By corvax (199.29.22.28 - 199.29.22.28) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 04:50 pm: |
the caption comes from a post from Ralph Terrana with, I think, some justification. I use the radio to keep up a little bit with music genres I don't listen to much at home, and I agree much of what is on 'urban' stations, as is also the case with mainstream country, is formulaic and uninteresting, much of it, to this amateur's ears, poorly developed (or non existent) melodies with machine generated beats serving as an excuse for overblown vocal histrionics. But I wonder if there is anything current that holds appeal to the experts on this board--despite the above criticism, it seems to me there are strong artists out there (altho their material may not always be the best--Mary J. Blige, Tony Toni Tone, Maxwell come to mind). And, frankly, lots of hip hop, which is clearly an outgrowth of funk and other earlier musical traditions, especially the stuff that's rarely on the radio, is really good (check out last year's Mos Def disc).
By david, glasgow, scotland (62.252.128.4 - 62.252.128.4) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 06:46 pm: |
hi corvax
it's an absolute certainty that there is real talent out there.
i remember we used to think that nobody could ever match jack nicklaus, for example.
sometimes i think that the love of music is down to the generation you are brought up in. for example my parents could never understand my love of 'this' music.
young people in my workplace wouldn't give tuppence for it either.
however, i still think we were very, very lucky.
i wonder if they will have the same interest in their music thirty years from now.
hope that makes sense!
hey - what about major lance, gene chandler, jerry butler, curtis mayfield and the dells from your own fair city - it didn't get any better than that!!
By Ralph Terrana (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Monday, November 05, 2001 - 07:56 pm: |
Well I may have been overly harsh with my criticism of today's R&B. Certainly there are a few ( very few ) artists out there who deserve merit. But from a comparitive level when the majority of R&B was just SO good, I really can't get overly excited about most of what I'm hearing these days. And I don't thnk it's a generational thing either. There are many of the younger generation that recognize and appeciate how good this music was. Sadly I think the bar of quality has been lowered substantially and we now have what is currently on today's market.
By maredda (130.49.149.19 - 130.49.149.19) on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 04:40 am: |
I feel the same way, Mr. Terrana. And the sad thing is that I'm 21. I don't find much to cheer for in today's lukewarm R&B market. I do love Tony Toni Tone and Jill Scott (so-so). As far as modern music, modern jazz is about all I can stomach (I don't mean that soft smooth jazz crap, I mean real cats like Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Josh Redman).
But back to R&B, I'll even take a rare 60s soul star over a bigtime 2000s r&b star. I also think a new term should be coined for this music because while it definitely has roots in soul, it has become a whole 'nother monster.
By John Lester (213.1.167.157 - 213.1.167.157) on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 05:14 am: |
You know Maredda...when I go to Paris..the French seem to really appreciate the music of the past...and the funny thing is that when someone like Dee Dee Bridgewater (who I think now lives there) sings in English, she can still put bottoms on stadium seats and sell CD's in quantities.
By maredda (130.49.149.42 - 130.49.149.42) on Friday, November 09, 2001 - 03:50 pm: |
That's because Dee Dee's bad! But I think some of it is because though she hasn't made a career of copying the great jazz divas (Sarah, Billie, Carmen, Ella, Abbey, Shirley, etc.), she maintains that high standard we fell in love with, along with Dianne Reeves and Cassandra Wilson and newcomer Jane Monheit.
And yeah, she does live in France with her husband, who is a French businessman. I got the opportunity to meet Cecil Bridgewater at my school's Jazz Seminar Week, who is a fabulous trumpeter and Dee Dee's ex-husband.
By Ade (193.129.220.205 - 193.129.220.205) on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 01:00 am: |
Unfortunately the majority of music released now is "product". I often refer to the current "dance music" scene as a triumph of marketing over substance. What are considered "dancefloor anthems " are often discarded after 6 months to be replaced by the latest releases, never to see a turntable again. I am yet to find anyone to convince me of the appeal of "dance music", and therefore have to say that (careful) it is music for people who aren't really affected by music. There are artists who seem to possess "it" - but they are few and far between. As I've said to you before David, I think Jackie Wilsons recordings should be placed on the national curriculum for all schoolkids!! Bear in mind that i had to live through high school during the 80's, (I still have scars!) It's no wonder I looked to the glory days of the Northern Soul scene to get me through.
By david, glasgow, scotland (213.1.155.71 - 213.1.155.71) on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 08:51 am: |
the music will live on.
thanks ade