....was Blondie. Their music was commercial and cool at the same time. They also had a certain artiness to them. Just enough to be interesting, but not so much as to be annoying. They got it just right. I'd say they were basically a pop band, but they had the energy and the otherness of punk. Blondie remind us that pop can be smart. It can be cool, and it can be REAL! Now if we could just find a modern day equivalent we'd all have a good time.
[Edited 2/13/08 10:49am]

talking heads, anyone? though technically, david byrne was born in scotland, so i guess that may disqualify them.

Anxiety said:

I got The Brick for Christmas.

Anyway, I love Blondie (duh), but I'd take The Beach Boys over them.

Anxiety said:

Talking Heads were cool, but I'll let you in on a secret. The thread title is not really serious. This is actually just a Blondie appreciation thread in disguise
[Edited 1/13/08 9:43am]

RipHer2Shreds said:

They were actually the other band I thought of, but unequivocal thread titles read much better than layered ones, so I left them out of it. I do find their voices a bit too nasal, but there's no denying they made a big impact.

RipHer2Shreds said:

The Brick

i'm listening to 'remain in light' right now

Blondie would be my choice, too!

Debbie turned into a total bitch though.

Blondie!

Thread title reeks of "bait"

RipHer2Shreds said:

A song that finally proved it's worth when you used it for your screen name.

PFunkjazz said:

Well, let's put it this way. They were the last great American pop band. As for the earlier bands, I respect them, but Blondie mean a lot more to me.

midnightmover said:

It's been my screen name here since April 2004 (I deleted my account at one time).

So, you're just dismissing Hanson, then?...

Byron said:

Cloudbuster said:

MMMbop! tick a ta ba do ba
dubi da ba do ba tick a ta ba doo!!

midnightmover said:

Byron said:

You'll be okay.

Cloudbuster said:

midnightmover said:

don't worry, I know you love Nirvana, too!

midnightmover said:

wait, but you told me your thread title was a joke! i was going to steal it and use it for my second city audition!

Anxiety said:

I never considered Talking Heads to be Pop. I think they created the occasional Pop song, but I think they were in their own. Almost the beginings of alternative.

Anxiety said:

Stealing jokes is SO not cool. You should drop Mencia as your mentor.

superspaceboy said:

i think "little creatures" and "true stories" are pure pop albums that yielded hit singles every bit as pop as anything else on the top 40 at the time. "once in a lifetime" and "the big suit" are pop culture mainstays, not to mention the fact that "once in a lifetime" gets played over every other movie trailer for a comedy that ever gets shown in movie theaters. pretty pop to me! which isn't to say they didn't come from an experimental/"alternative" background...but then again, so did R.E.M., and is "shiny happy people" really a song we should consider "bleeding edge"?

superspaceboy said:

I see what you mean, but I'd still consider them a pop group. Artsy, to be sure, but still pop in their essence.

NDRU said:

I think that's what they were aiming for...or maybe a "cool pop band" and thusly being too arty with their music...which is their appeal.

superspaceboy said:

yeah not pop compared to other pop music, but pop compared to other art art music.

Anxiety said:

No Bleeding Ears is more like it.

But I do get what you're saying. I also think part of it is marketing package too. The Talking Heads certainly weren't as "sexy" as say Duran Duran nor did they really cull an audience that was going for "look". I even recall a video they did made fun of this fact.

Maybe they were College Radio Pop