Plastic soul explained

Plastic soul is described as soul music that is believed to lack authenticity.

Usages

Paul McCartney referenced the phrase as the name of the Beatles 1965 album Rubber Soul,[1] which was inspired by the term "plastic soul".[2] In a studio conversation taped in June 1965 after recording the first take of "I'm Down", McCartney says "Plastic soul, man. Plastic soul".[3]

David Bowie also described his own funky, soulful songs released in the early to mid-1970s as "plastic soul".[4] These singles sold well, and Bowie became one of the few white music artists to be invited to perform on Soul Train.[5] In a 1976 Playboy interview, Bowie described his recent album Young Americans as "the definitive plastic soul record. It's the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak, written and sung by a white limey."[5] Bowie's most commercially successful album, Let's Dance, released in 1983, has also been described as "plastic soul".[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/nov/06/beatles-song-lyrics-explained-scott-freiman The Beatles: the story behind every album, song and lyric explained|Life and style|The Guardian
  2. Book: The Beatles . The Beatles Anthology . 2000 . Chronicle Books . San Francisco . 0-8118-2684-8 . 194 .
  3. Anthology 2 . Anthology 2 . 1996 . . booklet . . London . 34448.
  4. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/plastic-soul-david-bowie-s-legacy-impact-black-artists-n494241 'Plastic Soul': David Bowie's Legacy and Impact on Black Artists - NBC News
  5. Web site: Interview with David Bowie . September 1976 . . 2007-01-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110811041318/http://www.teenagewildlife.com/Appearances/Press/1976/0900/playboy.html . 2011-08-11 . dead .
  6. Web site: AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine . AllMusic . Stephen Thomas . Erlewine . 17 March 2016.