Steven Wilson - "Why I'm Making Pop Music Now" - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Man Overboard View Drop Down

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Topic: Steven Wilson - "Why I'm Making Pop Music Now"
Posted: July 03 2017 at 08:51

As if vocally supporting the violent occupation of Palestine and attacking more conscientious artists he made a career cribbing weren't enough, settler colonial sympathizer Steven Wilson goes pop, releases new pop single.

Steven Wilson - Why I'm Making Pop Music Now

Listen here:

Edited by Man Overboard - July 03 2017 at 08:59

progmatic

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 10:37

Sometimes the amount of vitriol in these posts stuns me.

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AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 11:28

Wow, if this is the case he will probably lose some fans but gain new ones. I'm not sure what to make of it actually. If that's what he wants to do then that's his decision. I hope he still does some prog projects though.

I actually met him many years ago right as PT were starting to become more well known. They were headlining a prog festival and I talked to him briefly. I remember him saying he liked Trent Reznor, Radiohead and the Orb. None of those are really pop musicians though. Lol. I guess Radiohead have had their moments.

I'll say this though. He certainly has the talent to be able to pull it off. Yes I know many on here will say it doesn't take talent to make pop music. What I mean by that is I think he is capable of coming up with plenty of catchy melodies to be successful in this field.

Edited by AFlowerKingCrimson - July 03 2017 at 11:32

Jeffro

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 11:45

While it's an interesting choice for him, it's not really that surprising. He is extremely prolific and restless. Seems logical for him to explore new genres. On the other hand, if he heads into Country or Hip Hop then he will have gone completely round the bend Wink

Edited by Jeffro - July 03 2017 at 11:46

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 11:56

My initial reaction to the original poster is so what. Wilson has worked hard and long enough to make whatever music he feels like. As for the song itself, it's ok. I feel like someone else should be singing it. I picture Steven Wilson, and think the person singing should be smiling and laughing, and I can't see that with him. Big smile

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 12:15

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

I agree that he has more than enough talent to pull it off. Good pop music IS a talent and a careful analysis will reveal that much of his canon thus far is indeed cleverly crafted pop tunes cloaked in progressive excess. His secret to success is that he knows exactly which ingredients to add in the perfect proportions. Personally i doubt he'll top his PT days but i wish him all the success in the world

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lazland

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 12:35

Sounds quite good to me

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Upbeat Tango Monday View Drop Down

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 12:36

Mamma mia, here I go again.
My my, how can I resist you?

I don't consider neither PT nor Steven Wilson to be prog, so if he wants to go from indie artist to full pop that's fine by me.

I don't think he'll succeed going this route, though, since the target audience, young keg stand lovers and party goers, like their performers to be the same age they are...around 20. They don't want a desperate fame-seeking old man as a poster boy.

Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement.

Jeffro

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 12:39

Originally posted by Upbeat Tango Monday

Upbeat Tango Monday wrote:

I don't think he'll succeed going this route, though, since the target audience, young keg stand lovers and party goers, like their performers to be the same age they are...around 20. They don't want a desperate fame-seeking old man as a poster boy.

Why not? It worked for Bernie Sanders Tongue

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Upbeat Tango Monday View Drop Down

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 12:44

Jeffro wrote:

<div zoompage-fontsize="13">
<div zoompage-fontsize="13">Why not? It worked for Bernie Sanders Tongue

Two random guys agreed to shake hands. Just Because. They felt like it, you know. It was an agreement of sorts...a random agreement.

Man Overboard View Drop Down

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 12:59

My primary criticism of him trying make a pop career is that he's been trying to break into it his whole career without success. He's just not good enough to succeed in what is a very challenging, unforgiving environment.

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 13:00

Jeffro wrote:

Why not? It worked for Bernie Sanders Tongue

Runner up to the losing candidate is an extremely loose definition of "It worked..."

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 13:30

Sorry but that song suxass.

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M27Barney

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 13:45

Probably wont buy the new album then. He just wants to see if he can make a bit more money! Funny how musicians always regard "selling out" as being progressive! Why not develop my dream of ultra-prog - where even 30 minutes is considered a very short song??

Why make a CD for morons to dance round their hand-bags to?

Will it make him a household name? Is that what he aspires to?

M27Barney

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 13:50

lazland wrote:

Sounds quite good to me

Sorry - but that was quite-frankly the worst track he's ever written by the full distance of the known-universe!

Cylon64

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 14:57

Could do with removing the quotation marks from the thread title. Wilson says nothing along those lines in the whole article, just an attention-grabbing clickbait headline that ultimate-guitar.com chose to run with.

What he does say is exactly the same thing he's been saying for some years now, regarding his evolution as an artist and refusing to play to the expectations of his audience. The only difference now is that this attitude is being reconsidered in the run-up to the release of what may well prove to be his most divisive work to date.

And the song itself? Wilson's press release states that he was aiming for an ELO-meets-Abba vibe, as produced by Daft Punk. If that's the case, then I think he's nailed it! I don't hate it, but I'm intrigued to see how it (and the other 3 released so far) sit on the album itself. Wilson has always been more album-orientated, so I'll reserve judgement until I hear it in context of the finished product.

Anyway, in 1979, nobody would have expected Pink Floyd to have the Xmas number one with a cheesy disco beat and a sing-along school choir but look what happened! And I don't think The Wall suffers one bit due to it's presence.

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 17:31

Yikes....though this should be no surprise I suppose. Just a shame. Hopefully it's just a phase, but if not thanks for the good tunes.

Will PA's collabs name a pop album #1 for two years in a row? It'll be interesting to see if SW can still have that pull with this new album.

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Man With Hat View Drop Down

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 17:31

M27Barney wrote:

Funny how musicians always regard "selling out" as being progressive!

not just musicians for what I've seen in the past!

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 17:42

Tapfret wrote:

Jeffro wrote:

Why not? It worked for Bernie Sanders Tongue

Runner up to the losing candidate is an extremely loose definition of "It worked..."

Ooooo! Touché twice removed LOL

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jude111

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Posted: July 03 2017 at 18:45

A few thoughts to consider, some dots to connect: 1) Recently the Washington Post had an article about the steep decline in electric guitar sales over the last 10 years. Numerous people were interviewed about it, and various theories were floated, but basically the kids don't want to play the electric guitar, they want to rap, DJ, produce or strum acoustic guitars. 2) The Who’s Roger Daltrey said this several months a go: "The sadness for me is that rock has reached a dead end... the only people saying things that matter are the rappers and most pop is meaningless and forgettable." 3) Arcade Fire's new album is being produced by Daft Punk, while Tame Impala and the 1975 have gone full dance music. 4) As I noted in a previous thread, the NME's recent top 100 (or top 50, i forget) albums of the year so far, there were hardly any rock bands at all.

In this climate, Steven Wilson may well see the writing on the wall. As for me, there's that Roger Waters album, and upcoming albums by Liam and Noel, so for the time being I'm sorted.

Last one out, turn off the amps.

Edited by jude111 - July 03 2017 at 22:08