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Jetset
That said, we all have our own views on what appeals, and there must be something about today's soul warbling or speaking in tongues that works for most people - it's lasted almost a decade and unfortunately shows little sign of departing the scene LOL!
Great "
Talking Heads" album by the way...
Exactly! All of that over-the-top-singing nonsense goes back to Whitney Houston - maybe not originally... but as far back as I can think of - overdoing all of the gospel stuff, force feeding us with trying to determine how talented they are based on their range, rather than what truly matters most... a good song. I'm vomiting in my mouth as I write this next part, but some of her earliest stuff ain't so bad.
Songs like (and I can't believe I'm pointing this out) “
Saving All My Love for You,” “
How Will I Know” and “
Greatest Love of All" (thank you
Wikipedia.com :notworthy), were solid and well produced (not over-produced like her post '93 career).
Her downfall (not financially though) was when Mariah Carey came onto the scene in the early '90s, showing great range in each of her songs, as well as the emergence of Boyz II Men (and their soulful ways) really forced her to compete on a different level. When you look at her earliest work, and compare it to "I Will Always Love You", there was a tremendous amount of over-emphasis on displaying her pre-choir girl range. That song was absolutely huge for her (I'll always prefer the original far more subtle Dolly Parton version any day), and it seemed that around that period, every human being with a bit of range needed to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" at every sporting event. Oh, here's a wonderful link over at
YouTube from SuperBowl XXV - (
) - and another SuperBowl (2002) with Mariah - (
) Have fun with them folks!
Side Note II: My favorite rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner", fantastically performed by Carl Lewis. :notworthy
(
)
Side Note: I don't sit around listening to Whitney Houston, and I never really did at any point in my life. But... my father had her 1st album (self titled album... sure blame him for having to listen to her back in the day) for some unknown reason, and it wasn't so bad.
Side Note III: I can't believe I'm going to admit to this either, but Carey's producers (not her) have flukishly made a few fine songs for her; maybe "
Heartbreaker," "
Dreamlover," and especially "
Fantasy"; which got me to thinking that I'm 99.99% certain that Mariah has absolutely no inkling that samples of "
Tom Tom Club's" hit "
Genius Of Love" were used to make her song.
Now, speeding up to the late '90s, and all of the boy and girl bands that sprung-up (and continue to do as solo artists), they feel that it's absolutely necessary to display their range as singers, their dancing skills, rather than making a good song.
It's precisely the same thing that's been happening out here in Korea over almost that same amount of time. All called "talent" (rather than performers), but what talent? They can dance (but hardly on that M-Jackson level), can sing a little (on a "Backstreat Boys" level... no higher), and posture and look semi-pretty/semi-handsome while still looking too cutesy/boyish/girlish. Producers do all the work (not great work at that), and it's all aimed at making that 1-hit that will be a global hit (rather than it being a good song). All of the "art" is taken out, so anytime they're tossed-off as "artists", I want to yank all the hair out of my head. It's an art acting cute and wide-eyed? Almost every song is lazily construction. Start off with some hip-hop guy (who's never left Korea where there's absolutely no "hood" or "projects") with a scowl on his boyish face, 3 minutes after a sweet angst looking cute girl who sings for 1-minute (to give the song depth... that's what I'm told), followed by the closing of the scowling rapper singing-over the girl singer trying to be Mariah Carey (which is actually pretty damn hard to do).
There you have it! Crappola... All for the price of a free download, or a $10 CD.
Don't get me wrong, some "non-artists" get the right producer, and fluke off some decent sounding tunes (1/1,000 times), but shouldn't we be more demanding of substance over flash and image?
cont...
On the rapper front, when you can decipher what they're saying, the wave of strangely dressed artistes or just plain gangstas we've been relentlessly bombarded with for the past several years may be social commentary poets, but for me it ain't music, but a dumbing down of what should be a continually evolving and vibrant aspect of an entertainment that can relax and stimulate, inspire and educate - real music!
I agree with what you're saying here. I can't and will not lump every singer/act from that genre as being not-really-talented and repetitive, but for the most part... yes. Too much of this bad boy posturing has do with trying to earn some "street cred", and acting like thugs with no heart. It seems to be okay for Snoop Dog to come out with an orgy video in his crib. You'll occasionally read the up-and-coming music critic talk about how he's giving back to the community and a great father. Sure...
All I read about in main stream publications like "SLAM" (basketball magazine), is how they go and on about how some of today's ballerz act too white. Is that not racist? I don't recall "hatin'" on anyone black, and don't dislike anyone based on their cultural background/ethnicity. Enough of the race card being force-fed down our throats, when you're slurpin' "Cristal" off of some bimbo's booty in your next "I'm Making A Million 4 Nottin'" video. Always dissin' people for being too "corporate", when you're buying useless gold cars and guns, making millions upon millions pretending to be punks (or being exactly that).
Today's "Grammy" scene, is too much about who can make the biggest "IT" party, rather than quality music. Is that NOT what music is about? I'm sick of reading about how some punk had to make it out of the hood, one time selling smack, just to be free. And now that he's free, he's still trying to connect with the hood. Okay, sure. And then he's got to stay connected with the gangs. Hmmm... Was there ever any moment where he had to make music along his troubled path?
I've often read that a lot of the older African American artists are ashamed about all of this "bling-bling" crap. Charlie Parker may have gladly taken P. Diddy's coke and had a grand 'ol time, but the next day I gather he'd trash his crib with whatever sax was nearest to him, after listening to Diddy's body of work, and thinking about how he got from there to where his bankroll is sitting.
I can go on and on and on about these two topics.
Steed
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