something I am grateful for today
Apr. 1st, 2012 06:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johncomicDivine Thing by The Soup Dragons, which was released as a single in April 1992. (I'm unable to locate a source which can tell me exactly what date in April, so what the heck we'll celebrate it today.)
[Hear it now!]
One of the prime distinguishing characteristics of Britpop was its restoration of strong melodies and well-crafted song structures to Britain's indie guitar pop after an absence of many years. It often did this by casting back to 60s British Invasion and 70s glam -- in this way, Britpop was sort of a “neoclassical” movement.
Suede would soon very clearly evoke the sound of glam-era Bowie and get this neoclassical sound off to a solid start. But here The Soup Dragons beat them to it: this song harkens back to the somewhat ethereal vocal delivery, high-pitched backing vocals, streamlined song structures, and distinctive guitar sounds of glam-era T. Rex. So this band was also among the earliest Britpop neoclassicists.
I've never heard anyone else refer to The Soup Dragons as “Britpop”. My guess is that their biggest hit was during the heyday of Madchester so they got pigeonholed as “that kind of band” from then on. But my ears tell me otherwise... and in my history of Britpop, The Soup Dragons occupy a prominent position near the very beginning.
One further point: this song was the first Britpop to receive substantial exposure and airplay in North America -- made the Billboard Top 100, as did their next single later in the summer. It would be a couple more years before any other Britpop would repeat this feat. So, again, although it wasn't and still isn't generally acknowledged as such, The Soup Dragons were the first Britpop to make a dent across the pond.
[Hear it now!]
One of the prime distinguishing characteristics of Britpop was its restoration of strong melodies and well-crafted song structures to Britain's indie guitar pop after an absence of many years. It often did this by casting back to 60s British Invasion and 70s glam -- in this way, Britpop was sort of a “neoclassical” movement.
Suede would soon very clearly evoke the sound of glam-era Bowie and get this neoclassical sound off to a solid start. But here The Soup Dragons beat them to it: this song harkens back to the somewhat ethereal vocal delivery, high-pitched backing vocals, streamlined song structures, and distinctive guitar sounds of glam-era T. Rex. So this band was also among the earliest Britpop neoclassicists.
I've never heard anyone else refer to The Soup Dragons as “Britpop”. My guess is that their biggest hit was during the heyday of Madchester so they got pigeonholed as “that kind of band” from then on. But my ears tell me otherwise... and in my history of Britpop, The Soup Dragons occupy a prominent position near the very beginning.
One further point: this song was the first Britpop to receive substantial exposure and airplay in North America -- made the Billboard Top 100, as did their next single later in the summer. It would be a couple more years before any other Britpop would repeat this feat. So, again, although it wasn't and still isn't generally acknowledged as such, The Soup Dragons were the first Britpop to make a dent across the pond.
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no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 02:50 pm (UTC)The lead singer's delivery is also atypical for what I think of as Britpop, at least in this song -- in particular, his habit of rolling the melody flat on the last note of a line.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 03:41 pm (UTC)Actually, as we go along it'll become pretty clear that, sonically at least, Britpop was less homogeneous than some other musical movements (like, say, 70s punk). Britpop had a lot of fringes and was kinda tenuous... makes for some discussion about what qualifies or not.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-01 04:05 pm (UTC)Yes... for instance, the classicism being neo'd seems to me to have migrated backwards in time, so that as the 90s progressed, the glam influences became replaced by earlier British invasion influences. The difference between this video and, say, "Country House" is notable.