Bid for Blab: Adult Contemporary/Soft Rock

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I'm surprised that Celine Dion and Bryan Adams (say) are hardly ever brought up on here, even as something to hate - surely they're harder to ignore than Travis ? Anyway, I'd like your thoughts on this, very likely the most listened-to, broad-reaching genre in the world. Is adult contemporary mere blandsploitation or is there something genuine (or even fake) in there that its listeners are responding to ? What do you say to an intelligent person who prefers the unplugged "Layla" to the original one ? Doesn't the big-voice schlock of 90s-00s AC give a retrospective veneer of humility and functionality to the 70s kind (James Taylor, the Carpenters) ? Do you have any secret hankering for the genre ?

― Patrick, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Complicated question as many artistes seem to 'grow into' this genre as a result of massive success rather than intention. Reading 'cutting-edge' rockpress from the 80's, it's amusing to see Bon Jovi in Kerrang!, Mick Hucknall in Spin, and Bryan Adams in Creem. Makes one wonder what the Manics' intentions were in the first place, and good luck to them.
Incidentally, when I was more impressionable I went out and bought 'Tusk' after Simon Reynolds compared it to 'There's a Riot Goin' On.' I like "Sara" and Lindsey Buckingham's tracks but I still cannot for the life of me fathom the appeal of Christine McVie's songs and singing.

― tarden, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

It's actually very easy to avoid because it's allowed to get on with things and sell itself to those who want it. Here in the UK, we are all cool now, and so Adams and Dion find themselves off the playlists, out of the review sections, hardly even played in the clothes shops, unlike Travis/Moby who are just hip enough *and* MOR enough to be everywhere.

Also here I don't think we have 'Adult Contemporary' as a frozen-over radio format. And if we do I don't listen to it, so.

Do I like the genre? No, not really. But at the same time I can't get too worked up about it because after all what it boils down to is a lot of the things I love about pop music (love songs, hooks, sentiment and drama) only done really ineptly.

― Tom, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Sorry, the point I forgot to make about Adams, Hucknall, and Bon Jovi is that none of their music has actually CHANGED sinced they were in those mags.

― tarden, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I've often wondered "how you buy" the latest Julio Iglesias or Elton John CD. In other words what are people LOOKING FOR? The song seems to be king in this genre (with a strong enough song it certainly USED to be possible for nonentities like Jennifer Rush to go global), along with the idea that you're perhaps investing in something of "quality", something "true". The perpetual fascination that huge numbers of people have with the intimate details of megastars' lives shouldn't be underestimated. If you've read about Michael Bolton's beautiful ranch home and seen pictures of his horses it's no stretch to go out and buy the CD. Then, as it plays, you can imagine him kicking back by the pool with his "special lady" and PRETEND IT'S YOU. That kind of escapism is attractive, and in a way no different to being transported elsewhere by say, The Boards Of Canada. It's just a little more SPECIFIC.

Is there something genuine that the listeners are responding to? Probably no more or less than ....(name the genre of your choice).

― Dr. C, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

SOft rock is really th e adult version of the younger "normal " rock. The original version of Layla is really the unplugged version in disguise. Artistc rot lurks among all rockers.LOOK AT THE FUCKING KINKS!

― Mike Hanley, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Mike - can you expand on that Kinks reference pls?

― Dr. C, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

So does that mean the 'Low Budget' - 'One for the Road'-era Kinks were having a mid-life crisis, or just a second childhood, i.e. senility?

― tarden, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

THe Kinks reached the highest pinnacle of creative excellence with Village Green, Arthur, and SOmething Else. From then on it was a steady, slow disintigration of entertainment value. Oh sure, they had their "Lola" s and "come Dancing" s, but over all it was a sad slide. I saw them in 1994. Mischeiviouisly poping open beers, being adored by overweight drunken ladies, belting out a Vegas Style superrock, with those damn ed smug expressions. Thank GOd I was also drunk.

― Mike Hanley, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Spot-on re "Layla". Even Cream seemed to be prematurely aged, what with being "tight", jazz-influenced, grounded in the blues etc. "Layla" just added the final touch, lyrics about "adult emotions", i.e. reconcilation to the fact you're never going to amount to anything special and need a nice background tape for working in your father's shoe store until the old fucker dies and you can sell the place to buy a condo.

― tarden, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Celine and Bryan Adams are not just AC music. Celine has pipes, and Bryan can occasionally rock out.

Carpenters are, of course, great. But then, Brit's latest single isn't superproduced, nor is it vocoded, and it seems nearly AC therefore at moments. Like the best of AC actually, in line with Vanessa Williams and cet.

― Sterling Clover, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I remember being unreasonably affected by Air Supply, "Solid As a Rock", Bonnie Tyler, Peabo Bryson. But I sure ain't gonna go out of my way. I wish AC were mixed in more - like every other post where I wail about how radio sucks, I reiterate: it just gets harder to be "ambushed by unexpected emotion" - or styles - when the formats are so predictable.

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Even Cream seemed to be prematurely aged, what with being "tight", jazz-influenced, grounded in the blues etc. "Layla" just added the final touch, lyrics about "adult emotions" (tarden)

Well I've always hated the song because there's something incredibly tedious about it, *but*....being 'grounded in the blues' was what the kids were into in those days. And the lyrics....Eric Clapton was probably about 26-28 when he wrote them - that's adult isn't it?

I reiterate: it just gets harder to be "ambushed by unexpected emotion" - or styles - when the formats are so predictable. (Tracer Hand)

That's the essence of it. That MOR rock/big ballad style seems totally choreographed - there's no hint of individuality or of anyone experimenting with new sounds or ideas. It feels like the songs are always painstakingly modelled on earlier songs - following the established template to the last detail.

― David, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Air Supply rock. Watch an ad for BJ's greatest hits and be surprised by how many you can sing along to - I guess htat just means its ingratiating rather than good, but for some reason I still know half the songs from the New Jersey LP. MOR is a little dull - at least in the 80s we had things being thrown at us like rock n roll twins (Nelson), super bad hair (poison) and the great duet between Donny and Seiko...whatever that was called. Now, I dunno, it just doesn't touch me like it used to, although Ricky Martin occasionally makes me want to shake his bon bon.

― Geoff, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

BREAD!

Wanna hear me sing "Baby I'm A Want You"? Or "I Wanna Make It With You," anyone?

(an encore of the Best of America and Gino Vanelli!)

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

One day, while waiting to get a grade for a college class, I heard America's "Sister Golden Hair" on the department's radio. Must have been the millionth time (it's a favorite on American soft-rock stations), but still something about the whole arrangement just screamed out "NICK LOWE!" Dunno if there's any connection betwixt, but the connection still sticks in my mind.

Randy Newman, when asked about America's "Horse With No Name," described it as "a song about a kid who thinks he's just taken acid." Rumor has it that Neil Young used to get requests to play "Horse" from the more meatheaded members of his audience at his shows.

And, lest we forget, they did "Muskrat Love" before Captain and Tennille. And it wasn't even an America song -- it was a cover!

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Gino fuckin' Vanelli! YEAH!

― tarden, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Milli fuckin Vanilli - Yeah! and Bread! and Grayson Hugh! and Charles&Eddy! and now it's time to take my medication.

― Geoff, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

America have been mentioned. Hmmm, interesting. Maybe we could talk about resuscitations / recontextualisations of AOR in the vein of Ultramarine's attempt (on a fantastic album BTW) to rehabilitate the "Horse With No Name" men?

The chord structures of these songs are always, as has been mentioned, incredibly simple and emotionally manipulative. Which *can* work, very occasionally, especially at a young age - I could say that Gary Davies playing Wilson Phillips's "Hold On" when I was 9 helped me through my first depression of any sort, and I wouldn't be lying.

― Robin Carmody, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I like Dr.C's question, what do people get out of this music? A female colleague once confided she found Celiné Dion incredibly romantic and 'just perfect for making love to'. Forced to hear the Titanic theme 9 times a day in my previous job I wanted Dion up for crimes against humanity. Perhaps its the Jennifer Rush-syndrome. Big voice, big tune, big romantic theme, all impressing themselves on a certain sort of listener as stirring, passionate, meaningful, soulful, serious c/w Whitney's 'I will always love you'. Perhaps its the very lack of subtlety, and Hollywood-size sentament that works for some people?

― Stevo, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

It has to be said, this stuff is massive in third-world countries. Is this an indictment of imperialism, or a reason why some people once thought it was necessary?

― tarden, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

There was a good piece in the Village Voice abt 7-9 years ago, by a not-so-young Julio Inglesias fan who worked in the paper's personal ads dept: she saw his show, and interviewed other fans, and broughty back several total Starlust fantasy tales: the only snippet I can remember being the (happily married) mother of [x], who declared her unrequited need to "cradle Julio's testicles lovingly as she ran her fingers though his chest-hair" — or something. If recontextualisation be needed, it starts *here*, far as I'm concerned.

― mark s, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I think Tom made a really good point way above about Travis/Moby etc. - I think why they tend to be more immediately irritating is that they are not only overplayed, but they are overplayed in the assumption that we should thank the radio stations for playing this music with such innovative and risk-taking qualities; it's the value gap between the rhetoric and the actual product that I resent. Celine and her lobbyists rarely make such claims - or at least not in the circles I move in - so there's no need for me to refute them with every breath.

― Tim, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Celine and her lobbyists rarely make such claims - or at least not in the circles I move in - so there's no need for me to refute them with every breath.

You don't know how good you got it, Tim. If I have to hear "but she has a great voice" one more time... I've never heard Travis, but I'll take them sound unheard over "The Power Of Love" and "All By Myself" anyday. How could they be worse ? I'll take bland over excruciating oversinging anytime.

― Patrick, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

In the spirit of trying to understand the appeal of this music, I solicited the following opinions - a) A Garth Brooks fan - "It's just REALLY REALLY good. You should hear it. it's just, like, excellent." b)A Michael Bolton fan - "It isn't DISTORTED. Why does all music now have to be distorted?"

― tarden, Thursday, 7 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

sixteen years pass...

What adult contemporary in the seventies sounded like.

― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 10 April 2018 01:53 (six years ago) link

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