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Post by Sam Tyler on Nov 5, 2019 21:15:26 GMT
Fantastic write-up Dirty, you're clearly living up to the Epic name! It is certainly very comprehensive and very personal detailing your musical likes and dislikes. Clearly you and I have very different musical tastes as some of the stuff you've described as bland was music I enjoyed and similarly vice-versa too. That being said clearly indicates that there is a huge and diverse market for the differing musical genres. At that time I was running a service department in a computer peripheral company where we had a radio going all day long. Due to the metal construction within the building only the stronger radio signals would get through so for us the choice was Radio One or er, Radio One and their continuously repetitive playlists. For me though much of the music of '87 to '89 serve as great reminders for those days and those workmates. Yes some of it was bland and S.A.&W was certainly part of that blandness but since that period I've enjoyed the likes of Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Guns n Roses, and watching the Now '80s music channel some of the S.A.&W can bring back memories of those days. Yes there's certainly music that I really wouldn't ever be bothered if I never heard it again but as time has passed I recognise the impact that much of the music has had on so many of us. I would say it is even to the point where stuff I would write off at the time when it was hyped I can now happily listen to. I think it may be psychological but as I've always, in the main, enjoyed the employment I've had over the years, hearing the music of the time in the background becomes engrained in the back of the mind and that music, good, bad, bland, or indifferent becomes part of that personal history. It is certainly a powerful medium that we can all benefit from and I think it is only through continued listening to the latest tunes can we really appreciate the differences over the years. Sam.
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Three Litre
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Post by Three Litre on Nov 5, 2019 21:21:35 GMT
And I thought some of my posts were long... They are ..... !
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Nov 6, 2019 12:36:36 GMT
Pretty much go along with Sparks on 1988 chart music. As I've said previously, I had pretty much given up on it by this time and I stopped watching TOTP by about 1985. There was the odd decent record here and there, but it was probably about 5% of the total so I couldn't be bothered wading through the 95% of dreck to get to them. The peak for me was 10 years earlier, 1978/9. I was vaguely aware of the rave and Madchester stuff that was developing but pretty much ignored it, in some ways I regret this, the acid/rave stuff wasn't, and still isn't my bag, but some of the Indie and Manchester songs I have later developed a liking for, I love the Mondays Step On. Indeed Cartman - I can't wait for the 1989/90 episodes to crop up - with Happy Mondays / Inspiral Carpets / Stone Roses / Charlatans. But that's about it. I think I must have stopped watching Top of the Pops properly, around 1987 for very much the same reasons.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Nov 6, 2019 12:44:24 GMT
Thanks for the posts everyone.
Yes I did have a bit of personal preference with this but I'd never criticise anyone for liking stuff I don't and I hope vice-versa... even some of the artists I've mentioned have done some good things over the years so it's more a snapshot of how I see them and things at that time rather than being all too cool for school and being down with all the cool underground stuff rather than the pop commercial stuff. A good pop tune is good no matter what.
Interestingly around that time 88-94-ish I tended to watch The Chart Show which at first was on Channel 4 then ITV more than TOTP. Featuring only music/promo videos The Chart Show was more unique/different than TOTP in that alongside featuring the Top 10's and new releases it also had features like specialist charts for Rock, Indie and Dance and a Video Vault of older videos. Sadly seemed to fade away around the mid-90's to be replaced by the dire Ant n Dec fronted CD:TV but it did show things not normally part of the mainstream on there and you'd certainly wouldn't see those videos unless you had MTV at that time. In fact they even commissioned videos for some acts in the specialist charts who didn't really have them. I don't think this is the only or even real reason why dance, indie etc. got popular around that time but I do think The Chart Show was more accommodating and relevant to that than TOTP back then.
I think by 1990 TOTP had a lot more competition and became a lot less relevant. By then you got shows like Wired, Behind The Beat/Dance Energy, Dancedaze, Snub TV, The O-Zone, bpm, Raw Power etc. which with one or two exceptions were more specialist, tended to have late night slots and aimed to specific audiences - dance particularly, than what TOTP could do.
Here's the a link to the forthcoming '88 performances on BBC Four. There's a few decent things in there.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00704hg/broadcasts/upcoming
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Nov 6, 2019 13:47:39 GMT
Thanks for the posts everyone.
Yes I did have a bit of personal preference with this but I'd never criticise anyone for liking stuff I don't and I hope vice-versa... even some of the artists I've mentioned have done some good things over the years so it's more a snapshot of how I see them and things at that time rather than being all too cool for school and being down with all the cool underground stuff rather than the pop commercial stuff. A good pop tune is good no matter what.
Interestingly around that time 88-94-ish I tended to watch The Chart Show which at first was on Channel 4 then ITV more than TOTP. Featuring only music/promo videos The Chart Show was more unique/different than TOTP in that alongside featuring the Top 10's and new releases it also had features like specialist charts for Rock, Indie and Dance and a Video Vault of older videos. Sadly seemed to fade away around the mid-90's to be replaced by the dire Ant n Dec fronted CD:TV but it did show things not normally part of the mainstream on there and you'd certainly wouldn't see those videos unless you had MTV at that time. In fact they even commissioned videos for some acts in the specialist charts who didn't really have them. I don't think this is the only or even real reason why dance, indie etc. got popular around that time but I do think The Chart Show was more accommodating and relevant to that than TOTP back then.
I think by 1990 TOTP had a lot more competition and became a lot less relevant. By then you got shows like Wired, Behind The Beat/Dance Energy, Dancedaze, Snub TV, The O-Zone, bpm, Raw Power etc. which with one or two exceptions were more specialist, tended to have late night slots and aimed to specific audiences - dance particularly, than what TOTP could do.
Here's the a link to the forthcoming '88 performances on BBC Four. There's a few decent things in there.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00704hg/broadcasts/upcoming The whole reason my Dad brought a Video Recorder in 1980 was so he could record the "Old Grey Whistle Test" - and watch it in the morning over breakfast (this Pre Breakfast TV days of course). I think watching "Whistle Test" turned me away from Top of the Pops - as the bands by this time did play live - and they featured many bands that would never pop up on TOTP too. Parents musical influences have a huge affect on their childrens musical tastes.
Interestingly - my eldest son is 14, his playlist has just about every track used on "Life on Mars" and "Ashes to Ashes".
My partner has 36 VHS tapes recorded between 1985 and 1998 (in Long Play)- with various music programmes and bits on - and feature Ozone/Electric Circus (from the mid 90s)
I am currently digitising these tapes - piece meal - and am only on tape 4. I don't have a Youtube channel - though, if I come across anything interesting - I'll post screen grabs (for now).
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Nov 6, 2019 14:37:16 GMT
It really is slim pickings isn't it?
Still I'm vaguely intrigued to see...
Wee Papa Girl Rappers Spear of Destiny The Beatmasters & P.P. Arnold D Mob & Gary Haisman Art of Noise
...over the next month or so
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Nov 6, 2019 15:16:28 GMT
It really is slim pickings isn't it?
Still I'm vaguely intrigued to see...
Wee Papa Girl Rappers Spear of Destiny The Beatmasters & P.P. Arnold D Mob & Gary Haisman Art of Noise
...over the next month or so
Would that be Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones? Wee Papa Girl Rappers - I used to get them mixed up with Salt & Pepa (the singers, not condiments)
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Post by Dirty Epic on Nov 6, 2019 15:35:05 GMT
I suppose a bit much of the same thing between Wee Papa Girl Rappers and Salt n Pepa although Wee Papa were a British rap act whose big claim to fame was the reggae inspired Wee Rule although after that they did go very very pop and were under PWL's wing for a time despite hits drying up for them. This did get the ire of harder edged UK rap acts at the time particularly Cookie Crew etc although to some degree always thought that street/no sell out thing in Hip Hop a bit of a cop out and fake especially went it went all Gangsta (sic). Speaking of Wee Papa it's interesting their track Heat It Up which is passable didn't air in this run of repeats when they appeared on TOTP with Two Men and A Drum Machine (aka Fine Young Cannibals) in July '88. None of the usual reasons why this shouldn't have been shown so must be a licencing issue or another objection related to someone/something which was on that particular show. Salt n Pepa were the much more famous and well known act from New York. They did the track Push It but perhaps their ill advised cover of The Beatles Twist and Shout which will air here is perhaps not their finest hour... in fact IMO its absolutely awful and that's about as polite as I can be about it. Yeah it is the Tom Jones/Art of Noise appearance which should be interesting.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Nov 6, 2019 15:43:20 GMT
Gotta say that Push it still really stands up - and that despite having heard it enough times to be thoroughly sick of it
Its overfamiliarity is the only thing which counts against it - so much so I probably wouldn't play it at a party, though I'm sure it's still a big floor filler at Wedding receptions etc.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Nov 6, 2019 16:01:59 GMT
This mash up of Push It by 2ManyDJs is an interesting take on it.
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