More Bangles Bits

[Jolly]

As I continue my deep dive on the ladies (my YouTube feed has turned stalker), I find some of this stuff interesting from a music biz standpoint...

This was a single from 1989, just before the group broke up:

Link to video

It's a bit interesting, because they did the video shoot in Santa Monica after they had just finished a concert. The band lip-synched the song, while the crowd helped play along.

This was probably the last of the studio-packaged Bangles. The girls had always wanted to be known as a rock band with Beatle-esque harmony, but as the 80's wore on and they became successful, the PTB packaged them more and more as looks and sex overriding voice and talent. All of them have said they reached a point where they hated to put on make-up and create the staged look.

It's a question of whether the studio molded them, until it killed them.

What other acts can you think of, where once the suits ran them through the machine, the machine eventually changed them into something the band could no longer stand?

[George K]

Damn you Jolly! You're turning me into a fan!

Here's Susanna earlier this year:

Link to video

[Jolly]

@george-k said in More Bangles Bit:

Damn you Jolly! You're turning me into a fan!

Here's Susanna earlier this year:

Link to video

Again, not bad for 62. Hell, not bad at any age. But did the looks overshadow the talent? While not the best voice in rock or pop, she is pretty distinctive. And I like her taste in decorating her home.

When she went solo, the label put her as the opening act for Don Henley on The Age of Innocence Tour and released a solo album. Despite her looks, voice and some good production values, about the best it did was one Top Twenty (and that was because of heavy rotation on MTV)

Link to video

Again, she's got star power, but the solo career never really took off. Did music change that much in the 90's?

[Mik]

John Mellencamp. Here's a guy who took back control of his image and music.

[George K]

@jolly said in More Bangles Bits:

I like her taste in decorating her home.

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. That's pretty much our style as well.

Did music change that much in the 90's?

Yeah, it did. Didn't we have a thread about how much music has become less "complex" a while ago? Listen to the range of that song, it goes up and down what, an octave and a half? Not gonna hear that today.

[Jolly]

@george-k said in More Bangles Bits:

@jolly said in More Bangles Bits:

I like her taste in decorating her home.

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. That's pretty much our style as well.

Did music change that much in the 90's?

Yeah, it did. Didn't we have a thread about how much music has become less "complex" a while ago? Listen to the range of that song, it goes up and down what, an octave and a half? Not gonna hear that today.

Gaga could do it, but a lot of the current female singers would fall on their autotune.

[taiwan_girl]

Interesting and fun forum threads. Thanks for starting them Jolly.

[George K]

@jolly said in More Bangles Bits:

Gaga could do it

Gaga is amazing. Terrific voice, lots and lots of power, fantastic range. Her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is really memorable. I haven't seen much of her lately, is she still recording?

[Jolly]

@george-k said in More Bangles Bits:

@jolly said in More Bangles Bits:

Gaga could do it

Gaga is amazing. Terrific voice, lots and lots of power, fantastic range. Her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is really memorable. I haven't seen much of her lately, is she still recording?

She's still out there, just not the flavor of the moment.

[Aqua Letifer]

@jolly said in More Bangles Bits:

@george-k said in More Bangles Bits:

@jolly said in More Bangles Bits:

Gaga could do it

Gaga is amazing. Terrific voice, lots and lots of power, fantastic range. Her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner is really memorable. I haven't seen much of her lately, is she still recording?

She's still out there, just not the flavor of the moment.

Thank God.

[Mik]

Gaga is now doing whatever she wants to. I see her moving in more of a crooner direction.

[George K]

@mik said in More Bangles Bits:

Gaga is now doing whatever she wants to. I see her moving in more of a crooner direction.

She has an album as of December. I gave a cursory listen this morning.

Meh.

[Mik]

Well you are one up on me. I've not listened to her by choice.