42 years separated the two artists who recorded a song for a 2022 "Minions" sequel soundtrack. There's no telling just how much the two singers' fan bases Gru.
Interesting Brad--as always, more here to unpack than I have hands to unpack with! I know next to nothing about the Minions and haven't seen the movie, but have been into Tame Impala for some time. They are (Parker is) part of a whole Aussie psychedelic/pop-rock scene including groups like Pond and Augie March. Just as geographic isolation allowed the emergence of marsupials in Australia, it also fostered a unique music ecosystem. Interesting to get a glimpse of Ross's multitude of collaborations over the years--I had no idea!
Thanks, Charles! The fun you might have in reading these is but half of the fun in which I indulge when unearthing it all! It may be somewhere here, already, but I knew nothing about any of this, until at my Planet Fatness (hey, you do YOU!) showed the video of a song I knew I'd heard before, but had no idea, until I looked at the artist crawl at the bottom:
"Diana Ross and Tame Impala"! I'm sorry................WHAT?! Did Taylor Swift change her name to "Diana Ross?" Is Tame Impala the new name for Smokey Robinson? I forced myself to remember that collab until I reached my laptop, and looked it up! This is what happened next! Glad you dug it!
TI=Smokey Robinson.....Hilarious! When you have time, def. check out some of the other Aussie bands I just mentioned. There is also some great stuff happening in New Zealand...actually crazier shit, folk-metal fusion.
Woo-hoo! I'm glad I hit Ellen's musical bulls-eye! Thanks, Ellen, for your generous words, as well as your FR&B devotion! This whole Minion arena is brand new to me....oh, I've been aware of the movies and cereals, etc! But, I've never seen the movies...it was cool to uncover some more info, for myself, on the film franchise! For me, it was fun to see Diana wrap her boa around someone on today's music scene! Stay tuned!
I really like this post! I had no idea this song (or this movie, in fact) existed but will check it out. I have some time for Tame Impala - the first two albums are pretty solid. A few very trippy videos certainly catch the vibe ...
Thanks, Bryan! I was pretty clueless, too, especially about Diana's involvement (see my reply to Andres and my Sunday gym viewing "accident"!)---like most everything else: It's all about timing!
Great piece, as always. I didn’t know the track (I’m sure I heard it somewhere, it definitely rings a bell), but wasn’t familiar with the collab or the film. I like the track, very modern yet classic disco. I particularly like the verses, with this sort of chant, back-and-forth exchange. Gives it a nice edge. (I think it should be no surprise to you that I will always gravitate more towards funk and soul than disco, so the funkier verses were a nice surprise).
Oh yeah, Andy....I know you're always one to brang da funque!🕺 Fun fact: I had only heard this song before (some store's loudspeaker, probably like you), and I didn't concentrate hard enough to guess Diana. Sunday morning, I was on my gym's hydrobed massager, and the video screen had just flashed "Diana Ross and Tame Impala" during the song! "I'm sorry, what?!" I'm sure I said to myself!
That's all it took....that was the rest of my Sunday, happily....researching and writing about the Diana/TI collab! The list of current artists discovering, loving, and working with "my generation's" artists grows still larger! How fun(k)!🎶👍🌟
At my gym, in the changing rooms and corridors, they tend to play really good music. I discovered a couple of gems that way (with a little help from the app Shazam, as there’s no other info about the tracks other than the music itself!)
My gym's constant current EDM (and insipid disco--TODAY'S disco) insistence helps me start convos in the locker room (and hand out my FR&B biz cards) by saying out loud to a small handful of fellow gymsters: "Y'know, all they need is a rope line and a disco ball, and they could impose a cover charge and a 2-drink minimum!"
So, I'm happily turning the lemons of today's music they blare over the speakers, and turning them into the lemonade of touting the benefits of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE (with business cards, of course!) to my fellow gym rats enslaved to the (monotonous) rhythm!🎸👍
That’s awesome! I really do admire your habit of handing out business cards. I think I’m way too British at this point to do that. Where’s my South American/Latino (or anything non-northern European, for that matter) sass when I need it? 😅
Sounds great! I'm becoming a fan, no doubt! I hope you'll check out (if you haven't already), Mike, the deep dives we've done into Kevin's contemporaries, Roosevelt and SG Lewis, both of whom have recorded with the remarkable 70-something late-'70s Chic guitarist/producer, Nile Rodgers! One of them is linked in this article! I'm not sure which fact I'm more envious of, Mike....you visiting Brazil, or seeing Tame Impala in its natural habitat!👏😁
I had "discovered" both Lewis and Roosevelt BEFORE I realized Nile Rodgers had also discovered them, and worked with them! He heard what I heard....two current artists (add Daft Punk, too, really, although I sang two DP songs in karaoke 8 years ago) who reach back to the classic pop songwriting style of decades past, and have no problem inter-weaving that style into what they're doing today! Fun stuff! Look forward to hearing your reflections on Roosevelt (and anything new you discover about Lewis)!
Jun 26, 2023·edited Jun 26, 2023Liked by Brad Kyle
Can't believe you're just catching on to Tame Impala, Brad! Parker already has a decade+ of great records under the band name. Currents is my personal favourite.
Better Nate than Lever, as Rev. Spooner would malaprop! I actually first heard TI close to 2 years ago, when I first laid ear to Roosevelt (my coupla articles on Marius are linked within this one, and a couple others)....when I started digging deeper into the Roosevelt canon, algos would point me, rather relentlessly as I recall, to all things Tame Impala.
I listened, and A) I wasn't hearing near the pop songwriting focus (and incessant melodies and harmonies) in Parker's tunes, as I instantly did in Lauber's, and B) I just wasn't falling in love with TI as rapidly and whole-heartedly as I did with Roosevelt!
In one of my Roosevelt articles, I've got the 4-song YT vid of his band's in-studio concert at KEXP/Seattle radio that was an instant, "Dang! Where have THESE guys been this century?": https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/audio-autopsy-2018-roosevelt-and Look for the first YT vid in the article, just past a couple photos (and some sparkling prose)!
Inasmuch as fellow late '70s disco maven (to Diana), Nile Rodgers of Chic, has worked with both Roosevelt and SG Lewis (give me credit for not closing an ear to "today's kids", Andrew!!😉)---I've written about that phenomenon, too---when Rodgers produces a TI album, I'll tune in! Nah, I'll go drop the ole virtual needle on "Currents," Andrew, and do let me know how you like Roosevelt (especially if your first time listening)!😁👍🎶🎸🌟
Followed through on your recommendation. And yes, it's my first foray into Roosevelt. You are absolutely correct that they have a more 'pop' approach than Tame Impala. Besides the obvious classics (Chic, Fleetwood Mac, etc.), French groups like Phoenix and Daft Punk came to mind, too.
Personally, my ear's more attracted to the psychedelic journey and emotional impact of TI, though I can hear both groups pulling from the same toolbox in terms of tone and inspiration, especially since Parker's shift toward disco with The Slow Rush. Plus, it's possible my preference has more to do with familiarity than anything else.
Happy to trade listens with you, Andrew! As I heard recently, nothing should be slotted as "the best," but more reasonably, as "my favorite," and "your preferred," etc! How many workplace debates could've been made more civil had we leaned into THOSE tags!
Interesting Brad--as always, more here to unpack than I have hands to unpack with! I know next to nothing about the Minions and haven't seen the movie, but have been into Tame Impala for some time. They are (Parker is) part of a whole Aussie psychedelic/pop-rock scene including groups like Pond and Augie March. Just as geographic isolation allowed the emergence of marsupials in Australia, it also fostered a unique music ecosystem. Interesting to get a glimpse of Ross's multitude of collaborations over the years--I had no idea!
Thanks, Charles! The fun you might have in reading these is but half of the fun in which I indulge when unearthing it all! It may be somewhere here, already, but I knew nothing about any of this, until at my Planet Fatness (hey, you do YOU!) showed the video of a song I knew I'd heard before, but had no idea, until I looked at the artist crawl at the bottom:
"Diana Ross and Tame Impala"! I'm sorry................WHAT?! Did Taylor Swift change her name to "Diana Ross?" Is Tame Impala the new name for Smokey Robinson? I forced myself to remember that collab until I reached my laptop, and looked it up! This is what happened next! Glad you dug it!
TI=Smokey Robinson.....Hilarious! When you have time, def. check out some of the other Aussie bands I just mentioned. There is also some great stuff happening in New Zealand...actually crazier shit, folk-metal fusion.
Of course you wrote a great piece...again 😊 I’m a huge Minion fan myself so I’ve already seen the movie and heard the music. BIG disco fan too!!!
Woo-hoo! I'm glad I hit Ellen's musical bulls-eye! Thanks, Ellen, for your generous words, as well as your FR&B devotion! This whole Minion arena is brand new to me....oh, I've been aware of the movies and cereals, etc! But, I've never seen the movies...it was cool to uncover some more info, for myself, on the film franchise! For me, it was fun to see Diana wrap her boa around someone on today's music scene! Stay tuned!
I look forward to all thing FR&B !
I really like this post! I had no idea this song (or this movie, in fact) existed but will check it out. I have some time for Tame Impala - the first two albums are pretty solid. A few very trippy videos certainly catch the vibe ...
Thanks, Bryan! I was pretty clueless, too, especially about Diana's involvement (see my reply to Andres and my Sunday gym viewing "accident"!)---like most everything else: It's all about timing!
Great piece, as always. I didn’t know the track (I’m sure I heard it somewhere, it definitely rings a bell), but wasn’t familiar with the collab or the film. I like the track, very modern yet classic disco. I particularly like the verses, with this sort of chant, back-and-forth exchange. Gives it a nice edge. (I think it should be no surprise to you that I will always gravitate more towards funk and soul than disco, so the funkier verses were a nice surprise).
Oh yeah, Andy....I know you're always one to brang da funque!🕺 Fun fact: I had only heard this song before (some store's loudspeaker, probably like you), and I didn't concentrate hard enough to guess Diana. Sunday morning, I was on my gym's hydrobed massager, and the video screen had just flashed "Diana Ross and Tame Impala" during the song! "I'm sorry, what?!" I'm sure I said to myself!
That's all it took....that was the rest of my Sunday, happily....researching and writing about the Diana/TI collab! The list of current artists discovering, loving, and working with "my generation's" artists grows still larger! How fun(k)!🎶👍🌟
Exactly! I had the same reaction when I read the title of your post. Diana Ross and Tame Impala? Together? Say what?
I think it’s wonderful. Keep ‘em coming!
Will do (note to self: "Stop ignoring the gym video screen")!👀
At my gym, in the changing rooms and corridors, they tend to play really good music. I discovered a couple of gems that way (with a little help from the app Shazam, as there’s no other info about the tracks other than the music itself!)
My gym's constant current EDM (and insipid disco--TODAY'S disco) insistence helps me start convos in the locker room (and hand out my FR&B biz cards) by saying out loud to a small handful of fellow gymsters: "Y'know, all they need is a rope line and a disco ball, and they could impose a cover charge and a 2-drink minimum!"
So, I'm happily turning the lemons of today's music they blare over the speakers, and turning them into the lemonade of touting the benefits of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE (with business cards, of course!) to my fellow gym rats enslaved to the (monotonous) rhythm!🎸👍
That’s awesome! I really do admire your habit of handing out business cards. I think I’m way too British at this point to do that. Where’s my South American/Latino (or anything non-northern European, for that matter) sass when I need it? 😅
Sounds great! I'm becoming a fan, no doubt! I hope you'll check out (if you haven't already), Mike, the deep dives we've done into Kevin's contemporaries, Roosevelt and SG Lewis, both of whom have recorded with the remarkable 70-something late-'70s Chic guitarist/producer, Nile Rodgers! One of them is linked in this article! I'm not sure which fact I'm more envious of, Mike....you visiting Brazil, or seeing Tame Impala in its natural habitat!👏😁
I had "discovered" both Lewis and Roosevelt BEFORE I realized Nile Rodgers had also discovered them, and worked with them! He heard what I heard....two current artists (add Daft Punk, too, really, although I sang two DP songs in karaoke 8 years ago) who reach back to the classic pop songwriting style of decades past, and have no problem inter-weaving that style into what they're doing today! Fun stuff! Look forward to hearing your reflections on Roosevelt (and anything new you discover about Lewis)!
Can't believe you're just catching on to Tame Impala, Brad! Parker already has a decade+ of great records under the band name. Currents is my personal favourite.
Better Nate than Lever, as Rev. Spooner would malaprop! I actually first heard TI close to 2 years ago, when I first laid ear to Roosevelt (my coupla articles on Marius are linked within this one, and a couple others)....when I started digging deeper into the Roosevelt canon, algos would point me, rather relentlessly as I recall, to all things Tame Impala.
I listened, and A) I wasn't hearing near the pop songwriting focus (and incessant melodies and harmonies) in Parker's tunes, as I instantly did in Lauber's, and B) I just wasn't falling in love with TI as rapidly and whole-heartedly as I did with Roosevelt!
In one of my Roosevelt articles, I've got the 4-song YT vid of his band's in-studio concert at KEXP/Seattle radio that was an instant, "Dang! Where have THESE guys been this century?": https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/audio-autopsy-2018-roosevelt-and Look for the first YT vid in the article, just past a couple photos (and some sparkling prose)!
Inasmuch as fellow late '70s disco maven (to Diana), Nile Rodgers of Chic, has worked with both Roosevelt and SG Lewis (give me credit for not closing an ear to "today's kids", Andrew!!😉)---I've written about that phenomenon, too---when Rodgers produces a TI album, I'll tune in! Nah, I'll go drop the ole virtual needle on "Currents," Andrew, and do let me know how you like Roosevelt (especially if your first time listening)!😁👍🎶🎸🌟
Followed through on your recommendation. And yes, it's my first foray into Roosevelt. You are absolutely correct that they have a more 'pop' approach than Tame Impala. Besides the obvious classics (Chic, Fleetwood Mac, etc.), French groups like Phoenix and Daft Punk came to mind, too.
Personally, my ear's more attracted to the psychedelic journey and emotional impact of TI, though I can hear both groups pulling from the same toolbox in terms of tone and inspiration, especially since Parker's shift toward disco with The Slow Rush. Plus, it's possible my preference has more to do with familiarity than anything else.
Thanks for the rec!
Happy to trade listens with you, Andrew! As I heard recently, nothing should be slotted as "the best," but more reasonably, as "my favorite," and "your preferred," etc! How many workplace debates could've been made more civil had we leaned into THOSE tags!
Now that Parker's on my radar, I look forward to future releases! Meanwhile, coming Thursday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9QH_g0fcX0