Master Index of Archived Threads
Sound Opinions
| soupcan Oct 08 2009 08:05 AM |
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Anyone listen to this Podcast? It's from Chicago public radio and consists of (I think) the music critics from the Sun-Times and The Tribune discussing contmporary popular music. I guess a new podcast comes out once every ten days or so. Someone told me about it and I listened to one that discussed, among other things, U2's beginning and evolution over the past 30 years. It was interesting to listen to. I found myself both agreeing and disagreeing with the opinions expressed and was really happy to hear that a lot of what I had always felt about the band they pretty much agreed with - that there are 4 distinct stages that the band has gone through and that stage 3 (specifically Zooropa and Pop) while not as critically acclaimed as the others is very underrated and unappreciated. Anyway - the show is about an hour and they discuss a whole bunch of different things. It seems that the crowd here may enjoy it so I figured I'd throw it out there.
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| Frayed Knot Oct 08 2009 08:10 AM Re: Sound Opinions Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Oct 08 2009 08:14 AM |
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I've heard it occasionally but never really stuck to it. WFUV (90.7 FM out of Fordham) carries it on Sunday afternoons. Reception of that station can be iffy depending on your location although most of their stuff is available on line (either "live" or at your convenience). oe: plays Sundays both from 5-6 AM & 5-6 PM Sound Opinions
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| TransMonk Oct 08 2009 08:13 AM Re: Sound Opinions |
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I listened to it a few years ago when I had a commute everyday...but now I'd have to make the time. They did some pretty good shows and I enjoyed it when I tuned in.
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| metirish Oct 08 2009 08:22 AM Re: Sound Opinions |
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I'll download the podcast when I get home....
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| Gwreck Oct 08 2009 09:13 AM Re: Sound Opinions |
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It's Greg Kot of the Tribune and Jim DeRogatis of the Sun-Times. Two of the best newspaper music critics around, Kot in particular.
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| soupcan Oct 10 2009 06:42 AM Re: Sound Opinions |
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Another episode of this just inspired me to buy some 'Big Star', 'Box Tops' and Alex Chilton tunes. I'd never heard of 'Big Star' before but apparently they had a large influence on bands like REM and the Replacements among others. I do enjoy being educated.
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| Edgy DC Oct 10 2009 07:08 AM Re: Sound Opinions |
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Huge influence on Paul Westerberg, who wrote one of the best Replacements songs in tribute to Big Star front man Alex Chilton. The Bangles were also Big Star lovers. Great band, but once their gimmick didn't work, their music couldn't save them, because they got so associated with the gimmick. I'm still chewing on the U2 thesis. I didn't recall critics rejecting "third period" U2 --- but rather a lot of the base of the fans, who weren't ready for the waves of irony. But they won over a lot of new fans --- and won back a lot of early lost sheep --- who had been fatiguesx by the band's Rattle and Hum-era earnestness.
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| soupcan Oct 10 2009 03:59 PM Re: Sound Opinions |
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Yeah, I knew about The Box Tops and The Replacements and the 'Alex Chilton' song. The guys on Sound Opinion went a bit crazy about Big Star - at one point saying that 'September Gurls' was one of the greatest pop songs ever written and would put it up there with anything ever done by The Beatles. Hey look, I don't critique music for a living and these guys know more about music than I'll ever hope to but....really? You may be right about it being fans more than critics disliking that U2 3rd stage thing. I may have mis-heard or misinterpreted what they were saying exactly. I don't know of anyone however who 'became' a U2 fan from hearing 'Lemon' 'BabyFace' or 'Playboy Mansion'. It was still gratifying for me to hear that I'm not the only person who thinks 'Pop' and 'Zooropa' have some really good songs on them.
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| Edgy DC Oct 10 2009 04:58 PM Re: Sound Opinions |
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Regarding "September Gurls," no. Uh-uh. It's exactly the sort of thing critics say that makes them look like they're in the know. Would it be a charming addition to the Beatles catalog? Yes. But no, I wouldn't say put it up there with anything. "September Gurls" is "Eight days a Week." It's not "She Said, She Said." It's not "Rain." I don't know that U2 won a whole lot of new fans with the songs from Achtung-Zooropa-Pop, but acting the new image allowed peeps to let their guard down and my cousin Gwynn (for instance), who would never have consider them as a teenager, was knocked out of her socks by the post-modern freakshow they were putting on tour. The U2 Waves First Wave: Strident! Boy (1980) October (1981) War (1983) Second Wave: Bohemian! The Unforgettable Fire (1984) The Joshua Tree (1987) Rattle and Hum (1988) Third Wave: Deconstruction! (Ironic!) Achtung Baby (1991) Zooropa (1993) Pop (1997) Fourth Wave: Reconstruction! (It's Hard!) All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) No Line on the Horizon (2009)
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| A Boy Named Seo Oct 10 2009 05:54 PM Re: Sound Opinions |
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[quote="Gwreck":31vjz0gs]It's Greg Kot of the Tribune and Jim DeRogatis of the Sun-Times. Two of the best newspaper music critics around, Kot in particular.[/quote:31vjz0gs] I'm terrible with podcasts. Download them and they sit there, but I'm gonna give this a try. Greg Kot wrote a pretty good book on Wilco some years back, "Learning How to Die". http://www.amazon.com/Wilco-Learning-Ho ... 0767915585
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| Gwreck Oct 12 2009 02:15 PM Re: Sound Opinions |
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[quote="Edgy DC"]I don't know that U2 won a whole lot of new fans with the songs from Achtung-Zooropa-Pop, but acting the new image allowed peeps to let their guard down and my cousin Gwynn (for instance), who would never have consider them as a teenager, was knocked out of her socks by the post-modern freakshow they were putting on tour. |
| metirish Oct 12 2009 03:11 PM Re: Sound Opinions |
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I'm not seeing any link up there soupcan. Auctung Baby blew mw away at a time when I'd stopped caring about U2.
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| Number 6 Oct 12 2009 03:16 PM Re: Sound Opinions |
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I'm a 3rd wave U2 fan. I like their earlier stuff, but "Achtung Baby" and "Zooropa" particularly hit my spot. In fact, I may be more of a fan of Flood than of U2. "Far Away (So Close)" is the must underappreciated U2 song. One of their best.
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