Over the next year Terje Fjelde has agreed to listen to nothing but David Foster on his iPod. He’s loaded the thing with over 1,200 songs produced, arranged, composed, and/or played by David Foster. A deal with the devil? He keeps wondering.

Are you bored? What can I say? My David Foster experience is a breeze. It’s fun. It’s educational. My posts so far are almost snark-free, I’m turning into a blind-eyed David Foster apologist a la the loyal hordes of Trent Reznor. Is this real, or is it a subliminal reaction to my unsound David Foster exposure? It’s too early to tell for sure, but you can rest assured I’ll be keeping a close eye on my condition, and keep you updated on any sign of mental decay.

Dolly Parton - “Here You Come Again,” from Here You Come Again (1977)

David Foster collaborated with Dolly Parton on several occasions, but this was probably their most important encounter. You may even say that a little bit of pop music history was made during the recording of this Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil song. Then again, you may not. Anyway, here’s David Foster in 1986:

I love that sound of the Rhodes and the piano together. We stumbled across that when we were doing “Here You Come Again” for Dolly Parton. Gary Klein was the producer, and I was playing keyboards. I don’t remember whether I started on the Rhodes or the acoustic, but after we got the track, I said, “Hey, why don’t try the exact same part again on the other piano?” I did it, and it was this very cool sound. That sound stuck with a lot of people for a few years.

I loved that sound, too. I still do, actually, but I’m embarrassed to admit it, so therefore I speak in the past tense. (more…)

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Bell Biv Devoe - “Poison”

Dave: “Never trust a big butt and smile.” Has there ever been a statement so true? And this coming from three dudes that sang “Mr. Telephone Man.” I love the fact the Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe pushed themselves into a new genre, getting rid of the squeaky clean New Edition lyrics and coming out hard. There were so many generic New Jack Swing artists that it was exciting to hear someone really extend the genre a bit.

Will: And yet it bears remembering that while New Edition graduates Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant were able to make solo careers for themselves, these three guys needed to team up to create a viable musical product. And the key word here is definitely “product,” since no-one in the trio had the first thing to do with writing this song. Instead, they turned to new jack swinger-for-hire Elliot Straite, who would soon go on to provide another band (Color Me Badd) with their signature song (”I Wanna Sex You Up”).

Dave: Tick-tock, you don’t stop, do you, Will? If this is what you are defining as “product” then Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant wouldn’t have had careers either. Tresvant’s hit “Sensitivity” was a Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis track and last time I checked they were still recycling the same old Rhythm Nation sound. And Babyface and L.A. Reid wrote a nice chunk of Bobby’s hits as well. You can’t really blame them for going and getting a hit record now, can you? What makes “Poison” so fresh sounding in the New Jack Swing genre is that Teddy Riley didn’t write it. And what makes a solo career so much better than a group? (more…)

Although released in late 1977, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack would be impossible to ignore for much of 1978, with the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive,” as well as Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You,” all reaching #1. At several points during the first half of ‘78, the soundtrack album was selling over 1 million units a week.

Bee Gees - Stayin’ Alive
Bee Gees - Night Fever (w/ More Than a Woman) (more…)

The writer’s strike sucks.

You know it, I know it, and all but the most diehard aficionados of reality TV know it. We don’t watch TV for reality, we watch it for fantasy. Still, when you’re pop culture obsessives like we are, we can sometimes be swayed to get involved in one of these God-forsaken programs when they involve a cast of celebrities, and in the case of CMT’s new show, “Gone Country,” the premise is eye-catching as well: take six musicians from decidedly different genres and watch as they attempt to reinvent themselves as country music artists. After watching the first episode and finding it disconcertingly enjoyable, we found ourselves thinking about others in music history who’ve taken a stab at career re-creation, only to have it go horribly, horribly wrong.

Yes, while putting together our list, we snickered. A lot. And now it’s your turn.

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