Tim K Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 (edited) Right. But the criteria needs to be "engaging." Engaging and popular aren't necessarily the same. From 1979, when BD was playing "My Heart," here's the Billboard Top 10: 1. My Sharona, The Knack 2. Bad Girls, Donna Summer 3. Le Freak, Chic 4. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?, Rod Stewart 5. Reunited, Peaches and Herb 6. I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor 7. Hot Stuff, Donna Summer 8. Y.M.C.A., Village People 9. "Ring My Bell", Anita Ward 10. Sad Eyes, Robert John That's the measure of popularity. Which of those is engaging enough? Meanwhile, in 2009, ESOM wasn't in the top 50. While it was popular at No. 62, it's obvious that popularity isn't the best basis for choice (Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow" was No. 1 for 2009). I don't mean to sound as if I'm beating on TimK like some disco drum. I think he has a point. It just needs to be refined out of the realm of popular, which works better in marketing than music. Engaging works. It worked for ESOM and My Heart. It also worked for Hymnsong of Philip Bliss (Holsinger), The Lords Prayer (Miklos) and many more from less "popular" genres. HH My use of the word popular referred to Top 40 music which is the topic of this post. My point is that not all Top 40 music is created equal. "Unchained Melody" has an enduring quality that, let's just say is absent in "Disco Duck." Some Top 40 tunes can work for a corps, others cannot. As far as engaging is concerned, if a corps practices 6-7 days a week at 8-12 hour intervals and wants to maintain a competitive edge, the corps members have to find it interesting and challenging. If not, it will be obvious. My hunch would be if Blue Devils pulled "My Heart" and replaced it with "YMCA" it would be a novelty and the first few shows might be fun, but my guess is it would get old fast for the audience and corps members. Edited May 22, 2012 by Tim K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 (edited) My hunch would be if Blue Devils pulled "My Heart" and replaced it with "YMCA" it would be a novelty and the first few shows might be fun, but my guess is it would get old fast for the audience and corps members. Or (checking the list) "Ring My Bell" and "Sharona" by the end of the first time thru... One or two on that list might work in extended version and some more in "chop and bop" style. And the rest remind me that they were written for the dance floor and not as much for musical depth...... Yeah I remember that era... not that I want to at times.... Edited May 22, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 LMFAO is the worst freecreditreport.com band ever. Gawd, I hate those commercials! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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