Hans van Zijst

Hans van Zijst

hans@social.woefdram.nl

Professional nerd and grammar nazi, writes in Dutch and English. Can read some German, French and Spanish too. Learning русский.

Location:: Netherlands

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 09:57:17 +0100

Hans van Zijst

hans@social.woefdram.nl

Like so many #Abba fans, I bought the new album, #Voyage. I think it's fantastic that these four people make music again, after 40 years. Fourty years is a long time, but every song still breathes that same authentic Abba sound, I love it, even though Agnetha (71) and Anni-Frid (75) don't sound as crisp and crystal-clear as they did so many years ago.

music

show all 8 comments

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 10:07:55 +0100

Wilco Roos

wroos@diasp.org

Great you liked it, I have listened to some of the new stuff, and to my ears it sounded dated, like a rerun/rehash of older stuff, not very exciting. Tastes differ, that much is clear ;-) Disclosure: Never been a huge fan of ABBA, like some of their songs, but definitely not everything.

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 10:24:59 +0100

Hans van Zijst

hans@social.woefdram.nl

I can understand why you see it as a rehash, I prefer seeing it as maintaining a very recognisable style. Outdated is fine with me, lots of people call Bach outdated too (only yesterday some said to me he found Bach "boring", can you imagine..?).

I like a lot of melody in music; without it I lose interest. That's why a lot of today's music isn't for me: an endlessly repeated "melody" of one or two bars, yuck. What Abba have produced after their 40 year break is still based on great melodies and the harmonies I love.

But it probably ends here, according to Benny "this is it". Dangerous words to speak, seeing how that worked out for Michael Jackson :rolling_eyes:

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 11:03:55 +0100

Wilco Roos

wroos@diasp.org

Ha, Bach outdated? Wtf.. Abba just does not fit in my taste, now changes my taste every year, and my 'like' range is a lot wider than my 'dislike' range, but it does not move me like other artists do.

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 22:08:05 +0100

Hans

hans@federate.hopto.org

I have a weird memory when it comes to Abba. We had a gay friend and one night we talked about picking up in the early days so I asked him what he would do. He explained he walked into a record shop and started to sing "Dancing Queen". if someone did sing along (a man in his example) he knew he could make a move :-)

When it comes to the music, that is all fine by me, I do not hate it.

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 23:48:22 +0100

Hans van Zijst

hans@social.woefdram.nl

Abba have a strong fanbase in the gay community. Not sure why, I assume their extravagant costumes may be part of it.

This friend of yours and I would probably have a misunderstanding then: I'd probably sing along, but I'm not into men 😂

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 23:52:49 +0100

Hans

hans@federate.hopto.org

He would at least try to connect :-)

But kidding, these days everything seems to have a need to post a gender sticker on anything. I do not get that. Just me being silly :-)

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:53:21 +0100

Wilco Roos

wroos@diasp.org

Fun bit of knowledge, the costumes were extravagant, because if they were deemed 'unfit to wear in normal life', they could be tax deducted as stage clothes, and there you have it, the birth of the Abba costumes :-D

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 09:40:08 +0100

Hans van Zijst

hans@social.woefdram.nl

Yup. I think tax rules have actually helped Abba there.