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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Rant #1,843: Sing a Simple Song



I don't watch the Grammy Awards telecast.

I can barely remember the last one I watched. I think it was the one that Sylvester Stewart, a/k/a Sly Stewart from Sly and the Family Stone, appeared very briefly on a few years ago.

He had a white mohawk and looked like he had was done for before he started.

I think that was the last one I watched, so it has been some time since viewing one.

And I did not watch the latest edition of this brown-nosing music event, either.

But I found a little tidbit of something interesting related to the Grammy Awards, so I figured I would share it with you.

Legendary guitarist Carlos Santana, who has won a few Grammy Awards himself, actually had the audacity to say to Australian journalists that Beyonce did not deserve to win the Grammys she was up for over Adele because "she is not a singer."

He finally said something that I do believe many of us already believe, but when it comes out of Santana's mouth, people listen.

He went on to say, "With all respect to our sister Beyonce, Beyonce is very beautiful to look at and it's more like modeling kind of music--music to model a dress--she's not a singer, singer, with all respect to her."

Listen, it is not just Beyonce. Singers today probably can warble, but they don't really sing, in particular I am talking about female singers.

They do a lot of vocal gymnastics, but do they really sing, and can you actually call them singers?

It is all style over substance today.

With all the talk of equality, when a female singer comes out showing half her body to the audience with low cut outfits, she is not showing off her voice, she is showing off her body.

But look, it is her body, and if she wants to give the world a peak at what her significant other sees at regular intervals, heck, that is her choice.

But it does not make her a singer, because she is taking the focus off of her voice, and putting it on her bosom.

And with the big production numbers that they use, and with much of their supposed "live" music actually pre-recorded and lip synced to, the focus is clearly off their voices.

I, also, do not consider Beyonce a singer, nor do I consider just about every contemporary female singer a singer.

They all went to the Whitney Houston school of warbling vocal gymnastics, but are they really singers?

I consider Aretha Franklin a singer.

I also consider Petula Clark a singer.

Heck, I can't stomach the thought of her, but I consider Barbra Streisand a singer.

The song was the centerpiece for them; they were the conveyance through which the song was delivered to the audience though their vocal talents.

These others, the Beyonces of the world, the Madonnas of the world, are not singers.

They use vocal gymnastics to give you the impression they are real singers, but please, don't put them in the same league as Franklin, Clark and Streisand.

Look, Beyonce and Madonna fill the bill for what we consider female singers today. They fit the music that they sing, and they have done very well doing just that.

But they aren't female singers in the true sense, at least in my mind.

In my mind, they are pretenders, poseurs, fill in the blanks warblers who really can't sing themselves out of a paper bag.

And it took Carlos Santana to say what a lot of people have thought about Beyonce for a long time, but wouldn't say anything publicly because, well, you don't knock the current queen of music.

But Santana did.

Good for him, although you just know that there will be a backlash, he will say he was misquoted, etc.

I can see it coming.

But stand your ground, Carlos.

You are absolutely right!

39 comments:

  1. So? What about Adele? Is she a singer?

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  2. Not in my mind, but in Santana's, I guess she is. Adele's music does not appeal to me at all, but a lot of people like the tangental suffering they get from her music.

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  3. Exactly how much contemporary music do you listen to? Lady Gaga for one, has shown herself to be a talented performer and singer. Adele would be wise to keep doing what she is doing, which sells millions,rather than take advice of someone who thinks The Beatles are still "it".

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  4. You have clearly missed the point of the story. The point was not what I believe to be, but what Carlos Santana, a musician's musician, said about Beyonce. Honestly, I don't really even know what constitutes a "singer" today. They are more performance artists than anything else, which takes away from whatever talent they have. GaGa and Adele are not my thing, but I guess you constitute their success by the millions of "files" she has sold, and that is your requirement for success, then yes, she is successful. Is she a singer? In today's context, yes, she is, but not in my context, but again, the story was not really about me, it was about what Carlos Santana said.

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  5. Carlos santana is a bigger man than you are, Larry. He knows when he's out of line and needs to apologize. http://wcbsfm.cbslocal.com/2017/02/14/carlos-santana-clarifies-beyonce-comments/ And I guess you never saw Gaga's performance at last year's Oscars if you think she's not a "singer". https://vimeo.com/120375711

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  6. Right Songbird, Gaga is quite the singer, which anyone who had seen any of her performances with Tony Bennett by any standard would have to concede.
    By the way Larry, my vocal preferences are more along your lines with the exception of Aretha. Notwithstanding the success of her covers, I loathe them. I would measure all time female vacalists against Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Rosemary Clooney and Natalie Cole.
    P.S. With as much gratuitous "bosom" that has appeared in this space over time it seems rather duplicitous to object to those performance displays being the breast man that you are.

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  7. Songbird, as I mentioned in my article, you just knew that Santana would backtrack on what he said once social media got a hold of it. So, he blames the media for taking what he said out of context, and that makes him a bigger man than me? And no, I am not a fan of Lady GaGa, not a fan of Adele, not a fan of Beyonce, not a fan of most current singers. Sure, I like bosoms, but come on, showing so much makes you stare at what they are displaying rather than taking the music seriously. And no, I won't backtrack on what I said. As much as I cannot stand Streisand, she is a real singer.

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  8. And your musical credentials are … ? The gist of the post was what Santana said. This is not a news article, so I simply added in my own two cents, as you did in this message area. The problem here is that you are still upset that Trump won the presidency, and you simply want to knock everything I said. And you have the audacity to say that Santana is a bigger man than I am, because he fell all over what he actually said? People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Robin. You still have not gotten back to us here about your very vocal misstep on the election. I guess you can't be a bigger "man" due to your miscalculation, but you certainly can be a bigger "woman" by admitting you made a major error in your reading of what happened in November.

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  9. And yes, I did bring up politics, but you live for this stuff, counselor; I know I got your dander up.

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  10. Oh my G-d, Larry, this has NOTHING to do with the disaster that is #45.

    This is a singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGrq1SzkHs0

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  11. But since you mentioned it, when will you admit that you and other Trump voters were duped? Or maybe you like the idea of speaking Russian? As for me, well, my grandparents didn't leave the Ukraine just so that I could live under Russian rule...

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  12. Songbird, Larry watches Laugh-in at 6 and not Scott Pelley anymore. He is ignoring the events of the last week. This administration is worse than one could have imagined.
    P.S.Larry go ahead, take your wife to see Barbara at new colesium.

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  13. In this modern age we live in, I can actually record something off the TV and watch it at a different time! Wow, what a concept. And no, I don't think the administration is "worse than one could have imagined"; it is only to those who can't yet get it through their heads that Clinton list the presidency to Trump. And no, I won't be seeing Streisand, simply because of the fact that a) I cannot stomach her, and b) the ticket prices are way too high, anyway, for most people to afford to see her. And what is a "colesium?" Never knew such a word existed.

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  14. And Larry will never admit to a mistake...Six months after Trump's resignation or impeachment, he'll still be yelling at me that I'm just bitter about Hillary Clinton. It's no longer about Hillary, it's about the future of our country.

    Meanwhile, we live in a topsy-turvey world, where I actually find myself agreeing with Lindsay Graham, John McCain and Paul Ryan. hard to believe inauguration day was less than a month ago, with all the chaos #45 has wrought. John Mcccain having to clean up Trump's mess with the Australian Prime Minister. the look of amazement on the face of the Japanese Prime Minister when Trump wouldn't let go of his hand. The look of disgust on Justin Trudeau's face. The British Parliament determining Trump should not address them. The protests and boycotts in Mexico.

    How about having one cabinet nominee confirmed only because the Vice President cast a strikebreaking vote? Or that another nominee withdrew his name because of allegations of domestic abuse? (And you thought we were ridiculous for protesting). Or that a senior staff member committed illegal acts in public, on national TV? Half of the White House staff has unfollowed her Twitter, by the way, so I guess she's got one foot out the door.

    How about turning a country club dining room into the "situation room", and having country club patrons posing with the nuclear football? How about protecting a national security advisor who had to resign becayuse he broke the law by having regular contact with Russia, including Russian intelligence officers. That the Russian connection goes much further than Flynn, that two campaign staffers had to resign before Election Day because of their contact with Russia, that many others in Trump's inner circle had contact with Russia.

    That as we speak, there is a Russian spy ship sitting off the coast of Long Island -- Larry, can you see it from where you sit? Yes, we've had Russian spy ships outside our borders before, but...not at the same time their jets buzzed one of our destroyers in the Black Sea, and the Russians have deployed missiles in contravention of arms treaties.

    You don't see a problem with that, Larry?

    The only question in my mind is -- which is the better option, that Pence succeed #45, or that Pence go down with the sinking ship and allow the Speaker of the House to become the next President? Lord knows I'm no fan or Paul Ryan, but at least he's a grown up.

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  16. But go ahead, Larry, pretend all is normal, pretend that it's normal for a president to tweet about how unfair a department store has been to his daughter.

    And didn't you just love his response to the question of how to handle rising anti Semitism in this country? I'm sure Bibi and Sarah are going home wondering what kind of madman they've gotten themselves attached to.

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  17. You still can't get over the results, can you? All you can do is talk, talk, and talk about it until you are blue in the face. Accept that he is president, accept that so many Democrats never even stepped into the polling place to place their vote, accept the fact that Trump is our 45th president, whether you like it or not. But you can't, because that would be admitting that you are wrong, and well, you never are!

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  18. … even when you posted, right here, that Clinton would win in a landslide! You are still right!

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  19. Oh fpor Pete's sake, Larry, stop embarrassing yourself. You're the only one talking about Hillary Clinton here. I am focused on #45 and the havoc he's wreaking in Washington. Now, today, not last November.

    Hav you seen the lastest polling numbers, how #45's approval ratings are plummeting?

    Oh, and what was your big issue? Obamacare? Did you happen to notice that the GOP can't seem to keep its promise on that one? Why? Because people hate "Obamacre" but seem to like the "Affordable Care Act". And the GOP has had 6 years to come up with a plan to replace it, but they have...nothing. You know what's going to happen -- they will tweak it a bit, then claim they salvaged it from certain destruction. And President Pence will sign it into law.

    Still don't think you were duped?

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  20. John McCain
    Lindsay Graham
    Bob Corker
    John Cornyn
    Richard Burr
    Roy Blunt
    John Hoeven
    Mike Simpson

    Who are all those men?

    they are US Senators who want a probe of the Trump administration's ties to Moscow and Putin.

    they are all REPUBLICAN Senators.

    I don't think any of them give a rat's ...behind...about Hillary and the election. But Putin and the Russians? Uh, yeah...Saint Ronnie Reagan must be spinning in his grave...

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  21. And did you hear him tell the Hasidic reporter to sit down and shut up when asked about his plan to deal with rising anti Semitism? That was even better than his response to the question during his press conference with Bibi! OMG, he's a disaster. But Larry will never admit he made a mistake in backing that lunatic.

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  22. Keep on being a denier. You are a bit of a phony. I could go into chapter and verse about the real Robin, but I won't do it here because it would greatly hurt someone else, which I do not want to do. Let's just say we agree to disagree and leave it at that.

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    3. What does Larry do when he can't respond to issues raised? He ignores those issues and says "lets agree to disagree." What does Larry do when Songbird raises said issues? He threatens ad hominem attack.

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  23. And check out today's Classic Rant. I think you will enjoy it. It just happened to come up today, as I put them up in order. To my memory, it is the second pre-presidential Trump Rant that I wrote related to his prospects, which obviously greatly improved during the past six years or so. It's fun to look back!

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  24. No, she has it out for me because I am one of the few people who called her out for her gratuitous gloating, before the fact, during the last election. She can say what she wants, even though she has previous little to say.

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  25. It seems to me, most of us, including Songbird, have moved on and are dealing with the here and now. It is time to go forward-if you can.

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    1. And that, my mysterious friend, is why I use the "agree to disagree" response. When we hit an impasse, it is the polite way to move on, rather than jump on each other ad infinitum. I have moved on, but I wonder if other people actually have done so? Not by the comments on this thread, at least.

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  26. Agree to disagree is what you say when you can't answer current issues raised.

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    1. Absolutely untrue. I use it when we are at an impasse. Believe what you want to believe, but that is the truth. I wish more people would use it, actually. We are not going to change each other's minds, so why pursue the same tired explanations. Rather than say "F-off," which has been used by certain people when I say something--including the person you are trying to defend--I have gone the high road with all of this. You can accept that explanation or not; it is not going to change my day, nor my use of the phrase that upsets you so much.

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  27. "Absolutely untrue" can you give me even one, just one response you had to specific issues raised here about the new administration's first few weeks in office?

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  28. As I have said, I am not talking politics anymore here. Right now, I like what the president is doing to deport illegals, who are felons breaking the law. Let them live in fear, there is a right way and a wrong way to live here, and if you don;'t live here legally, you should be deported. And that is that. That is all I am going to say, because I am trying to stay away from politics. All you want to argue about is Trump. You have Trump on the mind. Move on. We simply agree to disagree.

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  29. And that, Jim Bo, is the end of the political talk here, at least from me. You can go on and on and on if you like, but I said what I said, and there is nothing more to say about it. I have found that talking politics makes people nasty, and if you read today's Rant, you will see pretty much why I am not talking politics anymore. Lick your wounds, and don't bleed over here anymore about politics. The subject makes people nuts, and I have personally had enough. I do reserve the right to talk about what I want to talk about, so I can't say that political stuff won't come up again, but as of right now, that is it. I am sure you will have a comment, but personally, it's over.

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    1. Chicken? Who is the chicken?
      Songbird raised a number of issues regarding our new administration and you were unable to respond to even one. I don't blame you for bowing out of political discussion. I wouldn't want to defend Trump and his administration, and this is only afer a few weeks.
      Yes, not only here by Songbird and I when the subject is politics there is going to be lots of talk about Trump. As long as he is our president he will be relevant. Okay, you don't read The NY Times or watch cable news, but you read Newsday and claim to watch Scott Pelley. Do you write them telling them "too much Trump"?
      In order to reach an impasse, you have to first engage in a discussion, and you never even stepped into the batters box here after being the one to turn to politics.
      The POTUS #45 is going to provide much fodder to exchange ideas and opinions about during his term. Comment as you see fit, or not.

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  30. I am done with this conversation. I think Trump is doing a fine job right now, trying to do what he promised when he ran for the job. That is all I am going to say. You won't find too much political stuff here, because quite frankly, I am sick of it.

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  31. And do not post anything else on this thread. As of now, I am shutting it down, simply because you are going over and over and over the same thing, trying to prove just how right you are. Enough is enough. Move on.

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