Paul Campos recently went to Wikipedia to look up the highest grossing concert tours of all time. Long story short, the #1 spot is held by Ed Sheeran, which Paul found dismaying because he had never heard of Ed Sheeran.
This is life for us oldsters. Sorry. But really, it's mostly related to interest in music. Marian likes to watch music award shows, which means I watch them too now and again—and I routinely ask some version of "Wait, is that really somebody famous?" It is, of course, and Marian knows all about them even though she's two years older than me.
Having said that, though, come on, man. Ed Sheeran? Even I know that he's one of the most famous singers in the world. Jeez.
And one other thing. My first thought when I read Paul's post was, "Sure, but maybe Sheeran just went on tour for a really long time." If you stay on the road forever, of course your total gross will be really high.
Sure enough, Sheeran did 255 shows over three years. But if you look at highest gross per show, the Rolling Stones are on top and Sheeran is only tenth. Sorry, Ed.
POSTSCRIPT: This comes via Atrios, who I basically agree with.
I never heard of Kanye West until he ran for president. I've still no idea why he's newsworthy. If you say it has something to do with Kardashians, I've no idea who they are either.
Young people might be more ignorant, but old people are definitely more proudly ignorant.
It's a matter of what you're ignorant about. Popular culture is trivial; it's dismaying, however, when people proudly proclaim ignorance about important things.
Additionally, many people are very proud of being knowledgeable about "important" issues that are in reality no less trivial than popular culture is in the context of their largely powerless lives.
The matter of whether the issue is important is entirely distinct from the question of what you can do about it.
I’m not talking about what is actually important in the world. I’m talking about self importance.
It’s sort of difficult without having a specific example of an “important” issue, but why is there greater value in being knowledgeable about these more important issues if simply knowing about them makes no difference?
For example, I assume we can agree that, as far as the impact on the world, the Ukraine/Russia war is more important than who won an Emmy award for best actor in a comedy. But there is nothing inherently better about John Doe knowing the name of the latest battleground than knowing the name of that actor.
In general, I would like to see voters have some knowledge of the politically significant issues of the day before voting. One person's vote has insignificant effect, but it should still be an informed vote.
My cousin could truly receive money in their spare time on their laptop. their best friend had been doing this 4 only about 12 months and by now cleared the debt. in their mini mansion and bought a great Car. That is what we do.. https://earningblue.blogspot.com/
Strange how you manage to see non-existent 'pride' in my comment. Sometimes an observation is just an observation.
You know how arrogant and maniacal he is? Back in 2008 he was good enough to deserve it.
His cover of Daft Punk's song Stronger and mixing in his tribute to his mother are just the absolute peak.
Kenya had one of the worst live shows I have ever witnessed. Guy is hideous and I have no idea how he is liked by anyone. People there seemed to like it, I was horrified.
Are those figures adjusted for inflation. If not, then Ed Sheeran, while still a strong ticket, is less impressive than he appears, while The Stones, who were touring at the same time as Mickey Mantle and Johnny Unitas, are even more amazing.
If you click the link, you'll find there's a column for the inflation-adjusted figures, and that that the Stones tours on the list are all from 1994 or later.
Thanx. I generally follow the links for articles on topics I feel are important like the war or the climate. For pop culture, not so much.
Just goes to show, though. Even the trivial can be interesting.
I'm only almost-50. I had no idea who Ed Sheeran was before the recent blogaround, but I've ignored popular music since I was a teenager. Once an outsider, always an outsider, man.
I listen to new acts, but concentrated in specific genres.
My assumption is that anyone of our generation, more or less, would have seen the movie Yesterday, and would have thereby learned who Ed Sheeran was if they didn't already know.
That's how I first heard of him -- and yes, I'm definitely of the generation that can remember when "Yesterday" (the song) came out.
Who watches movies?
"Yesterday" is a *fantastic* movie! That is also how I learned who Sheeran was!
-Matt from Ohio (but luckily now lives in AZ)
I enjoyed the movie, was Ed the star? I have heard his music on XM spectrum and have been bored silly by every song he sings. Spectrum is pretty good to find new music on, I often enjoy it and often hate it.
I feel like I've heard the name, but I had no idea who he was before reading Campos' post.
I love music, but I stopped listening to any radio in the early 90's. I didn't love whatever they were playing.
Most of the better newer music rarely makes it to the radio. The playlists are very focused on certain marketing targets.
I can't keep up with all the newer acts either, but last summer I happened to see a concert by The Decembrists, a 21st century band from Portland, and I was very impressed. Indie rock with a kind of folk-rock feel to it and very intriguing original lyrics.
I'm with Paul Campos. Before I read this story, I had never heard of Ed Sheeran, but then I had never heard of Paul Campos either.
So there's life outside "Austin City Limits"?
Oh, he's had a few #1 songs--at least in the UK....
Yeah, but I really don't like his songs. "The Shape of You" strikes me as a bit shallow. Nothing else has imprinted itself on my consciousness.
For me that describes most pop stars and their songs, Adele and Taylor Swift very much included.
I know who Ed Sheeran is, but really don't care for his stuff. But if you have Disney+ you can watch the final US Concert of a true legend, Elton John, right now (11:58 EST, it goes on for another couple of hours). Ol' Ed couldn't like Elton John's boots if he had an elevator.
A) Agree B) Always give credit to Elton's songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin. For my money they're the equal of Lennon/McCartney (at least if we're going on quality rather than quantity).
Way off there. Very good but L/M are far and away better. Not even Mick/Kieth can match them ( and that’s who’d I put second). Takes nothing away from Elton/ Bernie.
I like the Beatles just fine, and there'll never be another pop group so utterly dominant (even if equally talented musicians came to the fore, the music industry has changed too much for a repeat). By a variety of metrics (commercial success, influence on the culture, historical prominence) they were the greatest pop/rock act in history. Full stop.
But no, I'm completely correct and you're completely wrong about John/Taupin vs. Lennon McCartney if we concentrate on quality rather than quantity of the songs. That is, the average quality of EJ's most beloved hits (Tiny Dancer, Your Song, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Daniel, Levon, etc—there are about ten more I'd add to that list) is more than a cut above the average output of Lennon/McCartney from an overall quality standpoint. The former is simply richer and more complex (in a good way; not complexity for the sake of complexity), and is characterized by stronger melodies, more artful lyrics and a much more mature, sophisticated vibe. Compare one of the aforementioned EJ/BT songs to "She Loves You" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
Again, nobody will ever match L/M for the sheer volume of wonderfully catchy stuff: there have to be at least 80-90 Beatles tunes that have received serious airplay over the years, and are instantly recognizable to most native English speakers over the age of 45. And their very best, most sublime efforts come near to the richer and more complex songwriting that followed in the 70s (A Day in the Life comes to mind. Something and While My Guitar Gently Weeps are also recalled, but they were written by G. Harrison, of course). But on the whole it was simpler, less evolved fare—or sometimes contrived and forced when they went into "artistic" mode—compared to the heights of songwriting that were reached in 1970s by Elton/Bernie, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, and so on. But yes, all of these artists—Elton John and Bernie Taupin very much included—were standing on the giant pop music shoulders of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. So there's that.
I saw Beth Orton recently. She's a better writer than Sheeran but her voice has deteriorated a bit. Still I saw her with maybe 700 other people at a cost of $40 (ticketing fees included). Sheeran is not quite so intimate or inexpensive or talented.
A while back I read that “we” stop discovering new music around age 30:
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-stop-discovering-new-music-around-age-30-2018-6
I had never heard of Sheeran and had to look him up on YouTube just now. Not my cup of tea musically but it still surprises me a little bit that I hadn’t at least heard of him, just because he’s apparently so big. But, on the other hand, there’s so much stuff out there these days it really is hard to keep up. I know I mostly tend to listen to music I’ve liked for a very long time. Yet, recently I have really enjoyed some newer things, like St. Vincent and Hiromi Uehara and it’s 40 years since I was 30.
Annie Clark/St. Vincent is terrific. She may be an act, but it's a great act based on real talent. Sheeran, meh.
I am much more a classical than a popular music guy. There is, after a rough mid-20th century, an exciting batch of new composers. I routinely seek out new ones. I am well past 30. But classical music generally doesn't count in music discussions, despite being a continuous tradition going back some nine centuries.
Ed Sullivan, sure.
Ed van Helen, yep.
Even Mr Ed.
But Ed Sheeran? No clue.
Seems many people stop finding new stuff as they age. I find it difficult to go to concerts with friends who don’t think music was made after 1984 or so. Some 1976 might be the cutoff. They missed some awesome music in the late 80’s and 90’s. Not to mention some great stuff for the last 20 years.
I think there is a natural resistance to the idea that someone with a name like Ed Sheeren could have become a famous pop star. Sounds more like the furniture store manager who lives next door.
Reaching 60 years old, the only person I have consistently listened to in the last 10 years is Lana Del Rey, and she is definitely an acquired taste. Otherwise the rest on a song-by-song basis.
In my view LDR is one of the few pop music stars over the last 15 years or so with a bit of artistic integrity.
My cousin could truly receive money in their spare time on their laptop. their best friend had been doing this 4 only about 12 months and by now cleared the debt. in their mini mansion and bought a great Car.
That is what we do.. https://earningblue.blogspot.com/
Any way this spammer can be banned and their posts removed?
My wife somehow keeps current with pop music. I don't know how, she doesn't listen to the radio. But somehow she knows who's who and what they are singing. I haven't a clue. I know the name "Ed Sheeran" but wouldn't know what he looked or sounded like. I know who Taylor Swift is, but would be hard pressed picking one of her songs from a mix of other young, female singers.
I know who Ed Sheeran is because I have kids and they like to listen to Top 40 radio when we're in the car. But more and more as I get older, I'm sitting in the dentist's waiting room or something and peruse an issue of People or some other celebrity-oriented tabloid and think to myself "No idea who that is...no idea who that is....no idea who that is.... Oh! Shania Twain! Yeah, whatever happened to her?....No idea who that is..."
He is quite famous after playing a Lannister soldier on GOT.
Never heard of Ed Sheeran? Didn't he watch "Game of Thrones"? Did he not bother to go see "Yesterday" in the theaters?
Ed Sheeran isn't the likeliest pop star, but if you've paid attention to pop music, you've almost certainly heard of him. If you haven't, then you might not have. I suspect the real revelation here is that people are a little more out of touch with pop music than they thought they were. It happens.
I don't think his popularity is all that inexplicable. He's got a nice voice, he does ballads that fill a niche that a lot of people want filled. It's not the most exciting music, but it makes a lot of people happy.
Being out of touch with pop music in the 21st century isn't just a consequence of aging. The music industry has changed. We aren't all exposed to the Hot 100 or Top Ten.
Truth. The internet has made it trivially easy to silo yourself with the stuff you actually like.
I am fortunate my spouse does not watch music award shows. However, I came across an article in El Pais about the controversy The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was ranked lower than Rosalía's album El Mal Querer for concept albums, which upon listening found very good and exciting new music, although from 2018. Rosalía just won another album of the year award at the Latin Grammy's for Motomami. She is good.
Why would you even have to look this up? Of course “START ME UP”
Don't know much about Ed Sheeran, but I vaguely recall he had a big hit a few years back about love which allowed him to plug into the dating market in a big way. I suspect that's what explains his bigness. Kinda like Norah Jones 20 years ago. And where is she today? Making little jazz records; in her case, she's a well-trained pianist.
Ed also sang a song to Maisie Williams in Game of Thrones.
There you go. A show I didn't watch.
Anyway, my vague impression is that a couple of years ago he had a song with a clever melody and I remember thinking "Good melody, but this guy is a one-hit wonder for sure." And he seems to have hung on to the spotlight, so I'm guessing he has more talent or more smarts than I figured originally.
I noticed he was a guest on Colbert a few weeks ago (but I didn't watch), so he's still in the zeitgeist, at least somehow.
What do you even do for entertainment?
Didn't Ed Sheeran appear in the movie "Yesterday"? That's where I've heard of him.
It seems an invariable rule in my household:
1) If my wife gets a reference and I don't, it's about popular actors or singers;
2) If I get the reference and she doesn't, it's about politics;
3) If neither of us gets it, it's about sports.
Who is Paul Campos?
If you have been to a wedding in the past decade you have heard Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' -- which has 3.5 Billion (with a B) views on YouTube.
I never heard of Ed Sheeran either until he had a cameo in one of the later seasons of Game of Thrones precisely because he was so famous. (Earlier, he had the principal song over the credits of one of The Hobbit movies, but I overlooked that apparently. I was reminded when rewatching them last week.) And I'm a huge (but oh, so old) music fan and audiophile headphone hobbyist. I read and listen to numerous reviews of headphones, IEMs, and associated electronics (mostly amps and DACs) and when the reviewers use particular tracks to illustrate the properties of the gear, I have seldom heard of the song or the artists, though apparently many of them are big stars.
For an exquisite introduction to Ed Sheeran's voice, in duet with the transcendent, otherworldly pipes of Andrea Bocelli, check out this "Perfect Symphony" video. It's a mini-documentary, really, of their duet, at Bocelli's home studio in Tuscany in October 2017. There's a good reason this video has nearly a half-a-billion views and about 100,000 comments. PS: Plus, Bocelli's sons are world-class lookers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiDiKwbGfIY
I still follow pop music but in retrograde fashion; from Ben Folds to Beatles to Brubeck to Biederbeck to the great Jimmy Blythe. The modern stuff more or less bounces off me due to stylistic changes in mixing, emphasis on melody, etc. Also, they have to be at least semi-literate; a Suzzane Vega vs Taylor Swift, or Robyn Hitchcock vs Ed Sheeran.
I have no idea who this guy is. I like John Gruber’s comment that since he was about 25 or 30 years old he never has any idea who the musical acts are on SNL.
I don’t begrudge the kids having their own tastes, God bless them. I’m just not personally interested. There are too many other demands on my time to worry about new musical forms.
Not to mention that it's hardly worth putting in the effort to follow a remake of a remake of a remake of a remake. In a somewhat similar vein, the last time I followed action movies to any degree at all was sometime in my late twenties/early thirties ...