Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Who would you give a musical Nobel-prize?

Stickan Andersson the man that at the peak of his career was considered to be the fifth Abba-member. He used to be their lyricist up till “Arrival” and wrote the lyrics for “Dancing Queen” and some other lyrics for songs that are a part of pop-history but hardly cause of the “poetry” in the songs. I’m not an Abba fan at all but I’m Swede, so there you go.
When Stickan died he wanted his legacy to live on and therefore he gave the world the Polar-prize. The idea behind it was a musical Nobel-prize (another big Swedish award), well it isn’t. But from time to time the ambition is there, giving Bob Moog the prize was a good one, Bruce Springsteen not. Moog’s impact on modern music is huge, Springsteen’s as well. But one man brought evolution forward, the other ones achievement is more of a back to the fifties kind. And no matter what your musical preferences are the idea behind the Nobel-prize is to promote science and literature that brings evolution forward something that the Polar-prize doesn’t. So if there where a musical Nobel-prize who would you give it to?

When it comes to modern popular music this would absolutely be some of my candidates.

Kraftwerk – there impact on electronica , hip-hop, dance and more is in my book unquestionable. In pop music history they’re just as important as the Beatles or Elvis Presley.

James Brown (should have had it) but his dead and when he lived he was completely mad. . But madness shouldn’t be a hindrance in this but being dead is prizes like these goes to the living. Even if James Brown is not my first choice of music but he surely brought music evolution forward.

David Bowie up till Scary Monsters he was both exploring and making hits.


Maybe Phil Spector should have it, but I wouldn’t give it to him personally. He’s scary!


Prince? Brian Eno? Riyuchi Sakamoto?

Well that’s the custion who would you give it to?


Dyslektik Regards

Bosse

well ... i would have given it to the late & great oskar sala - one of the pioneers of electronic music in general !

i was fortunate enough to know this real maestro of incredible electronic sounds personally & also had the great pleasure to actually even work with him a decade ago ... sadly not for long , as he died already a few years later , but in the biblical age of 91 years !

even if u don't recognize his name immediately , u all certainly remember alfred hitchcock's "the birds" ... & oskar sala did the effect soundtrack with all those eerily screaming birds for that great movie besides dozens of other fantastic soundtracks & stuff ! ;-)

he was indeed a true legend ... & i still miss the sometimes rather funny converstations with him in his "home studio" in berlin ...



p. s. : he told me some things about music that most likely NOBODY else could've told me or anybody else , because he was a real genius ! :-)

I'd like to nominate

John Barry

Scott Walker

and the late, great Conrad Plank

I would love to have given it to Joe Meek, but he murdered his landlady before killing himself, so it couldn’t go to him.

Co-incidentally, after a recent trip to Berlin - I had started to wonder, what electronic music (if any) occurred in Germany during the GDR regime. I didn’t find anything but it did get me reading about Olaf’s choice; Oskar Sala, a great man.

But, I’m going to have to go for Daphne Oram – creator of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Women are the unsung heroes in electronic music and her more than most.

Well I'd still like to know what you all think of this question. And I'm also a bit suprised that no one "nominated" Mr. Foxx himself. Even if it's not what I'm asking about, I think that Ultravox "Ha ha ha" and "Systems of Romance" together with John Foxx "Metamatic" are three of the best albums ever made. The sad thing maybe is that those didn't change the world musically. Well maybe on a smaller scale, but not like Ziggy Stardust or Trans Europe Express or Purple Rain

Well my question might only be interresting to me.


Dyslektik Regards
Bosse from Sweden

yeah, i'd vote for kraftwerk.

Bosse,

I doubt you’d get a disagreement here that “Ultravox!”, "Ha!-Ha!-Ha!", "Systems of Romance" and "Metamatic" are four of the best albums ever made – but revolutionary? I think only the latter two fit the bill, the former could easily be filed under ‘Glam’ and ‘Punk’ respectively.

“I'm also a bit suprised that no one "nominated" Mr. Foxx himself”

Maybe we were just thinking outside the Metamatic box?

There is a whole world of electronic music before Ralf, Florian and John picked up a synth. Just as a small example - whilst the Beatles were locked away in one of the most technologically advanced 4-track studios in the world creating Sgt.Pepper, across the oceans in a run-down 1-track shack, one man was inventing soundscapes with his own hand-built equipment – he was called King Tubby. Out of those two – who would you give the prize to? Who changed the world the most? The Beatles through rock or Tubby through dance? Neither? That’s just one example – there are doubtless, hundreds of others who could also claim the prize.

Maybe the question can be discussed, but never really answered.

i exactly think the same & my "nomination" for this prize is jus' a very personal one , albeit oskar sala even invented a whole new electronic musical instrument already back in the 1930s ( ! ) & also sounds called "subharmonics" that were totally new & could only be created with that instrument !

Absolutly and this is what I like about it. Somethings that have made impact on the way music sounds might not be something I like even but never the less ended up in something that i do like. Me I don't like the Stones very much but I wonder where Bowie would have been without them. I allways like a good dicussion and answers leading to new questions rather than conclusion.


Still Dyslektik like a Rat
Bosse

If Elton John won the Polar music award then David Bowie should be next.

Jean Michel Jarre would also be another contender.

Chris