I was more of a Frida guy, myself.
"Flossy, bouncy, triumphant silly fluff-music"
Eh?
My NYC english skills must be somewhat below par this morning.
Is there any good hearted american freeper awake that could explain what Mr Rockwell was trying to say in the article below, written 28 years ago?
His message to planet Earth:
"New York Times music critic John Rockwell met ABBA in Stockholm in early 1978 and wrote:
Abba represents a healthy challenge to the two-decades-long dominance of Western pop music by Britain and the United States. The musical context from which Abba evolved is that of so-called Euro-pop - a flossy, bouncy, sometimes triumphantly silly fluff-music that derives not from the urgency of American blues (the source of rock), but from older forms of European folk music.... This band represents as refreshing an example of pure pop as anything being done today. Pop music used to be simply and unaffectedly entertaining, back before rock-and-roll. At its best, rock still lifts popular music into a new seriousness and intensity. But too often it's merely raucous or pretentious, and in the meantime, middle-of-the-road alternatives wallow in sentimentality and schlock".