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90 Comments
- alapoet, on 07/19/2008, -4/+50OK, it's 1974. I'm 14 years old and watching one of the first shows of the very first season of "Saturday Night Live."
The musical guests were some band I'd barely heard of -- ABBA. I wasn't sure I was going to like them.
Then they played "SOS." The heavenly harmonies of Agnetha and Anna-Frid... The irresistible chorus... And above all, heavenly Agnetha, with her long, strikingly blonde hair and her achingly cute Swedish accent. "I wish I understoood..."
Pubescent hormones surging volcanically through my bloodstream, I was smitted. I was hooked.
I had a Secret Shame. - marabout40, on 07/19/2008, -4/+20You're looking at one big ABBA fan right here. "knowing me knowing you. there is nothing we can do, knowing me knowing you..." :D
- inactive, on 07/20/2008, -4/+18ABBA is definitely a guilty pleasure - but a good one. How can you not like "Fernando"?
- alapoet, on 07/20/2008, -0/+10Smitten. I was so smitten, I had a typo. :-)
- smacksaw, on 07/20/2008, -3/+11Agree with the author. I never felt any shame over liking ABBA, it's just most people never believe you like them if you tell them, especially if you're in some sort of identifiable musical culture. I liked alternative and metal and generally dressed the part. In high school I dated this really goth girl. I came over to her house and she and her twin were dancing to ABBA and she was all embarrassed when I caught them, as if I didn't think they'd be true goths and think less of her or something. But I told her I loved ABBA and not only was she relieved, but I created some sort of ABBA monster with she and her identical twin doing a lifetime's worth of choreographed ABBA performances for me all the time.
I guess the moral is that if you admit you like ABBA, it liberates you. I studied music and music production in college and I think just about everything I could imagine for "doing it right" in production, engineering, songwriting, musicianship, you could always fall back on ABBA as a reference for how it's done. I think that's why they and Elton John (for an example) are so popular with musicians you'd never expect. I remember when Foo Fighters did Tiny Dancer, so many people were shocked. But where do you think Dave Grohl was getting all of that great songwriting from? You learn from the best, the ABBAs, the Elton Johns (Taupin too), etc. It doesn't matter if it's pop music. It's like saying Beethoven is pop. Everything in music has already been done before, many years ago. But people like ABBA lay it all out in a way that's easy to access, and that's why they're popular. It's not pop music to fool people or to be commercial, it's just polished music. - inactive, on 07/20/2008, -0/+7ABBA has always had my respect, for all of the reasons you list. There's a reason it's so popular and it's because you cannot argue with the talent or the technical quality of the music. Style yes, but I think most rational folks can admit when a musical number has talent, even if they don't like it (for instance I don't like Mozart, but I know he doesn't suck just because I don't like him).
I was commenting on the song, "One Night in Bangkok" a couple of weeks ago saying how I always thought it was catchy as hell. I looked up who wrote it and it was Benny and Bjorn and I got a warm fuzzy feeling of, "I should have known that." Armed with that knowledge, I can now totally hear Frida and Agnetha singing it. I wonder if it was a song that never made it onto an album because of their breakup? - Radan, on 07/20/2008, -0/+7No! Our nation's deepest secret and shame has been revealed. Yes, it's true, when it's time for the Eurovision Song Contest, it's the most watched TV programme of the year in Sweden. It wouldn't surprise me if it got higher ratings in Sweden than the Olympics.
Don't look at me! - lucy22, on 07/19/2008, -7/+13I still love all there songs. Saw Mamma Mia last year. All there songs were sang. It was great.
It is too bad they split. Great group, IMHO. - inactive, on 07/20/2008, -2/+8'thank you for the music'
- rsh28630, on 07/20/2008, -1/+7"a group that essentially disbanded in 1982 is still selling upward of 2 million albums a year".
Selling 2 million albums a year for over 25 years is the very definition of "staying power". - lickmyback, on 07/20/2008, -3/+8ABBA came to fame through a televised song competition which Americans are probably lucky enough not to have seen - 'Eurovision'. I'm not European but I live in Sweden now, and the first time I saw this competition and found out that it was serious, I almost shat my pants. It's the worst music I've ever heard. People over here live for it, especially in Sweden. I suppose ABBA was about the best thing to come out of it.
- alapoet, on 07/20/2008, -1/+6W1LS0N, I suggest you go ahead with the stapling your bollocks to the table idea, then report back to us. See ya.
- clokwise, on 07/20/2008, -3/+8Big fan!! I am the only person I know around my age (43, American) who actually saw ABBA perform live. My dad and I were always battling for turntable time at home - He: ABBA, Me: Queen. We both grew to love both groups, in fact, as totally uncool as it was at 14 years old, I brought my dad along to see Queen live (which he loved!) and he brought me to see ABBA (which I loved!!). Both shows I still remember today.
Of course at the time I could never tell my friends I actually went to see ABBA, I would have been ostracized. But today when I tell my friends I actually saw ABBA live, they are in awe. - zolthar, on 07/20/2008, -0/+5In the 70's, the contest had very good music.
During the 80's the quality went down, and the 90's were reigned by boring romantic songs that attempted to mimic the winning songs of the previous decade.
And when you thought that the Eurovision could nott get any worse, the new eastern block countries joined the contest, oh the brain damage! - Oddish, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4Yes, the Eurovision song contest is very popular in Sweden but 90 % of us watch it BECAUSE it's such a disaster.
- zolthar, on 07/20/2008, -1/+5So ABBA is uncool but people like it.
Just like the Carpenters. - geoffreyireland, on 07/20/2008, -3/+7ABBA ***** rock and this is coming from a guy who likes pretty much classic and modern rock exclusively.
ABBA sits atop my media library always howling out for one more tune.
I always give in too ;) - StinkyPudding, on 07/20/2008, -0/+4Or really, really hate each other.
- bcorder, on 07/20/2008, -3/+7Seriously, how can you not enjoy a group who's songs are catchy, non-controversial, fun to hear, and many times just amusing.
- alapoet, on 07/20/2008, -0/+3The Uriah Heep album you tried to reference with your user name?
Abominog. You got it wrong. - stonebear, on 07/20/2008, -3/+6A prominent gay icon as well, even before Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert. While they are great artists, Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand do little for me; it’s my secret shame. But ABBA still gives me goosebumps after all these years, and is a shred of hope for gay visitors to cling to.
- zmsquee, on 07/20/2008, -1/+4"As beloved as the Beatles"? I doubt that.
- inactive, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2we can be together when we're listening to their music. How lovely!
- VKMO, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2Hey, give my husband a break. He did pretty good at his age to remember when it happened to within one year, considering this is 33 years later and he's done lots of living since then!
- atanguay, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2Lots of respected musicians will openly admit to loving ABBA. I remember seeing Elvis Costello talking about how he was influenced by ABBA for songs like 'Oliver's Army'. If you listen to the piano, it's obviously influenced by 'Dancing Queen' which has influences from classical composers like Rachmaninoff. ABBA gets a bad rap by being lumped into the disco era which in the end is just gay-bashing. Americans got a little too comfortable in it's tight pants all of a sudden in the late 70s. Sure songs like 'Dancing Queen' get played too much at things like weddings, but it's one of the greatest pop songs ever written. Period.
Check out some of the middle movements of Rachmaninoff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXU7I_Yyi2Y
Check out the piano during the choruses of Dancing Queen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REElUors1pQ
Then listen to the piano on Oliver's Army
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AD_wmYI32sM - loopyloopy, on 07/20/2008, -1/+3i agree with you about the mamma mia film. but Abba are ok. bad covers by actors who cant sing is not worth my time or $$$.
- Lindygirl, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2I love ABBA. ABBA makes me happy. Doing the dishes is fun when ABBA is on the stereo. So is dusting. Or cleaning the litter box. You can't help but smile when you hear "Dancing Queen". Go ahead, just try to stay cranky. It won't work.
- inactive, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2Yep, love that album by The Cure. Another underrated act that doesn't get the credit it deserves.
- Regbooker, on 07/20/2008, -1/+3Luckily, they've never made a "Beatles Teens" spin off as they did with Abba.
- lupicite, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Ok, you're a little older than me, so I can't claim to have seen them on the original airing of SNL.
I did hear ABBA's music growing up/as a child (I'm 31), but the first song I have a strong memory of (post-Disco era) is "One Night in Bangkok". As a teen I wanted to purchase the song and found out it came from a play titled "Chess". The lyrics were written my Tim Rice, but the music was the two guys from ABBA (Andersson and Ulvaeus). I enjoy ABBA's music. There is no doubt that they definitely have talent for writing music, especially for used in theatrical purposes - (Mamma Mia! and Chess). - amoirae, on 07/20/2008, -1/+3The cop was straight. I doubt the rest would want to meet you either, Abomtroll.
- dennyzartman, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Great post smacksaw
- blaket, on 07/20/2008, -2/+4The only bad thing about liking ABBA is that given the spelling of the groups name it shows up near, or at, the top of your iTunes list. So if anyone looks at your library there's no denying that you like ABBA.
- norcalscan, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2Wait - all I remember you saying was you dated a girl that had an identical twin. And they choreographed ABBA performances for you all the time. Good play.
- smacksaw, on 07/20/2008, -0/+2I remember one of my music instructors - they mentioned something similar on Sirius radio (I think) a few days ago where they talked about the subconscious effect of repetition in thirds, like say, "gimme x3" or "money x3" combined with the choral effect of multitracking layered vocals. The example my prof used was singing in a church. You see people in tears at church. Layered music or vocals just gets people deeper.
Even going back to the whole "goth" thing, that same ex-GF and I were huge Cure fans. Their most popular song starts off "Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick" while each verse ends in "said" as well. Oh, and the name of the record that song is on? Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, which is also a lyric and a song on the same record.
Anyway, the point I was going to make is that "One Night In Bangkok" seems to succeed for totally opposite reasons. Granted it does have a good hook, but the vocals are pretty minimal as is the song itself. It does have an A-B-A-B-A thing in the chorus, 3 A's - maybe that's the magic thing? I had no idea they wrote it, but now that I think about it and look at it, it makes sense as Murray Head was part of the cast of Chess. Sirius was playing tracks off of Chess the other day to celebrate Mamma Mia.
To wrap up because I am rambling, Chess was a concept album and even when ABBA is being experimental they have the touch. ONIB is a bit abstract compared to most of ABBA's music. But the hit elements are still there, just not as obvious as an ABBA song. Though I think the beauty and genius of ABBA is that you can listen to the song on a fairly shallow level as a basic pop tune, but the more I learned about music production and theory the more I found beneath the surface. It's like the old koan "Two enlightened monks pass each other on the road, and each looks at the other and smiles knowingly" - once you understand music and listen to ABBA you just have to smile. And I think that's where mature artists can cross over the sugar of ABBA without looking bad. - Lindygirl, on 07/21/2008, -0/+2Yes! I discovered Boney M. when I lived in Germany in the late '70s. (I was but a wee tot.) They were hugely popular overseas, and their songs still stick in my head to this day. I thought I heard that they were the "creation" of the same producers who put together Milli Vanilli. Don't care. They are fabulously kitschy-cool. (Oh, and this song is WAY better than "Sunny": http://www.youtube.com/v/kvDMlk3kSYg&hl=en&fs=1)
- KoZo, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1Just watched Mamma Mia, and I enjoyed it! The songs are nostalgic.
- tokabowla, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1So what size panties are you son's wearing these days?
YOU are a disgrace, Not z28com. - Cornrider, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1Frida was hotter than Agnetha
- raydeen, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2Priscilla is a great movie. Texas Chainsaw Mascara ftw. :)
- MrSkills, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1Ahh, the wonderful Terry Wogan. He narrates every moment like he is rolling his eyes - which is pretty appropriate for Eurovision!
- VKMO, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1tokabowla, you are an idiot.
and, yeah -- probably a child molester, since you seem to be the one thinking about that. - sapphire9488, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1I love ABBA and have no shame in saying it! I grew up listening to songs like "Lay All Your Love On Me" and "Gimme Gimme Gimme", which are still some of my favorites. My mom played their albums all the time and always reminded me that they were Swedish too, like her.
- MrSkills, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1Abba were a truly great band because, despite the cheese, they actually wrote supremely catchy songs that had much more depth than might first appear.
However.... their *influence* has not been so good. Masses of soundalike manufactured bands that copy the style but not the substance.
So they are unique entity: their own music was great, but their influence was horrible. - MrSkills, on 07/21/2008, -0/+1They are the second best selling band in the history of the world, behind the beatles, and their greatest hits is one of the biggest selling albums ever. I think that's more than "some popularity ... that faded".
- Roger, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2A-HA!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6chg1ogvMw&feature ... - joelm2400, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1I had the honor of watching Eurovision when I was in England a few months back, and let me tell you it was the best commentary I have ever heard in my life. Hilarious! I cant imagine watching it with a serious commentator though.
- Abomonog, on 07/20/2008, -1/+2Fleetwod Macs' "Rumors" was the ultimate in the great "uncool" albums.
- kaihh, on 07/20/2008, -0/+1motion seconded
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