thejtl Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Saw this this morning and thought I'd share. OK, I'll admit it: Taylor Swift is really talented. And I kinda like her. I've never heard one of her records and I'll probably keep it that way so as not to burst my bubble. However, if I EVER see a guy on national syndicated TV getting props for learning to play 3 chords badly on a Baby Taylor again, I'm gonna just lose my freaking mind. I mean, really...
brannon67 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 So does she stil have the Taylor Endorsement?
EuroAussie Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Cant wait for the Bieber / Swift ballad, together with their Birds and Doves .............. Not.
brannon67 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Bieber ROCKS. I predict he will be in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame by next year People. Mark my words Poeple.
Buc McMaster Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 No sound on the 'puter here at work.....I'll hear this one tonight. I suppose Swift has talent, but for me it's talent that appeals to a much younger generation than mine. I've seen her do a tune or two live on television and she certainly benefits from auto-tune in the studio. I sure ain't no Caruso but I can hear it when things get "pitchy" (as Randy J likes to say). Her voice has no maturity at this point in her career.....to my ear it lacks any character or "soul". Given time I might grow to enjoy her voice......but not now.
dhanners623 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Yeah, not to sound like a hater or a nattering nabob of negativism, but Swift really isn't that talented. Her off-key signing is the stuff of legend, and it could be argued that her writing lacks depth. Then again, it is Nashville, home of the "co-write," so nobody will notice. She has not gotten where she is on talent. She has drive and ambition out the wazoo. Talent? Not so much. Then again, she's the star and I'm not, so what do I know? I am struck by the thing Peter Frampton said in the CBS interview Sunday. To paraphrase, the lifespan of a pop star is 18 months, while the lifespan of a musician is, well, life.
thejtl Posted February 22, 2012 Author Posted February 22, 2012 I dunno, dhanner, I hear a little nattering there. I watched her on the Grammys and was impressed with both her performance and the writing of the tune she did. And are you implying that there's something less-than-worthwhile in co-writing songs? Don't know how you can support that. In the clip posted here, I was impressed with her natural ability to lead a subpar co-performer through a song, her natural ability to swing to harmony without effort and her playing was quite rhythmic and tasty, appropriate to the song and venue. I mean she's like...21 or something. How good were any of us at 21? Again, I've not heard any of her recordings and I hate Nashville country as it exists now, but I have been impressed by her performances I've seen in the last couple weeks. And both times there wasn't a single thing wrong with her pitch.
dhanners623 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 This person says it better than I can: http://www.vulture.com/2011/12/taylor-swifts-precociousness-problem.html?imw=Y&f=most-viewed-24h10 Or this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-lampros/taylor-swift_b_928371.html I have nothing against her personally. But her success is a tribute to 1) her own ambition, 2) marketing and 3) sex appeal. Sorry -- and I acknowledge this may be sexist, but I contend it is reality -- but with her voice, if you put 50 pounds on her, nobody would care about her. Adele can do what she does because she has a hell of a voice. If you want an "artist" who is very much a product of marketing and is literally a "Cover Girl," then, yeah, Swift fits the bill. But please don't confuse those qualities with artistic talent.
Danner Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I give Taylor a lot of credit in the talent department, vocals, guitar, and songwriting. Put me on the "fan" list. Zack, well, who sits as a guest on someone's couch and puts their shoe up on the cushion? That is just rude by any standard.
thejtl Posted February 22, 2012 Author Posted February 22, 2012 This person says it better than I can: http://www.vulture.com/2011/12/taylor-swifts-precociousness-problem.html?imw=Y&f=most-viewed-24h10 Or this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-lampros/taylor-swift_b_928371.html I have nothing against her personally. But her success is a tribute to A) her own ambition, B) marketing and C) sex appeal. Sorry -- and I acknowledge this may be sexist, but I contend it is reality -- but with her voice, if you put 50 pounds on her, nobody would care about her. Adele can do what she does because she has a hell of a voice. If you want an "artist" who is very much a product of marketing and is literally a "Cover Girl," then, yeah, Swift fits the bill. But please don't confuse those qualities with artistic talent. Eh, I dunno. I don't really want to know anything about her. I'm just going off what I saw in these two isolated incidents. I said she was talented. Didn't called her an artist. Need to see more of a long-term body of work for that to hold true. It surprises me that anyone thinks of her as a cover girl or having sex appeal. She's not that attractive when considered in that way.
dhanners623 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 It surprises me that anyone thinks of her as a cover girl or having sex appeal. She's not that attractive when considered in that way. Obviously, CoverGirl and its parent company, Proctor & Gamble, beg to differ and, unlike you, they have put their money where their mouth is since they are paying Swift big bucks. And I'm willing to bet they know more about what society views as "cover girl" material and "sex appeal" than either of us, since that is their business and, from all appearances, they are doing quite well at it. Where's Adele's CoverGirl contract?
zombywoof Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I heard Taylor was going to host next year's Telfon for musicians without soul.
thejtl Posted February 22, 2012 Author Posted February 22, 2012 I guess I don't understand where Adele comes into this conversation. She's pretty great too.
thejtl Posted February 22, 2012 Author Posted February 22, 2012 And I didn't realize before you were talking about endorsement deals. Another thing I don't know or care about.
dhanners623 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I guess I don't understand where Adele comes into this conversation. She's pretty great too. That pretty much explains the problem.
fortyearspickn Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I'm with Dhanner on this one. There is a glut of really pretty (cover girl or whatever) girl C&W singers. Most are blue eyed blondes and most have more talent than Ms. Swift. Adele came up because she is, like that frumpy UK singer that knocked everyone's socks off, a true vocal wonder - but nothing close to what you would call 'attractive'. Bottom line - I'd pay to go see/hear Adele, but not Swift. Matter of fact I have a cd of the former but not the latter. And that goof ball faking chords from High School Musical is an even better example. I think you can get on Ellen if you are good, or look good. If you are both, why bother? And, while I'm nattering the nabob - Justing Beiber is not a musical artist either. He's a musical attraction. We had a similar discussion on here less than 2 years ago re. The Gibson Guitar playing JONAS BROTHERS. I rest my case.
dhanners623 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 This kind of sums up a lot of what I feel/believe, and it doesn't even mention Taylor Swift: http://johnlaudisio.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/auto-tune-in-country-music-and-the-division-it-has-created/ And I want to make clear that I have no beef with Ms. Swift. She and her marketing people have figured out a way to make boatloads of money. But what she presents has less to do with "artistry" or "talent" than it does with marketing and sex appeal.
Mojorule Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I notice that at about 35s Zac Ephron appears to lay claim to the Hummingbird and attribute the Baby Taylor to Taylor. Maybe he's the next Mike Nesmith, one day a pre-fabricated screen musician, the next a country rocker. If he's a Tool, I guess he's a ProTool!
dhanners623 Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I notice that at about 35s Zac Ephron appears to lay claim to the Hummingbird and attribute the Baby Taylor to Taylor. Maybe he's the next Mike Nesmith, one day a pre-fabricated screen musician, the next a country rocker. If he's a Tool, I guess he's a ProTool! Not to be pedantic, was Nesmith was a well-established musician in the LA folk/country scene long before "The Monkees" came along. He was the "hootmaster" at The Troubadour's Monday night hootenannies, and he even had a publishing deal for his songs. He had stuff recorded by Linda Rondstadt and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Peter Tork was also a "real" musician before getting selected for The Monkees. He was a part of the Greenwich Village folk scene.
MichaelR Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 1329945212[/url]' post='1129578']Not to be pedantic, was Nesmith was a well-established musician in the LA folk/country scene long before "The Monkees" came along. He was the "hootmaster" at The Troubadour's Monday night hootenannies, and he even had a publishing deal for his songs. He had stuff recorded by Linda Rondstadt and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Peter Tork was also a "real" musician before getting selected for The Monkees. He was a part of the Greenwich Village folk scene. I know this is weird, but one of the things i remember about mike nesmith was that his grandfather invented the zipper. Probably urban legend. As for Swift, a couple of years ago she accepted a grammy and thanked her record company for "letting me write my own songs". The camera then focused on Ringo, who turned to his wife with kind of an incredulous look as if to say "we wrote all of our songs".....
thejtl Posted February 22, 2012 Author Posted February 22, 2012 So much of this conversation is exactly why I choose not to know anything about what most of you are talking about. I find that I enjoy life and music a lot more since I unplugged from that BS. I just try to listen and respond.
zombywoof Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 Not to be pedantic, was Nesmith was a well-established musician in the LA folk/country scene long before "The Monkees" came along. He was the "hootmaster" at The Troubadour's Monday night hootenannies, and he even had a publishing deal for his songs. He had stuff recorded by Linda Rondstadt and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Peter Tork was also a "real" musician before getting selected for The Monkees. He was a part of the Greenwich Village folk scene. Yeah, Nesmith wrote Linda Rondstandt's "Different Drum." Steve Stills and one of the guys who went on to form Three Dog Night auditioned for the Monkees.
Lee M Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I watched her on the Grammys and was impressed with both her performance and the writing of the tune she did....I mean she's like...21 or something. How good were any of us at 21? I agree. Next to Bruno Mars, I liked her Grammy performance best. Ok, she's not the singer Adele is but who is these days? She's a passable singer, a passable musician, very easy on the eyes and writes catchy tunes. That's what it takes to become a star these days. And if you saw the story about her on 60 Minutes a while back, she's in control over every aspect of her live shows. Now that's impressive for a 21 year old. Folks, we've got to get over the fact that musical talent alone does not make a star. You can probably go to any medium size town in the US and find young women with more musical ability than Ms. Swift. But most of them don't have the drive or the luck to get where she has gotten. As far as I'm concerned, she's to be admired not criticized.
Mojorule Posted February 22, 2012 Posted February 22, 2012 I agree. Next to Bruno Mars, I liked her Grammy performance best. Ok, she's not the singer Adele is but who is these days? Adele is? She's in her early twenties too.
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