“Hello. My name is Baltazar. I am a pop music hater”
 

By pop music I mean the whole lot -- except Jilted John and Blondie. I’ve always hated it, those who listen to it, and the culture -- youth culture -- which spawns it. I loathe the big record companies, three chords repeated over and over, Top of the Pops, and Paul McCartney. Bob Geldoff is the biggest tit in the universe and Sting should be muzzled. Don’t even mention his wife. Black music obsessed with guns, burning homosexuals and calling women ‘bitches’ would be a disgrace if it didn’t show what small penises the artists have, while music glorifying illegal drugs has helped destroy whole nations, such as Colombia and Peru, and keeps generations of drug gangsters on the streets.

There.

I’ve said it.

That feels better.

But I’m genuinely here to learn, not to wind up, troll, or as an attention-seeking exercise. All my friends laugh at my ignorance, my prejudices harm no one except me -- I’m missing out on some major art -- and I’m fed up with being stuck in a classical music ghetto. Also I loved John Peel. He was such a great bloke he must have been right about something.

Plus my ignorance puts me in bed with people who, arguably, are bigger twats than Sting: retired colonels harumphing about the ‘youth of today,’ Murdoch journalists wanking about gangsta rap, and tweedy Young Fogies who dislike pop music only because they weren’t allowed in the cool gang at school.

Where’s the best place to start? I don’t want to go out and buy a Cher album. I’ve seen her in films, she’s clearly a good egg, but when she opens her mouth to sing I feel my spirits drop and the cat runs from the room.

have a look at some dub or afrobeat if you want somehting outside of pop and awesome
Notables:

scientist
fela kuti

i love pop in the sense of music with hooks
and that includes all genres for me
but a certain disgust for the majority of commercialised music is fine by me

and cher is just plain scary

Start off with synth pop and new wave. New Order is a fairly easy pop act to swallow and has done a good job of standing the test of time. Pop Will Eat Itself is another brilliant pop act.

Well at least you're honest, though if you want to avoid winding people up you probably shouldn't make enormous generalisations on an entire race's music.

You like John Peel? Great start, the man was brilliant, introduced a huge amounts of acts to the public, some obscure but some great pop acts like T-Rex, David Bowie, Pulp and my personal favourite The Smiths.

You seem like quite the englishman so Pulp's Different Class might be a good album.

Blondie - Parallel Lines
The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society
Michael Jackson - Thriller
The Cure - Head On The Door
and to destroy the black music stereotype, De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising.

That's just a few you could try.

I appreciate the suggestions. I’ll work through the list and report the results.

Point taken. I was telling it exactly as I feel and accept that the ‘burn homosexuals’ crew are just a nasty pimple on the arse of black music. If anyone’s offended they can say so and I’ll eat humble pie. Alternatively, if they wish to defend that musical culture I’ll argue with them in a civilized manner.

Right. That goes top of the list. Any more?

I don't think anyone's going to be defending being anti-homosexuals but you just have to remember that artists like that represent only a small minority of black music, and admittedly this isn't helped at all by the media.

You like Bob Marley? Exodus is essential if you haven't heard it already.

If you hate pop and you respect John Peel, then you'll love The Fall.

For further guidance refer to this member; Urban Hatemonger (click link) for more details.

check out wire and gang of four

and mogwai...cause im a bit behind the 8-ball and just discovered how much they kick ass

I accept that. In the same way that East German Nazi rock bands represent only a small minority of white music. I also suspect that many people attack it -- black music with homophobic lyrics -- not because they're oh so concerned about homosexual rights but because they want to attack black people.

Very much, and no I haven't. I knew this would happen: too much to listen to. But I'll work through it slowly - do my homework ;) - and report back for fresh instructions. Thank you.

I can’t be the first person to land on this forum and ask for help? I had a quick search but couldn’t find an obvious ‘Yoof Culture for Dummies’ thread. But if they do exist a link would be good so people don’t have to go over old ground.

Funny you say that, because people are working on this:
http://www.musicbanter.com/announcem...y-threads.html

Also, at the top of most forums you'll find an Education Thread.

e.g; http://www.musicbanter.com/indie-alt...on-thread.html

Thanks. This made me laugh:

My g/f loves Belle and Sebastian. Can't wait to tell her she's a Twee Pop Groupie.

I don't listen to much rap but I got the idea misogyny was a much more prominent subject than homophobia.

Oh and, how old are you, if you don't mind me asking...

Yep, they've got all the graces. :usehead:

Not at all. I'm a white, middle-aged, middle-class Londoner (in my forties) who lives with a cat and a long suffering girlfriend South of the river. :wavey:

Ok, sweet, hello. :wavey:

Ok so, I don't think you've mentioned any music you do like, which would be of great help. ;)

Some beautifully crafted pop albums with a lot of artistry (in my opinion, of course) that span a few styles:

Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses
Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
Bandwagonesque - Teenage Fanclub

ill add
the smiths:
self titled
meat is murder
and the queen is dead.

Thanks for the suggestions, they're all going on the list. Please keep them coming. If I can return the favour on classical music, please just say.

I could name hundreds of classical music pieces. The Proms are on in London atm -- the biggest, state subsidised classical music festival in the world and I've been going twice a week -- but I guess you mean pop music. Jilted John because he makes me laugh and I'm from the punk generation plus Blondie. Someone gave me Plastic Letters when it came out and I liked her sassiness, rawness, incredible voice and New York counter-culture background. I believe my g/f saw her at cbgb and took this pic of the loos:

Attachment 2879

Ok well, this is a long shot, but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are also a New York band fronted by a sassy superwoman and play raw rock and roll with punk influences...give them a shot. ;)

Here are some samples of their work:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Date with the night

Andrew Bird is classically trained so maybe you'll like some of his stuff:

Andrew Bird - Imitosis


Andrew Bird - Sovay

If you like Blondie, you might check out these bands:

The X-Ray Spex
The Runaways
Souxsie & The Banshees
The Pretenders

Of course, those are all bands with female vocals. If you like the general style, regardless of the sex of the vocalist, there are a number of punk and post-punk bands to look into. I'd especially recommend:

The Ramones
The Undertones
The Boomtown Rats
The Buzzcoc ks

In line with the punk/post-punk theme of above
get some:
television - marquee moon
wire - pink flag and chairs missing
Public Image ltd. - metal box
Gang of four - entertainment!
Joy division - closer and unknown pleasures
the birthday party - release the bats ep or prayers on fire

Thanks for the vids and recommendations. Returning the complement, here’s the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra playing in London last year. They’re the product of El Systema, a scheme that takes poor children from the slums of Venezuela and trains them as classical musicians. 800,000 children have been through the programme. That’s why some of the orchestra look like drug dealers and mafia hitmen - they probably were! They’re helping subvert the whole classical music tight-arse image that alienates so many.



(Amend the url to play - I'm not allowed to post full urls till I've 15 posts)

Post Edited: right-track

these ain't pop albums dude. the others are borderline maybe, but these two NO!

I have to agree with the OP, and I'll go further and say that most albums are "pop." I'd even classify albums like London Calling, VU & Nico, and Who's Next as pop.

The mistake people make is in dismissing all pop because the very word "pop" conjures up images of Madonna and the Spice Girls. There's plenty of great pop out there to be found.


A few more ideas:

Life's Too Good- The Sugarcubes (heck, get Bjork's "Debut" album)
Turns Into Stone- The Stone Roses (buy this after you buy the debut, as Minstrel suggested)
Bottoms Of Barrels- Tilly & The Wall (definitely not for all tastes, but an impossibly charming album)
Psychocandy- The Jesus & Mary Chain (everyone needs this record)
Ocean Rain- Echo & The Bunnymen (see above, except moreso)
The Harder They Come- Jimmy Cliff (reggae, but with a slight pop edge)
Vol. 1 & Vol. 3- The Travelling Wilburys (the definition of "perfect pop music")[/b]

I struggle to find anything "pop" about Public Image Ltd and The Birthday Party. I love pop music, but those two ain't pop.

From what you've listed, I'd second the Sugarcubes, Stone Roses, Mary Chain and Echo and the Bunnymen. All great records. Don't like Tilly in the Wall, and never heard the other two. But the other 4 are all great!

Really? It seems very much pop to me. It's the sort of chiming guitar pop that very early U2 had and House Of Love and Cure had. I consider all those bands to be pop.

Metal Box/Second Edition is basically a pop/dance record with some atonal wailing on top of it. Post-Wobble/Levene PIL is even poppier (Rise? Seattle? Don't Ask Me?).


...and I can't believe I forgot XTC (my favorite pop group)! I can't imagine a pop fan who wouldn't like at least one of these albums:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...pple_Venus.jpg

Apple Venus, Vol. 1


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Settlement.jpg

English Settlement


http://www.avantgarde.com/images/Dru...nd%20Wires.jpg

Drums & Wires


And then there's the Wasp Star album (Apple Venus Vol. 2) which I absolutely love, but most people seem to dislike it, so I didn't list it.

i grant that they are not pop albums...
i just dropped them for balthazaar
cause they are awesome
and public image ltd. have quite a lot of pop values

I don't really hate pop but I'm not into that kind of music. I do respect the genre and the people who loves it though. I love rock music and I know many people hate it and it even has a negative image to most people.