That '80s pop landscape where Boomers and their kids crossed paths was pretty interesting. As a teenager of course it seemed normal to me because what did I have to compare it to, but the result was a bunch of us grew up with these very mature grown-up songs by mature grown-ups, as part of our adolescent soundtrack. "Don't Dream It's Over" is a prime example. I like plenty of contemporary pop, but apart from maybe Adele I don't feel like that's really part of the atmosphere now.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 00:29 (one year ago) link
I’ve thought about that, too – stuff like Graceland, Sting, Tracy Chapman, etc. saturated the pop landscape when I was a kid, and how that kind of “adult”-oriented pop largely disappeared from the mainstream after the ’90s.
― subject matter expert (morrisp), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 00:42 (one year ago) link
(to say nothing of slightly “aging” but top-of-their-game icons like Springsteen, Fogerty, et. al)
― subject matter expert (morrisp), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 00:45 (one year ago) link
The problem was, offal like "Change the World" lingered.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 00:54 (one year ago) link
mature grown-up songs by mature grown-ups
Worth noting that Neil Finn wasn't even out of his '20s yet when "Dream" was a hit. He's just a naturally talented great songwriter and has been since he was a kid. Imagine being brother Tim, taking your little brother into you band when he was just 19 or so, and then little bro starts cranking out stuff like "I Got You" and "Message to My Girl." And then gets huge with his own band, which occasionally deigns to include Tim. (Though I will rep for the two Finn Brothers albums, which are great.)
But related to what tipsy said, it's kind of remarkable how much top 40 from the '80s is now considered MOR, music for grownups, when of course it was being made for and purchased by young folks. I mean, MTV Spring Break 1987!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAN14_XejIY
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 01:07 (one year ago) link
(Though I will rep for the two Finn Brothers albums, which are great.)
co-sign.
― Let's disco dance, Hammurabi! (Austin), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 01:12 (one year ago) link
This may be of interest:
Well, it’s taken an absolute age to get to this announcement, so come share our joy. The next release on our @needlemythology label will be the FIRST EVER vinyl issue of The Finn Brothers’ dreamy 1995 masterpiece FINN. But that’s barely the start of it… (1/11) pic.twitter.com/VH5CnoY6nI— Pete Paphides (@petepaphides) May 31, 2022
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 01:50 (one year ago) link
"Don't Dream It's Over" is ageless. I still can't believe a song this taut and wise peaked at #2 in America during the Bon Jovi era.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 01:53 (one year ago) link
Mournful organ lines too.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 02:03 (one year ago) link
True, it’s the “Whiter Shade of Pale” of its time.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 02:16 (one year ago) link
Chamberlin! And in the case of "Dream," a nod to Bach's "Air on a G String," by way of Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 02:17 (one year ago) link
lol
R.I.P. Gary Brooker
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 1 June 2022 02:40 (one year ago) link
"Pour le Monde", from the late-era album Time On Earth, might be their best Beatles pastiche:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M96Afkkgas4
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 03:07 (one year ago) link
Heard an interview with Steve Earle decades ago at this point, and he cited Neil Finn as a writer who sounds like the Beatles without sounding *like* the Beatles. Related, there was some dude on Twitter some time ago that was extolling the songwriting prowess of "Neal Finn," and Jason Isbell chimed in with just "First of all, i ..."
And just because:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sije12JaKdA
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 03:50 (one year ago) link
These guys were, predictably, great last night. What a salve. It's got to be both a blessing and a curse that Neil Finn writes so many great songs. They played a couple of brand new ones, too, one that he joked he wrote the day before, practiced on the bus, and perfected by the time they hit the stage, then muttered "if only it were that fucking easy ..." Yeah, no shit, your fault for making it look easy! Got a couple of deep cuts, got the two best known Split Enz songs, got some quality goofing around, even got a bit of Patrick Hernandez’ 1978 disco track “Born to Be Alive""
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFSWh2jzKeQ
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 16 May 2023 11:45 (one year ago) link
have we solved the controversy over the bridge in "Weather With You"
― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 16 May 2023 15:16 (one year ago) link
what's the controversy?
― dicbo=v2-ubswizzb&hrt (stevie), Tuesday, 16 May 2023 16:11 (one year ago) link