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(TV) The ABBA-Television connection



Yesterday, the British newspaper the Guardian published a good interview 
with two of the former ABBA members. 

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/10/abba-interview-bjorn-ulvaeus-f
rida-lyngstad

Maybe even more interesting -- which is often the case with the Guardian --
 than the article is to read the discussion about it. There are hundreds of
 readers weighing in about this particular article, writing about ABBA's 
place within the 70's scene of bubblegum pop, punk, new wave, disco
, prog and dinosaur rock, and I'd say it's often very well-thought cont
ributions. One commentator sees a link between ABBA's music and Television'
s. I wouldn't go that far, but with some creative pondering one may concl
ude that there were some "outsiderness" to both groups, as well as some "
uncoolness", although the latter manifested itself in very different ways
.

In any case, the story about ABBA is a story about one of the more remark
able careers over time, since their global superstardom happened decades 
after their split-up; it may, I assume, be easier to be puzzled over 
it as a European (or an Australian), and especially as a Swede, than as
 an American, where they were never very big in their day. At least I bel
ieve that people in the US to some extent may associate ABBA with a ridicul
ous musical that's been doing record business around the world, but the c
ommentators put their fingers on various interesting facts:

-- They were mainly a studio band, and a LP band, not much a live act
, and no more a singles band than any else in the pop branch.

-- These LP's became less silly and much darker over the years.

-- People like Elvis Costello, Lou Reed, John Lydon and Robert Plant ex
pressed admiration for them, contrary to the Costello, Reed, Lydon an
d Plant audiences.

Wasn't a fan myself -- their music was never rock'n'roll, and it wasn't s
upposed to be either --  but try to explain away songs like "SOS" or "The N
ame of the Game". Simply not possible.

Leif J, Prague
 		 	   		  

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