Is it still possible to be innovative in Pop music?
 

So...

Is it still possible to be innovative in Pop music?

Think about it, when's the last time we've seen an innovative pop artist?

Well, MIA was kind of innovative


But yeah...can anybody think of some forward-thinking pop music in recent years?

Yes, animal collective, drop mic walk off stage

Anything is possible but I think it is very unlikely.

The last decade for innovation in the pop world was in the 80's. Most of the artists now mimic or copy those artists and styles. The industry has changed drastically to the point that these artists (now) dont care to push themselves creatively because their are no consequences for bland material.

I think that era of innovation has passed.

This.

Surell got me into AnCo 2-3 months ago, and by now I don't think he realizes how much effect it has had on me. Let's just say that, aside from a number of outstanding groups from the 60's and 70's, there is Animal Collective, and there is everyone else. I've been desperately searching for other new/recent groups as good as them, and while I've come across some pretty good ones, I've yet to come across another group remotely as creative as AnCo.

In fact, I've been recently watching some interviews with them on Youtube, and I'm not even so sure they themselves realize how good they are.

OK, this is an order!

Click on this video, turn your speakers up as loud as you can tolerate, put the video in full-screen mode, and just watch it.

:)))))))))))))

And you're right, they are very humble artists, and don't bask in the eccentricity their music would seem to imply for their personalities. Offstage, anyway; their shows are equally as radical.

I've also been getting into Avey Tare's solo album lately. He's one of the main band members of AnCo.

Another of the members of AnCo doing a solo project - from Panda Bear's fantastic album Person Pitch.

Whoooooaaa. whoa whoa, Avey Tare has a solo out now? PS Take Pills is the best, so slinky.

It actually came out in 2010. Here's the full album. Very good:

At the risk of turning this into (another) AnCo thread ...

Here is a song someone on a Youtube video somewhere dubbed "African music of the 23rd Century." You really need to make this as loud as you can possibly tolerate, even at the risk of damaging your eardrums. It will be worth the risk to your hearing. :-)



Is there anything anywhere else that sounds like this? I don't think so.

Preeeesh man, i'm extremely shocked and disappointed in myself for not knowing sooner, i guess it's kind of fallen to the wayside since its release, i know he even said he'd rather not revisit it. But i'm a check it reeeeall soon!

BTW, I have come to consider it a Crime Against Humanity that AnCo did not turn Fall Be Kind into a full-length album. :)

Here's a guy I stumbled across on Youtube while surfing other groups. I picked up his latest album, which has a couple good songs. Mostly instrumental stuff, but he's got this woman singing a few songs who does a nice job.

This isn't that innovative (not all that different from some 70's-80's Tangerine Dream, for example), but it's got some experimental stuff going on anyway.

This song could be called a "23rd Century Bossa Nova song." :)



There's also a song I like on the same album called "Hunger" but it seems to be blocked on Youtube.

I'm not sure if this counts as "innovative," but I just learned you can stumble across some really nice stuff by following the recommended links on Youtube. :)

Flying Lotus is cool, i don't know much by him, but I THOUGHT YOU AINT DIG HIP HOP. also Grizzly Bear are really really great, their newest album in my eyes is a modern masterpiece (of course it's too early to say classic or anything but it is really great), it's practically indie prog within pop regulations, though I won't post it here as a support for pop because the sound is more rock in my mind. It's hard to say, which is one of the great things anyway.

At least on that one album, I'd classify Grizzly Bear as something like, "Psychedelic bluegrass-folk-rock." :) Hell I think even my mother might like it. ;)

Will check out their newest album later. Glanced over a few songs a short while ago, but I liked the more acoustic sounds of Yellow House, at least at first glance.

There was a minimum of hip-hop type stuff on that one album, which made it tolerable.

I really just liked 2 songs, a couple others were OK, but the rest, while maybe somewhat interesting, were overall "meh." But that's the only album of his I've heard so far.

I can imagine there's some rap/hip-hop style stuff I can like - after all, even Jack Johnson sings a bunch of songs in a rap-type rhythm (think: Good People), but at least he does it musically and without an overbearing beat. One could say the same of AnCo's Sky. So, in my mind it can be done, if it's done right. It's just that, I don't usually see it done to my personal tastes. Usually it's too obnoxious, which I can't stand.

Here's a song where the singing is a rap-style rhythm, but it's actual singing instead of mere talking, and the beat isn't this super-loud obnoxious thing, so it actually works well here. Great song.

The new release sheds the folkishness a bit, it's a lot more extraverted and plugged in than most of their prior material, which i don't have a ton of experience with besides the more popular songs and passing listenings. P4k said this album was engaging the environment while Rolling Stone claimed it was like "Radiohead at a meditation retreat," although besides the latter's heavier moments (Hail to the Thief, OKC, certain songs), I'd say Shields shows a little more fight and pizazz than something like Amnesiac or the King of Limbs, or even most of Kid A (though it's definitely not as ominous or vague in its presentation).

That reminds me, Radiohead make incredibly innovative pop music. Unfortunately, the OP isn't here to discuss further :( or at least he hasn't been.

EDIT: I luuuuuv overbearing beats but i suppose i can be a little overbearing. In my attempt to bridge Pop, Hip Hop, and Radiohead in this thread, here it is:



it embraces studio innovation and melody, uses a more spoken style (once i heard in a more jamaican music sense), and also it's radiohead.

I've listened to some Radiohead but can't really get into it.

:( :( :(

i can dig it, their new one's pretty laid back if you dig that (along with lower key folky Grizzly Bear) you may like it.

This is typical of my reaction to Radiohead. It's OK, I can see some creativity in there, but it just doesn't really jump out at me.

At work a couple months ago while doing stuff on my computer I listened to OK Computer twice in a row, seeing how many accolades it got, and blah blah blah, but my reaction to it was just, "meh."

Prior to getting into AnCo recently, the last time I got into some new (or, "new") music was about 10 years ago when I got into some Brazilian music, starting with this band (which was just a 1-album project by 3 well-known Brazilian musicians). This song is my favorite. I don't speak a word of Portuguese but I've got the words to this song memorized anyway. :D

OKC isn't my favorite either, it's more of it's context and hype from that moment alone that's kept it's reputation so high. It's got some great songs and ideas but Kid A far outdoes it at its own game. Honestly, it's how i feel about Sgt. Peppers as far as its original context is concerned, but that's a whole other discussion.

Plus, OKC, though very melodic, is more rock based, where TKOL has a very easy atmosphere for the most part, and pretty prominent melodies and hooks, though it could be said to have a fairly flat/dry tone.

Alright I listened to the rest of Grizzly Bear's albums this morning.

Basically, there's Yellow House, and there's everything else. Horn of Plenty was OK, but not great, and essentially, the newer the album was, the more "meh" it was.

They had a great sound on Yellow House with all those acoustic instruments (flutes, banjos, etc) plus the extensive use of harmonies. Seems to me there was plenty of additional room to explore there, but aside from a few songs here and there on the other albums, it seems like they gave up on the sound. Pity. I can understand them wanting to make each album sound different, but I don't know why they didn't try to do more with the nice sound they had on Yellow House.

I'll have to give Yellow House another chance, i always heard good things but i just couldn't get into it the couple times i tried, but i probably just wasn't in the right mood.

If you dug that, you may also like (i'm starting to feel like spotify) Fleet Foxes, they've got some fantastic harmonies and melodies, as well as some generally good songwriting based around folk instruments, very CSN(Y)/Beach Boys strand kinda stuff. I'm most familiar with their newest album, Helplessness Blues, but their first one is supposed to be as good or better depending on who you ask. The main guy, Robin Pecknold, is a perfectionist much like Wilson was, though relating back to the thread i wouldn't say he's as innovative as some of the names mentioned here. He makes great folk/pop with some psychedelic influence (it plays less of a role the way i hear it), and the production is great, but as I said, it's pretty clearly indebted to great pop/folk songwriters (this also includes Nick Drake and Elliott Smith, though with less Beatles love like the latter).

Thanks, I'll check them out.

Alright I've listened to Fleet Foxes and am about half way through Helplessness Blues. Generally my reaction is another "meh." It's pleasant stuff, but not much that grabs me and makes me want to pay attention (reminds me of a similar experience I had with Beach House). I actually think I like Grizzly Bear a bit more, it's a little more interesting musically.

That said, the songwriting on Helplessness Blues so far sounds better than on their first album. I suspect the guy who writes the songs will hit his stride maybe around their 4th or 5th full-length album.

Still no one can even come close to touching AnCo. :cool:

I think Kpop is pretty cool... blend of Korean pop, hip-hop, blues with some doo-wop and a few more elements thrown into the mix...i think american pop music should similarly do the same minus Korean pop

I agree for sure, as much as i love the Grizzly Bear album especially, i think AC, in terms of innovation and just as far as the music goes in all regards, blow most others away. Well, it is hard for me on the Grizzly Bear album, can't even lie, when they played some of the songs at Bonnaroo i teared up. And this is right before Wu Tang! can't have no tears round tha

Ghost Face Killlaaaaaaaahhhahhahahh

Too bad about Fleet Foxes though, and Beach House i like for their vibes, it's very nice mood music and pretty nice melodically, but as you said it's not the most enticing.

K Pop that i've heard is very interesting, not my favorite but definitely some pretty out there music in the Electro-Pop realm.

After reading that Veckatimest was ranked at or near the top of several "best albums of 2009" lists along with AnCo's MPP, I decided to give it a couple more listens. About 2/3 through my 2nd re-listen, it's grown on me somewhat, though I still definitely like Yellow House better, and I tend to like the folk-ier songs on this album better (in particular, About Face). Something about this band's melodic patterns and overall style seems to go better with folksy songs, IMO.

In fact, I think I've just decided About Face alone would be worth the price of the entire CD. Sends chills up my spine.

^
It was bugging me what that song reminded me of, and I think I just figured it out. More or less.





EDIT: I think it reminds me of this one even more:

OOOoooo, Buffalo Springfield. I came really close to buying that album the other day, i still mean to.

Also, I listened to Yellow House, and it's a solid album but, i don't know, i guess i like the showier side of Grizzly Bear, more plugged in and jamming. I do really like "Ready, Able" from Veckatimest which is more low key, with the melody and twitchy structure, it's very coy. Yellow House does have a great ending trio though, "On a Neck, On a Spit" is crazy cool.

Buffalo Springfield could very well be the most important band ever that only made two albums. ;)

Was really getting into Colorado from Yellow House at work today. Gets pretty epic.

Well I'm a Neil Young freak these days and "Broken Arrow" is among my favorites by him, "Mr. Soul" is pretty great too.

fukcin right doggy, buff springfield is titties galore

I started making my own music video to this. My inspiration is this and several other In The Flowers home-made videos on Youtube. Though I don't think I'll be able to get as elaborate as that one.

so the way to be innovative in pop music is to stop listening to it and listen to Indie then that's basically what Surell and Driveyourcar are saying rofl.