Baroque pop

[i aint play this]

Recently i've discovered that i'm into a lot of artists that belong to this genre. I was reading some record reviews and the term ''baroque pop'' appeared a few times, so i did some research and found some interesting descriptions from wikipedia:

''Baroque pop as a style originated in the mid 1960s as the flipside of sunshine pop. It used similar orchestrations but was infused with a melodramatic edge which differed''
''Modern baroque pop, characterized by an infusion of orchestral arrangements or classical type composition within an indie or indie pop setting, is often referred to as chamber pop, and sometimes chamber rock.''

here is the link with a solid list of artists:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_pop

I must have a real affinity for this ''genre'', because i actually love quite a bunch of the artists mentioned in that article, from both eras, like The Beatles, Scott Walker, Belle and Sebastian, Fiona Apple, Bjork, Joanna Newsom...they are not very similar to each other but it is all sophisticated pop music.
So, what about you guys? any favourites? discuss

 

[Scourge of Malice]

never heard the term, but i do like a bunch of the artists listed on that page. gonna have to check out some of the others.

 

[hibernal_dream]

"Baroque pop" sounds like a description of Dead can Dance

 

[i aint play this]

why exactly?

 

[Braighs]

This is cool. It groups some artists I like which would typically be in seperate genres.
ex. Sufjan Stevens and Judee Sill

 

[hibernal_dream]

Due to the obvious baroque devices on albums like Aion blended with a cyclic pop sensibility and pop-influenced vocals. I can't see any remnants of baroque in any of the bands you listed.

 

[Braighs]

good point hibernal.
while Sill is pratically Bach incarnate, Stevens has almost no baroque influences.
And DCD is a bit pre-baroque music, no?

 

[hibernal_dream]

And DCD is a bit pre-baroque music, no?

Yes. Though Baroque can be said to have incorporated and share some techniques of the Renaissance and Medieval eras. DCD seems to embrace all three, in addition to pop devices.

 

[still day]

DCD's Aion could definitely be classified as Baroque, however I can't hear anything very pop-ish in it..I guess some of it might slightly be...
It's crazy how many genres and sub-genres people are coming up with...from the description of baroque pop, it sounds like it's just a term for pop with orchestrated parts mixed in or maybe a tinge of classical sensibilities in a very general way...
I've heard of the a little less than half of the ones in the lists...I'll have to check out some of the others as well, as film score in all it's forms has become one of my current favorite genre...so I'm into orchestration alot right now...along with metal of course....

 

[i aint play this]

Due to the obvious baroque devices on albums like Aion blended with a cyclic pop sensibility and pop-influenced vocals. I can't see any remnants of baroque in any of the bands you listed.

Hmm i get your point, you might be right in a more literal sense

 

[annt]

I love The Zombies.

 

[jasonpiano25]

A disgrace to the word Baroque.

 

[Braighs]

...so you like these bands?

 

[hibernal_dream]

A disgrace to the word Baroque.

.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Interesting. I like a lot of those bands.

 

[MegaMoose]

A disgrace to the word Baroque.

Moron.

 

[jasonpiano25]

Oh, is that so? And do you have the slightest fucking inclination as to what "Baroque" really entails? Because I'd really love for you to find anything in any of the music of those bands that have even the slightest resemblance of Baroque music. And simply using a lute or a harpsichord does not count.

 

[opeth_353]

I heard of the term i a while back.. I think it was when i got ther Arcade Fire EP. But yeh, the guy who sticks in mind for the term with me is Rufus Wainwright. I like a lot of the bands who fit into this genre, but meh.. I tend to just call them indie/pop or whatever.

 

[MegaMoose]

Oh, is that so? And do you have the slightest fucking inclination as to what "Baroque" really entails? Because I'd really love for you to find anything in any of the music of those bands that have even the slightest resemblance of Baroque music. And simply using a lute or a harpsichord does not count.

Why does the fact that it's called "baroque pop" need to entail that it actually uses elements of baroque music? It's just a name. Regardless of if it contains use of counterpoint or anything, it can be called baroque. In any case, Baroque is a whole movement of art, not just music, and I'm just playing it by ear here, but it's very possible that this form of pop music exhibits similar ideals to Baroque art in general, whether these ideals are expressed in ways similar to Baroque music or not.

 

[jasonpiano25]

Because Baroque is specific. As with any genre-identifying term, the label must mean something. You can't just assign arbitrary terms at a whim and expect it to fly. Just because some idiot in 1960 thought he understood what baroque meant and attached it to "pop" does not make it right.

And of course Baroque is an entire movement, but what was used in Baroque music is exactly the elements that make it Baroque. There were no ideas they simply glanced over and didn't incorporate into music from the Baroque ideals. The music from aprx. 1600 to 1750 is the epitomy of what Baroque is in music. Grandeur, ornate, post-modal yet pre-tonal, and of course the contrapuntal stylings and genres are THE elements of baroque music. There is no way around it. The Beatles, and for fuck's sake Burt Bacharach, or any of the other bands mentioned show no such attributes.

They were unfortunately and wrongfully lumped together in this poorly designated "genre."