Video: Andrew Barth Feldman Performs “Popular” (Yacht Rock Cover)

[dolewhip429]

Posted: 12/20/23 at 1:34pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC0R1XvmfQM

[John Adams]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 9:45pm

This (for my tastes) is an example of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, with the musical style being the square peg and the song being the round hole.

Feldman nails the musical vocal styling with absolute perfection. I'm very impressed with this unexpected, previously un-displayed versatility re: his musicianship. Bravo!

I've always enjoyed the song "Popular", too. Unfortunately (again, for my tastes), the musical styling and the song don't mesh. They don't compliment each other in a way that elevates the lyrics and the story they tell.

IMO, square pegs and round holes each have their beauty, but some things shouldn't be forced into sharing the same space. This reminds me of Beverly Goldberg's famous Shrimp Parm recipe. (Just shouldn't be...)

Updated On: 12/21/23 at 09:45 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/22/23 at 2:16pm

First off, have you TRIED the shrimp parm? It’s delicious. But I’m from Pennsylvania, where seafood and cheese have always been paired.

Second, this is a fun stylistic experiment but doesn’t gel as perfectly as some of the Sondheim disco album did. Feldman and crew are clearly leaning into the Christopher Cross school here, but a slightly less funky Steely Dan take might have fit the flow of the music and chord changes more. Then again, Christopher Cross is way easier to pastiche than Steely Dan, so the joke and the novelty might not have landed.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/22/23 at 2:28pm

Not crazy about it but he hung with the arrangement. I agree, it was nice to see his versatility. 

Checked out a few of their other videos and I like the synthwave version of "I Dreamed a Dream" the most.