I think the connection between Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5 is a pretty good one. I say this not because they both have numbers in their names, but because I first heard of Maroon 5 when they opened for the Sugar Ray/Matchbox 20. They were still rather unheard of, but we went to the bar in the venue in between bands - people laughed them off a bit, some said they were wonderful. Turns out, a couple of them came in and ordered food while we were in there, so they said hello and shook hands with people. They seemed pretty nice.
I would say their music isn’t something that a lot of my “music-snob” friends are into, but it’s poppy, catchy, and not bad. I bought the cd, and some people consider me a music snob, but I wouldn’t swear they were the best band ever or anything, just something to listen to that translates easy into what style I play (all acoustic, singer/songwriter plus a few friends here and there)…
A few years ago, A&E cable network aired several teaser trailers for the British series MI-5. The trailers featured a catchy tune that I couldn’t get out of my head. A friend of mine also liked the song, and we were both surprised that it turned out to be a song by a group that we’d thought of as “just another boy band.” The group was Maroon 5, and the song was “Harder to Breathe.” I don’t care what music snobs say, this is one helluva song. The acoustic version is even better.
I wouldn’t say someone is or isn’t into music without knowing way more about their musical tastes than just one band that they like. But if someone told me that Maroon 5 was one of their favorite bands, I wouldn’t expect them to be the kind of person that is deeply into music, no.
I guess I’m asking if you’ve set up a no-true-Scotsman situation, where if someone says they like Maroon 5, you’ll then turn that into proof that they aren’t into music, no matter what they say.
Mind you, I’m not that into music, so I’m not making an argument either way.
Nah, like I said, I actually like a few of Maroon 5’s songs. I think they’re a hell of a lot better than most mainstream radio pop groups, in fact. I mean, it’s not like I’m the grand inquisitor of music or something!
“This man has secretly been listening to Maroon 5 in a sound-proofed room in his basement, on headphones, off of CDs marked ‘Learn Hungarian Now!’ I order that he be drawn and quartered!”
The only songs of theirs that I’ve heard would be those that are played on the radio ( alas, I’m lame, and not that into music) and I’ve liked everything I’ve heard. What cracks me up is that a nebbish like lead singer Adam Levine can make a video such as “This Love” and sing of “keeping her coming every night” and “my pressure on her hips”. Makes me giggle every time.
Well, I picked up the CD yesterday, and I gave it a listen at home (whilst grilling) and on the way in to work today.
I don’t think they’re quite where Jamiroquai is, but the comparison isn’t baffling. He stills blows out those Stevie Wonder-like vocals, and there’s a bit more jazziness and soul in it than your typical pop band, IMO.
Anyway, the disposable poppiness of it doesn’t bother me so much – I’m already diligently plowing throw my copy of Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky (*) so I’ve punched my card – but the amount of “production” isn’t my thing.
That said, I don’t find his VOICE over produced. They keep that part of it pretty honest, and an over-produced voice is something that really bothers me.
Some of it reminds me of the Scissor Sisters; some of it actually reminds me of The Outfield and Prince, and to me it has more of an 80’s pop feel than 70’s funk feel. Maybe Thompson Twins is apt, but I don’t think Matchbox 20 and Third Eye Blind is (well, stylistically, but you’re probably tossing out the “corporate product” thing, But, if you think they were put together by Sony grabbing a bunch of good looking studio cats, you’re mistaken).
But, I already find myself singing along to a couple tunes. We’ll see if it finds any rotation throughout the summer.
(*) I was reading a Rolling Stone review of SBS and they asked, “Have Wilco ever come up with a better song than ‘Impossible Germany’?” The answer, quite possibly, is NO.
Hey, thanks for the insult, but actually, if you ask anyone who studies music, they are objectively not musically interesting. Nothing they do is difficult or novel in the least. If that’s what you mean by “quirky”, then, so be it.
No need to get so defensive just because you like something that’s not considered good music. Hell, I sometimes listen to rap; nobody’s above catchiness all the time.
Is there a device that we can plug the song into and it will produce a score that objectively reflects how musically interesting a band is.
I’m not here to defend Maroon 5 at all. Personally, I don’t find them super “interesting” either. But, you do have a real shitty attitude about it.
I love how many people decry a band that makes multi-millions for doing something simple and unoriginal. I always have to ask. . .if it’s so easy, why doesn’t everyone do it?
OK, first I’m called a pseudo-intellectual musical snob, and now I’m being told my attitude is shitty??
Look, I’m not trying to disrespect people who listen to them at all. I like some crappy bands too. Sublime wasn’t the height of musical complexity, but they’re one of my favorite bands.
And yes, if you ever study any music theory, you will understand what I mean by “objectively”. There is music that takes a great deal of skill and thought to make, and there is music that does not. All I’m saying is that this quite obviously does not.
Why doesn’t everyone do it and make millions of dollars? Because that’s called selling out. I’d rather be poor the rest of my life than get rich and famous for doing something for which I have no passion.
I don’t hate Maroon 5, but they don’t do anything for me, either. I’ve heard a couple of songs on the radio and some snips in a commercial. Uninteresting generic pop sounds like a fair descriptor to me. I think they are less awful than a lot of pop, but I like harder-edged stuff, mostly.
I think musical taste is very much like taste itself. Some folks can’t get enough of what others can’t stand.
So, you are claiming that objectively rap isn’t “good music”? For me, dismissing an entire genre, even one it’s trendy to dismiss*, can never be objective.
*People seem to think it’s cool to trash rap. I don’t get it.
