SIMON REYNOLDS DISCUSSES CURRENT DANCE MUSIC IN TODAY'S NY TIMES

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probably because we expect someone to say "get busy child" or "y'all ready for this" every once in a while.

maybe post, vangelis and hammer could team up a la G3 (Vai, Satriani and Malmsteen) or the 3 Tenors.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:31 (nineteen years ago) link

ATB didn't even crack the top 100.

The last big instrumental pop-trance hit I think was Darude's "Sandstorm," and even that song, ubiquitous as it was, only went to #83.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:34 (nineteen years ago) link

are there any rock critics in the States moaning about how there are never rock songs at #1 anymore? what were the biggest selling rock albums in the States last year?

Stevem On X (blueski), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:34 (nineteen years ago) link

dude hooba went to #1. THE POWER BALLAD LIVES!!!

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:37 (nineteen years ago) link

I mean its been eons since a RAWK song has been #1 on the pop charts

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:38 (nineteen years ago) link

conservative's a relative term there stence! i mean "like pearl jam? then you'll love daft punk (nevermind roni size)!" strikes me as a tougher sell than "like janet jackson? than you'll love roni size (nevermind basement jaxx)!", but that pitch wasn't thrown. and resistance from radio was very real - i can't think of a single 'electronica' hit that didn't do significantly better on mtv than radio (and note, this is when mtv really started showing videos significantly less, m2 aka mtv2 existed but was in very few households). it should be noted also that there was some resistance from the already existing "dance" fanbase, many of which didn't want to see "their" music become the next big thing.

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:38 (nineteen years ago) link

"the reason" amazingly enough DID NOT go #1

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Maroon 5 and Evanescence were the best selling rock albums of 2004 (helps to be around the whole year). I'm down with that.

x-post I thought they cracked it for a week! usher had to take a shit or something.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

are there any rock critics in the States moaning about how there are never rock songs at #1 anymore? what were the biggest selling rock albums in the States last year?

I certainly bemoan this. There's really no reason why "The Reason" (no pun intended) shouldn't have gone to #1 except that it happened to co-incide with Usher's monster Spring of 2004. It depresses me beyond belief to know that Nickelback could possibly have the last rock #1 in history.

Linkin Park, U2, Green Day, most of the usual suspects.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:41 (nineteen years ago) link

wait - did "let's go" ever crack #1?

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Usher + L'il Jon = r n' b + heavy metal = sorta rock!

hstencil (hstencil), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:44 (nineteen years ago) link

According to Billboard, the top 10 best selling rock albums of 2004 were

1) Evanescence "Fallen"
2) Sheryl Crow "The Very Best Of..."
3) Maroon 5 "Songs About Jane"
4) No Doubt "The Singles"
5) Blink 182 "s/t"
6) Hoobastank "The Reason"
7) Nickelback "The Long Road"
8) Linkin Park "Meteora"
9) Sarah McLachlan "Afterglow"
10) Switchfoot "The Beautiful Letdown"

That's anything that could reasonably be qualified as rock music, not counting Prince, country music, and Norah Jones.

Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:44 (nineteen years ago) link

and resistance from radio was very real - i can't think of a single 'electronica' hit that didn't do significantly better on mtv than radio (and note, this is when mtv really started showing videos significantly less, m2 aka mtv2 existed but was in very few households). it should be noted also that there was some resistance from the already existing "dance" fanbase, many of which didn't want to see "their" music become the next big thing.

This is a good point. I can think of a couple exceptions ("Busy Child," "Battleflag," "The Rockaeflla Skank") but for the most part this is very true--a good deal of The Prodigy's appeal was "OMG LOOK AT HOW SCARY THE DUDE IS IN THE VIDEO," and "Praise You" and "Weapon of Choice" would most likely have gone nowhere without those great Jonze videos.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:44 (nineteen years ago) link

wait - did "let's go" ever crack #1?

#7, I think. The only crunk #1s have been crunk-n-bs like "Goodies" and "Yeah".

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:45 (nineteen years ago) link

Did Faint go to number one? What a great fucking song.

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:45 (nineteen years ago) link

otherwise "hey ya"'s probably the last rock #1, unless that nickelback bill's talking about it more recent (much love for the biggest hoobastank and moron 5 hits - AND NOTHING ELSE BY THEM - but nickelback remains pure bleh for me)(nickelback are them ugly dudes that look like they're from north florida right?)

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:46 (nineteen years ago) link

I think "Where's Your Head At" is another example of how videos sort of drove European dance in the states.

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:46 (nineteen years ago) link

Didn't "Get Low" make it in the top ten?

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:46 (nineteen years ago) link

man i bet big $ rich was the biggest selling rock album of 2004 and it was ALL BECUZ OF CHUCK

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:47 (nineteen years ago) link

"Faint" ironically was the only single (of 5!!!) from Meteora that didn't go to #1 on the modern rock chart. It stalled at #2, dunno what blocked it. Linkin's highest pop placing was "In The End," which went to #3 or so.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:47 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh shit, I messed up - Avril Lavigne should be #5 on that list!

Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

man i bet big $ rich was the biggest selling rock album of 2004 and it was ALL BECUZ OF CHUCK

haha, nope but maybe Tim McGraw or Gretchen Wilson counts on Chuck time.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

"hey ya" is hip hop!

hstencil (hstencil), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

Big & Rich = #45 album of the year.

Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:49 (nineteen years ago) link

omg i'm turning into chuck.

hstencil (hstencil), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:49 (nineteen years ago) link

Did Faint go to number one? What a great fucking song.

Faint didn't even crack the pop charts. "In The End" went to #2, I don't know what held it off.

otherwise "hey ya"'s probably the last rock #1, unless that nickelback bill's talking about it more recent

If you count "Hey Ya," then yeah. I can't bring myself to do that.

Didn't "Get Low" make it in the top ten?

#2. Heartbreaker.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:50 (nineteen years ago) link

It depresses me beyond belief to know that Nickelback could possibly have the last rock #1 in history

Nah, rock bands will still fluke into having #1 hits from time to time. If Clay Aiken can score a fluke #1, then so can bands like Hoobastank or Maroon 5.

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:50 (nineteen years ago) link

yeah "busy child" and "battleflag" did better on radio than video, but "rockafeller skank", lest we forget, while not getting huge video airplay only broke thru after appearing in she's all that, which more people saw than any video in 1998 anyway.

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:51 (nineteen years ago) link

fuck you for reminding me of that scene in she's all that

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:51 (nineteen years ago) link

which was led by...Usher!

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:52 (nineteen years ago) link

hahaha I love that scene! Synchornized dancing in teen romantic comedies needed such a comeback after that.

x-post.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Nah, rock bands will still fluke into having #1 hits from time to time. If Clay Aiken can score a fluke #1, then so can bands like Hoobastank or Maroon 5.

It's possible, obviously, but the fact that it hasn't happened in three years is pretty discouraging. When songs as ubiquitous as "The Reason" (so ubiquitous that everyone automatically assumes it went to #1) can't even make it, what can?

Although Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is looking somewhat promsiing--it'd be a bizarre #1, but it's really shooting up the charts at the moment. Jumped three to #8 this week.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:55 (nineteen years ago) link

which was led by...Usher!

hahaha full circle!

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:56 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm gonna save my coronary for a non-ballad (I mean "With Arms Wide Open" went to #1). THAT would shock me.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:56 (nineteen years ago) link

did any of those revivalist swing bands fluke to number one? Jazz's last gasp.

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:57 (nineteen years ago) link

not even close. I'll check, but I'd be surprised if any even cracked the top 40.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link

xpost to scott pl.s point

Wasn't that one of the most often celebrated things in 'dance' music of the kind SR refers to? The importance of the abstract 'instrumental' aspect.

The fact that without the language constraints the music could potentially connect with, and unite people so much more easily? Of course the drugs played a significant role, but I still think it's an important point rarely mentioned enough.

That so much of dance music is re-discovering black 'street' beats is just as much a product of the fact that so many producers are excelling in this area these days (why not steal when it's so good) as it is of recognising that there's something of a racial separation opening up in dance music that needs to be bridged to restore that utopian, inclusive balance.

'Urban'? why not just call it Race music and have done with it? What a hideous genre label and so incredibly incorrect in trying to assign some kind of 'Realness' (another loaded term) to everyone from teenage millionaires like Ashanti to poor white kids from Detroit like Eminem.

I'm not going to add anything else because I really wouldn't be able to argue coherently on here as an obviously alienated hip-hop-ophobe most of the time. But I do feel it's worth touching on.

wonky part, Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link

The fact that only a small number of artists have #1 hits anymore makes me think that Usher, Ashanti and Nelly are the only people even SELLING singles anymore- the rest just have radio play going for them. And yes, I know that no one buys singles anymore. But I have a hunch that those three still do.

Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Sunday, 23 January 2005 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link

It would help explain how Conor hit #1 on the sales chart while radio paid more attention the Exies.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:00 (nineteen years ago) link

i'm gonna save my coronary for a non-ballad (I mean "With Arms Wide Open" went to #1). THAT would shock me.

I wonder what the last non-ballad rock song was to crack the top ten.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:01 (nineteen years ago) link

It's gotta be Jet.

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:02 (nineteen years ago) link

Does "How You Remind Me" count? That's not really a ballad, just turgid.

Jet didn't get near the top ten, DJDee.

miccio (miccio), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:02 (nineteen years ago) link

How do they calculate the Hot 100? What's the sales-to-spins ratio?

Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:02 (nineteen years ago) link

not even close. I'll check, but I'd be surprised if any even cracked the top 40.

"Jump, Jive an' Wail" went to #94. The rest didn't do shit.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:04 (nineteen years ago) link

miccio otm re: jet

j blount (papa la bas), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:04 (nineteen years ago) link

Does "How You Remind Me" count? That's not really a ballad, just turgid.

I'd count that, yeah, but that's still three years ago. Has there been nothing since?

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:05 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm finding the failures "the return of rawk!" (jet was surely the most successful of these bands on mtv? Oh, aside from Modest Mouse, perhaps?) and swing bands pretty humorous.

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:06 (nineteen years ago) link

How do they calculate the Hot 100? What's the sales-to-spins ratio?

It must be pretty low, since those two Bright Eyes singles didn't even crack the Top 100.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:06 (nineteen years ago) link

Like, everyone made such a big deal about them at the time!

djdee2005 (djdee2005), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:06 (nineteen years ago) link

on MTV, The White Stripes were by far the biggest. No question.

The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 23 January 2005 23:07 (nineteen years ago) link


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