inthe00s
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Subject: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Donnie Darko on 02/05/06 at 2:17 am

Oldies music certainly had less manufactured pop trash than today, but it had its share, such as The Monkees.  Disco was really the first entire genre of such music, and IMO ended the Oldies period of the '50s, '60s, and early '70s.

Were any other pre-1970 (or pre-1975) bands garbage?

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: whistledog on 02/05/06 at 3:04 am

whatchu talkin' 'bout Darko?  The Monkees were a great group.  I still love their song "Daydream Believer"

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Donnie Darko on 02/05/06 at 3:14 am

[quote author=whis

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: La Sine Pesroh on 02/05/06 at 8:52 am


Oldies music certainly had less manufactured pop trash than today, but it had its share, such as The Monkees.   Disco was really the first entire genre of such music, and IMO ended the Oldies period of the '50s, '60s, and early '70s.

Were any other pre-1970 (or pre-1975) bands garbage?
As much as I like 60's music (especially 1967 and before), I'll readily admit that there were plenty of acts out there that were total crap.
    As far as the Monkees go, well, they were what they were, but still most of their songs were well-crafted and quite catchy and I think they got somewhat of a bum rap. Not to mention--I don't know if you've ever their TV show, but in the mid-80's Nickelodeon started airing reruns of it. I used to watch it quite a bit, it was actually quite funny, and the reruns sparked a new interest in the Monkees that led to their reuniting and going on tour in the late '80s.
    But yeah, there was no shortage of crappy 60's bands. Perhaps the worst of them, and certainly the most cynically "manufactured" of that era, was Gary Lewis and the Playboys. "This Diamond Ring" was OK, but the rest of their songs were some of the corniest music ever to be played on Top 40 radio, of any era. (Some of their songs used accordions in them, for Pete's sake!) Gary Lewis himself was quite dorky-looking and he had a rather nasal and whiny singing voice, and it's a safe bet that his musical aspirations wouldn't have made it outside of his basement if his father didn't just happen to be Jerry Lewis.
 
Other bad musical acts from that era:

Freddie and the Dreamers
Herman's Hermits
The Ohio Express
1910 Fruitgum Co.
Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Vee
Paul Anka
The Association
The Happenings
Jefferson Airplane


Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Windbreaker05 on 02/05/06 at 1:10 pm


As much as I like 60's music (especially 1967 and before), I'll readily admit that there were plenty of acts out there that were total crap.
    As far as the Monkees go, well, they were what they were, but still most of their songs were well-crafted and quite catchy and I think they got somewhat of a bum rap. Not to mention--I don't know if you've ever their TV show, but in the mid-80's Nickelodeon started airing reruns of it. I used to watch it quite a bit, it was actually quite funny, and the reruns sparked a new interest in the Monkees that led to their reuniting and going on tour in the late '80s.
    But yeah, there was no shortage of crappy 60's bands. Perhaps the worst of them, and certainly the most cynically "manufactured" of that era, was Gary Lewis and the Playboys. "This Diamond Ring" was OK, but the rest of their songs were some of the corniest music ever to be played on Top 40 radio, of any era. (Some of their songs used accordions in them, for Pete's sake!) Gary Lewis himself was quite dorky-looking and he had a rather nasal and whiny singing voice, and it's a safe bet that his musical aspirations wouldn't have made it outside of his basement if his father didn't just happen to be Jerry Lewis.
 
Other bad musical acts from that era:

Freddie and the Dreamers
Herman's Hermits
The Ohio Express
1910 Fruitgum Co.
Bobby Goldsboro
Bobby Vee
Paul Anka
The Association
The Happenings
Jefferson Airplane


I don't think you'd find that a majority of people agree with you on these. I happen to like quite a few of these artists in general, and specific songs by some of the others.

Anyway, back to the original post - this is so clearly and purely subjective that the only way for you to form your list would be for you to listen to the music yourself and decide.

If you're not looking for "garbage" and are looking for groups that were manufactured, as you put it, then prominent list members would be:
1910 Fruitgum Co
Ohio Express
Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus
The Jet Stream
The You Know Who Group
White Plains
First Class
The Cuff Links
The Archies
The Detergents
The Pipkins
Brotherhood of Man
Edison Lighthouse
Reunion

And other such studio groups

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Albert (member DaBukaba) on 02/05/06 at 1:27 pm


CORRECTION on the last post....
The Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding" and Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" were both big hits in 1970. Do they still answer the question? Yes. Even though I happen to like both those songs very much. Contrary to what these boards would suggest there is no sharp line dividing the years 1969 and 1970.

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Windbreaker05 on 02/05/06 at 2:05 pm


CORRECTION on the last post....
The Pipkins' "Gimme Dat Ding" and Edison Lighthouse's "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" were both big hits in 1970. Do they still answer the question? Yes. Even though I happen to like both those songs very much. Contrary to what these boards would suggest there is no sharp line dividing the years 1969 and 1970.


It said pre-1975 in the original post, so that's what I was going by...

And also, I wouldn't call any of the artists I listed "garbage." I was just listing based on the manufactured part. I like all of the artists I listed.

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Albert (member DaBukaba) on 02/06/06 at 12:05 am


It said pre-1975 in the original post, so that's what I was going by...

And also, I wouldn't call any of the artists I listed "garbage." I was just listing based on the manufactured part. I like all of the artists I listed.


Oh, my bad. I'll have to read more carefully next time.

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: schmartypantz on 02/07/06 at 9:56 pm

While I have no big problem with Alberts list, I don't think Jefferson Airplane has any place on it.
JA was a great band.

replace them with Boyce and Hart  :)

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: La Sine Pesroh on 02/08/06 at 8:43 am


While I have no big problem with Alberts list, I don't think Jefferson Airplane has any place on it.
JA was a great band.

replace them with Boyce and Hart  :)
OK, maybe I was a little harsh on the Airplane. They're not bad, but I happen to think that they're way overrated.

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: KKay on 02/08/06 at 9:02 am

What was the name of the group that sang "I'd like to teach the world to sing"?
They had another single, too...

Do The Cowsills count? Wre they produced or did they strike out on their own?

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: belladonna on 02/12/06 at 6:48 am

The Archies get my vote.

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: MaxwellSmart on 02/12/06 at 3:22 pm

You can compile lists of "disposable" acts from any era.  It just gets easier and easier the later you go as the acceleration of media forms and media outlets proliferates in the 20th century. 
We all remember the "Three Stooges" and "The Marx Brothers," but there are a zillion horrible vaudville acts that are lost and gone forever.  Radio and television made it easier to foist rubbish upon the general public.  What are you going to do, throw rotten tomatoes at your radio?  Of course, the immediate argument is, "well, the media consumer controls the market by changing the channel, by not buying the record, by not seeing the movie..."
However, there is a way to manufacture low standards and showbiz moguls quickly figured it out, you can go all the way back to PT Barnum with this one.  It's nothing new.  The difference is showmen and carnies such Barnum had to play the long con and they had to be fast on their feet.  With mass media, the purveyors of trash had only to insinuate ever more trash upon the media consumer until the consumer developed a Pavlovian slobber for trash.
I know these programs are not comparable in content, but "The Monkees" lasted for four or five seasons in the 1960s.  "The Sopranos" have lasted for sixteen seasons and running.  Now, you're going to protest, "'The Sopranos' is a groundbreaking crime drama realism, it's NOT trash!!!"  I say it's a conglomeration of mafia movie cliches blended with New Jersey bottom-feeder culture.  But who am I?  I'm just Maxwell Smart posting on inthe00s.  HBO, Terry Gross, and People Magazine rock the world!

As for music....I can only hope in thirty years people will look back at The Dave Matthews Band the way the do The Archies!
::)

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: La Sine Pesroh on 02/15/06 at 12:01 pm

All right, all right...I think I've finally found a "disposable oldies act" that we all can agree on:

http://www.kottke.org/plus/misc/images/un-depends.jpg

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: Donnie Darko on 02/17/06 at 4:00 am


You can compile lists of "disposable" acts from any era.  It just gets easier and easier the later you go as the acceleration of media forms and media outlets proliferates in the 20th century. 
We all remember the "Three Stooges" and "The Marx Brothers," but there are a zillion horrible vaudville acts that are lost and gone forever.  Radio and television made it easier to foist rubbish upon the general public.  What are you going to do, throw rotten tomatoes at your radio?  Of course, the immediate argument is, "well, the media consumer controls the market by changing the channel, by not buying the record, by not seeing the movie..."
However, there is a way to manufacture low standards and showbiz moguls quickly figured it out, you can go all the way back to PT Barnum with this one.  It's nothing new.  The difference is showmen and carnies such Barnum had to play the long con and they had to be fast on their feet.  With mass media, the purveyors of trash had only to insinuate ever more trash upon the media consumer until the consumer developed a Pavlovian slobber for trash.
I know these programs are not comparable in content, but "The Monkees" lasted for four or five seasons in the 1960s.  "The Sopranos" have lasted for sixteen seasons and running.  Now, you're going to protest, "'The Sopranos' is a groundbreaking crime drama realism, it's NOT trash!!!"  I say it's a conglomeration of mafia movie cliches blended with New Jersey bottom-feeder culture.  But who am I?  I'm just Maxwell Smart posting on inthe00s.  HBO, Terry Gross, and People Magazine rock the world!

As for music....I can only hope in thirty years people will look back at The Dave Matthews Band the way the do The Archies!
::)


Was there blood and guts in early 20th Century media? Or is that a '70s/'80s/'90s/'00s thing?

Subject: Re: Disposable Oldies Acts

Written By: gmann on 02/19/06 at 2:49 pm


What was the name of the group that sang "I'd like to teach the world to sing"?
They had another single, too...

Do The Cowsills count? Wre they produced or did they strike out on their own?


Answer #1: You're thinking of The New Seekers, a spinoff of The Seekers, they of "Georgy Girl" and I'll Never Find Another You" fame. The New Seekers had a successful cover of "Pinball Wizard" out in the early 70s, along with that Coke jingle.

#2: As for The Cowsills, I'm not completely certain. They've always struck me as a group that started out on its own, but was polished up later for mass consumption...not that it's necessarily a bad thing.

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