is "no one has EVER questioned these singer-songwriters"
obviously -- although the very existence of this tangent suggests maybe it isn't as obviously as it should be -- pop songwriting works differently than solo, probably folky singer-songwriter stuff, but that's how the industry works, just like how publishing houses employ (for some values of "employ," but that's just me complaining) editors and copy editors and proofreaders, ad companies have multiple copywriters...
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 20:51 (seven years ago) link
and rock bands can have topline writers, too. michael stipe is/was a topline writer. people just don't tend to notice it in that situation, and/or they want to hold on this weird belief in the platonic ideal of the lone genius who exists without any kind of collaboration, as if collaboration is somehow a bad thing, as if you can't be genius if you're not locked in a dark room, alone, probably with no food or water.
― fact checking cuz, Friday, 24 March 2017 20:58 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, like no one ever is constantly questioning Drake's musicianship, his song writing, and what it is he actually writes and doesn't.
― orientmammal, Friday, 24 March 2017 21:04 (seven years ago) link
ghostwriting in rap is a whole separate thing
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 21:07 (seven years ago) link
Seriously though who has ever questioned Kate Bush, Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos? No one, because there's nothing to question - for the same reason no one questions Prince or Stevie, they make their own music.
― orientmammal, Friday, 24 March 2017 21:11 (seven years ago) link
ok so question, who wrote "I Love It" then
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 21:16 (seven years ago) link
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, March 24, 2017 9:16 PM
I believe the vocal "melody" of the song consists of ....1 note.... repeated infinitude. A well trained monkey could've done it.
― orientmammal, Friday, 24 March 2017 21:24 (seven years ago) link
this type of thing is really muddy these days
1. "producer" means something different now than it did before protools. in the context of major label pop in 2017 it means the person or people responsible for the sounds you hear on a song that aren't human voices. even then, it's usually not that simple - many producers rely on commercially available sample packs as building blocks to construct their songs, which are sometimes elaborate enough to encompass entire chord progressions or instrumental leads. most big-name producer brands don't actually do very much production at all, instead relying on stables of uncredited ghost producers to generate ideas for them. there's no way of really knowing what a pop producer actually did to earn their production credit, and anyone capable of clarifying it is usually under an NDA
2. a popular artist will always get a songwriting credit whether they contributed to the songwriting or not. to make things more complicated, artists who receive bullshit songwriting credits often have outsized and delusional perspectives on how important their contribution was - audiences tend to be ignorant of what producers and songwriters actually do, but artists are often even moreso. they tend to genuinely believe that the twenty minutes they spend changing a lyric in the second verse was the key contribution that turned the song into a hit. major label pop artists these days are often actual teenagers who have no understanding or appreciation for the craft of songwriting. they sincerely believe that bob dylan also made music by talking to max martin about his day for a little while and then coming back the next day to find a completed song waiting to be recorded
it is impossible to fully settle arguments like this because the credits that are generally made available to the public are completely false most of the time and even the people who were in the room when the song was made don't have all the facts about what exactly happened
that said, charli actually does write and she's great at it
― james brooks, Friday, 24 March 2017 21:26 (seven years ago) link
well, yeah, barring something like the Robin Thicke deposition it's impossible to fully settle arguments about this, but it's a whole new level of stupid to suggest that someone who makes a significant part of her living as a professional songwriter does not in fact write.
(also, pop artists might be actual teenagers, but songwriters tend to be older [because 25-year-olds are decrepit] and often either used to be "legit" solo singer-songwriters [bonnie mckee, sarah hudson, etc.] or aspired toward it)
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 21:38 (seven years ago) link
Seriously though who has ever questioned Kate Bush, Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos?
http://americablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/The-spanish-inquisition.jpg
― Bill Teeters (Tom D.), Friday, 24 March 2017 21:45 (seven years ago) link
iirc bonnie and sarah are both around the same age as katy perry
― james brooks, Friday, 24 March 2017 22:13 (seven years ago) link
well I mean pre-one of the boys katy perry would have also fit the category
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Friday, 24 March 2017 22:19 (seven years ago) link
listening to TRUE ROMANCE for the first time in a couple of years. holds up pretty well! why haven't i liked anything she's done since (apart from "boom clap")?
― Wozniak on Kimye's Baby (jaymc), Saturday, 22 April 2017 04:33 (seven years ago) link
nothing else she's done really sounds like it?
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Saturday, 22 April 2017 08:02 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPRy1B4t5YA
― Le Bateau Ivre, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 19:09 (six years ago) link
Hopefully this will be enough of a hit so we actually get the album.
― kitchen person, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 20:50 (six years ago) link
Glad she's not trying to be all punky anymore.
― Moodles, Wednesday, 26 July 2017 21:46 (six years ago) link
this is fab!!
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 26 July 2017 21:53 (six years ago) link
👀 'They're doing all the sexy things that girls usually do in music videos' @charli_xcx reveals the all star cast in the video for 'Boys' pic.twitter.com/vAH0yDXxvl— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) July 26, 2017
immediately loved this one
― J0rdan S., Wednesday, 26 July 2017 21:54 (six years ago) link
it was produced by a guy who has done stuff for terror jr, and you can def hear that muted narcotic thump thing going on but it's a little more playful than i.e. kiaara or what not, feels like her song
it is very lovely
― dyl, Thursday, 27 July 2017 06:00 (six years ago) link
This was a good read.
http://www.stereogum.com/1954158/so-is-charli-xcxs-album-gonna-come-out-soon-or-what/franchises/the-week-in-pop/
Apparently her third album isn't coming out until next year now!
― kitchen person, Friday, 28 July 2017 01:22 (six years ago) link
I just hope that the viral clip is enough to get "Boys" on the radio so that people will actually care about a new Charli XCX album, whenever it gets here
― Champiness, Friday, 28 July 2017 05:59 (six years ago) link
holy shit this is so good
― he not like the banana (Stevie D(eux)), Friday, 28 July 2017 14:38 (six years ago) link
it is.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Friday, 28 July 2017 14:51 (six years ago) link
i'm rooting for charli xcx but ugh, the fat jew in the video :(
― maura, Friday, 28 July 2017 15:02 (six years ago) link
and cameron dallas? yuck
1. Joe Jonas2. The Fat Jewish3. Max Hershenow4. Charlie Puth5. Joey Bada$$6. OLI SYKES 💕7. Cameron Dallas8. Sage The Gemini9 - 10. Chromeo11. BRENDON URIE 💕12. Caspar Lee 13. G - Eazy14. Stormzy15. Denzel Curry16. Amine17-18. Ezra Koeng, Mark Ronson19. MNEK20. Rostam Batmanglij (VW)21. DON'T KNOW22. DAN SMITH 💕 (Bastille)23 - 24. Flume & A.G. Cook 25- 26. Wiz Khalifa & Ty Dolla $27. Tinie Tempah28- 30. The Swet Shop Boys31- 33. WSTRN34. Taka35. Carl Barat36. Barns Courtney37. Connor Franta38. Shaun Ross39. Fai Khandra40. Will.i.am41. Tommy Cash (rose dude)42. Jack Guinness43. Diplo (guy with the puppies)44. Laurie Vincent (guy w baby)45. JACK ANTONOFF 💕 (GLASSES) AKA FROM FUN & BLEACHERS AHHH.46- 47. Tristan Evans & James McVey (dudes with the cake)48. Tom Daley49. Frank Carter (candle fingers)50. The Cobrasnake (cam dude)51. Fred Macpherson 52- 56. Mic LOWRY (DUDES IN PINK)57- 58. THEY (BASEBALL BATS)59. Theo Hutchcraft (pink boxing gloves)60. Buddy (nice butt sign)61. JOHN GOURLEY 💕 (PORTUGAL THE MAN) (GETS TATTOED CHARLI)62. Shokichi (cup in hand)63. Liam Fray (phone on hand)64. Jay Park (floating flamingo)65- 66. Prince & Jacob (beachball)67. D.R.A.M (smashing tvs)68. Shamari Maurice (wearing crop top)69. Tom Grennan 70. Jay Prince (brown jersey)71. Khalid (holding colorful pups)72. Poets73. VANCE JOY 💕 (takin a bite of something)74. MAC DEMARCO 💕 (LICKING GUITAR)75. KAYTRANADA76. CHARLI HERSELF 💕
― maura, Friday, 28 July 2017 15:03 (six years ago) link
(that was borrowed from the yt comments)
― maura, Friday, 28 July 2017 15:04 (six years ago) link
lotta terrible boys in that video
― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Friday, 28 July 2017 15:04 (six years ago) link
i guess there's a boy for everyone (to be annoyed by)
― maura, Friday, 28 July 2017 15:05 (six years ago) link
Didn't recognise any of 'em! Assumed they were just random, er, boys. Great song.
― Jeff W, Friday, 28 July 2017 18:51 (six years ago) link
the Cobrasnake in 2017?
― nomar, Friday, 28 July 2017 18:58 (six years ago) link
Yea I thought these were all random dudes and Mac Demarco.
― billstevejim, Friday, 28 July 2017 23:57 (six years ago) link
p humane to get the fat jew and charlie puth out of the way early
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Saturday, 29 July 2017 02:56 (six years ago) link
the sound in the chorus is almost exactly "mario gets a coin", right?
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 29 July 2017 09:23 (six years ago) link
Yeah, fitting that D.R.A.M. is in the video having used the same sound on "Cha Cha"
― Iain Mew (if), Saturday, 29 July 2017 09:47 (six years ago) link
I'm a sucker for that mario coin sound. DRAM did it better but still I can't resist it.
― dance cum rituals (Moka), Saturday, 29 July 2017 18:20 (six years ago) link
i'm always rooting for Charli XCX to do something better than those other people's hits she's on, but disappointed by the song. that coin sound is regrettable - it becomes cringe-inducing by the end, for me.
video would be better if it had some GOP limelighters. surely Boehner, Ryan, Kasich and Carson would have been up for some carwash / lawncare action.
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 29 July 2017 18:47 (six years ago) link
kind of amazing nobody's made a youtube of that actually
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 29 July 2017 18:48 (six years ago) link
enjoying Pop 2, especially Backseat and Femmebot
― ufo, Friday, 15 December 2017 05:31 (six years ago) link
wow this is the charli album I've been waiting forjust three songs in and I'm floored
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Friday, 15 December 2017 09:15 (six years ago) link
just saw this in Spotify - is it a proper album?
― Jeff W, Friday, 15 December 2017 12:42 (six years ago) link