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ABBA

#21
Gasman said:
ABBA has nothing to do with the boy bands. They actually created their own sound, albeit dated, which is better than many established rock groups. I'd actually like to cover an abba song. I bet you're having a blast with it. Kudos.
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I know that abba has nothing to do with boy bands. I was only saying that abba's music is a lot better than boy bands. just so you know, I have nothing against abba. I actually dig their tunes. I gladly would listen to abba's music and italo disco music over those pathetic boy bands anyday. and I know abba's not italo disco, but that's another type of music I would gladly listen to instead of listening to those stupid boy bands. I listen to hard rock and heavy metal. I also listen to dance music like techno, trance, progressive, etc. those type of music is real music for me. I would say the same for any other type of music except for boy band music. said it before and I'll say it again, boy bands are a sick joke. a total embarrassment to the music industry.
 
#25
7 years ago I auditioned for a variety band.
There were two ABBA songs on their list. I thought, "Oh crap!!".
One was Waterloo, and Dancing Queen.
It did not suck. People loved them. The guitar player did something on Waterloo that on the recording was very cool, but subtle, in the background. He put it out front, and it sounded cool as hell.

I met my current wife in that band too ;);)
 
#26
CrewsControl said:
What are you talking about? Those acts are staples. They put the "industry" in "music industry." If it weren't for these acts, the music industry as a whole would be a money-losing hobby.
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I was talking about boy bands. they're a total embarrassment to the music industry. but of course I would know that these groups were created so that the music industry would make money. they usually want commercial acts so that they would make more money based on how popular they became. my point is that even though these pathetic boy bands makes a lot money, not everyone likes their music. real music listeners would agree that groups like them are just pathetic. they're just a poor excuse of entertainers. in other words, they suck.
 
#29
I have always liked and respected ABBA for what it was, well written, well performed, unapologetic pop music.

ABBA basically made the music video popular, their solution to the fact that they couldn’t perform live in all the countries in which they were selling vast numbers of records and that one of the girls hated touring because she disliked being separated from her kids.

As such, think people have been listening to ABBA for too long using their eyes. The outfits/ hair is a bit iffy I will concede. But, 18 studio albums, 300million albums sold ( according to that wondrous and unquestionably accurate source of all knowledge, the inter-web). says alot.
 
#30
They have some great stuff - unapologetic great pop songs of their time (Yes I admit to having Abba's Greatest Hits alongside my Springsteen, Yes, ELP, Tull, Oldfield, Zeppelin, U2 and the rest of my eclectic range)...I did a "Mama Mia" (the song not the show) arrangement for my band with 5 piece brass -people enjoyed it and if people enjoy it, I'll play it!
 
#35
fraublugher said:
BTW , ABBA tunes were written by the Bassist.
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Do you have a reference for that? That's not my understanding- I know they had a co-writer on some tracks but my understanding is that Andersson & Ulvaeus wrote most of ABBA's catalogue-happy to be shown otherwise of course if that's the case!
 
#36
How does somebody possibly compare ABBA to a boy band? ABBA are a group, with the principle songwriters being part of the group. No different than any other band, they are truly talented.

Boy bands, and really all of pop music, especially all the new "R&B" singers like Rhianna and junk, is a total sham, nobody writes their own music or lyrics, they merely possess good pitch, good looks, and a marketable image.

Boy bands are far from the issue with the music industry, the issue lies with the public...
 
#37
#38
With respect, don't think that's saying anywhere that he wrote the songs- seems to be different opinions in his contribution in terms of baselines/ string arrangements etc but I doubt if he is getting many writing royalties as an original composer.. Thanks for the link though and yes, as I said earlier in the thread, lot of really good ABBA songs out there and some excellent bass lines and playing on them!
 
#40
MartinG1957 said:
With respect, don't think that's saying anywhere that he wrote the songs- seems to be different opinions in his contribution in terms of baselines/ string arrangements etc but I doubt if he is getting many writing royalties as an original composer.. Thanks for the link though and yes, as I said earlier in the thread, lot of really good ABBA songs out there and some excellent bass lines and playing on them!
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That's cool , and you're right not to believe everything you read on the internet.

I will add this though in all good bassist's defence, in all the original bands I've been in it's been expected of me to write the bass bits but more importantly Ron Collier I think it was,
[jazz educator- musician] who taught composition and repertoire at my alma mater told students , most often you
don't have to write a bass part because a good bassist can
play a better one than you can spell out for them.

I understand jazz is a different animal but the process can often be paralleled.
my .02
 

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