Lightening the room here - assume ABBA has had the C/NC treatment…but can’t recall it….

Love em, hate em, whatever - there’s no denying they had SOMETHING…heard Waterloo in a supermarket the other day , and at the end of a crap and weird kinda day it put a smile on my face, so I say - not crap!

Europe is an experiment, a continental exercise in trying to find common ground to avoid the mass destruction of a species (the current war in Ukraine being an excellent example of the slightest "othering" of a people can leave them exposed to harsher elements, uncertain as to what their future holds).

East, west, north, south, the continent is so varied and diverse that it would be difficult to summarize anything less someone chime in with an "aha! but does it apply to Russian strongholds in Moldova? Or the Albanian nationalists in Macedonia (oh excuse me the FormerYugoslavRepublicofNorthMacedonia)?" It's a messy, bizarre business, this Being European.

And yet, certain tendencies do pop up; ham pretending to be a culinary tradition, cobblestone streets repaired ad nauseum to preserve a nostalgia for the medieval times when asses were washed more infrequently, and - most bizarrely! - ABBA.

Yes, they are the overplayed, over-celebrated, incessantly adored musical darlings of multi-generations across the continent. And my god, how they manufactured it! Was there a dart board in the shape of Europe in the recording studio? "France - lessee, 'Voulez Vous!' Italy? 'Mama Mia!' Spain? 'Fernando.' Done and dusted."

As ignoble and stagnant as their corporate middle-class-catnip partners in crime The Eagles (for the USA) and Bad Company (for the limeys), their contributions to the musical landscape still reverberate in Eurovision, amongst the most despised institutions ever concocted by a continent formerly powered by colonial slavery and human suffering.

And yet.

The hooks.

Oh, if I hadn't walked those cobblestone streets and imbibed in the whine of the daily euro droning - ANOTHER radio playing "I Have A Dream" what can possibly be the odds? - where would this music settle in my soul? Every single hit is an earworm. The craftsmanship is bulletproof, Scandinavia has been the heart for dense layers and pop-sound collage ever since. Everyone knows every song. Hell, everyone knows most of the words too. Not even Michael Jackson can boast of people knowing the words!

But what did it come to? Crippling stage fright and Norwegian royalty? Did the concept of epic cocaine mini operas unite the continent and charm the world, or did it cast dirt over our eyes? Are we so unable to break from the past - our histories, our nostalgias for lost time (none more lost than the 70's), our corrupted visions of what it means to be the dancing queen - that it is up to ABBA to remedy our temporal paralysis?

Eurovision, blech. Ripping the fingernails from my eardrums, somehow more hopeless than American Idol, brimming with an ill-gained pride for countries that can no longer dream of defining themselves without it. Nationalist disco fever. Well, occasionally Georgia adds a nice twist to their vocal harmonies, though . . .

No!

CRAP CRAP CRAP

Portland, Oregon's Neon Prairie Dogs do a fantastic honky tonk version of "SOS" - to paraphrase their singer Sam, "it's like hitting a homerun in softball."

I will close with this marvelous cover of Frida's solo tune, "I See Red," magically spun into Estonian during the height of the USSR's analog synth obsession. Such was ABBA's reach! If the legacy of ABBA ever grows to resemble this, I may reappraise my vote.

My aunt, who after mom and dad was the most important figure in my childhood, passed away earlier this year after a long battle with lung cancer. One of the first memories I can solidly remember of spending weekends at her house was when she popped in the VHS for ABBA Gold. I remember being at once mesmerized by the voices, the melodies, the songs, the flashes of color, the guy who looked like Luke Skywalker.

I think that video tape might have been my first serious exposure to music that wasn’t kid or church songs. My musical journey took a lot of roads and detours but weirdly enough it started at ABBA.

Not Crap.

Now, Mamma Mia (2008)? CRAP. Meryl Streep sounds like she retained Lisa Gail as her voice coach and Pierce Brosnan can’t fuckin’ sing at all jfc.

"Dancing Queen" is industrialized, weapons grade pop construction. Enjoyment of it requires a level of letting go that not everyone in our tribe is capable of. Who among us can dance like no one's watching?

Not crap

My parents had the vinyl of the album with them sitting in a helicopter on the cover.

I really can’t disassociate them from uncool parental music.

gotdamn wrote: Sun May 12, 2024 7:28 am Europe is an experiment, a continental exercise in trying to find common ground to avoid the mass destruction of a species (the current war in Ukraine being an excellent example of the slightest "othering" of a people can leave them exposed to harsher elements, uncertain as to what their future holds).

East, west, north, south, the continent is so varied and diverse that it would be difficult to summarize anything less someone chime in with an "aha! but does it apply to Russian strongholds in Moldova? Or the Albanian nationalists in Macedonia (oh excuse me the FormerYugoslavRepublicofNorthMacedonia)?" It's a messy, bizarre business, this Being European.

And yet, certain tendencies do pop up; ham pretending to be a culinary tradition, cobblestone streets repaired ad nauseum to preserve a nostalgia for the medieval times when asses were washed more infrequently, and - most bizarrely! - ABBA.

Yes, they are the overplayed, over-celebrated, incessantly adored musical darlings of multi-generations across the continent. And my god, how they manufactured it! Was there a dart board in the shape of Europe in the recording studio? "France - lessee, 'Voulez Vous!' Italy? 'Mama Mia!' Spain? 'Fernando.' Done and dusted."

As ignoble and stagnant as their corporate middle-class-catnip partners in crime The Eagles (for the USA) and Bad Company (for the limeys), their contributions to the musical landscape still reverberate in Eurovision, amongst the most despised institutions ever concocted by a continent formerly powered by colonial slavery and human suffering.

And yet.

The hooks.

Oh, if I hadn't walked those cobblestone streets and imbibed in the whine of the daily euro droning - ANOTHER radio playing "I Have A Dream" what can possibly be the odds? - where would this music settle in my soul? Every single hit is an earworm. The craftsmanship is bulletproof, Scandinavia has been the heart for dense layers and pop-sound collage ever since. Everyone knows every song. Hell, everyone knows most of the words too. Not even Michael Jackson can boast of people knowing the words!

But what did it come to? Crippling stage fright and Norwegian royalty? Did the concept of epic cocaine mini operas unite the continent and charm the world, or did it cast dirt over our eyes? Are we so unable to break from the past - our histories, our nostalgias for lost time (none more lost than the 70's), our corrupted visions of what it means to be the dancing queen - that it is up to ABBA to remedy our temporal paralysis?

Eurovision, blech. Ripping the fingernails from my eardrums, somehow more hopeless than American Idol, brimming with an ill-gained pride for countries that can no longer dream of defining themselves without it. Nationalist disco fever. Well, occasionally Georgia adds a nice twist to their vocal harmonies, though . . .

No!

Oh EA FORUMZ how have I missed ya!!!1

ABBA? FOREVER CRAP!

losthighway wrote: Sun May 12, 2024 9:16 am "Dancing Queen" is industrialized, weapons grade pop construction. Enjoyment of it requires a level of letting go that not everyone in our tribe is capable of. Who among us can dance like no one's watching?

Yep, that's one of those "get everyone on the dance floor" songs, alongside 'Hey Ya!', 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me', etc.

While I like only a few tunes by ABBA, I think 'Waterloo' is a perfect pop song. And I admire how they said "no" to a multi-million $ reunion deal.

N/C

Live version of Summer Night City is completely insane, like the most awesome metal song ever but with 4 part harmonies and a lot of purple spandex. Was completely obsessed with this tune for a while a couple years back.

Agnetha at 2:37 is my favorite part.

zircona1 wrote: Sun May 12, 2024 11:33 am And I admire how they said "no" to a multi-million $ reunion deal.

In favour of a multi-billion $ Dorian Gray computer hologram fuckery show? It seems the only reason they turned down a reunion was because they believe their wizened appearance would be too tragic. Which is vain and silly.

Anthony Flack wrote: Sun May 12, 2024 8:26 pm

zircona1 wrote: Sun May 12, 2024 11:33 am And I admire how they said "no" to a multi-million $ reunion deal.

In favour of a multi-billion $ Dorian Gray computer hologram fuckery show? It seems the only reason they turned down a reunion was because they believe their wizened appearance would be too tragic. Which is vain and silly.

I was referring to something I read many years ago where they turned down a ton of money for a reunion tour.