oh and I thought you and Geoffy were talking about classical music, not classic rock, I'd rather listen to classical music than half the new music that is so utterly pretentious and bland.

I dunno. That sounds like saying all movies should have a writer/director/star.

The world is full of people who are good composers, good lyricists, good musicians, or good singers, but can't do more than one job. When you bring them together, you get songs like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Stop! In the Name of Love". If they create good music, more power to them.

that's a needle in a haystack - you can hardly hear them buried under the (louder) music track. I like the lyrics on the new Hold Steady album, but the singer's voice I can't stand.

I completely agree about the Hold Steady. I like the music and lyrics just fine, and want to like the band more, but the singers voice just kills them for me. It prevents me from enjoying them further, and I find it's the same with a lot of bands.

On the flip side of that, when I tell one of my friends who does really like them that, he says it's the singer's voice which makes the band for him. Just proves that it's personal preferences that help dictate our tastes, rather than any necessary perceived quality.

oh it's definately about perception, some of singers who think they can sing just can't - or even try to, plain and simple

On the other hand, if someone has a good voice, they can get by on stupid lyrics.

True. True. Very solid point. I think it all comes down to two things though: one, the talent of the vocalist. If all these other talented people are coming together and the artist shows up on the last day to record some vocals that have to be processed to death, something's just 'off.' Oh and Jailhouse rock is a bad example because Elvis was a great singer and could actually play guitar, but I do get what you are saying.

Second, it's a perception thing, along the lines of who gets the credit. You know people like Bernie Taupin and Jim Steinman because their names are put up front with the artists they are associated with but more often than not you look at a popular artist, and you can't name who played guitar, wrote the lyrics, composed the song, etc. The pretty face with so-so talent gets a full ride in terms of credit. If you hear a Metallica song you know who wrote it, performed it and sang it. When you hear a Pink* song you know none of those things.

That's not a bad thing though. I can enjoy a Pink* song but it's hard to respect the work that went into it when you know it more than likely wasn't her, but some random people in the studio and the efforts of some slick producer at the helm. She's just the pretty face on the box getting all the credit. I'm just saying it's easier to respect the artist that pours their heart and soul into the crafting of the song/album than the person that only is playing one part of a larger picture but gets all the credit. Is that making any sense?

*totally random choice of artist.

fair enough. :)

In fact, for myself, the percentages probably goes something like:

60% 2000's
20% 1990's
15% Classical
5% 1950's-to-1980's

that's in terms of what I listen to on a regular basis, not at all an indication of how bad/good a specific decade was. Classical cannot be lumped into any given 'era', IMHO, as symphonies are continuously replaying music that's hundreds of years old.

Long story short... I listen to Classical more than Classic Rock. :)

oh I agree.

I just find that alot of stuff that the music press raves about currently won't be remembered in ten to fifteen years time.

definitely.

I'm just not sure that that's such a bad thing. :)

:lol:

Spin Dec. 1993: Pearl Jam, KRS-One, Breeders, Iggy Pop

Various Rolling Stone covers and bylines, 1993:
Sting
Ice-T*
Neil Young
David Bowie
Liz Phair
Steely Dan
Smashing Pumpkins
U2
Def Leppard*
The Cure
Prince
Jerry Garcia
Whitney Houston*
Dwight Yoakam*
Naughty by Nature*
Midnight Oil*
Urge Overkill*
Steve Miller
Blues Traveler*
Lenny Kravitz*
Eric Clapton
INXS*
Guns 'n' Roses
White Zombie
Run DMC
En Vogue*
Garth Brooks
Jeff Beck*
Goo Goo Dolls*
Meatloaf*
Depeche Mode
Bad Religion(?)

It's roughly about 50/50. I marked the artists that, in my opinion, are either currently artistically, culturally, or commercially irrelevant or haven't left a lasting legacy. Again, my opinion and you can mark or unmark a number of them. The fact is, if you make the cover of a music magazine, you will probably be, at the very least, remembered.

(I found all these on eBay).

talk about crash and burned, Whitney was a flash in the pan, but her Olympics song 'One Moment in Time' was just that... I still like that song though.

Ice-T's music career is dead true, but how many 1993 pop stars can boast being on a hit tv series (Law And Order SVU) for ten seasons and counting?

Def Leppard were at the end of their commercial heyday in 1993, but I wouldn't say they have no legacy. Pyromania and Hysteria are both regarded as classic 1980's albums now and songs like Love Bites, Photograph and Pour Some Sugar On Me have yet to die on radio.

Whitney Houston... why are people so unforgiving to people who take a hiatus? Whitney hasn't had a hit in years because SHE HASN'T RECORDED IN YEARS. She was one of the biggest pop stars of the 80's and 90's and she singlehandedly opened the doors to Mariah, Celine, Leona Lewis, etc... I think she's made her mark.

Dwight Yoakum has branched out into a successful movie career and now has his own line of frozen-food products, he's done well for himself.

Lenny Kravitz has passed his commercial peak, but I wouldn't say he's completely dead and irrelevant just yet either. He still manages a hit every three/four years and his tours and albums still sell well, even tho it's a far cry from his peak about ten years ago.

how is a 15 year run of hits (her first top 5 hit was 1985, her last top 5 hit was 2000) a flash in the pan? Maybe she hasn't stretched the hits out quite as long as Madonna has, and much of that is due to personal problems, but I wouldn't say a career that boasted in excess of 100 million worldwide sales, 11 US #1 hits and a few hit movies to be a flash in the pan.

Backstreet Boys had a lot of sales too.

Def I just disagreed with because I'm not a fan of them. ;) And Lenny just sucks. I was not aware Dwight Yoakam had frozen foods. And you're right about Ice-T.

Boy... someone likes rock bands with chick singers. :)

I'm not sure you'll convince a classic rock fan with that list.

I never understood musical snobbery of any kind. I especially hate people that say they hate a genre completely. A lot of people I know say they listen to everything except rap and country. That's fine and dandy for them but I find so many things wrong with that statement. They say they listen to everything which is always an understatement because they then proceed to list 15 different sub-genres of alternarock. These are also the kind of people that think all "rap" is about is about killing and how all country is about driving around in a pick up truck.

Another thing I hate is people's hate for bands like the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus, claiming that the music sucks because they didn't write it. These are probably the same people that think the Beatles wrote the songs "Please Mr. Postman" and "Rock N Roll Music" and are rocking out to them all the same.

I really hate people sometimes.

Some people hate other's taste in music. Some just hate people. I guess we know where you stand. ;)

I find this to be a common statement (well, most people around here listen to country). It is also ridiculous for most people. Do they really listen to thrash? or Neo-Soul? or Classical? I always respond to the question of what kind of music I like with "Rock-N-Roll." It encompasses most genres I listen to anyway.

I chose those examples deliberately. It was years before I heard of Leiber/Stroller, who wrote Jailhouse Rock. I understand that the guy who played guitar on that track has a monster reputation among other guitarists, but I can't remember his name. I used to only think of Elvis. I slowly got more educated.

Yes, Elvis was a great singer. But he was only part of the package. If the whole package isn't there, you get Celine Dion -- a great singer backed up with dull music.

Her shows have one other thing: the novelty of seeing a singing giraffe.

Uh, yeah this is it. I wasn't being literal.

Others have covered it, I guess the industry isn't set up for everlasting bands.

It is, but you never know who the lasting bands are. Could anyone have guessed that Yo La Tengo would have a career spanning a quarter century?