Plastic soul is a description for soul music that is believed to lack authenticity.
Origins
Paul McCartney[1] referenced the phrase as the name of the Beatles 1965 album Rubber Soul,[2] which was inspired by the term "plastic soul".[3] In a studio conversation recorded in June 1965 after recording the first take of "I'm Down", McCartney says "Plastic soul, man. Plastic soul."[4]
Usage
David Bowie also described his own funky, soulful songs released in the early to mid-1970s as "plastic soul".[5] These singles sold well, and Bowie became one of the few white performers to be invited to perform on Soul Train.[6] 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."[6] Bowie's most commercially successful album, Let's Dance, has also been described as plastic soul.[7]
See also
- Selling out
- Commercialism
- Artistic integrity
Notes
- ^ #TBT: The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' turns 50 - USATODAY.com
- ^ The Beatles: the story behind every album, song and lyric explained|Life and style|The Guardian
- ^ The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p. 194. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
- ^ Anthology 2 (booklet). The Beatles. London: Apple Records. 1996. 34448.
- ^ 'Plastic Soul': David Bowie's Legacy and Impact on Black Artists - NBC News
- ^ a b "Interview with David Bowie". Playboy. September 1976. Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2016.