Diary of Musical Thoughts Podcast Episode 42

"Its soldiers' daily duties included observing and patrolling the mix", 102 minutes

I can't believe it took me this long to make a long ambient mix with no-gimmicks.  No thirty minute beatless intros to a beats-heavy mix and no noisy ambient interludes (tricks I've used in the past a bunch of times).  Every track breathes deeply, often for ten minutes or more, everything is cloaked in a thick aural haze and the drift speed is held to a glacial pace throughout.   

Reviewing every Eurovision Song Contest Winner (1962, 1963, 1964)

1962.  Isabelle Aubret, "Un premier amour" (France).

With its third winner in five years, France established itself as the powerhouse in the early years of the contest.  "Un premier amour" isn't as grating as "Tom Pilibi" or as dramatic as "Dors, mon amour", but its easily the most nondescript.  Even after multiple listens, I found myself not remembering a thing about it other than the repeated title.  You might never forget your first love, but you won't have any trouble forgetting about this song the instant its over.  Not bad, not offensive, just boring and devoid of colour or character. 2/10.

1963.  Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, "Dansevise" (Denmark).  

The song leads off with the deep twang of Jorgen Ingmann's guitar, which for this contest, is like an sudden infusion of punk energy.  By becoming the first duo to win Eurovision, the Ingmanns redirected the focus away from the ever present orchestra and towards their own performance.  The orchestra is still there, but for the first time I feel like I'm watching a pair of artists in concert rather than a glitzy singing contest.  It's a simple, mildly uptempo song with a hint of swing and a head nod to rock and roll.  They don't try to do too much with it, which is fine because no histrionics are needed.  By breaking free of wistful balladry, they've done enough to be memorable.  7/10.   

1964.  Gigliola Cinquetti, "Non ho l'eta" (Italy).

Cinquetti was just sixteen years old at the time of her winning performance and became the youngest winner ever (a record not surpassed until 1986).  She sings with a shy, almost awkwardly restrained demeanor, but considering the song is about a meek young girl who's not ready to fall in love, it works for her.  The music has a proto-Spectorian grandeur dating from the years right before Spector nailed his formula.  The best comparison would be The Paris Sisters' "I Love How You Love Me" -- innocent and heartwarming, a grown-up subject matter sung in a manner that's palatable for teenagers.  I can understand why this became an international hit in several languages.  Cinquetti would return to Eurovision ten years later with another great song, but picked the wrong year for her comeback, finishing second to the most famous winning act ever.  8/10.     

Reviewing every Eurovision Song Contest winner (1960, 1961)

1960.  Jacqueline Boyer, "Tom Pillibi" (France). 

Apparently the early years of Eurovision were all about big fluffy ballads and tongue in cheek character profiles of flawed lovers.  Judging by his name, "Tom Pillibi" is likely a rich English philanderer, although the lyrics don't specifically mention where he's from.  The cadence and vaguely ironic tone of the lyrics suggest that Britpop came to Eurovision five or thirty five years early (it depends on which generation you're from).  But the song's plastic charm doesn't extend beyond the first few lines, and somehow I felt like it would never end, as if I was listening to a seven minute lyrical epic rather than a three minute radio friendly song contest entry.  Its cheeriness might be pleasing for some, but I found this song nearly intolerable.  2/10.  


1961.  Jean-Claude Pascal, "Nous les amoureux" (Luxembourg).  

I'm reminded here of a familiar theme in 50's and early 60's balladry -- the young couple who are furiously in love and fight to stay together even though "they" (usually their parents) want to break them apart.  This song is set to light jazz and carries none of the desperation or passion that you'd expect for it to work.  Who "they" are is never explained, we're told they're idiots and haters, but without a personality behind the description, they're just weasel words.  Hating your parents is cool and relatable, anonymous "idiots" might as well be nothing but bad drivers.  Plus, Pascal is no teenager, he's a 34-year old bland singer in a suit.  Yet another new low in the early years of the contest.  1/10.     

Diary of Musical Thoughts Podcast Episode 41

"They mix the path of these strange steps", 55 minutes

My latest attempt at a "fun", super-clubby mix.  Lots of proggy house and techno, tracks with vocals, extended remixes all over the place, 25 years of music represented. 

Two anniversaries: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "It's Blitz", Animal Collective, "Merriweather Post Pavilion"

This post was inspired by "It's Blitz", which was released ten years (!!) ago this week.  I hadn't listened to the full album in years, but guess what?  If this album was released tomorrow it would still blow minds.  Which rock band working today (indie or not) could combine the pure elation of disco with dramatic string-led balladry while still maintaining their garage rock edge?  Arcade Fire tried a similar thing with "Reflector" and failed miserably.  Nobody could pull it off except Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and as the week came to a close I was wondering how there could possibly be 22 albums better than "It's Blitz" released in the decade of the 00's.

Tenth anniversary pieces for "Merriweather Post Pavilion", released in the first week of January 2009, took on a different tone entirely.  Whereas "It's Blitz" sound better than ever these days, even talking about "Merriweather" feels like reminiscing about ancient history.  It might as well have been released twenty or even thirty years ago.  It sounds so much like a dead concept from an entirely different era.  At the time, I'd been overdosing for over a year on Animal Collective recordings that were based almost entirely on the new songs.  When "Merriweather" finally came out, I hardly needed it anymore, the album already existed for me in a live format, and the recorded version could do nothing but disappoint.  It was not too different from my reaction to GYBE's "Yanqui U.X.O." in 2002.  Animal Collective were a niche indie band whose hype made them and consumed them in quick order.  I live that they've continued to do their own thing and never tried settling into the rut of copying their most famous album over and over.  But I rarely feel like listening to "Merriweather" these days, and in fact, I rarely listened to it in 2009 too. 

Nonetheless, it's a bit sad that many critics chose to remember "Merriweather Post Pavilion" via "hey remember when we all liked this?  LOL" pseudo nostalgia.  But it's more than balanced by the pure joy that comes out of remembering how great "It's Blitz" was and still goddamned is.   

Reviewing every Eurovision Song Contest winner (1958, 1959)

1958.  André Claveau, "Dors, mon amour" (France)

This is ostensibly a lullaby from the singer to his sleepy lover, although the music is fairly upbeat with more than a faint air of Percy Faith's "Theme From a Summer Place" (which would be recorded two years later, but the coincidental similarities are there).  Dramatizations of the eternal love between couples apparently made for great sleep aids in Europe in the late 50's.  Stylistically, I found this inconsistent -- is it a gentle lullaby or a vehicle for the chanson singer's voice? -- but by the end, you've got to fairly hard hearted to say that Claveau can't stick the landing.  6/10.


1959.  Teddy Scholten, "'n Bettje" (Netherlands)

The cheeky sense of humour that characterizes this song works immeasurably better than it did on Corry Brokken's "Net als toen".  First, it's a playful, upbeat song that doesn't take itself too seriously.  More importantly, Scholten gives a memorable performance by clearly having fun with the song, telling the story through her eyes even more so than with her voice, and utilizing a wide variety of coquettish facial expressions to completely immerse herself in the character.  As a song, it's fairly basic, but make no mistake, this was a champions' performance by Scholten, the first truly great performance by a Eurovision winner.  7/10. 

 

Reviewing every Eurovision Song Contest winner

Eurovision is coming to Tel Aviv, and I'm starting to get swept up in the excitement.  As a prelude to the competition, I've decided to review and grade every past Eurovision Song Contest winner.

I'm approaching this as an unbiased outsider who hasn't heard most of these songs and is unfamiliar with many of the artists. I'll make the effort whenever possible to understand the context behind the choices each year, e.g. who was favoured going in and why, how musical or political trends may have affected the voting, etc.  But mainly I'm looking for a gut, first impressions kind of reaction. A song doesn't necessarily have to stand the test of time, because after all, many of them were written with the express purpose of winning a competition and were looking to capture the moods and tastes of the moment.  Crafting a creative tour de force wasn't intended, or expected a lot of the time.  But good songs are good songs, period.  That said, I'll have to figure out some kind of sliding scale for grading the parade of shlocky power ballads, especially in the non English-language early years.

1956.  Lys Assia, "Refrain" (Switzerland)

On first listen, I thought this was a fairly standard mid-tempo ballad.  Then I delved into the lyrics (French being a language I can partly comprehend) and the heartstrings were dutifully pulled.  Upon further listens, it grew on me even more.   For some reason I was reminded of Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby" (which was released years later -- this is purely a mental connection in the present day).  The longing for loves of yesterday, dreaming about getting a second chance, it's a brilliant mixture of hopelessness with that small flash of hopefulness.  So much for the sliding scale.  8/10.  


1957.  Corry Brokken, "Net als toen" (Netherlands)

Technically speaking, "Refrain" wasn't about teenage love -- there's a lyric referring to those (long ago?) loves of her 20's.  But remove that line and it's a song that could have been sung by an idealist in their early 20's who frequently fell in love, and far too easily.  On the other hand, "Net als toen" is from the perspective of an older couple.  Lines such as (in translation), "you're getting fat and your hair is turning grey/but you can still flirt, believe me" are likely meant to be in good humour, but they leave behind the most unflattering imagery imaginable for a supposed love song.  Is she playfully making fun of her husband, speaking about their younger days like 80's sitcom parents used to?  Or is she spurned and insulted by his lack of affection for her?  Perhaps I'm not picking up on the composer's sense of humour. Perhaps there's something there musically that wasn't recycled from the 1930's.  But I won't be returning to this song any time soon.  3/10.    

Mark Hollis RIP

 Hearing about unexpected death of Mark Hollis left me shocked and saddened, and my immediate reaction was to play "Spirit of Eden".  For me that album was the peak of his and Talk Talk's career.  Very few albums can touch its emotional palate.  Within its six glorious tracks you can find (and feel) happiness, frustration, liberation, rage, introspection, and melancholy, just to name six, often all in the same song, and sometime all within the space of a few notes. 

If he had passed away 20-25 years ago, the obits would have presented him as an 80's synth pop star who retreated from fame to make challenging, critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful music.  Now, he's presented as a "post-rock pioneer" and the emphasis is on the final decade of his career and subsequent retirement from the music industry.  If anything, Talk Talk's output from 1982-1986 has become criminally underrated in recent years.  People mention almost in passing these days that Talk Talk toured with Duran Duran and had several hits.  It almost comes off sounding like they were bandwagoners who lucked into success by playing the right style of music at the peak of its popularity.  But Talk Talk were an outstanding synth pop band.  Even within the parameters of that genre, they evolved from basic stuff like "Talk Talk" to rhythmically adventurous songs like "Such A Shame" in only two years.  By 1986's "The Colour of Spring" album, they were already branching out into jazz and improvisational music (the band played Montreux that year) and had never been more commercially successful. 

There is so much to love about Talk Talk, and even today, their unconventional career path is no less fascinating than it was at the time.  RIP to a true great. 

Kokhav HaBa L'Eurovision 2019

I didn't watch this season of "Kokhav HaBa L'Eurovision" until the finals.  Whereas Netta Barzelai's win last year was a foregone conclusion for much of the season (but was still very entertaining to watch), this year's competition was very much up for grabs and was filled with twists and turns right up until the finish.  It also featured arguably the most unique collection of talent ever in the final of a music-themed reality show.

Maya Buskila was one of the most popular singers in Israel about fifteen years ago.  In a reality show landscape usually populated by amateur hopefuls with dreams of stardom, this was something entirely different: a former star and gossip column regular looking for her last shot at international superstardom.  Imagine a Jessica Simpson auditioning for The Voice in the US and somehow advancing all the way to the end. 

Buskila made a horrible song choice in the final -- she chose Loreen's "Euphoria", which was the winning song for Eurovision 2012 and subsequently a massive hit all over Europe.  It's a variation of the Whitney-Mariah reality show rule that I always used to talk about in my posts on American Idol.  That is, never sing something that puts you up against an impossible standard.   She finished in fourth place.

Shefita was a subject of controversy all season long.  She had spent years carefully honing her act in Tel Aviv clubs, and had something of a cult following through her Youtube videos.  You see, Shefita isn't a real person, she's a character played by the classically trained musician Rotem Shefi.  She plays a comically exaggerated, yet endearing version of an Arab diva, complete with audacious outfits and a personalized sparkly microphone.  Much like Sasha Baron Cohen took impersonations to another level by completely dedicating himself to the role, Shefi has completely immersed herself in all things Shefita and NEVER BREAKS CHARACTER.   She finished in third place, after being on the bubble multiple times throughout the season and finding a way to survive every time (i.e. the producers couldn't stand to see her go home). 

Katria Pouch is a Sudanese immigrant who cruised to the finals (save a small blip in the semifinals) on the strength of her dynamic, almost Tina Turner-like performances.  She also courted some controversy by finding a way to get accepted onto two reality shows at the same time, which she chalked up to "gathering experiences".  She is unquestionably great, but there is something missing in her act that's hard to put a finger on.  Many seasons of American Idol had an R&B diva type who would reach the top four and then hit a brick wall.  They were brilliant singers, and therefore good enough to avoid getting voted off, but once it was down to the last few competitors, they didn't seem special because they rarely strayed from the standard diva template of the time.

The winner was Kobi Marimi, who was actually voted off before the semi-finals and brought back as a wild card re-entrant.  He has a special on-stage charisma and is a hybrid of Freddie Mercury and Andrea Bocelli.  They'll stick him with a patented Eurovision-style power ballad for the competition.  It's a smart marketing move because nobody's going to out-Netta Netta, so it's better to do a stylistic 180 away from dance pop and choose a singer and song that's completely different from last year in every way.  

The rate of change

Most of this post will be a series of unanswered questions.  

Is the rate of change of music slowing down?  Are new innovations and the emergence of new genres happening less frequently?  Or do I just perceive the evolution of music differently?  After all, time passes faster and faster the older you get.  

Let's pick a couple of representative years.   When I think about how much the landscape of music changed between 1984 and 1994, it's astonishing.  Techno changed insurmountably during that time.  Hip hop matured greatly.  Commercial rock was dominated by glossy reverb-laden synth music with a backbeat, whereas ten years later it was all about grunge and indie genres bubbling into the mainstream.   

How much did music change between 2008 and 2018?  I'm talking once again about the sound and style of music, not the business side that is always rapidly evolving. My own albums of the year lists hardly suggest a sea change in tastes.  Disappointingly perhaps, I still listen to mostly the same genres now that I did ten years ago, although those genres themselves certainly have evolved.

Have my own tastes stagnated, thereby warping my outside view?  That must be part of it.  However, with streaming and downloading being easier and cheaper than ever, there are fewer barriers to discovering and generally getting lost in older music.  If it's "new" to you, isn't that enough to satisfy your need for hearing something you've never heard before.  And obviously the ratio of catalogued music to newly released music will only continue to grow.  

The collapse and merger of the major record companies has led to more homogeneity in the charts, and far fewer long term investment artists getting their shot at reaching a wider audience.  Artists don't hang around on major labels anymore for ten years unless they have a massive hit record, so either you're in the millionaires club with 100M+ hits on youtube whenever you drop a single, or you're a niche artist.  

On one hand, we live in an era dominated by superproducers who dictate the stylistic norms of the pop charts moreso than at any time since the 1960's.  Creatively, they are more of a force in pop music than the artists they ostensibly work for.  They import sounds from the underground and mold them into major pop hits, giving us combinations like Katy Perry + trap and Drake + bounce that would have been nearly unthinkable not long before they actually recorded them.  But on the other hand, with so few major pop artists, and therefore relatively few leading producers, once somebody has a breakthrough hit it gets copied a million times over and rapidly falls out of fashion again.   

I'm actually willing to bet I'm wrong about this.  I'm probably too immersed in catching up with my own back catalog these days.