I have some vague memory of beginning to listen to an earlier Missy Elliot album and then deciding to stop before my three listens because it didn’t seel enough, the reviews weren’t good enough or I felt I didn’t have enough to say (I do not remember why or even which album it was). But …
Tag: Electropop
604 (2001) by Ladytron
I’m sort of mystified by the critical acclaim of this record. It’s two women singing laconically above some electronic beats that don’t vary very much (sorry). It’s pretty long, and it’s very one-note.
Music (2000) by Madonna
For one of the few times in my life, I can actually say I’ve heard the previous Madonna record before listening to this one, so it gives me context that I normally wouldn’t have. (Normally my context would be “I remember the hit singles.” And I do! But I’ve actually listened to Ray of Light.)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980)
As I listen to evermore synthpop my dislike of the genre is falling away, as I realize that there are songwriters hiding behind the synthesizers, and electronic bass and drums, and the more I discover this, the more I like some of these bands. OMD are one of the innumerable ’80s British bands who were …
Stella (1985) by Yello
What the hell do I do with this? If you’re my age, or within 10 years of me either way, I suspect, you’ve seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And if you haven’t seen it, you’ve likely seen another movie “Oh Yeah” was in. Wikipedia tells me it’s an “’80s cliche” at this point, so I …
Metamatic (1980) by John Foxx
I know nothing of Ultravox, Foxx’s former band, and have no idea if this chilly, austere “synthpop” record is a major change of pace for the former Ultravox lead singer. So I don’t know how much of a departure this record really is.
Solid State Survivor (1979) by Yellow Magic Orchestra
This is some shockingly ’80s-sounding discofied synthpop. It feels like it’s miles ahead of the British synthpop bands. And if I didn’t know about Kraftwerk’s existence I might be tempted to claim it’s the birth of synthpop. But frankly I don’t have the context to properly assess music like this. When it comes to the …