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Post by vinyldude on Oct 30, 2018 6:07:51 GMT
Hello folks, it's been awhile!
If nobody remembers, I was that guy obsessed with the mythological "Billy the Ballerina" which I have since gotten over.
...but, ahem, if anyone's found it, ya know...ahem...just kidding! maybe
Anyways! It's a known fact that ELO is/was often considered closer to the spectrum of "bubblegum" pop, or cheesy pop, guilty pleasure, or whatever other name was given to them. I feel like this is an odd assessment of the band. Sure, the high pitched voices are a little goofy, and the music sticks to lightheartedness a portion of the time, but is it right for me to personally view ELO as having a "dark" sound?
I have noticed that of all the people I know and have met in my life who like ELO or listen to them, tend to all have similar qualities: they are either on drugs or alcoholics (people my age, mind you) or generally are just a bit on the darker side; we all tend to agree that ELO is really great, and I have found their many songs put me in such a variety of different moods, dark and melancholic being one of them.
Mind you, I enjoy a wide variety of music (classical to rap), and one of my favorite bands of all time is Alice in Chains, among some other rather emotionally heavy bands. So why is "fluffy" ELO so appealing to me? I feel this dark,underlying sarcasm and darkness to their music that I can't describe. I do NOT enjoy bubblegum pop or any overtly happy music. Being a music major, I have listened to a LOT of music and ELO definitely falls on the edgier spectrum of pop music for me, and possibly the spectrum of music altogether.
Thoughts? Ideas? Am I crazy? Am I right for thinking this of ELO?
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Post by eloneen on Oct 30, 2018 11:06:46 GMT
I would agree with you that ELO's music has an emotional range. I like the sad ballads best (but they don't put me in a dark mood), and I also like quirky songs like Jungle and Rockaria, as well as uplifting/happy ones like Hold on Tight and Mr. Blue Sky. The songs I don't like are the ones I consider to be the sappy love songs...I personally wouldn't describe their music in general as dark or edgy, but everyone sees and feels something different in the music they like, which is what great music does, IMO.
As for the rest, it doesn't apply to me at all, and I'm guessing the same for lots of other folks on here. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes, and a bit of a worrywart, but I wouldn't describe my personality as dark or edgy at all. I've never tried any drugs at all, and only have the occasional glass of wine or cocktail here and there. I think ELO fans are pretty diverse in terms of personality, but are nice people, in my experience.
I have noticed that there are not many black diehard ELO fans. I could count us on my two hands at the Philly concert, for example, but I know tons of African Americans who love CGIOOMH, Evil Woman and Strange Magic, even Telephone Line. I think that that period in the 1970s was a great one for people exploring multiple genres, as well as "crossover" radio airplay on stations with different formats. I get more respect as an ELO fan from my African American friends and family members when I bring up those songs, especially...Otherwise, they find it all a bit odd!
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Post by elophile on Oct 30, 2018 12:29:20 GMT
Interesting theory, vinyldude I don't agree with people who think ELO is bubblegum pop, although I love me some bubblegum!! ELO has a much wider emotional range. But ELO makes me feel happy... it never makes me feel melancholy. Even the melancholy stuff makes me feel happy. I AM prone to dark moods and ELO is like an anti-depressant to me. It always makes me feel better. In support of your theory, at the Philly ELO show this summer the sound was SO GOOD and I was struck by how just how HEAVY, to the point of sounding almost SINISTER, the sound was.
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Post by orioles70 on Oct 30, 2018 13:58:02 GMT
Diary of Horace Wimp is some double-licious gum. Hurry up John has some dark lyrics and heavy guitar. I love the fact that Jeff can cover that full range. Jeff himself has said that the sad ballads come more naturally. Writing a song with a happy vibe and not making it too sappy is more difficult.
Hard core fans that have listened to the complete catalog appreciate how many different types of songs Jeff has done. And if you read the liner notes closely, it's clear that Jeff decides on the mood of a song very early on in the creative process. Is this "bad salad" (sad ballad), an "aggressive rocker", "dreamy confusion", "nostalgic trip back to childhood", etc. Then he finds the sounds to complete that mood. Words come later.
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Post by tightrope on Oct 30, 2018 20:24:01 GMT
I would agree with you that ELO's music has an emotional range. I like the sad ballads best (but they don't put me in a dark mood), and I also like quirky songs like Jungle and Rockaria, as well as uplifting/happy ones like Hold on Tight and Mr. Blue Sky. The songs I don't like are the ones I consider to be the sappy love songs...I personally wouldn't describe their music in general as dark or edgy, but everyone sees and feels something different in the music they like, which is what great music does, IMO. As for the rest, it doesn't apply to me at all, and I'm guessing the same for lots of other folks on here. I'm a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes, and a bit of a worrywart, but I wouldn't describe my personality as dark or edgy at all. I've never tried any drugs at all, and only have the occasional glass of wine or cocktail here and there. I think ELO fans are pretty diverse in terms of personality, but are nice people, in my experience. I have noticed that there are not many black diehard ELO fans. I could count us on my two hands at the Philly concert, for example, but I know tons of African Americans who love CGIOOMH, Evil Woman and Strange Magic, even Telephone Line. I think that that period in the 1970s was a great one for people exploring multiple genres, as well as "crossover" radio airplay on stations with different formats. I get more respect as an ELO fan from my African American friends and family members when I bring up those songs, especially...Otherwise, they find it all a bit odd! Maybe because Houston is such a diverse city, there were people of all types and races there. There was one African American gentleman dressed like Jeff at Hyde Park. He had the beard and the curly wig and he told me in a British accent he was "chuffed" to be there. He was quite a character.
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Post by unomusette on Oct 30, 2018 21:22:58 GMT
If you think of everything Jeff has created, even just with ELO, it's such a wide range there is something to suit most musical tastes. He can really turn his hand to almost any style and it all has his characteristic sound as the icing on the cake. There are some dark elements in there but I don't think his music ever sends you away in a worse mood than when you started.
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Post by pelo on Nov 3, 2018 22:47:56 GMT
Bubblegum pop implies easy listening. Although I do like this kind of stuff, I don't understand those people who consider ELO a lightweight pop act. There is so much more to Jeff's music. It's magical, it usually takes me on a musical journey to some strange, but fascinating places. "Am I awake or do I dream the strangest pictures I have seen..." Yeah, that's the ELO experience, that's what ELO is all about. Great pop melodies, of course, but as Jeff used to say to his engineer Mack, "can you make this sound more weird?"
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2018 6:37:55 GMT
I did not see one single black person at the Dallas show. I remember making that observation at some point during the concert. To me, Dallas was a very subdued, laid back, albeit respectful crowd. Couldn't decide whether they wanted to sit or stand. LOTS of older white folk, I would say mostly fans, and probably a good share who were just there because they could be, not really die hard fans, though. I did not find the city to be very warm and inviting, rather cold and suspicious, frankly. And I had lived there for a year in the '80's. I had a good as time as I expected. I was quite let down by the tepid light show with the very dull spaceship. Sorry, but they really just need to "light it up" as we've seen in other concert footage, or else just not bring it in at all.
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Post by StrangeMagic on Nov 11, 2018 6:48:38 GMT
I did not see one single black person at the Dallas show. I remember making that observation at some point during the concert. To me, Dallas was a very subdued, laid back, albeit respectful crowd. Couldn't decide whether they wanted to sit or stand. LOTS of older white folk, I would say mostly fans, and probably a good share who were just there because they could be, not really die hard fans, though. I did not find the city to be very warm and inviting, rather cold and suspicious, frankly. And I had lived there for a year in the '80's. I had a good as time as I expected. I was quite let down by the tepid light show with the very dull spaceship. Sorry, but they really just need to "light it up" as we've seen in other concert footage, or else just not bring it in at all. You require lots of stimulation, huh? I hardly watch the video panels or the spaceship when it's included in the show because I'm so excited to be in Jeff's presence, able to watch him sing and play the guitar. Sometimes I'll get distracted for a minute by Lee's antics or Donavan's drumming, but for me it's Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. He could stand there alone, in a spotlight, with no light show whatsoever and sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and I'd be happy in my $200 seat.
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Post by StrangeMagic on Nov 11, 2018 6:50:08 GMT
And I forgot to say, the audiences at both Oakland and Los Angeles were somewhat diverse. Not as diverse as those communities, but more diverse than, say, Wembley.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2018 6:59:51 GMT
Nah, dude, I'm just not so star struck as to pull any punches. Maybe the feedback will help them in future shows. Glad you enjoyed what sounds like a seat close to the stage. Why worry about an overhead spaceship when you're that close to the man, eh?
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Post by tightrope on Nov 11, 2018 13:20:16 GMT
There was no spaceship. It was just a circle of lights.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2018 16:20:55 GMT
There was no spaceship. It was just a circle of lights. Yes, and I kept waiting for them to fire it up and it just didn't happen. It would be better to not have had it there at all IMHO. It seems they've always had trouble with the spaceships, even when they first used one in the 70's. I remember when the trekkies got excited about the whole sci-fi feel which the spaceship seemed to bring aboard. As I recall, that rather large group of potential die-hard fans got poo pooed - something about the band preferring to be rooted in reality. Maybe they jinxed the ship with that and should address that. ;-)
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Post by StrangeMagic on Nov 12, 2018 4:38:02 GMT
There was no spaceship. It was just a circle of lights. I could have sworn that was a spaceship. Attachment Deleted
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Post by elophile on Nov 12, 2018 13:37:46 GMT
There was no spaceship. It was just a circle of lights. I could have sworn that was a spaceship. Is it just me? Or is this conversation really confusing. There was no spaceship at the Dallas show where @secretmessenger was.
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