Posted on 07/13/2002 4:55:42 PM PDT by Wondervixen
Should have included recording. Check out the retrospectives available on Rino records. The four disc "Yes, I Can!" is worth every penny, especially considering Rino's consistently exceptional remastering. Also amazing that SDJ, to my knowledge, only recorded one really horrible song in his entire career, which you all know but I won't mention 'cause I don't want to put it in your head. (Gotta go and put on some Mozart or Bluegrass right now to get it out of mine.)
I remember exactly when that dirty-bomb hit. Exit "Steely Dan", Enter Disco Stu and the Scumbunnies.
I'm not really a country music fan,but I'm not sure I agree with that. Yeah,there is as much "formula pap" out there in country music as any other branch,but just because people agree to play that crap in order to "make their bones",there is no reason to believe they can't and won't do better once they make a name for themselves.
OK,not being a CM fan,I may be stepping into it now,but I consider Alan Jackson to be a example of this. I figured he was just a mediocre talent that was most likely doing music others wrote and produced for him,and his real "talent" lay in his management. Boy,was I wrong! I forgot where I saw him now,but he was doing a bluegrass tribute with a banjo,and the man was smoking! He had also done a pretty decent Eagles cover earlier.I gotta admit it,he impressed me as being a true musician who not only has talent,but is in love with what's he's doing.
OK,not being a CM fan,I may be stepping into it now,but I consider Alan Jackson to be a example of this. I figured he was just a mediocre talent that was most likely doing music others wrote and produced for him,and his real "talent" lay in his management. Boy,was I wrong!
Good example. But for evey Alan Jackson there are (it seems like) a million Garth Brooks or Faith Hills that just keep pumping out the pap crap. And a lot of the really good ones, like Allison Kraus or Patty Loveless, who worked their up through the alt-country ranks rather than being groomed by the big labels.
The problem today is that the media rarely shows musicians with an instrument in their hands. Artists just dance and lip sync while the musak magically appears in the background. The few exceptions... country, thrash metal, & chicks with acoustic folk guitars are pretty much the clientle in music stores these days. But without the key 18-21 year old audience barred from the clubs by authoritarian do-gooders, it really goes nowhere.
BTW, you're fooling yourself if you think what's coming out of Nashville these days isn't some of the most fomulated crap being produced these days.
My favorite kinds of music are some swing from the 40's, rock and roll from the 50's and the Beatles and Beach Boys from the 60's. I also like songs from Creedence Clearwater Revival and that song called "Horse with No Name" from the 70's. I hate heavy metal music from all era's though.
I also like some country music like Hank Williams, Sr. and Patsy Cline. For laughs, I sometimes listen to Mrs. Miller, who did off-key covers of famous songs. :)
After CCR, music became progressively worse. I can't stand rap and this current racket and I am hoping it goes back in the sewer where it belongs.
WHOA! Let's get something straight,Allison Kraus ain't "good". She's one of the greats,and she approaches being magical. Pure talent,and a green-eyed redhead to boot. If she played her cards right,I'd even let her have her way with me!
BTW,another who was pure talent was Linda Rhondstat. Ever heard her,Phoebe Snow,and Emmy Lou Harris sing together? It just doesn't get any better.
No, but I have tapes of the PBS Series "Sessions at West 54th" of Phoebe Snow singing Poetry Man with Zapp Mamma, and Emmy Lou Harris performing with monster guitarist Daniel Lanois, who IIRC produced her Wrecking Ball album (and produces U2). *** BIG GRIN ***
...laughing, stamping feet, running in place Sammy style.
"Big Grin",indeed! Ever seen the "songwriters special" on PBS that has Willie Nelson,Lyle Lovette,Emmy Lou,and Rodney Crowell (sp?)? Stuff like that is why you won't be hearing ME calling for PBS to be taken off the air! Crowell has a song with a title something like "I stopped loving her today" that is so deep-rooted in the country blues and so honest that it just tears your heart out and stomps on it. He made the comment that he wrote it after his divorce,and even thought all the people on the stage were his friends and had surely heard him do it before,his rendidition was so powerful they just sat stunned and silent for a moment when he ended. This reminded me of "Dandy Don" Meredith's description of Hank Williams Sr music as being "music to slash your wrists by".
I still listen to the rock'n'roll from the 60's and 70's, but country music is where it's at these days. Still, there are a number of good young bands out there, IMHO, but the record companies don't seem to have a vested interest in sortin' thru the schlock to promote them.
FReegards...MUD
The problem with this is that MTV has become nothing more than a life style network for these clowns.
Remember when you watched MTV? The lure to it was you always thought the next video was going to be better than the one you just saw.
Where's the good music gone? It's right here.... http://www.wusb.org/deadend/
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