Abba is one of the 10 greatest bands ever to be recorded. Not every song they made was incredible or genius, some songs they wrote and sang were not their best work. But pound for pound of catchy songs out there, Abba still rocks my world! People consider ABBA a joke, like they were goofy European pop rock star nerds or something. But listen to Angel Eyes or Nina Pretty Ballerina or Slipping Through My Fingers and tell me they aren't amazing songs to listen to and aren't so catchy that you want to hear it once more because you liked it and have it in your head! Artists that are dark and tortured love movies or songs that provide brightness, happiness, and hope along with the darkness! Abba songs make me feel great and good about things! Todd Solodantz the Director of HAPPINESS and WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE and PALINDROMES told the audience at the Aero theater in Santa Monica in 2005 or 2006 that his 2 favorite films he ever saw was a double feature in the 1960's as 12 year old of MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The audience laughed at him when they heard that because his films are so raw, honest, dark, and frightening exposing the human condition of people interactions in an intense way. But what he said made perfect sense to me. He makes films that are very dark dramas but he still likes happiness and hope and sweetness in his life. That MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC provide a happy movie with some very dark sad tragic themes, Fritz the oldest daughters boyfriend turns the family over to get killed or captured by the nazis even though they beg him to let them try to escape. In MARY POPPINS the parents marriage is on the rocks and going through a difficult stage, they sing about the lonely sad life of the woman who I think was homeless and asks for money to feed the birds in the classic song FEED THE BIRDS, POPPINS THE BAG. A bitter sweet sadness theme in the feel good movies made for kids and family friendly audiences everywhere! ABBA is kind of in the same vein. I'm not sure if Benny, Bjorn, Anita, and Agnetha were wife swapping or swinging or not, but Benny and Agnetha had a child they left with the nanny to raise as they lived out a busy lifestyle of studio recordings and worldwide concert tours for over a decade of their popularity. I think the problems of being world famous and then no longer popular anymore and having kids you don't know well because you never raised them, helped spilt the band up. A few years after breaking up Abba was back but without Agnetha the blond woman for the soundtrack to the play CHESS, the song ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK was a big hit and is still a great song! I used to watch a bootleg copy of ABBA the movie religiously almost once a week atleast when I was 19 or 20 years old! In ABBA the movie made in 1976 they travel to do concerts in Australia and have a radio disc jockey who keeps trying to meet them and get an interview! I loved ABBA the movie! They have lots of them in concert singing on stage live in the movie! Like Enya music, or listening to someone next to me play the bagpipes, ABBA chills me out and calms me down and helps me feel normal and regular again if only for that brief moment! The band everyone most wanted to get reunited worldwide was ABBA; the band members could have made multi millions if they got back together to go on tour. But they don't want to go back to where they were and revisit the pasts and conflicts, so it will never happen any time soon! The A-TEENS had some awesome ABBA remix hits back in 1999 or 2000 that I still think sound really fantastic. One day in 2000 when walking to my life stories creative writing class at art college from my near by apartment I thought "WHAT AM I THINKING ABOUT STIG ANDERSON ABOUT FOR? I HAVE SCHOOL TO GET READY FOR, WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THE MANAGER OF ABBA FOR RIGHT NOW?"
You can't go wrong with ABBA! I'm not joking I'm a mega ABBA fan since age 16 to today still!6/18/2011
Do you remember what killed the evil martians off? It was the trailer park grandmas music? Who made that music that could kill deadly martians? None other than Slim Whitman the king of the pedal steel! For 4 years from 1996 to 2000 I had no idea who made the beautiful strange sounding music played in the Mars Attacks movie! The movie has an early cameo bit part by Jack Black as the soilder who is from the trailer park. My old friend Daniel who worked at Rasptin records in Berkeley used to call Slim Whitman the king of country cheese! Slim Whitman was very popular in England and in Europe. I just love his best songs! I love the sound of the pedal steel guitar, I loved watching and hearing it being played by southern very conservative good old boys on stage at the GRAND OLE OPRY in Nashville! My Rose Marie, Indian Love Call, Love Song On The Waterfall, are 2 of his best biggest hits! He sings very unique and sings his voice kind of like the cry of the pedal steel guitar!
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