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Post by Kapitan on Feb 12, 2023 17:00:36 GMT
B.E.'s post in the "sounds like a Beach Boys song" thread in the main forum got me thinking it might be fun to share more modern (which in this case, probably starts in the '70s, but extends to the present) artists whose music draws heavily from "the Bs" such as the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Byrds, and maybe extending that into Big Star, for example (though they themselves would be one of the bands drawing from the earlier Bs). In short, you could think of this is power pop, though not necessarily just that, either. But many of us love mid-60s melodic rock. Since then, there have been many bands and even subgenres (power pop, jangle pop, paisley underground, or whatever other bazillion subgenres that might have been coined). It can lean toward the garage rock side of things or the twee side of pop; it might be psychedelic or not. I'd say strong melody and hooks are the best shared criteria. A lot of this kind of stuff can be too directly inspired to the point of being (pale) imitations of the original. But sometimes it really hits the spot and warrants a spot in the rotation. So whether popular or not, 40 years old or released last week, share those sorts of things here! I'll kick it off with something that was very explicitly pastiche, so its merits are perhaps questionable on those grounds. But hey, it could be worse. In the late '90s, power pop band Splitsville recorded a handful of tunes very explicitly in the style of mid-60s Beatles and Beach Boys, naming the EP Pet Soul. Later they fleshed it out further with a few more songs and released it as an album, The Complete Pet Soul. Here is the cheekily titled "Caroline Knows."
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 12, 2023 20:14:07 GMT
Here is one I learned of through Ian at the old Record Room: the Rubinoos. They were a '70s Bay Area band with all the influences you'd guess for this kind of thread. I think their biggest "hit" is probably their cover of "I Think We're Alone Now," unless you count Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend," which the settlement of a lawsuit between them awarded the Rubinoos an undisclosed settlement based on its similarities to their own "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend."
I love that lattermost tune, as well as their original "Jennifer." And to keep it in the spirit of the board, I'd be remiss to skip their a cappella cover of "Heroes and Villains."
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Feb 12, 2023 21:38:21 GMT
Starts with a "BW at the keyboard" style and ends up in "Help Me Rhonda" territory.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 12, 2023 23:43:15 GMT
One from the less polished side of the tracks, here is the obviously loaded titled "Lust For Life" by The Girls, from about 15 years ago. (One of the two people involved in the band, producer and bassist Chet White, died a couple of years ago.) This is a group that had no real success, but that had some obvious influences we can recognize. I actually love both this song and video, and the whole ethos. To me, it's an indie-band mentality that is vanishing as the live scene for working musicians shrinks...
But anyway, tell me you don't love the Mike Love background vocals that begin about a third of the way through!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 16, 2023 19:46:25 GMT
This isn't The Beach Boys, The Beatles, or The Byrds, but it's from that era/genre - Simon & Garfunkel. And, the group covering the song, "The Sound Of Silence", isn't exactly power pop. How would you describe Disturbed? Maybe heavy metal or alternative metal? Anyway, I really like this cover of "The Sound Of Silence". Very powerful. Stunning. Emotional. Beautiful?
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Post by kds on Feb 16, 2023 20:30:50 GMT
This isn't The Beach Boys, The Beatles, or The Byrds, but it's from that era/genre - Simon & Garfunkel. And, the group covering the song, "The Sound Of Silence", isn't exactly power pop. How would you describe Disturbed? Maybe heavy metal or alternative metal? Anyway, I really like this cover of "The Sound Of Silence". Very powerful. Stunning. Emotional. Beautiful?
Disturbed is often lumped into the "Nu Metal" movement from the late 90s / early 00s. I wish that fits, but they don't have a lot of the hip hop influence that was present in a lot of nu metal acts. They're probably the only act from that movement that I can still listen to, even though I rarely do. I have enjoyed their covers of Shout (Tears for Fears) and Land of Confusion (Genesis), but I'm sorry, I just cannot get into their cover of Sound of Silence.
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Feb 17, 2023 0:33:32 GMT
This isn't The Beach Boys, The Beatles, or The Byrds, but it's from that era/genre - Simon & Garfunkel. And, the group covering the song, "The Sound Of Silence", isn't exactly power pop. How would you describe Disturbed? Maybe heavy metal or alternative metal? Anyway, I really like this cover of "The Sound Of Silence". Very powerful. Stunning. Emotional. Beautiful?
I have enjoyed their covers of Shout (Tears for Fears) and Land of Confusion (Genesis), but I'm sorry, I just cannot get into their cover of Sound of Silence. I am just the opposite. The lead singer (can't think of his name at the moment) ruined Land of Confusion with his annoying "sliding down the last note of each phrase" thing. I hate that! But Sound of Silence shows he can actually sing very well when he puts his mind to it. It's powerful!
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Post by kds on Feb 17, 2023 13:43:17 GMT
I have enjoyed their covers of Shout (Tears for Fears) and Land of Confusion (Genesis), but I'm sorry, I just cannot get into their cover of Sound of Silence. I am just the opposite. The lead singer (can't think of his name at the moment) ruined Land of Confusion with his annoying "sliding down the last note of each phrase" thing. I hate that! But Sound of Silence shows he can actually sing very well when he puts his mind to it. It's powerful! I'm definitely the opposite. I don't think Dave Draiman is a great singer by any stretch (really good singers were a bit of a rarity during that era of American metal, IMO). But, I think his style fits much better with their heavier material than the somewhat stripped down arrangement of Sound of Silence. Speaking of, I'm just not a huge fan of the arrangement. I've heard a similar arrangement work on another S&G song though, and it was Queensryche's take on Scarborough Fair. Although, it's almost unfair to pit prime Geoff Tate against Dave Draiman.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 17, 2023 13:56:50 GMT
I read this morning about a new release of music recorded from 1966-69 by the artist Dotti Holmberg, at least partly under the direction and production of Curt Boettcher. These demos and studio recordings were mostly or all unreleased at the time, as I understand it.
Check out "Foolish Times," and specifically the familiar snippet of melody that occurs first at around 15 seconds. I wish I knew precisely when that tune was written, arranged, and recorded!
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sockit
The Surfer Moon
Posts: 234
Likes: 181
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Post by sockit on Feb 18, 2023 0:03:46 GMT
I am just the opposite. The lead singer (can't think of his name at the moment) ruined Land of Confusion with his annoying "sliding down the last note of each phrase" thing. I hate that! But Sound of Silence shows he can actually sing very well when he puts his mind to it. It's powerful! I'm definitely the opposite. I don't think Dave Draiman is a great singer by any stretch (really good singers were a bit of a rarity during that era of American metal, IMO). But, I think his style fits much better with their heavier material than the somewhat stripped down arrangement of Sound of Silence. Speaking of, I'm just not a huge fan of the arrangement. I've heard a similar arrangement work on another S&G song though, and it was Queensryche's take on Scarborough Fair. Although, it's almost unfair to pit prime Geoff Tate against Dave Draiman. Don't hate me for saying this, but I find that cover rather...er, underwhelming. The lead guitar riff is nice.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 18, 2023 11:55:02 GMT
We discussed this band before on the board but Eric Carmen and The Raspberries were very influenced by Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. Here's a couple:
Eric Carmen had this to say about "Let's Pretend" (from Wikipedia) - Eric Carmen stated that "Let's Pretend" is one of the best melodies he has ever written, and that he reused part of it for his first solo hit, "All By Myself". He said the song lyrics about young people in love dreaming about eloping and making a life together are a recreation of the concept in Beach Boys' song "Wouldn't It Be Nice".
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 18, 2023 12:17:58 GMT
Maybe the prototypical power pop band. And another heavily BBs influenced one from Carmen's solo career (including Bruce Johnston) is of course "Hey Deanie," one of the best cruising songs I can imagine.
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Post by kds on Feb 18, 2023 12:58:44 GMT
I'm definitely the opposite. I don't think Dave Draiman is a great singer by any stretch (really good singers were a bit of a rarity during that era of American metal, IMO). But, I think his style fits much better with their heavier material than the somewhat stripped down arrangement of Sound of Silence. Speaking of, I'm just not a huge fan of the arrangement. I've heard a similar arrangement work on another S&G song though, and it was Queensryche's take on Scarborough Fair. Although, it's almost unfair to pit prime Geoff Tate against Dave Draiman. Don't hate me for saying this, but I find that cover rather...er, underwhelming. The lead guitar riff is nice. No worries. To each their own.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 18, 2023 13:06:24 GMT
Speaking of the Raspberries, I always thought My Morning Jacket's "Two Halves" was reminiscent of them, like "Please Go All the Way" minus the great, soaring chorus. In fact, this was the first thing by MMJ I liked. It has the bright guitars, the harmony background vocals ... it fits the thread. (Their lead songwriter and singer, of course, is Jim James, who collaborated with Brian Wilson in recent years. He was also a part of the New Basement Tapes, the supergroup that wrote music to old Dylan lyrics about 10 years ago.)
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 20, 2023 13:13:48 GMT
Here is a lengthy new article about, almost a celebration of, the Cotton Mather classic Kontiki, released 25 years ago already. It's not just a great power pop or 60s-inspired album, it's (in my opinion) an all-timer that stands alongside the classics of that era. It's one of my 10 favorite albums by anyone, ever. www.popmatters.com/cotton-mather-kontiki-atr25
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