What would be today's version of sophisticated, adult, urbane, "classy" pop music with high-level, contemporary production values and a slightly Europhile bent? Was this a purely 1980s phenomenon?
I guess, in all honesty, and I hate to arming it, but Portishead sort of comes close in the 1990s, though only if you don't listen to the lyrics.
I'll take this stuff over folksy, rootsy, American-sounding adult music all day. Screw you and your microbrews; champagne.
"Eurotrash" is the weird x-factor in my personality. I many never own a condo on the classy side of town; may never find myself wondering what CD to put on to assist you in easing your Vuitton dress to the floor, but, on a purely aesthetic level, I'm attracted to the version of myself that could live a life enclosed in a fashionable suit that I'm not required to wear at work. It's just that I don't live my life on a purely aesthetic level, and don't have the means or the desire to do so even if I wanted to…
… that being said, this lifestyle seems somehow slightly unrecoverable on that purely aesthetic level… i.e. this is a particular vision of "classy" that can no longer be romanticized even if the suits and cars and dresses and champagne and Scotch and French cuisine are all still out there, of course...
"Smooth Operator"
"Everything She Wants" - (un)expectedly, a black music classic in NYC (play it to Garage heads and see)!
"Let's Go Out Tonight" admittedly a bit too good for the list, but sometimes I am in my suit driving my theoretical BMW home to an empty condo …
"Father Figure" - that's more like it
EDIT: Ok so I guess I missed the obvious answer - the lounge/downtempo scene of the 1990s. A bit of research reveals that there have been some relatively new entries in the Hotel Costes series of mix CDs, which is amazing to me. Has this music changed in the last two decades? I don't know if I care to spend the time to find out...
7 comments:
I've been following and lurking for ages, so take this as a hello! This might be what you're after: http://youtu.be/kZqTsQgIRbg
Alas Devastations split but 2/3 of them are now Standish Carlyon. Another on the same lines is Conrad Standish's wife Jonnine's band HTRK. Their last album is incredible.
http://youtu.be/Wa4nKCpteKg
This might be what you're after: http://youtu.be/kZqTsQgIRbg
Alas, Devastations split a few years ago but 2/3 of them are now Standish Carlyon, also worth investigating. Another on the same lines is Conrad Standish's wife Jonnine's band HTRK. Their last album is incredible.
http://youtu.be/Wa4nKCpteKg
how about daft punk - get lucky?
there is no aesthetic beauty with out truth ,of true ly .. .
sorry if i doubled on the last comment press , your arrangement is odd , of changed there/here ,/ and .. you know.. better, don't use the word class y, and there is nothing ..on the other side of town re the first comment i've made here / more on port is. in a min.
Thanks for the comments, all.
Harry - hello! I do know the HTRK record and I will check out Devastations. Thanks.
Mistah - I don't think Daft Punk quite hits it. It's too fun, too popular, not self-consciously adult enough and not really that good (in my opinion. The album mostly sounds like yacht rock to me.
Anne - yeah I think I understand where you are coming from and I think it's only because the simplistic highbrow/lowbrow dichotomy is gone that I could actually look back and enjoy the "wrong" side of it.
i really did have someth. to say on the very ..grown.. up.. of portish. , in time .. .
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