Do you think pop music got more focused in the mid-late 70's?

M

Mad_Hater

Well-Known Member
Country flag
I recently heard "Magic Carpet Ride" again with fresh ears and what really blew me away was how busy the bass part was even though the song still would've been a hit if the bass player just thumped the rhythm to the main changes with no fills. You almost never heard that 1976-1990 as everything got more streamlined... It's like music didn't quite become cookie cutter yet, what do you guys think?

I guess what I'm trying to say is even though Stepenwolf had a keyboard player who filled in a ton, the bassist sounds like he's filling in for a 3-piece...
 
Last edited:
This probably doesn’t answer the question…. But the music of the late 60s into the 70s is what I grew up on. And not the usual cast of characters. Wasn’t Beatles or Stones or Zeppelin that did it for me. Don’t have a single album of theirs.

It was Steppenwolf. Rare Earth. Santana. Grand Funk Railroad. Big influence…. But then…. So were bands like Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears. Which I do have albums of these bands.
 
Mad_Hater said:
I recently heard "Magic Carpet Ride" again with fresh ears and what really blew me away was how busy the bass part was even though the song still would've been a hit if the bass player just thumped the rhythm to the main changes with no fills. You almost never heard that 1976-1990 as everything got more streamlined... It's like music didn't quite become cookie cutter yet, what do you guys think?

I guess what I'm trying to say is even though Stepenwolf had a keyboard player who filled in a ton, the bassist sounds like he's filling in for a 3-piece...
Click to expand...
It did, if you don't count the dark period of 70s Disko.
If you count disko as being popular music, then everything goes to crap.
Except of course, Al Green, Berry White, and KC. Just about everything else at that time sucked.
So the answer is yes, and no.
 
Ant said:
I wouldn't classify Steppenwolf as pop for starters.

When you say more focused do you mean more intricate like a Jack Bruce type bass player?
Click to expand...
Anything that somehow becomes mainstream is pop. What do you hear more in commercials now; Born to Be Wild or Frankie Avalon? Case Dismissed lol.
 
Ant said:
Born To Be Wild is a hugely recognizable song but still no, Steppenwolf was never considered pop.
Click to expand...
Where do you draw the line? Def Leppard is heavier rock than Steppenwolf yet that's pop. "Love Bites" is a lot heavier than "Born to Be Wild" yet it's considered a pop-power ballad... Every hair band ballad ever made is pop yet they're heavier than any steppenwolf song ever made... What classifies as pop isn't as simple as Taylor Swift.
 
There would be the argument that the local Top 40 station plays “Magic Carpet Ride followed by Carpenter’s “Top of the World.” Which they did. The supposition that the Top 40 station plays Pop.

This is what the stations did when I was in HS and out. You could get Steppenwolf followed by Tommy James and the Shondells followed by John Denver….. etc. Good rock only stations in my area didn’t truly get cranked up till after I was out of HS. Which was 1972. And that was wonderful. Finally could listen to good music without having to put up with bubble gum.
 
iblive said:
There would be the argument that the local Top 40 station plays “Magic Carpet Ride followed by Carpenter’s “Top of the World.” Which they did. The supposition that the Top 40 station plays Pop.

This is what the stations did when I was in HS and out. You could get Steppenwolf followed by Tommy James and the Shondells followed by John Denver….. etc. Good rock only stations in my area didn’t truly get cranked up till after I was out of HS. Which was 1972. And that was wonderful. Finally could listen to good music without having to put up with bubble gum.
Click to expand...
But honestly what wasn't bubble gum in 1972; Sabbath? It's all bubble gum at the end of the day...
 
iblive said:
I disagree with that assessment. There was a lot of non bubble gum being made in the 70s beside Sabbath. I lived it. I was there. I know.
Click to expand...
Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. I just put a lot of music under the pop umbrella. Like say The Stones from '72 for instance... Sure they got the punk attitude and everything but ultimately the music still follows radio friendly guidelines that work for pop radio. It really just comes down to where you want to draw the line IMO
 
iblive said:
Oh….. I agree. But it does depend on who you ask. Doesn’t make them right. Just different opinion.
Click to expand...
Of course it depends upon who is asked...

or rather, it depends on the capacity of the respondent to comprehend and differentiate those qualities that define each.

One who's experience or education is limited will offer a limited perception. They are unable to do otherwise. But it remains that pop is no more rock than classical is.

Why, there's even a word for all of this...
Genre...!
 
What is the definition of 'pop'? I think it's not what you think it is. Just because something at some point is popular, that doesn't necessarily mean it can be defined it as 'pop', not as I understand the term.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top