Do you have any Ronettes related musical recommendations?
March 18, 2019 12:35 PM Subscribe
I'd like to get recommendations for songs and musical acts that evoke the sound of the Ronettes within the rock/alternative/and I guess indie pop* genres.
I was surprised there was no "Influenced by"-type playlist on Apple for them. I feel like I'm seeing the other side of a lineage (Cruel Youth/Natalia Kills, Santigold, Lykke Li) but I want to fill in the chronological blank space in between.
*Female musical artists appear to be shunted out of the alternative category kind of arbitrarily, if Wikipedia is any indication
I was surprised there was no "Influenced by"-type playlist on Apple for them. I feel like I'm seeing the other side of a lineage (Cruel Youth/Natalia Kills, Santigold, Lykke Li) but I want to fill in the chronological blank space in between.
*Female musical artists appear to be shunted out of the alternative category kind of arbitrarily, if Wikipedia is any indication
The Raveonettes (the name is itself an obvious homage, and while they have both a male and a female singer their sound is also a conscious updating of the Spector style)
The Pipettes
The Affair (check out "Andy")
posted by eugenen at 12:59 PM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]
The Pipettes
The Affair (check out "Andy")
posted by eugenen at 12:59 PM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]
I was going to suggest the Pipettes as well. The term "girl group" will probably not produce only what you want but is still likely to be more helpful than not in searching out similar artists.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:44 PM on March 18, 2019
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:44 PM on March 18, 2019
Dum Dum Girls (or at least some of their output)
Chains of Love
Icicles (may tend dangerously twee)
posted by scruss at 3:21 PM on March 18, 2019
Chains of Love
Icicles (may tend dangerously twee)
posted by scruss at 3:21 PM on March 18, 2019
Johnny Boy, a mid-oughts Liverpool duo, produced exactly one great single: "You Are The Generation That Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve" which straight jacks the intro from "Be My Baby" and then goes on a great voyage.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 4:24 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 4:24 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
Bat for Lashes is closer to Shangri-Las than the Ronettes.
posted by chrchr at 5:53 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by chrchr at 5:53 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've enjoyed falling down the Yé-yé hole excavated by the Killing Eve soundtrack. Modern-day group Unloved use many similar elements to an edgier modern effect.
posted by kakawit at 9:55 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by kakawit at 9:55 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
Hah.. I didn't even think of Bat for Lashes but as soon as I saw the recommendation I thought "I bet that links to 'What's a Girl to Do?'" and of course it does.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:28 PM on March 18, 2019
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:28 PM on March 18, 2019
Glad to see the Pipettes already mentioned, though I think only their first album qualifies. The second album was very different, from my memory, and not in a way that I liked.
All Music has a useful page for exactly this purpose under the tab "related" for just about every musical act they list. It's a lot of fun to unspool the influencers, contemporaries, and follow-ups, to bands I like. I've used it to find all sorts of great music in many different genres.
Here's the related page for the Ronettes.
What I do is click through a few of the groups listed and look at their "related" pages, as well. When I do this I usually have a browser window open with wikipedia and another with youtube. And in this case I would do the same for any band on the various Wall of Sound compilations put out by, I think, Rhino records.
Also, check out videos of songs you like on youtube. In the past couple years I've noticed algorithmically generated playlists of 50+ related videos in the bottom right below the video. I don't know if it does it for all types of videos, but it's worked for all types of music I've tried. This is great for finding new music, and I've especially found it useful for music from foreign countries.
There's also a searchable archive (← that's a reddit link where you can follow further) from the now-defunct what.cd piracy site. There's no torrents any longer, but it's a treasure-trove of track listings. When you look up a specific artist, usually at the very bottom, there's a map in a section called "similar artists" and you can follow that in a way similar to what I mentioned for All Music. This is another great way to find lesser-known bands in genres you like.
posted by msbrauer at 8:11 AM on March 19, 2019
All Music has a useful page for exactly this purpose under the tab "related" for just about every musical act they list. It's a lot of fun to unspool the influencers, contemporaries, and follow-ups, to bands I like. I've used it to find all sorts of great music in many different genres.
Here's the related page for the Ronettes.
What I do is click through a few of the groups listed and look at their "related" pages, as well. When I do this I usually have a browser window open with wikipedia and another with youtube. And in this case I would do the same for any band on the various Wall of Sound compilations put out by, I think, Rhino records.
Also, check out videos of songs you like on youtube. In the past couple years I've noticed algorithmically generated playlists of 50+ related videos in the bottom right below the video. I don't know if it does it for all types of videos, but it's worked for all types of music I've tried. This is great for finding new music, and I've especially found it useful for music from foreign countries.
There's also a searchable archive (← that's a reddit link where you can follow further) from the now-defunct what.cd piracy site. There's no torrents any longer, but it's a treasure-trove of track listings. When you look up a specific artist, usually at the very bottom, there's a map in a section called "similar artists" and you can follow that in a way similar to what I mentioned for All Music. This is another great way to find lesser-known bands in genres you like.
posted by msbrauer at 8:11 AM on March 19, 2019
For alternative in the 90s, maybe start going through the playlists of the MTV show 120 minutes. There were a few majority female bands or female-fronted bands that were played on the show, from my memory. Hole and The Breeders always got played when they had a new video out.
I guess if you squint your ears (I've always wanted a phrase to convey that meaning, but that will have to do), parts of That Dog songs like Never Say Never could sound a bit like the Ronettes with female harmonies and some wall-of-soundy sections. And maybe Bis' Tell it to the Kids. Sleater-Kinney is probably too hard, but there's some harmonies and clapping sometimes, and so maybe some of the Riot grrl bands might work, too.
Also check out The Beths album from last year. The song Future Me Hates Me, especially at the chorus, could be a few generations removed from the Ronettes via That Dog.
And maybe Camera Obscura's This is Love could be a slowed-down, indie pop, google-translate-a-few-too-many-times version of the 60s girl groups.
posted by msbrauer at 8:28 AM on March 19, 2019
I guess if you squint your ears (I've always wanted a phrase to convey that meaning, but that will have to do), parts of That Dog songs like Never Say Never could sound a bit like the Ronettes with female harmonies and some wall-of-soundy sections. And maybe Bis' Tell it to the Kids. Sleater-Kinney is probably too hard, but there's some harmonies and clapping sometimes, and so maybe some of the Riot grrl bands might work, too.
Also check out The Beths album from last year. The song Future Me Hates Me, especially at the chorus, could be a few generations removed from the Ronettes via That Dog.
And maybe Camera Obscura's This is Love could be a slowed-down, indie pop, google-translate-a-few-too-many-times version of the 60s girl groups.
posted by msbrauer at 8:28 AM on March 19, 2019
Sorry to keep posting. Two more I remembered from late-90s Warped Tour concerts (I think). The Donnas and The Dance Hall Crashers.
I remember a lot of people at the time saying The Donnas weren't real punk, but I think it was just misogyny. Their early stuff was a bit Ramones-y with multiple female vocals. And The Dance Hall Crashers were a ska band with two female singers.
posted by msbrauer at 8:39 AM on March 19, 2019
I remember a lot of people at the time saying The Donnas weren't real punk, but I think it was just misogyny. Their early stuff was a bit Ramones-y with multiple female vocals. And The Dance Hall Crashers were a ska band with two female singers.
posted by msbrauer at 8:39 AM on March 19, 2019
Some of Paloma Faith's stuff is like that!
posted by exceptinsects at 10:36 AM on March 19, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by exceptinsects at 10:36 AM on March 19, 2019 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, Camera Obscura. Eighties Fan even uses that Hal Blaine trademark 'Be My Baby' beat.
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:37 PM on March 19, 2019
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:37 PM on March 19, 2019
How about Dolly Mixture? Great lo-fi early 80s all-women trio. Demonstration Tapes 27-track double album.
posted by larrybob at 2:51 PM on March 19, 2019
posted by larrybob at 2:51 PM on March 19, 2019
South London’s Big Joanie would fit this bill well.
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:01 AM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:01 AM on March 24, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Girl harmonies? Check.
Wall of Sound engineering? Check.
Handclaps? Check.
Smoky-voiced lead? Check.
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:40 PM on March 18, 2019 [3 favorites]