"BLASPHEMER!"
Posted on 03/22/2014 2:13:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Tony Bennett doesn’t have much patience for most modern music. The legendary singer, 87, told the BBC Radio 4’s Today program that most modern songs lack a “lasting quality.”
“The songs that are written today, most of them are terrible,” he said. “It’s a very bad period, musically, throughout the world for popular music.”
He added that today’s music industry leaders are more concerned with making money than making quality music.
“The corporations took it over and they want to make so much money and they don’t care whether the public likes it or not,” he said. “They think the public is ignorant, so their attitude is, ‘Don’t give them anything intelligent, because it won’t sell.’”
He also criticized what he sees as the music industry’s bias toward younger listeners.
“Today, record companies are failing because they are putting their accent just on the young, and I think that’s rather silly,” he said.
Bennett is a huge fan of one young pop icon, however; he’s collaborating with Lady Gaga on a new jazz album, Cheek to Cheek.
“She’s one of the best singers I ever heard,” Bennett told Parade.com in 2012. “She also plays great piano and dances very well. She’s an all-around great performer…I’ve met so many people in show business over the years and I’m very impressed with her. She’s one of the great talents coming up. She’s going to always surprise everybody with her artistry.”
Watch Bennett and Lady Gaga perform “The Lady Is a Tramp”:
There was a lot of really interesting music in the 80s, and there was also synth pop. It really shows what I’m talking about. Sure there was Culture Club and Michael Jackson and Madonna. But there was also Oingo Boingo, X, Social Distortion, and PIL. There were the really good creative years of The Police, and there were the really popular boring years of The Police/ Sting.
YUK! Jimi Hendrix is for DRUGGIES!!! Even Steely Dan is second rate. Please trust me on this....even though I'm 66, I have DANCED and PARTIED to these GREAT SONGS.....they NEVER get old!!! They are GOLD....no matter HOW OLD one gets, you can DANCE to MOTOWN!!
pssssttt....look at PBS and what they show during the time they want to RAISE MONEY!!! p.s.....thy DONL:T play Jimi Hendrix or Steely Dan!!!
I must admit, that Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” is probably the first “pop” song I recall liking in a long time. Of course now it’s getting played to death.
"BLASPHEMER!"
I got into that too, I’m a roots seeking guy, I’ve got a working selection of Robert Johnson. And like I said, I know what a Wall of Sound is.
Jimi Hendrix is for people who like guitars. He invented the modern concert, and with his engineer half the items on the average board. He was also a really talented very delicate blues player, something most folks don’t realize because his “stunt guitar” work is more famous.
I’m very familiar with the music you’re talking about. Familiar enough to know that 90% of that, like 90% of every other era, is crap. You remember the 10% that wasn’t crap and have conveniently forgotten the rest. I haven’t forgotten.
I don’t give a crap what PBS plays when they want money. And shouting doesn’t make you right.
When I was a teenager in the 60s, there were at least two local radio stations playing exclusively contemporary pop/rock. For a few years each station would put out a weekly top 40 list. There was tremendous variety - Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, bubble gum, Motown, soft rock, Petula Clark, Dean Martin, Ronettes, psychedelic, novelty tunes, country cross-overs, and on and on. Now, all the radio stations seem to be oldies stations or country stations. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough, but I don’t know where current musicians are getting much air time.
And XTC, Andy Partridge wrote a ton of gems.
It’s funny how even in our bubbles we still get over exposed once in a while. I was at the grocery with the wife when Katy Perry’s “Roar” came on and I commented how the first time I heard it I thought for a synthetic paint by numbers pop song it wasn’t too bad, somewhat enjoyable even. But now I’ve heard it 20 million times and I want to kill everyone associated with it.
every time I’ve seen Gaga on the boobtoob, I almost have to run and vomit, just how wretchedly filthy she makes her act
it reminds me of Madonna, who had some singing talent to be sure but then went off on a horrible, demented it seemed... sex campaign
The last movie we attended was years and years ago (1980 to be precise) when Goldie Hawn -— who had a fairly good degree of acting talent — took a role where she was seen swearing every 2 minutes ...... it totally ruined the picture, we finally had to just walk out.
why do some of these actors and actresses do this to themselves? I haven’t been able to see any real talent in Gaga, but Madonna and Hawn had talent ...and were successes already too.... they didn’t have to start putting out garbage
Since you are a CHILD of 44....congrats, I guess, you have NO idea of what the 60's music was to YOUR PARENTS!!! And that;s why PBS plyas it to get money....because it was GREAT!! I really don't expect you to get it....you are too young to understand it.
I think that’s partially what Adele’s success is about....She has talent and she doesn’t need to throw in shock value to get an audience.
Yeah, I'd like to see someone try to dance to Ornette Coleman.
WHO?? Don’t forget, I’m old even though I can dance any 16 yr. old under the table......WITH WINE!!
A - I don’t care about dancing.
B - you can dance to jazz just fine if you have the ear to understand it, most of the big dance troupes that come through town dance to jazz.
Actually I know what the 60s music was to my mother. It’s her record collection that got me started down this path because I didn’t like the “modern” music of the late 70s (really I didn’t like what was on the radio, I’ve discovered lots of great late 70s music since then), and we’d discuss it. And then I explored further. I have a complete set of Kinks albums, and The Stones, plenty of Motown, Buddy Holly. My grandfather worked for the Chess brothers so family history drove me to explore that (amazing) catalog. I get it. I just have open eyes and I’m willing to explore beyond the easy to find, which is why I know there was a lot of real crap then, just like now.
Actually the reason they play that stuff on PBS when they’re begging for money is because of YOU listen to it. You’re their target demographic so they’re trying to make you happy. If I was their target demographic they’d be playing Nick Cave, but I don’t watch PBS, never will.
FMCDH(BITS)
The 1960’s was, indeed, a decade known for its dances—the Madison, the Twist, the Afro Twist, the Continental, the Fly, the Mashed Potato, the Hully Gully, the Bristol Stomp, the Philly Dog, the Jerk, the Cool Jerk, the Monkey, the Surfer Stomp, etc.
And there were some local ones—the Slauson Shuffle was a big craze in Los Angeles in 1963-1964, but I doubt that it got beyond the Cajon Pass.
You might really like this website. It hosts free streaming music of 1960s “also ran” bands that never had a hit, and often tried to imitate others with their musical style, as well as doing a lot of so-so covers. They even throw in some authentic concert commercials of the period.
It’s just fun to listen to.
http://www.beyondthebeatgeneration.com/
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