Am I the only one that switches ABBA off?

[Cotswold]

Whist I was driving back from a walk on the hill, ABBA came on the car radio.

I got to thinking if I was the only one who was sick and tired of hearing their near identical 50 year old tedium.
Hardly a day goes by without what has become ABBA's repetitious banality from the DJs and track selectors.

To ABBA, I would also add other switch-off-now moribund musicians whose music hasn't improved over time :
Sting, Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees, Robbie Williams, Take That, Cliff Richard, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Cher and Michael Bublé
(Phil Collins should be on the list but life dealt him such a lousy final hand. So I've left him off)

On the subject of singers. Probably the one with the most unfortunate name must have been Lou Rawls.
In Britain that translates from the phonetic to Toilet Paper.

 

[moke123]

I have satellite so I can pretty much pick what era I want to listen to.

I always thought Engelbert Humperdinck had one of the worst names.

 

[ebs17]

We have different stations that cater to different tastes in music. So just switch over, perhaps even to your own music from disc or cassette. My current SD card has about 3300 songs that I never hear on the radio.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

When I'm in the car, I listen to talk radio stations. When I'm in the mood for music, I have a decent set of add-on speakers on my desktop so I select songs more or less at random. However, I listen to an eclectic list.

• Almost anything by Pentatonix
• Theater or Baroque organ music including anything performed by Jonathan Scott
• Music videos by Weird Al Yankovic or Ray Stevens
• Things composed by John Williams, Andrew Lloyd Weber, or Henry Mancini - and similar composers
• Broadway Show Tunes

 

[Isaac]

Whist I was driving back from a walk on the hill, ABBA came on the car radio.

I got to thinking if I was the only one who was sick and tired of hearing their near identical 50 year old tedium.
Hardly a day goes by without what has become ABBA's repetitious banality from the DJs and track selectors.

To ABBA, I would also add other switch-off-now moribund musicians whose music hasn't improved over time :
Sting, Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees, Robbie Williams, Take That, Cliff Richard, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Cher and Michael Bublé
(Phil Collins should be on the list but life dealt him such a lousy final hand. So I've left him off)

On the subject of singers. Probably the one with the most unfortunate name must have been Lou Rawls.
In Britain that translates from the phonetic to Toilet Paper.

Abba?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Abba?

You don't know ABBA? Isaac, you are either VERY young or lived a strangely sheltered life.

They are a Swedish musical group whose first names are Agnetha (A), Benny (B), Bjorn (B) and Anni-Frid (A). The two ladies were easy on the eyes and their harmonies were anywhere from decent to excellent. The Broadway Show "Chess" comes from the fertile minds of Bjorn and Benny (at least in part) including the single "One Night In Bangkok" performed by Murray Head. The movie "Mama Mia" and it's sequels also derive from their music.

I can understand Cotswold's disdain for them, however, as they can be a bit saccharine at times. But musically they are wholesome and not at all totally devoid of talent. Definitely NOT one-hit wonders.

 

[Cotswold]

....So just switch over, perhaps even to your own music from disc or cassette.....

Switching over isn't a solution.
If I remain with the same station, by switching off and back on in 3mins there is maybe less that a 1% probability that another ABBA track will be played anytime soon. By switching channels, there is a far higher probability that an ABBA track will be played.
I'll only tend to play my own stuff on a long journey and the radio at other times.

 

[DickyP]

I love this thread - bits I disagree with (I like ABBA, but don't like talk radio), bits that are irrelevant (we don't have satellite radio in UK), bits I find amusing eg unfortunate names (I worked with a colleague once whose name was Justin Casey) and things I find silly.

I just wonder if there are any two users who will agree on any two items.

Well at least I wouldn't be bothered by ABBA as I listen to either Classic FM for real music, and Boom for music of my youth (mostly before ABBA).

In the car I've got my entire music library of 7,400-ish tracks on a SSD permanently plugged in for long journeys but seldom used as on long journey I'm a captive audience and have to actually listen to she-who-must-be-obeyed.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

have to actually listen to she-who-must-be-obeyed.

Interesting. That phrase means that you either read the H. Rider Haggard novel or saw the Ursula Andress movie She. (I've done both.) Hollywood saved the "who must be obeyed" phrase for a "discovery" scene in the movie but it was a sub-title for the book, if I recall correctly. Or did you pick up that reference from an indirect source?

 

[DickyP]

Interesting. That phrase means that you either read the H. Rider Haggard novel or saw the Ursula Andress movie She. (I've done both.) Hollywood saved the "who must be obeyed" phrase for a "discovery" scene in the movie but it was a sub-title for the book, if I recall correctly. Or did you pick up that reference from an indirect source?

It is a common English reference to a wife. Most notably it was used by Horace Rumpole in the 'Rumpole of the Bailey' books by John Mortimer, and the TV programmes starring Leo McKern. Similar expressions to wives to be wary of are 'her indoors', 'the good lady' and 'better half'.

And yes I read virtually all the Rider Haggard fiction books - good dashing tales (now not 'politically correct' but who cares). A local boy from Norfolk where he was, as well as a very successful author, an innovative farmer.

 

[Isaac]

You don't know ABBA? Isaac, you are either VERY young or lived a strangely sheltered life.

They are a Swedish musical group whose first names are Agnetha (A), Benny (B), Bjorn (B) and Anni-Frid (A). The two ladies were easy on the eyes and their harmonies were anywhere from decent to excellent. The Broadway Show "Chess" comes from the fertile minds of Bjorn and Benny (at least in part) including the single "One Night In Bangkok" performed by Murray Head. The movie "Mama Mia" and it's sequels also derive from their music.

I can understand Cotswold's disdain for them, however, as they can be a bit saccharine at times. But musically they are wholesome and not at all totally devoid of talent. Definitely NOT one-hit wonders.

Oh this makes sense then, as I am familiar with exactly zero swedish musical groups! Thank you for calling me very young I wish I felt that way. And thanks for the explanation

 

[Steve R.]

I like ABBA. Enjoy listening to it as an occasional music as part of Classic Rock.

 

[ColinEssex]

• Music videos by Weird Al Yankovic or Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens? Isn't he the bloke who did 'Bridget the Midget' and another one about a flasher?

I like ABBA, particularly like 'Fernando' and their harmonies and music arrangements are particularly good. Much better than modern shite.
Col

 

[ebs17]

I like ABBA. Enjoy listening to it as an occasional musi

When songs like Thank you for the music or Dancing Queen are played, then 80 percent of all listeners between the ages of 9 and 90 are certainly very pleased with such music classics. I'm somewhere in between.
If someone complains that they listen to the band's music too often 42 years after they broke up, that's a great honor for these musicians.
I have a dream

 

[Galaxiom]

I have very broad tastes in music but I cannot stand Luciano Pavarotti. He did a hopeless series of duets with great singers.

I thought there might have been so chance of a Eurythmics classic he did with Annie Lennox but he couldn't even do that with any talent.

 

[Steve R.]

Fernando is another fantastic song. The theme of this song is worthy of a full length movie.

As an aside: I was extremely disappointed that Top Gun: Maverick did not have Berlin's "Take My Breath Away"

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Ray Stevens? Isn't he the bloke who did 'Bridget the Midget' and another one about a flasher?

Ray Stevens is a USA songwriter specializing in humorous, country-themed music. He's not a city boy. His credits include "The Streak" (we call it streaking; you call it flashing). He also wrote "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival" (referring to a religious revival interrupted by a frantic squirrel). But he wrote a non-comedic song called "Everything is Beautiful" (in its own way) that is a legitimate and very pleasant song of praise for all that lives.

 

[ColinEssex]

To ABBA, I would also add other switch-off-now moribund musicians whose music hasn't improved over time :
Sting, Rod Stewart, The Bee Gees, Robbie Williams, Take That, Cliff Richard, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Cher and Michael Bublé

I disagree, particularly with Cliff. When you think he started in 1958 with 'Move It', arguably the first rock and roll record by a UK artist. Then he had various number one's then survived the onslaught of The Beatles who wiped out many popular artists, then Cliff developed from 'bubblegum' pop to such classics as Miss You Nights etc.
I met Cliff a couple of years back in London, we had a nice chat, photos etc. A very polite pleasant man.
Col

 

[Cotswold]

I just wonder if there are any two users who will agree on any two items.

Well at least I wouldn't be bothered by ABBA as I listen to either Classic FM for real music, and Boom for music of my youth (mostly before ABBA).

In the car I've got my entire music library of 7,400-ish tracks on a SSD permanently plugged in for long journeys but seldom used as on long journey I'm a captive audience and have to actually listen to she-who-must-be-obeyed.

1. Tends not to be populated with many users with a propensity to agree.
2. Classic FM can be quite pleasant at times but only in short intervals for me.
3. If your car gets stolen then as well as the carefully preserved insect collection across the front, you'll also have to include for 7,400 tracks in your insurance claim.

 

[DickyP]

3. If your car gets stolen then as well as the carefully preserved insect collection across the front, you'll also have to include for 7,400 tracks in your insurance claim.

Moot point in reality - do the 7,400+ tracks truly have any value as they are all a single instance of items held (legally) elsewhere?

(To American readers this assessment is based on UK Law as decided by precedent in court decisions which allows you to copy for personal use and security any media you legitimately own.)