ABBA, and why they matter
Here’s a thing about ABBA. I loved them when all the others my age were laughing. In 1979, London, the NME and Melody Maker were setting the trend on what was in or out. ABBA would have only been mentioned in either of these rags to be ridiculed.
Which brings me to one of the many things I admire so much about them. They simply weren’t reading it! Björn and Benny would go off to a remote cabin in Sweden and just write songs. They were so oblivious, or mature you might say, to what was ‘hip’ that they just couldn’t be bothered. They were trying to write hit songs. Their legend has far surpassed that of The Jam, The Sex Pistols, U2 or anyone else those hipster magazines were frothing on about. I knew it then and it remains true today- very few of those trendy bands had any songs.
Another thing I admire about this band is how real they are when describing what they did and how they did it. There’s no hyperbole. No polished stories that hint a re-telling for the thousandth time. Watch some of the documentaries out there about them. You’ll be so pleasantly surprised.
To this day Agnetha has one of the most lovable, kind faces. She has never tried to act younger than her age. She’s grown older gracefully, and with nothing but class.
Yes, there’s a lot to be learned from ABBA. They matter on all dynamics. The music, the writing and production, the engineering of Michael B. Tretow. The unwillingness to buy into the emperor’s new clothes of ‘lifestyle’ over plain old good songs. Their elegance and aging with class. Their pragmatism and lack of public drama. Their undying success.
So, to ABBA. They are in my top 5 of all time… and i’d say high in that top 5.
Pop Gurlz & Boy Bands
In the early 2000’s i wrote some songs that were a little out of my wheelhouse, but i’ve always been a huge pop lover.
The first, I Got A Woman is a song I wrote and produced for The Backstreet Boys. They performed it at Henson Studios in Hollywood
but never included it on their record. I have no idea why, except they were very sensitive about my instinctive leanings toward AJ as lead vocalist,
as he was so clearly the best singer in the band.
The 2nd track, My Time was written by me and Jason Wade, produced by me and mixed by Chris Lord Alge. Performed by The Clique Gurlz, same story… the mothers got a little upset that I was pushing the lead vocals to Paris, the youngest girl and most obvious real singer in the group.
Bands are sensitive, and producing is a therapy job. Being a musician who had to face a lot of news I didn’t necessarily love, I may have lacked the skills to sell them in the best way. Ah well… all in a day’s work. The songs are now vintage but still hold up pretty well!
Links below
Cheers,
Jude
Life Of Luxury
Written in ’85 in my little apartment right below Runyan Canyon. Struggling times. Working as bartender from 4pm until 2am. Getting home around 4am..this was my only real time to write… So i’d go in the bathroom where the acoustics were pretty good with less chance of disturbing neighbors, then write and sing until I couldn’t hold me head up anymore. Eventually, around 6am I would sleep… until 2pm, then start the day over again.
There was hope then. And I hope people in their young 20’s feel that same hope I did. I don’t think it’s as simple now, but I wish it for them.
Life Of Luxury
written: 1985
released 1987