By ~medusa~ (68.79.85.225) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:25 am:

Sometimes we wonder how did So & So got where they are today...even when we know they're not really good at whatever it is they do, but they go straight to the top.
Notice how they dress, wear their hair
We already know that Men are physical, but this country is over physical...ok, wait a minute, wait a minute.
Overseas, in Europe, Japan, etc. they actuallu Love Music, it doesn't seem to matter, what the personis wearing or how fat or thin they are,or if they are completely dressed (covered).
In this USA, if you're not naked, you aint in it.
If your hair aint rainbow colored or Spiked, full of Weave, your eyes aint auqua, you are not "IT".

Remember the sharpe dressers? Suits & Dresses that Nat, Frank, Jackie Wilson, Dinah Washington,Mary Wilson, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Aretha, Gladys Peggy Lee. (Thank goodness, there was a time)
I know those styles are obsolete now, but do folks have to be naked to sell MUSIC?
Is that why Oleta Adams, and a lot of other artist left or they just didn't get props?
I watched American Idol the other night when the Funk Bros. were performing, and just about everyone that performed, was covered.
I also know that Sex sells (nowadays), but it shouldn't sell the Music, Good Music sells itself.
Now I know why Europe & Japan got all the good music and the USA has all the tits, butts,and spiked hair forget about the music huh? (LOL)
This reminds me of the thread that was started a few months ago~how Music is more appreciated overseas than here in the US, and I still say it's true....nah

By ZEKE (205.188.117.14) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 08:47 am:

Lady Medusa, good morning!(smile!)

For the record, the hidden hand of the corporate structure, the publicists, the agents, the attorneys, the knuckleheaded hangers-on-and-around... These are the elements that determine whether an artist is worthy to be presented to the world within a certain context, and beyond a certain point...

The poor artist is the one who gets blamed for all of the madness, but they are at the low-end of the totem pole... If an artist evinces a certain kind of independence, such as one of your favorites(smile!), Anita Baker, they get labeled as being a b***! for asserting themselves...

There are a lot of ways to look at this thing Lady Medusa, and I don't think there are any simple answers... A lot of artists aren't booty and boobs, such as Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, and a lot of an aritst's persona depends on just what they've decided is best for them - from their sound to the their attire... Listen, to the old heads here at the board, let's be real... The whole outlandish attire started a long, long time ago... From Screamin' Jay Hawkins to EWF and P.Funk, there has always been that element in SHOW business... Those folks started this trend toward loud, lewd, and lascivious, and they were performing at roughly the same time as the Tempts and Tops, in their elegant suits... How and Why do we get upset at a rapper with his pants half on/off, and praise Bernie Worrell with his diaper on - puhleeeeze...(smile!) That's all, Lady Medusa, before I get into any more trouble up in here(smile!)

Peace!
ISAIAH

By ~medusa~ (68.79.85.225) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 09:04 am:

U right Isaiah, and is that why we don't hear much for Jill, Anita & Angie anymore?
so unreal...it's too bad these artists have to strip to be heard...
Damn, what do they do to be seen? oh that's right, the Videos...well, dance, sing, act I guess U can say the Artists' have become~~~ Multi Skilled (LOL)

By Isaiah (205.188.117.14) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 09:23 am:

Lady Medusa, when you talk about Jill Scott and Angie Stone, actually, these ladies just need to make music, and sell their style by whatever means are necessary... People love the hell out of Jill Scott, and I've seen that at her concerts... If she doesn't return to the scene soon, with another effort of some sort, then she has herself, not her weight, to blame... Same with Angie Stone... In this day and age, when these artists have already established a name for themselves, there's no excuse not to go independent, and manufacture your own product... If these ladies are looking around for a label to cheat them, and treat them like garbage, then I don't know what to say(smile!) Of course, Alicia and Beyonce are gonna be promoting themselves, and making music, and we'll all say they're booty and more booty, but is that fair??? Nah, it aint... They're doing what it takes to stay on the scene, while Jill is somewhere in the mirror smiling, smiling, and more smiling(SMILE!) Git out da mirror, Jill, and blow some soul... Print up some CD's and sell 'em at SDF, why don'tcha!

I'm trying to say that this thing works both ways, and we can't all lay the blame at one source... Prince decided to do his own thing, and he's going to live and die a rich man... This is a new day, and the artist has to seize the time... Look at what Spyder Turner is doing with his business... We need to see more of that, and less complaining from musicians and artists... What annoys me, sometimes, Lady Medusa, is that I';ve heard at SDF that the old artists did their thing for the love of it, and not the money... Well, why don't these artists get together, and put out some music, some instrumentals, some of the music they made famous, and sell it with some free concerts, CD's on the prem for those who want to buy them??? We used to have that up at Grant's Tomb in Harlem, and it could be duplicated around the country...

Peace!
Isaiah

By DyvaNaye (64.12.117.14) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 09:36 am:

Two things sells todays music....sex and 'the re-mix'....with out the re-mixing of music, some people would not even have a career...

By ~medusa~ (68.79.102.84) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 10:18 am:

I feel ya Isaiah, but (QUESTION)~ do you think if Jill Scott would show off her cleavage and have some kind of hanging hairstyle, wearing Butt tight clothes, she would be even more popular with todays Audience? I mean I know what you're saying, she don't need to do all that to get over, but I just wonder if she were to change her style, what would happen.
I remember when Prince wore the Booty Pants, the pants with his Butt exposed...and DyvaNaye...
so, it's all about (((WHAT)))? (hahahahaha)
DyvaNaye, U are so right, like they say SEX Sells and that's no lie...but it's too bad that the real true to the soul artists have to go across the world to sell their music, ya know?
I'm again wondering who these cabbage heads are, that make all these big publications/Media to steer this country into so many SEXual avenues, and do they have any kind of morals and are their daughters & sons out there naked too?

By ~medusa~ (68.79.102.84) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 10:48 am:

It's too bad they couldn't put a MIC right where the Body is exposed and listen what comes out...
nah, I don;t think we would hear a song that's 4 sure.
Damn I'm hyper today (hahahahahhaa) sorry folks...W H E W!!!!

By Isaiah (205.188.117.14) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 03:46 pm:

Ladies, sex has always sold... It is not a new phenomenon... If it were, then Big Mama Thornton and Big Maybelle, two awesome talents, would be as well known today as Eartha Kitt and Lena Horne... Either of those ladies had better voices than the latter... Billy Stewart would be as big as Jackie Wilson was back then, and Little Willie John would've been as big as Sam Cooke... There's nothing new under the sun with this...

As far as Jill Scott and Erykah Badu are concerned, I am not "Turned on" by their physical beings as much as I am by their music, so showing more cleavage(and Jill's got a lot!)wont change what I feel about their art... In fact, their arrival on the scene has been very refreshing in that they aren't all looks and no talent like some folks people seem to love to hate, like Beyonce...

Peace!
Isaiah

By ~medusa~ (68.79.90.44) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 04:29 pm:

well said Isaiah...

By Juicefree20 (151.205.169.232) on Saturday, April 03, 2004 - 06:45 pm:

What's up Zeke. You are very correct when you say that sex has always sold products & music in particular. I remember reading about Sonny Til & The Orioles at the Apollo. Girls were screaming for Sonny to "ride their alley" & that was in the relatively innocent 50s. Otis Williams stated that when Cholly Atkins was teaching them choreography, that they were selling sex. Jackie Wilson was even smarter than that. Jackie would always make sure to kiss the least attractive lady in the crowd. That made him loved even more, unlike these "stars" of today, who pick & choose the best looking, biggest butt, etc.

Hi Medusa, good to see ya To answer your question, I don't think that Jill Scott showing cleavage would help her to sell any records. From the days of Martha Wash, hers is not the body image that the industry prefers, as we saw from the C&C Music Factory video debacle. In the entertainment industry, it's one thing for Beyonce', et al to show their figures, it's quite another when a fuller figured woman such as Ms Scott does so. The media doesn't want normal women, they want this BS image that THEY have decided is the ideal. Consider the popularity of a certain actress (formerly married to a rock star)with a certain segment of the male populace. Now, she had these humongous implants & everyone goes nuts over these falsies. However, her breasts weigh 40 pounds & the rest of her body weighs 50. Where's the symmetry, balance or proportion? It looks like someone stuck 2 melons on a hat rack & I'm sick of that anorexic look being called the ideal. I am rarely attracted to a size 6 woman unless she's 4 feet tall. Then she'd be stacked. I'm into proportion & authencity, so, the store bought body holds no appeal for me.
Countless girls & women have gotten themselves sick & have died trying to live up to this false image.

The various media concerns, have been trying to convince to live up to a physical ideal that I would only find attractive if I were into pipe cleaners. Basically, if the face is cute & the breasts large, that's the image that they push. I remember Cheryl Lynn catching flack from her label, as they wanted her to lose weight. Look at Janet, whose appearance is that of someone who has had all of the fat sucked out of them. To me, I liked her better when she was chubbier, she just looked better.

Look at the bodies & features of many of todays female stars. If you did a before & after, it's obvious that they are purposely trying to metamorphose into a Britney, Christina body clone & that's sad. Even Jennifer Lopez tried to lose or deflate her posterior, you just don't try to lose such a blessing. It seems the more mainstream they get, the more that they emulate a Barbie doll. It's getting to the point where they all look alike. And what's up with the fake breasts? It's a shame that our female artist now feel the need to emulaste those whom they once criticized for buying their attributes. It seems as that they're starting to act like airheads as well. In short, they seem to be trying to become what they once hated, isn't that usually the way?

As for me, give me a woman who carries herself with some dignity & class. For example, I love Janets music & always have. However, I'm growing tired of seeing her in every damn photo looking like her breasts are about to pop out. It's like stuffing 10 pounds of bologna into a 1 pound sack. I don't find that attractive, unless I'm taking those puppies home. Frankly, it ain't no fun if Juice gets none. As she most certainly is not going to share with me, I don't care to see them. I prefer accesibility & she & her breasts are not, so, what's the point?

Give me that not so perfect woman who is neat in appearance & who keeps her mind & body fit. She can bare her breasts anytime she wants to, as long as it's private & for my eyes only. I'm selfish that way. It's ok if there's a little paunch growing a bit around the middle. It's alright if the breasts have a little bit of a droop to them. That's natural & the way nature planned it. I like my women to be the same way that I want my music & my money to be.......REAL!

Juice

By JoB (63.168.103.2) on Sunday, April 04, 2004 - 07:40 am:

lol Juice...and btw, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed that (about Janet's twins popping out in EVERY photo of her)...but I just never said anything to anyone about it because of course, as a female myself, I would immediately be accused of "hatin'" on her or being jealous :o)...nice to see that a guy is thinking the same thing...I guess she just fails to realize that although yes she does look great, and showing them every now and then is cool, people will just get tired of it after while if that's how you look ALL THE TIME. Matter of fact, I don't recall NOT seeing them since the Rythm Nation video...or maybe that one where she was playing with her dog, can't think of the name...

By Livonia Ken (136.1.1.101) on Monday, April 05, 2004 - 12:00 pm:

For the record, I don't think Bernie was known to wear a diaper on stage. He might have considered it if they came in purple, though. Gary Shider was the Funkateer most often seen in a diaper. Since this is completely irrelevant to the point Isaiah was making, please continue...

Regards,
Ken