Som så många andra har jag följt ABBAs återkomst. Så jag har börjat skriva på
en artikel om det, inkl en textanalys av en av låtarna, avsett för mitt PDFzine
Intermission (nästa nr är redan klart och kommer RSN, så detta blir för numret
därefter). ZInet är ju på engelska, så artikeln är också på detta tungomål.
Alla synpunkter kring nedanstående är välkomna!
--Ahrvid
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There's abbasolutely no way to avoid covering it. If someone had told a story
of how the biggest band in the world half a century ago were silent for four
decades - and then came back! - I'd thought of it as some sort of weird science
fiction. But everyone in the whole wide world now know: ABBA is back!
Two new songs now, a new album in November with ten songs, including a
Christmas Song for December, and in May a computer generated digital show in
London, done with the help of the Star Wars crew.
Doing these virtual concerts is in itself pretty much skiffy. Anni-Frid,
Benny, Björn and Agnetha are said to have spent five weeks (!) jumping around
on a stage in black pyjamases with coloured dots, in front om 160 cameras and a
crew of hundreds from Industrial Light and Magic (the George Lucas CGI company
from Star Wars). There have been examples of such virtual concerts before, but
I think ABBA is the first band to really go all in for it! They have worked on
it for years and are building a special arena for it with 3000 seats. Around
850 people have been involved in creating their "abbatars".
I shortly give you my amateur analysis of one of their new songs, but first a
few other thoughts.
While it was never true that ABBA was worth more than Volvo, they have
probably been just as important as any car company or furniture chain for the
public perception of the "brand" of Sweden.
But did you know that on their home turf they were almost hated?
The 1970's had the so called "alternative music movement" called "progg"
(different from "prog" in the UK). It was a left-wing thing, progressive music
for the prletariate, solidarity with the third world, everyone can play (many
couldn't), anti-commercialism and all that...well, not jazz. ABBA was their
enemy. When their Waterloo success brought the Eurovision to Stockholm in 1975,
the proggers organised their own Alternative Music Festival. As the Eurovision
Song Contest was on SVT1, the Alternative Festival was simultaneoiusly shown on
SVT2. We could for instance hear the guy using the nome de plume Herring
Strangler sing (I translate):
And here is ABBA in costumes of plastic
As dead as canned fish
They don't give a damn', want fast cash
My French nerves are smoldering
Doing the immoral music festival...
("Herring Strangler" comes from that "Abba" is also the name of a fish
canning company in Sweden, which gave ABBA manager Stikkan Andersson permission
to use the name ABBA "as long as you don't do anything to shame us". I don't
think this company has regretted it for a second...)
National TV was (and still is) massively dominated by left wing sentiments,
so of course they'd dedicate one of their channels to this more moral music
festival. People who in many cases banged on kitchen pots instead of drums, who
forced the radio's music top-list shows to stop ("You can't compete in
music!"), a music movement where one of the big "hits" was Philemon Arthur &
the Dung's "In comes Gösta". It consisted of of them monotonously repeating the
"song" title in a recording from their kitchen. (If you don't believe me, go to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d69hYZsGoo ;.) When this was given the Swedish
Grammis prize the critics were so upset that the award was cancelled for 15
years! The proggers ruled.
ABBA was everything these guys hated. They didn't have politics in their
texts. They sung about things interesting for young people - longing, love,
happiness, sorrow. They had outragous stage costumes. They made catchy quality
songs, money, money and were successful all over the world. There wasn't one
molecule of the politically correct in this foursome. ABBA must be the demons
from hell!
When ABBA took their (very, very long) break in in 1982 it was quiet around
them for a few years. But then the buzz around them slowly began to grow.
Personally, I was never among the ABBA haters. I just didn't care much about
them, being too occupied by sf and fandom and other things at the time.
Many of the punk rockers that came around liked ABBA, for instance Six
Pistols who covered "Dancing Queen". Punk was anti-establishment and "progg"
WAS the establishment. Heavy Metal fans liked ABBA - the elaborate production
qualities of the ABBA tracks were something symphonic heavy rock could relate
to. And of course lots of ABBA tracks were perfect for the discoteques where
the yuppish "in people" danced and enjoyed themselves.
When the ABBA Gold album came in the early 1990's ABBA began bouncing back
for real. (And this album has since stayed on the 100 most sold for a record
1000+ weeks in Britain!) The Australians made films with ABBA music. We got the
"Mamma Mia!" musical, translated into scores of languages (and said to have
been seen by 65+ millions), also made into two films. There are TV
documentaries (about half a dozen hour long ones can be found on Youtube),
scores of tribute bands with names like Bjorn Again, A-Teens, Abbaesque, and
Madonna, Erasure and others used ABBA music...
If liking ABBA was once an embarrassment, it now became cool, even
intellectual thing. You could write doctoral theses about their many layered
lyrics and sound landscapes, maybe first studying their history in the ABBA
museum that opened in Stockholm. (And for me it was now sometime in the 1990's
I too got bitten by the ABBA bug. I don't regret it, I tell you, and what I
write here is of course a bit biased, just so you know.)
So why did ABBA make this comeback? First we should note that the members
weren't inactive for 40 years. Björn and Benny have written musicals (I have
myself seen "Kristina from Duvemåla", which had several local chart hits), been
involved in the films, opening the museum and done many other things. It seems
Björn Ulvaeus is the businessman who keeps these things going.
Frida and Agnetha have now and then released songs and albums, sometimes
doing some chart climbing. Search Youtube for eg "Something Going On" by Frida
or "The Heat is on" by Agnetha. I'm rather fond of Frida being guest singer on
a Ratata hit, with the English version here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvC-lU1kvy8 ;("As Long As I Have You"). They
have now and then given interviews, Agnetha less frequently, but while she's
been a bit more a recluse she hasn't been a Greta Garbo. She released new
albums as late as 2004 and 2013 and did promos for them. (But she refuses to
fly, having earlier had a scary episode on a plane durint a heavy storm on a US
tour.) She's done more music than Frida, in the 1960's writing lots of her own
stuff, often seen in the charts, but she's credited with only one ABBA song.
Though Björn Ulvaeus - her husband at the time - said they always tried to make
her write for the group, she must have had a writers' block of some sort. One
of my favourite early Agnetha songs is here, "Doktorn",
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc2qAzUM1lo ;(English translation below).
I believe ABBA came back out of the irresistable feeling of nostalgia, a
longing for the past, that we all have as we get older. It was a challenge for
themselves.
They have no need for more money. The individual members are estimated to be
worth between 1.5-2.5 Billion Swedish crowns (divide by 8 for dollar value).
They have nothing to prove, with a legacy already firmly casted in concrete as
they in the 1980's turned off the studio lights for the last time. It also
seems they were professional enough not letting being divorcees from each other
get in the way. It probably caused some strain, but feelings around such
becomes softer and more distant over the years.
Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Frida must have seen how the memory of what they
did as a group refused to fade - and even grew. In situations like that you
reflect upon your life, what you have done, you begn getting good thoughts...
ABBA was never much into touring. Björn estimate they weren't on the road more
than six months in total. And now doing stage shows would be even more out of
the question, as they were old-age pensioners (someone should have told The
Rolling Stones!) - but how about computer simulated shows?
It seems it was preparing the ABBAtar shows that got the comeback started.
Björn and Benny had never taken a break from anything, and as the brains of
Agnetha and Frida were totally soaked in nostalgia from reborn ABBAmania - they
jumped on the train. But if we do this ABBAtar show, guys, we should be have a
couple of new songs! And as B&B explained during the September 2nd release, if
we do two songs - why not a whole album?
Björn has explained how nice it was to record the first two comeback tracks.
It just took a few seconds and they were catapulted back in time to how they
worked in the studio 40 years ago! The minds of the women singing stars were
now mushy from niceness and pride of the past and the firm friendship they have
alwways felt. And I'm sure that Benny has a backlog of half-baked songs that
they could finish - I'm certain that some of them will be top notch! (We can't
expect all 10 new ones to be hits. ABBA did some strange not too brilliant
tracks too in the beginning.)
The group didn't have anything to prove, no need for money, old personal
quibbles were buried since long.
They did it because they loved what they once did and were curious to see if
they could do it again. And they could.
Of the two new songs, I'm slightly less enthusiastic about "I still have
faith in you", mostly because it's a bit too slow. I'm not too much into
ballads, but I must say: a) it's better that 90-95% of the questionable sounds
our radio stations annoys us with today, and b) I think Frida does a wonderful
job, considering she's 75. Her voice may be a little darker, but she is in
total control and has aged well. We can also hear that Agnetha has become a
little lower in her voice. I think we all willingly accept that Frida and
Agnetha now are maybe only 97% of what they once were - ie the best female pop
singers of the 1970's. We take what we get, gratefully!
If the first song was average ABBA (here it means better than almost
everything else...) I really think their second new track is a world-tumbler!
The proof in the pudding.
You can find small echoes from both "Dancing Queen" and "The Winner takes it
all" in it. It's titled "Don't Shut Me Down", is extremely catchy, classic
ABBA and as always with Ulvaeus writing it has both clever and deep lyrics.You
can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWGWFa3jznI At the time of ;
writing I see that it No 1 in 18 countries...
It's a song on three levels, with three stories:
1) The story of a woman who wants to get back to her former husband or lover.
2) The story of ABBA and lead-singer Agnetha herself.
3) And finally there are cues to ABBAs coming virtual show.
We find the woman waiting in the park below the flat she once shared with he
lover (story 1):
A while ago, I heard the sound of children's laughter
Now it's quiet, so I guess they left the park
This wooden bench is getting harder by the hour
The sun is going down, it's getting dark
I realise I'm cold, the rain begins to pour
As I watch the windows on the second floor
The lights are on, it's time to go
It's time at last to let him know
As we move on, we can easily see it as a comment to the divorce song "The
Winner Takes It All", where the woman was left by her lover and was crushed by
it. But in this song it's the other way around - she left. She has now had a
change of mind and there are hints it all will end well. She has "learned to
cope and love and hope", love has come back and she "will let him know". That
is story 1. But it's also story 2. That ABBA is back must make fans "look
bewildered and...wonder.../they/ should, I would" (catchy double rhyme!). ABBA
earlier left because they "had enough". And we also get story 3, ABBA will
"appear" in a new "shape and form", as avatars:
I believe it would be fair to say
You look bewildered
And you wonder why I'm here today
And so you should, I would
When I left, I felt I'd had enough
But in the shape and form I appear now
I have learned to cope
And love and hope is why I am here now
More story 3 follows, with "another" ABBA, "reloaded" soon to be "fired up".
You "fire up" a system or machine, like a computer, don't you! The title is
another story 3 clue: you shut out people, but "shut down" machines and
systems, and you are asked not to "shut down" the coming ABBAtars. VR-like
computer figures can well be described as "a dream within a dream" (while it's
also a dream for all ABBA fans that they are back, story 2). And "decoded"
definitely connects to advanced number crunching technology - more story 3.The
new ABBA is "not the one you know" (story 2, but also 1) but also "now and then
combined" (story 2). They are "not the same this time around" (story 1, 2 and
3):
And now you see another me, I've been reloaded, yeah
I'm fired up, don't shut me down
I'm like a dream within a dream that's been decoded
I'm fired up, I'm hot, don't shut me down
I'm not the one you knew
I'm now and then combined
And I'm asking you to have an open mind (And I won't be the same)
I'm not the same this time around (Ooh)
I'm fired up, don't shut me down
In the next verse we learn that it will probably end well (story 1). She
isn't left standning in the hall, but invited in - so she can se "the apartment
hasn't changed at all". This hints that her former lover wanted to stay with
their life together, the rooms "witness to our love". And they will be ready to
find love again, because she has matured, gone "from mad to not so bad" (I like
that phrasing!).
Will you leave me standing in the hall
Or let me enter?
The apartment hasn't changed at all
I got to say I'm glad
Once these rooms were witness to our love
My tantrums and increasing frustration
But I go from mad
To not so bad in my transformation (So now)
The chorus is repeated once more and as it all ends, we definitely know it all
will end well. He "asked me not to leave" so he wants her, which is highly
compatible with that she "love you still". That's all story 1, but also a bit
story 2 - about Agnetha herself. While she never was a Garbo, she was a little
bit more reclusive and more further away from ABBA than the others. But now she
is back, just like the woman in the song:
You asked me not to leave
Well, here I am again
And I love you still and so I won't pretend
I have learned to cope
And love and hope is why I am here now
I think it's great lyrics! ABBA often had fine lyrics, as written by Björn
Ulvaeus who is very well-versed with language. He speeks German too and I have
seen a short interview with him in French - maybe he doesn't know French very
well, just some phrases (but that's more than most, except Frenchmen). ABBA
lyrics often tell little stories, like in "Dancing Queen", "Fernando",
"Chiquitita", "Thank You for the Music", "Happy New Year" and others ("The
Winner Takes It All" is so obvious I shouldn't have to mention it).
A maybe not too much recognised gem is "The Visitors", which unexpectedly is
a song against the oppression of Soviet communism! About people living in fear
of late night knocks on the door by unwelcome "visitors", ie KGB. Be a visitor
to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_xFpjlrF38 - a rather "un-ABBA" sound ;
production with Frida showing total singing mastership. It's worth a click.
ABBA opposing communism wasn't perhaps what the 1970's left-wingers wanted.
They were usually naively apologetic to all forms av communism. While being
accused of being political idiots by the proggers, I'd say say ABBA rather
showed themselves to be both talented as f*cking hell and smarter than them.
The reviews and comments I see are to an overwhelming degree somewhere between
ABBA back is pretty nice to "OMG squared - I can't believe it!" Some compared
them to angels stepping down from heaven to rescue mankind from a 2020-21 which
has been a rotten hellhole... I wouldn't go that far.
But it seems they can fly.
--Ahrvid
--
ahrvid@xxxxxxxxxxx/Follow @SFJournalen on Twitter for latest skiffy news/Driver
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http://elib.se eller på bibliotek. /YXSKAFTBUD GE VÅR WCZONMÖ IQ-HJÄLP! ;(DN NoN
00.02.07)
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