tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post5146826312181563180..comments2023-11-05T05:00:40.722-06:00Comments on The Complacency Chronicles: Uncensored Idol!-shane-http://www.blogger.com/profile/10208833447055231529noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-48587203806694963512007-08-16T17:48:00.000-05:002007-08-16T17:48:00.000-05:00Hmmm. Nope. Still lame.Hmmm. Nope. Still lame.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-4706950476613328042007-08-15T00:30:00.000-05:002007-08-15T00:30:00.000-05:00Ooh, I hadn't checked the comments on here for a w...Ooh, I hadn't checked the comments on here for a while and just caught you guys going back & forth.<BR/><BR/>I guess it all just comes down to your concept of the word "art."<BR/><BR/>I mean, is your definition of "art" simply a song sung well? Or is the full creation of a song?<BR/><BR/>Certainly, Dylan's a genius. But he's no Pavarotti when it comes to the vocal chops. Yet, he will FOREVER be more respected by the sands of time than Melinda Doolittle, who's a freaking FANTASTIC singer.<BR/><BR/>Me, I kinda take Idol for what it is - a talent contest for singers. At the end of the day, every one of those kids -- Sanjaya included -- can do things with their larynx that I couldn't ever dream of... and hell, I'll respect that just as I respected the kids from my high school choir. <BR/><BR/>I'm a fan of pop music, period. It brings you up, and -- if it's good enough -- can even make you think. Some of my favorite bands -- Of Montreal, Camera Obscura, Belle & Sebastian, The Polyphonic Spree, The Boo Radleys -- write pop music, albeit pop music that's a little too challenging for the masses. Or at least not packaged for the MTV 15-second attention spans of today's youth.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate MOST music if it's done right... and the Idol gig was surprisingly fun. <BR/><BR/>The neatest thing for me about the whole week was listening to these kids talk about their future -- they're all SO career-driven right now that it bends your mind. Every single kid on the tour has a portable studio on their tour bus. As they travel from town to town, they work on songs for each other, they record vocals... and, while Idol prevents any of the finalists from signing to any record deals until AFTER the tour, it was pretty obvious that they ALL have deals of some kind waiting for them.<BR/><BR/>The bottom line for me is that they're all pretty talented kids, and they were ALL genuinely nice people to interview, and you really get a sense (other than Sanjaya, who seemed pretty distant) that they're all each other's best friends. And to get a sense of genuine ANYTHING from a show SO profit-driven as Idol was truly refreshing.-shane-https://www.blogger.com/profile/10208833447055231529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-79067281492448398982007-08-10T17:52:00.000-05:002007-08-10T17:52:00.000-05:00I like your style, BTW.BUT, Dylan was a great sing...I like your style, BTW.<BR/><BR/>BUT, Dylan was a great singer.<BR/><BR/>His vocal style is an affectation of a southern style. A style that had evolved, somewhat from Shape Note Singing. Which, probably had earlier forms. I'm not the greatest musicologist around.<BR/><BR/>Listen to his phrasing. "Don't Think Twice". Although often covered, I've hardly heard anyone get the inflection right.<BR/><BR/>"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is perfect in timing. Written out, it is repetitive and boring, sung, it is life itself. Listen to how he lands on the Names. It is stunning.<BR/><BR/>"Like a Rolling Stone" is another one. Great timing. The phrases remind me of opera. Puccini. The phrases breathe. Recit flowing into aria. <BR/><BR/>As Wagner escorted us out of the the epoch of Functional Tonality, and redefined art itself in the 20th century, so does Dylan guide us into the 21st.<BR/><BR/>Has anyone ever done a Dylan song on Idol?Socialist Christian Hippiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18243069889495334487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-42439817199261905792007-08-10T15:57:00.000-05:002007-08-10T15:57:00.000-05:00No, nor would Sting. That's not what it's for. A...No, nor would Sting. That's not what it's for. And many would argue about what is 'art' though you and I will tend to agree on the ones you named except that with only a piano and no mic as you stipulated, they'd not make a big impression.<BR/><BR/> Dylan's no great singer, but he's a great songwriter, with fantastic lyrics, that survived his raw asthmatic-sounding renditions.<BR/><BR/> Apples and oranges. And Bennett, who phrases nearly as well as Sinatra and does much more with little actual voice, said out loud that Sanjaya "sings very well."<BR/><BR/> I also get a feel you're stuck in the same timewarp I am/was :-)<BR/><BR/> Winwood certainly wouldn't be for that show. Nor JJ Cale. But Winwood's a guy who overdubbed himself so that an entire album was him, multipled. Now, Blake might do that but I'm no fan of Blake, whose outrageously sharp of center singing was overlooked by the judges. But some like that beatboxing stuff and if one likes that kind of energy, and a lot of people do, he'll sell tickets. So, he gets room. Just as long as I can enjoy others. <BR/><BR/> Sales. It matters even in classical, where you have only 'safe' artists most of the time, playing 'safe' music.<BR/><BR/> People are funny. In high school, I was dancing with someone who asked me who my favorite singer was. I said I couldn't decide between Sinatra and Elvis (even if he might sang flat). He said "You have to be a hypocrite to put those two names together."<BR/><BR/> I do enjoy music in many forms.<BR/>And find both those guys "talented"... and "singers" - that's my main point.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-91330511539527304522007-08-10T15:20:00.000-05:002007-08-10T15:20:00.000-05:00I would never say that pop music has no depth. Som...I would never say that pop music has no depth. Some of it rises to the level of great art itself.<BR/><BR/>I have not heard much of it on that show, though.<BR/><BR/>I mean, Sinatra did "pop" and did it excellently.<BR/><BR/>I considere Bob Dylan one of the greatest American singers.<BR/><BR/>Some "art" music is garbage.<BR/><BR/>Having watched American Idol, I still think that if you strip away the tech you'd be left with little to admire.<BR/><BR/>Would Dylan make it out of round 1? What about John Lennon? David Byrne? David Bowie? Leonard Cohen? Woody Guthrie?Socialist Christian Hippiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18243069889495334487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-23574894785069320772007-08-10T14:03:00.000-05:002007-08-10T14:03:00.000-05:00To socialist christian hippie bristler,He was writ...To socialist christian hippie bristler,<BR/><BR/>He was writing about refining their stage skills and their ability to communicate to their target audience.<BR/><BR/> My training is classical, and I do know there is talent there and that most are singers, whether or not you like to think they're neither talented nor singers.<BR/><BR/> There is also depth in some pop music and shallowness in both pop and classical. To me, it's sad to just categorize as you do and miss so much that is Music and just plain fun. They call it entertainment. It may be cornball, but the phrase "my heart sings" is no accident, and I get the sense of that with their show.<BR/><BR/>Shane, I enjoyed your write up of the show and the interviews. It was also nice to see the generosity of spirit that allowed you to see or hear beyond the media's Sanjaya mantra.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05109282436243758435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12627112.post-84095669537582358692007-08-09T14:28:00.000-05:002007-08-09T14:28:00.000-05:00The fact that it only takes a few months shows you...The fact that it only takes a few months shows you the relative ease of doing this sort of thing when you have all of this technology, stylists, fashion, etc. behind you.<BR/><BR/>It is a shallow commercial art.<BR/><BR/>It makes people happy. So I am not against it, I just bristle when people call them "talented" or "singers". <BR/><BR/>Most are neither. Put alone in a room with a piano and no mic and with music that has a depth to it, and see how long most can last.Socialist Christian Hippiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18243069889495334487noreply@blogger.com