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JB Cairns
JB Cairns
12 years ago

what a group.
only they could have got Frank Zappa to say they were the future of music in their movie.

What a series.

Chris Shiel would have to admit Mike Nesmith was the equal of slowhand!!!

derrida derider
derrida derider
12 years ago

Na, I dont think they were greatly talented-it was all a bit Milli-Vanilli.

Mind you, I can remember thinking even in their heyday when I was a young teenager that “Daydream Believer” was far too good a song for such an artificial group (I was in my puritanical Dylan phase then). Whoever chose their material WAS talented.

murph the surf.
murph the surf.
12 years ago

Their association with others, including Jack Nicholson and someone called Schneider ( I think ) lead to the movie “Head”.
It may be very hard to get a copy of but was , well far out.
I watched it in the 70s and couldn’t believe it was the same group.

Don Arthur
12 years ago

According to Robert Forster: “Song for song they are the best pop group of the period”.

Don Arthur
Don Arthur
12 years ago

Nicholas – People’s attitudes to pop music are kind of interesting.

Rather than focus on the song, DD goes straight to the issue of talent. The music industry encourages this focus by handing out awards to individual artists and using their personal stories to promote the product.

DD mentions Milli Vanilli. When word got out that the group didn’t actually perform the material on their album, some consumers launched lawsuits.

The fact that it’s possible to take legal action suggests that the performer, their appearance and life story are integral to the consumer’s enjoyment of the work.

Mentioning Bob Dylan brings up the idea of authenticity. By the 1960s many consumers wanted songs to be performed by the people who had written them. They wanted the songs to be a sincere expression of the performer’s beliefs, values and life experience.

It seems as if consumers want to have some kind of relationship with the performer. If you discovered that one of your friends was actually being paid to pretend they liked the same food, novels and poetry as you, you might feel cheated. Music consumers seem to feel the same way.

I wonder if this kind of thing goes on in politics as well. A lot of people would rather vote for someone who they believe authentically shares their values even if they don’t implement the policies they support. They will reject politicians who do the things they want done if they don’t connect emotionally with the person.