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Cheers for the link, Jack, I like the definition a lot. In response to grey area, I would actually completely disagree.
The fact is, radio very rarely support gimmicky records (to use that particualr definition of the term...are there 'genre's' of novelty records? Obviously there are, if you like to categorise music)
Baha Men was a huge success in spite of deliberate indifference from radio at large...The video was supported, ,mainly by EMAP (KISS, The Box etc.), but radio ignored it completely. It's main success was in its adoption as a terrawce chant very early on, its huge hit status in the Caribbean and its massive popularity in US fotball and baseball stations. It was doing the rounds at the same time as the "Whazzuuup!!??!" Budweiser campaign (another novelty record hook, or several as I recall), so catchphrases were very memetic at the time. In fact, a catchphrase is a meme, of sorts.
Tat Christmas, for the first time since figures were ever recorded for airplay and sales, the sales number 1 & 2 UK singles (Steps and the Baha Men, respectively) failed to make the airplay Top 50 at all. Talk about blatant disregard for what the kids want.
Stuff that made Simon Cowell wealthy and notorious was also largely dissed by radio (rightly so, IMO)but succeeded on the strength of popular TV tie ins (notice a trend there?) - Zig &Zag, Teletubbies, Robson & Jerome, Mr. Blobby etc. etc.
So I think it is too convenient to completely disregard it as 'trash' for 'drunken dipshits' which succeeds due to huge radio support. Radio are wary of gimmick and passing trend, and since Radio 1 became the torch bearer for most other large commercial stations and much of ILR, radio support is not that common for 'novelty records'.
I think '3 Lions' was the exception to this rule, but by and large I'd stand by it. Even 'Vindaloo' was more a video thing, and helped by the presence of both Alex James and Keith Allen (Damien Hirst being all over the papers and publicly pally gave it a certain post-ironic credibility).
I think, actually, that the public give far less of a shit about music than most of the people who subscribe to message boards where it is clearly a passion, such as this one...they just like stuff that's memorable, and catchy. Or for the kids. Even a badly rendered cover, so long as its featuring a recognisable face, will do.
(See "Sam & Mark" for evidence of this). |
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