What's wrong with Vienna?
- trans-chigley express
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What's wrong with Vienna?
The Ultravox song, not the city.
I've always liked it but it seems to be universally hated. Joe Dolce's crappy one hit wonder always gets a bit of praise for "at least keeping Vienna from the reaching no.1". Why shouldn't I pick it for my BCB cup list?
I've always liked it but it seems to be universally hated. Joe Dolce's crappy one hit wonder always gets a bit of praise for "at least keeping Vienna from the reaching no.1". Why shouldn't I pick it for my BCB cup list?
Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
Everything with a melody that was once derided is now praised. This process, and the song itself you're referring to, bores the shit out of me.
When there's nothing interesting in the present that's worth talking about, we look to the past. It's like looking through you're rubbish for scraps of food when you end up skint and starving.
When there's nothing interesting in the present that's worth talking about, we look to the past. It's like looking through you're rubbish for scraps of food when you end up skint and starving.
- Insouciant Western People
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
I quite like it, but then I was playing The Best of Midge Ure and Ultravox the otehr night and rather enjoying a fair few tunes on there. Dancing With Tears in my Eyes is a belter too.
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- Goat Boy
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
It's not as good as Young Savage.
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- Poptastic
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
Writing about "Don't cry for me, Argentina", Tim Rice commented that the song had become so familiar, almost cheesy, that it was difficult to recall how unusual the song sounded at the time of release - for example DCFMA includes some humming. This is true of Vienna - at the time it sounded unusual, but now we think ho hum. Dozens of songs with which we have become very familiar suffer this effect.
I think it is an okay song, but I don't own any Ultravox records so don't hear it very much. I do recall that when it was released it was the trendiest thing around.
I think it is an okay song, but I don't own any Ultravox records so don't hear it very much. I do recall that when it was released it was the trendiest thing around.
I kept thinking "swim as far as you can, swim as far as you can".
- The Prof
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
Vic Reeves ruined it. Or showed it up for being silly depending on which way you look at it.
- Moleskin
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
I liked it, although was rather sorry it was released as a single. And it is sort of a pale shadow of 'Just For A Moment'.
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- Nikki Gradual
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
I thought it was mindblowing when it was released, but was bored shitless of hearing it within a few weeks. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. Then, without me hearing it in probably a decade or more, it popped on the iPod in the car the other day and I loved it. Nothing wrong with the song at all: a great, and in its day highly innovative, pop record. Sure it's pretentious as fuck, and it's hard not to conjure images of that video when you hear it, but what wasn't in 1980? Just you wait, in another 15 years it will be as revered as Concrete & Clay is now.
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- trans-chigley express
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
'that guy's kinda a dick' wrote:Everything with a melody that was once derided is now praised. This process, and the song itself you're referring to, bores the shit out of me.
My humblest apologies for boring you.
My reason for bringing it up was because the lastest Word magazine had a bit about how crap Shappup Your Face was but inevitably mentioned the bit about keeping Vienna from no.1 as if Vienna was an even worse song. I don't think I've actually heard Vienna since the 80s but I remember finding it quite striking at the time.
Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
Lord Belborough wrote:'that guy's kinda a dick' wrote:Everything with a melody that was once derided is now praised. This process, and the song itself you're referring to, bores the shit out of me.
My humblest apologies for boring you.
My reason for bringing it up was because the lastest Word magazine had a bit about how crap Shappup Your Face was but inevitably mentioned the bit about keeping Vienna from no.1 as if Vienna was an even worse song. I don't think I've actually heard Vienna since the 80s but I remember finding it quite striking at the time.
Your thread certainly doesn't bore me - I'm interested to see what people say.
It's just this reassessment thing that you get so much of these days. People saying Chas and Dave in fact wrote great songs, that kind of thing.
- Deebank
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
IT MEANS NOTHING TO ME!
But Dancing With tears In My Eyes is the wrost song ever clearly. Just trying to remember the lyrical premise is enough to make me shudder.
But Dancing With tears In My Eyes is the wrost song ever clearly. Just trying to remember the lyrical premise is enough to make me shudder.
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- king feeb
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
"Vienna" is a nice enough song with a beautiful melody. But compared to Roxy Music's "Song For Europe", which probably inspired it, it seems overblown and melodramatic.
There were a few real crackers on that album though. The dynamic "Sleepwalk" and the doom-laden "All Stood Still" are both worth having in your collection. I don't think the Ure-era Ultravox ever matched those two tracks again.
As for "Shaddup You Face", it should never be commended for anything, since it's an unfunny ethnic joke set to even crappier music. A record for morons.
There were a few real crackers on that album though. The dynamic "Sleepwalk" and the doom-laden "All Stood Still" are both worth having in your collection. I don't think the Ure-era Ultravox ever matched those two tracks again.
As for "Shaddup You Face", it should never be commended for anything, since it's an unfunny ethnic joke set to even crappier music. A record for morons.
You'd pay big bucks to know what you really think.
- trans-chigley express
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
'that guy's kinda a dick' wrote: People saying Chas and Dave in fact wrote great songs, that kind of thing.
Are you saying Rabbit is not great?
Ultravox may not be very hip but they don't exactly equate with Chas 'n' Dave. I'm no fan but they're no worse than say Human League or Tears For Fears.
Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
Lord Belborough wrote:'that guy's kinda a dick' wrote: People saying Chas and Dave in fact wrote great songs, that kind of thing.
Are you saying Rabbit is not great?
Ultravox may not be very hip but they don't exactly equate with Chas 'n' Dave. I'm no fan but they're no worse than say Human League or Tears For Fears.
I got hold of some early stuff - 'Rockwrok' (?) Quite good.
I dunno - I'd have to listen to 'Vienna' again. I never liked it much.
- king feeb
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
The John Foxx Ultravox albums are really good, especially the first one (Brian Eno's first production credit other than his own music, too).
You'd pay big bucks to know what you really think.
- The Obliging Fairy
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
It would be better if it had different words, since the melody and arrangement are pretty interesting and exciting in places. It's just hard when you have to troll through all of that standing about in Eastern European cities in the snow looking at statues kind of imagery. Takes some of the profundity away for me. Mind you John Foxx is full of that kind of thing and I really like his stuff so you can't have your underpass and eat it I suppose.
my attention span, or thereabouts
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
the obliging fairy wrote:It would be better if it had different words, since the melody and arrangement are pretty interesting and exciting in places. It's just hard when you have to troll through all of that standing about in Eastern European cities in the snow looking at statues kind of imagery. Takes some of the profundity away for me. Mind you John Foxx is full of that kind of thing and I really like his stuff so you can't have your underpass and eat it I suppose.
I think that John Foxx was a lot better lyricist than Midge Ure, though.
@hewsim
-the artist formerly known as comrade moleskin-
-the unforgettable waldo jeffers-
Jug Band Music
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-the artist formerly known as comrade moleskin-
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- Deebank
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
I met Warren Cann - He was a bit of a cock. He was playing rhythm guitar - very basically and badly - for Hugh Lloyd Langton for reasons that were never made clear.
Typically he had a massive rack of guitar FX to process his one badly played barre chord.
I might check him out on Wikipedia...
See
Typically he had a massive rack of guitar FX to process his one badly played barre chord.
I might check him out on Wikipedia...
When he left Canada for England in the 1970s, established himself in London, where formed his first band along Huw Lloyd-Langton, future Hawkwind member, on guitar and Rob Rawlins, later in Overnight Angels, on bass.
One of his post-Ultravox bands was Huw Lloyd-Langton Group, with the Hawkwind member.
See
Last edited by Deebank on 23 Jan 2009, 15:16, edited 1 time in total.
I've been talking about writing a book - 25 years of TEFL - for a few years now. I've got it in me.
Paid anghofio fod dy galon yn y chwyldro
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- Oscar
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Re: What's wrong with Vienna?
It's a fantastic monument to the 80's but it's severely over-exposed. I suppose it also represents the time when Ultravox! were transformed from underground innovators to overground gloss. Can't say I particularly liked anything else by the Midge Ure Ultravox model though. Did they do anything else of any worth?