Was ABBA actually good?
- Thread starter Alade
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Mamma Mia was an auto-tuned nightmare. At least, the movie version was. Half the cast couldn't carry a note in a bucket, which is why anything without background music was 100% awful. And the plot was schizophrenic at best, mostly to try to fit the songs in. I love musicals and ABBA, but there was still no excuse for that.Alucard 11189 said:
If you want to see a musical based on a band's library that actually works, pick up Across the Universe. They did it right.
I like ABBA. Without them my parents would have never met. The music is alright, but I think their strongest point is my existance.
ABBA were fantastic and wrote memorable, timeless pop classics that are still listened to regularly today. Song after song after song - all high quality with excellent musicianship. If you go through their back catalogue, the proportion of memorable classics that you can sing and dance along to is very high. Something for everyone. My mum loves them, my wife and I do, and my boys like them too. There are numerous tribute bands touring today.
I know few groups that have ever scaled the heights, or crossed the generations, better than ABBA. I doubt the Jonas Brothers (who?) or Justin Bieber (who?) will survive the test of time.
I know few groups that have ever scaled the heights, or crossed the generations, better than ABBA. I doubt the Jonas Brothers (who?) or Justin Bieber (who?) will survive the test of time.
No. If there was any good in the world, all the members of ABBA would be dead. Take that, Leibniz!
But at least I can take comfort in the fact that most people on the Escapist probably care little enough about this terrible band that they don't feel the need to comment on them.
Fun fact: it's not actually a hole in space-time or a chunk of really really dense matter in the center of a black hole. It's actually ABBA. They just suck that much.
But at least I can take comfort in the fact that most people on the Escapist probably care little enough about this terrible band that they don't feel the need to comment on them.
Fun fact: it's not actually a hole in space-time or a chunk of really really dense matter in the center of a black hole. It's actually ABBA. They just suck that much.
ABBA was great. How many other pop bands IN HISTORY are responsible for a musical turned big budget hollywood film?Alade said:
Plus Putin is a big fan so if you talk badly about them Vympel will murder your family and make you watch
Damn straight they were awesome. I was after their peek but I woke up everyone morning to the ABBA CD my parents used as an Alarm clock. Those songs are now forever stuck in my head and I am happy they are because they are epic. Dancing Queen is kind of overrated though.
Of course it's all subjective, but I think in general, there's a way to judge by longevity and also just how many singles did well.
A vast number of pop bands and singers manage a top ten hit, even a number 1, (and I know the charts are mostly irrelevant nowadays), but ABBA and most people who are generally considered to be 'good' have a solid catalog of music that's well known and successful.
I imagine you could ask a dozen teenagers nowadays and ten of them could name 3 Abba singles. Try that with Bieber or the Jonas Brothers in 30 years. I'd suggest that Britney Spears might be remembered a couple of decades on, while I can't stand her style of music, she certainly had some solid singles remembered and loved by many, and is a recognised name and face, like Abba, whereas Pink, Aguilera, and many others may well be forgotten in 5 years.
Looking back to rock, in the grunge period, Nirvana are legendary, but I'd personally rate both Soundgarden and the Stone Temple Pilots above them (opinion is all), but I'd still give Nirvana the credit for making the sound almost mainstream, something accessible and popular, and producing catchy tunes, despite feeling that the other two bands were better musically.
A vast number of pop bands and singers manage a top ten hit, even a number 1, (and I know the charts are mostly irrelevant nowadays), but ABBA and most people who are generally considered to be 'good' have a solid catalog of music that's well known and successful.
I imagine you could ask a dozen teenagers nowadays and ten of them could name 3 Abba singles. Try that with Bieber or the Jonas Brothers in 30 years. I'd suggest that Britney Spears might be remembered a couple of decades on, while I can't stand her style of music, she certainly had some solid singles remembered and loved by many, and is a recognised name and face, like Abba, whereas Pink, Aguilera, and many others may well be forgotten in 5 years.
Looking back to rock, in the grunge period, Nirvana are legendary, but I'd personally rate both Soundgarden and the Stone Temple Pilots above them (opinion is all), but I'd still give Nirvana the credit for making the sound almost mainstream, something accessible and popular, and producing catchy tunes, despite feeling that the other two bands were better musically.
These people sure seem to think ABBA were good:
Me, I love at least a select few of their songs, like Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, I Have A Dream, Mamma Mia, Money Money Money, Ring Ring, SOS, Super Trouper, Take a Chance on Me, Thank You for the Music, The Name of the Game, Waterloo and Voulez-Vous.
If that can be considered a select few.
Me, I love at least a select few of their songs, like Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, I Have A Dream, Mamma Mia, Money Money Money, Ring Ring, SOS, Super Trouper, Take a Chance on Me, Thank You for the Music, The Name of the Game, Waterloo and Voulez-Vous.
If that can be considered a select few.
I would argue they created some perfectly constructed pop songs pretty close to the absurdly high standard laid down by 'The Beach Boys' and 'The Beatles' on 'Pet Sounds' and 'Rubber Soul' respectively, needless to say a number of people will disagree with this. The harmonies to me often felt pitch perfect, wonderfully layered and focused.Alade said:
At the end of the day haters gonna hate, hipsters gonna hate and historical revisionism will rewrite history and their popularity as a "karaoke" band and 'kitsch' will taint their reception for many.
It is worth remembering though critical and objective are not the same thing. I consider myself to have a pretty solid grounding in popular culture of the twentieth century. I've read a lot on the subject, my UG degree was in Sociology with a strong bias to TV, film and music and I am completing a Masters degree in Film Studies which encompasses a lot of 'Cultural Studies' theory.
It is, actually...it's the first initials of the band members: Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid.Phoenixlight said:
(And god help me, I'm old enough to remember when they first hit it big.)
