President Trump EXPLOSIVE Speech CHANGES the Music Industry FOREVER

I think we have different musical tastes.

That's fine, and in truth I can listen to almost any style so long as it is reasonably well performed, well recorded, not trashy, obscene, overly profane, or promoting very poor morals. I'll even compromise a bit for a catchy tune. But... first and foremost, excepting instrumental works (of which I demand a little different sort of creativity), I am a lyrics guy, and I lean toward lyrics that are dramatic or can uplift / inspire, make me think, or maybe tell an interesting or funny story. I can appreciate a song about heartbreak now and then -- it IS a part of life, too often. (Was it David Gerrold who said ALL love (between humans) eventually ends in heartbreak?) Can the lyrics and mood the song sets move me, create empathy, etc.?

The problem I had with "21" (aside from recording issues - see my next post) was not the musical style (fine by me) or Adele's vocal talent, which she obviously has in spades. However, her lyrics, which all seem to be about her relationship problems, and most of which are from, well, an unhealthy angle, comprise the whole album. All of us make mistakes, for God's sake, but isn't there anything else in this girl's life? And where are the parts of REAL love that have to do with sacrifice and guts, extended togetherness, and gentleness, patience, beauty, protectiveness, joy in truth, and kindness. (Geez, I almost sound like 1st Corinthians!)

That's why I wondered if Adele had progressed with time.

Now, don't get me wrong, I had almost exactly the same reaction to the lyrics in the album Steve Perry put out (I don't recall the title) after he broke up with "Sherry". After one side I was like "Ok, enough already! We know you broke up and you feel bad about it. You made a whole album side about it. We feel bad for you too. Now think of something else, for God's sake...!"

Ok, granted, entire albums CAN be about one subject, essentially, but then some other creativity has to come to the fore (for me). "Dark Side of the Moon" is a BRILLIANT example. Or the subject can be itself "unusual" and have a lot of angles to it.

As for "popularity" or page views, those only serve to too often underscore the uselessness and shallowness of 2018's pop culture. Otherwise, this (just the perfect amount of dissonance in with the exceptional talent)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0oX3_wiULo

and this (one of the greatest love stories ever told)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PijEcdhHI2k

should each have about 50 million views each.

Finally, it sounds to me like you ARE listening to a lot of good music, and have an open mind, and likely refine that as you go on. (Try more of those low page views & play them several times over a period of weeks or months to sort of get used to them. I think you will find some of those hidden gems you will like a lot!!!) ;-)

LOL. Here I am having quite the discussion on the important subject of music styles with a guy who is into LYRICS.

Now this seems funny to me since I pay essentially no attention at all to the lyrics. A big reason for this is they are most often not in English. I love the Canadian singers who sing most often in French - Isabelle Boulay for example. I listen to a lot of opera very little of which is in English.

But no offense intended. We are both living examples of tastes that vary and you are obviously deep into your music. As am I. But for me it is quality of music itself and the skill of the performer.

I do agree with you that view count isn’t all it’s cut out to be. Adele is a big exception for me. I doubt seriously if I waste any time listening to others in the Billion View on YouTube Club.

It is fun, at least for me, to find new young talented musicians and watch them develop. A lot of these guys and gals don’t have big view counts. So I understand your point, which I agree with.

Wrong.

For one thing, I did not attack Adele’s vocal talent. It, in and of itself, is fine, and she nails it on “Skyfall”, IMO.

However: Go to the (online) Dynamic Range Database & look up Adele and “21”. “21” as was issued on CD is squashed, pure and simple. The vinyl release is, curiously, substantially better. Skyfall (on video disc) is ok in this regard, too. Not great by any means, but acceptable.

Next, go get yourself some decent equipment. You can probably find a set of used Thiel CS 3.5 or 3.6 speakers or something close at a reasonable price. (See Stereophile reviews, for fairly reliable guidance.) Otherwise, any number of new speakers available now in the, oh, say, $2000 plus range should suffice. Stick with those well reviewed by the really critical reviewers, not just any ol’ Audio-Video mag. Be sure to pair this with playback equipment of similar quality. Esp. if used but in good shape, your total should be $3000, tops. (In fact, there is a pair of Thiele 3.5’s on eBay now for $799 BIN, $499 starting bid.) If really pinched for $$, or if in a situation like an apt. where music at over background music levels is impractical, get a pair of $200 -$400 Sony / AKG / Beyer / Koss / Audio Technica headphones and electronics worthy of them. Used / in good condition, $1k should get you by.

Now, listen at a brisk but not painfully loud volume to “21” on CD vs. “Skyfall” off the video disc (either Blu Ray or regular HD is ok). Compare closely several times. You WILL hear the difference, or, if you need a more dramatic demonstration, play Amanda McBroom & Lincoln Mayorga (Album: Growing Up in Hollywood Town, Song: Amanda) from the Sheffield Lab CD for comparison / “ear training”.

The first issue is the heavy compression* on the CD version of “21”, already discussed. The 2nd issue is distortion in the voice: I’m not sure if it was in the mic, or the Aphex was cranked too much, or if it was somehow introduced either deliberately or accidentally by some other means, but the distortion is CLEARLY there if the “21” CD is auditioned on good equipment by ears that are accustomed to listening to clean source material in the first place.* (Best of all is careful long term listening to good singers with a minimum of, or preferably NO electronic processing, and no amplification, or very (very!) clean reinforcement gear.)

You already have this level of equipment? Granted, some people are more sensitive to distortion than others. Others simply (eh?) tune it out. (Understatement of the year?)

“Heart” is fine. Well, maybe not always. OJ probably felt it deep in his heart when he did the deed. But he likely was not singing. Let’s just say that in a grown songstress’ work I prefer a heart that got past 15, and half the time the singer can sing about something beside her (or his, for that matter) failed relationships / bad choices in relationships / etc. See my earlier post, today. If you feel Adele has since cranked out such tunes, suggest away & I’ll check ‘em out. :-)

*Note: For a real experience of “crushed” audio, any more, just about any rock / pop / oldies / etc. FM station will do. I cannot even listen to 95% of the stations around here any more. The “loudness wars” have badly compressed most non-vinyl releases and rereleases in the last 25 years or so anyway, and then the FM stations REALLY crunch ‘em down again. It’s ghastly obvious on even a mid-end factory car stereo. A couple of our classical and / or jazz stations are ok. Otherwise, it’s like eating cereal that’s been in the milk for 4 hours...

Great post! Even though it’s actually HARD for me to ignore lyrics (or when they are in another language they actually serve to distract me), I can enjoy instrumental works just fine. Aside from classical I like a lot of Henry Mancini’s work, I adore much of the instrumental soundtrack to “You Only Live Twice”, and ditto for the musical score supporting Babylon 5.

There are also many tunes with nonsense or “low info” or rather incomprehensible lyrics that I like: “Oh Yeah” by Yello is, well, fun if one doesn’t read TOO much into it. And who knows what certain of the old Blue Oyster Cult songs mean (but they were fun too.) Ditto for much of the “cleaner” dance music, although I DO tire of it after a while (unless back in the day I was dancing with some cutie — then it’s good until the place closes!)

Possibly the lyrics thing is from my Protestant church background — those lyrics really meant something to me even as a child, we sung them clearly and forcefully, and it stuck with me. Plus, in my teen years, generally lyrics in pop music were a big deal. OTOH, my wife is not only several years my younger, she is Catholic from a background of echo-ey cathedrals where half the service was in Latin (she is not fluent) and hardly anything could actually be understood anyway because of the reverb, and congregation responses all seem to be mumbled — she’s not a lyric person either. So she’ll be listening to the radio (the broadcast sound quality of which makes me cringe anyway) and some song with raunchy lyrics will come on, and she’ll wonder why I tuned to a different station. But my daughter will often say (esp. if it’s a “pop” song) “oh, yeah, that has bad (or “dark” or “naughty”) lyrics. I think a lot of the kids DO hear the messages, in some cases subconsciously, perhaps, a lot more than some parents realize.

Another item: I was mentioning to my wife just yesterday that IMO in terms of vocal ability and instrumental proficiency, the Beatles individually were not “greats”, and yet with creativity and nifty arrangements, a little daring, hard work, and considerable ability to function together as a group greater than the sum of the parts, they were incredibly successful.

Many years ago, an acquaintance I worked with said to me: “Most people get high (which would have included drinking) to listen to music. You listen to music to get high.” I took that as a considerable compliment. :-)

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