Members rasputin1963 Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Have you heard about the two satirical Russians, Komar & Melomid? In the 90's, they hired a reputable Manhattan public opinion test agency to discover which features, in fine painting, people most disliked. Tallying the results, they proceeded to paint a series of "the world's most unwanted paintings". Below: France's Most Unwanted Painting (based upon the self-reports of hundreds of Frenchmen). In the wake of that "success", they then asked a litany of musicians which features in music they LEAST liked. Hundreds of people specified which features they most hated. Faithfully, Komar & Melomid recorded "the world's most unwanted song". Listen to it or D/L it HERE: http://www.wired.com/listening_post/2008/04/a-scientific-at/ And of course, we could discuss the implications of these artworks 'til the cows come home. What is interesting, is that the paintings deemed to be "unwanted" by most people, are, in fact, damned interesting. [Conversely, their paint-ups of the "world's most WANTED paintings" are really rather conventional, uninspired and unstimulating.] Here is America's Most Wanted Painting, including the features that hundreds of test subjects said they'd like to see in a painting. In this Unwanted Song, above, people specify song features they hated. But, really, the compiled result is very interesting (if in a Spike Jones/Andre Popp sort of way.) But I think people lie a bit about what they "hate"-- or they do not know their own minds as well as they think they do--- because actually all these "unwanted" musical features are still highly popular the world over. No songwriter ever went broke writing shmaltz, saccharine ditties or corny folk music. Is it the very DUTY of artists to produce artworks that the public hates? (Or which, at the very least, punches some strong "buttons" ?) Andy Warhol once said, "The only way to get noticed in this town (NYC) is to give people what they do not want." Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Operatic rapping! Hilarious!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted August 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Oh, and don't forget to listen to The World's Most WANTED song, based upon people's reports. http://www.wired.com/listening_post/2008/05/survey-produced/ Which record is the more disagreeable to YOU? Sounds VERY MUCH like MadTV's "You Are The Love Of My Life" [video=youtube;bgTZxwyxEKs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgTZxwyxEKs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Temple of Light Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Fame, like love, is a four letter word... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Where are the gated reverbs?* FTR, I far preferred the most hate-able song. That said, the Springsteen-esque male voice in the 'desirable' song cracked me the hell up. Ditto that guitar solo. Oh my. Sometimes it's hard to believe, but I have actually heard good soprano sax parts. Not, however, in pop music. *OK... I admit I'm only about 4 minutes into the hate-able song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members laneism Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Oh sweet jesus. I managed 2.10 of the most unwanted music before I was ready to end it all. I need a shower now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 It was great fun listening to both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 Sounds VERY MUCH like MadTV's "You Are The Love Of My Life" Now that's gonna be stuck in my head for a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 5 minutes in, and it still doesn't sound a damn thing like "We Built This City". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted August 29, 2012 Members Share Posted August 29, 2012 I don't think it's that annoying.... yes, it does qualify as unwanted, though - - it's more of a train wreck of disconnected snippets, some of which aren't that bad on their own. Where's the polka music? And where's the bom...shh... bom...shh...bom...shh with a screeching teenage girl on top, like those that drive me away from shopping malls and chain restaurants? And the John Philip Sousa interlude? There's a lot more they could have done to make it more horrible... Oops I spoke too soon, there's plenty of screeching around 19:30. But no disco underbeat... Frankly, all in all, I've heard a lot worse on the radio. On the other hand, the 'Most Wanted' song is really bad. It sounds like a marriage made in hell: American Idol singing with Kenny G sax lines puking all over what would have been the few spaces where interest could have had any chance of being rooted. It is a tawdry charade of tired cliches. Sadly, it'll probably become a hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted August 29, 2012 Members Share Posted August 29, 2012 I need a shower now. Well, you are from Wales, I think that goes without saying. Only kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted August 29, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 29, 2012 I love the "Most Unwanted Song" and have posted it a number of times over the years. My wife and I actually sing random stuff to the tune of the "children singing about holidays" part all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted September 11, 2012 Members Share Posted September 11, 2012 Well, there's 22 minutes of my life (actually 21:57) that I'll never get back again. There were several parts I really liked, especially the cowboy song featuring tuba, bagpipes, and the operatic soprano singing "Yahoo". Actually, the most unwanted part about it was that it was just too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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