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Another World of Pop


The NH Bushman

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imagine, if you will, a world where pop music lives on.... where the revitalization of pop after disco lived on, skipping rap, hip hop, grunge, alternative and all other such experiments, developing into a fully mature form. imagine listening to pop music that has all of the trappings of modern recording styles, doesn't sound dated, and yet created by people who can actually sing, and featuring song writing that shows an understanding of the science of Hit Records....

i live in this world. its called "Asia." in Asia, you can find a wide range of pop music, from the well-known J-pop (Japanese pop) to lesser known but equally satisfying Thai, Taiwanese and regional sub-categories such as Isan (northeastern Thai).

i would like to give a good example of this fantastic music:

Endorphine

this is a Thai band called Endorphine. they have a tiny singer named Da who delivers such a dynamic performance that it doesn't much matter whether or not you can understand the language.

be sure to activate the link "Click to Play" on the left sidebar to hear the song "Nam Dtem Kaew" (a popup will open with player controls). feel free to browse the site and check out other songs by Endorphine and others. Famous Thai bands include Clash and Fahrenheit.

if one were interested in Taiwan pop, a good place to begin your quest would be to research "F.I.R."

in the local Thai restaurant in my neighborhood, the karaoke machine is full of Thai, Vietnamese and Taiwanese pop music. its never boring and always makes me feel great listening to it. all day long and well into the night you can hear the sounds of happy people singing to these songs.

be sure and let me know what you think about our World of Pop.

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cuteness indeed! women here dress and act like juveniles way into their 30's. mostly this manifests itself in a tendency to whine about things, where an adult would communicate in a more mature manner. Taiwanese TV features ads where a young female will nearly cry over something such as uncomfortable contact lenses; fat lip sticking out, whiny voice - all signs of immaturity and as such, youth. none of this has anything to do with music, of course, but some of the bands do that whining thing on TV shows too, lol.

i wonder if i can get that new EC release here in Taiwan.... hmmmmmm

take care Kathy.

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well... here in the USA we do have the Pernice Brothers making some of the greatest pop music ever created.... and Ivy (w/ a french femme on vox) making pop music as classic as anything i've ever heard... from the uk: ed harcourt, magnet, johan, doves, keane....

maybe the record sales have dropped drastically, BUT... GREAT pop music is still being made....

other 21st century goodies:

Fratellis

Chamber Strings

Wannadies

Rialto

Readymade Breakup

Nada Surf

My Morning Jacket

Trashcan Sinatras

Myracle Brah

Spoon

Smart Brown Handbag

The Shore

Rooney

Stereophonics

The Veils

The Tears

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Pierson just sits around and comes up with snooty band names nobody has heard of, when his personal CD shelf is filled with complete collections of Britney Spears, James Blunt, N-Sync and the Backstreet Boys... :rolleyes:

funny you say that Tony, because i wouldn't bother to listen to any band with a stupid name. there are lots of bands with really stupid names too.
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luckily, you don't have to be from "here" to check any of this stuff out; the world is at your fingertips w/ a simple google search...

most are on youtube & most have a myspace page with 4 songs to check out... in parentheses is a song of choice; not necessarily one on their webpage, but maybe up on youtube... you never know

Pernice Brothers ("Somerville")

Ivy ("The Best Thing")

Ed Harcourt ("Born In The '70s")

Magnet/Even Johansen ("Where Happiness Lives")

Johan ("Oceans")

Doves ("Black & White")

Keane ("This Is The Last Time")

Fratellis ("Chelsea Dagger")

Chamber Strings ("It's No Wonder")

Jon Brion ("Here We Go")

Wannadies ("You")

Rialto ("Untouchable")

Readymade Breakup (new debut CD, hopefully "Say Yes" is on it-- recommended to anyone who loves Rooney, Jellyfish & Fountains Of Wayne)

Nada Surf ("Look In The Mirror")

My Morning Jacket (cover of The Band's "It Makes No Difference")

Trashcan Sinatras ("Usually" "Weightlifting")

Myracle Brah ("Orange Shirt")

Spoon ("The Beast & Dragon Adored")

Smart Brown Handbag ("Greetings From The Longest Weekend"; for fans of early-era REM)

Rooney ("Blueside")

Stereophonics ("Dakota")

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"...because i wouldn't bother to listen to any band with a stupid name."

I recall an on-line argument with a guy once, who said he refused to listen to any band with the idiotic name "Flamin' Groovies"....and this took place on a Moby Grape website (!?)

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truth be told, i never go hunting for new bands or music. i've had enough music from working in the studio for 25+ years i suppose. if i want to hear something i just play it myself usually. my exposure to new stuff is incidental, typically karaoke heard wherever i happen to be.

well, that's what differentiates us...

truth be told, I can't stop hunting for new bands or music (basically because IT IS STILL REALLY GOOD)... I haven't had enough music with my 20+ years living w/ bands, seeing the musical process, being on radio, and club DJ-ing & doing a music mag... There's still stuff that's just as amazing as the stuff made 30 years ago, despite the fact that I'm not nearly as impressionable as I was back then....

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his personal CD shelf is filled with complete collections of Britney Spears, James Blunt, N-Sync and the Backstreet Boys... :rolleyes:

don't slag Britney... some of Max Martin's tunes are amazing power pop... a lot are pap...

also dig Aly & AJ

James Blunt is dreadful, as are Nsynchbackstreetboys

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