[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by dissention

You're absolutely spot on with many of those observations, but Stevie's lack of experimentation and failure to go beyond a certain point isn't necessarily what disappoints. What disappoints me is the fact that all of her new material is mostly the rehashing of her past work. None of it is original and it sounds like the same thing she did twenty years ago. It would be fine if she continued to put out the same old thing as long as it was good, but she's become deathly dull in her old age. I've no interest in hearing her sing about Lindsey for the millionth time, just as I really have no interest in hearing fifteen year old demos brought out of the vaults. It just all reeks of laziness and a lack of creativity. For someone who got their inspiration "back," she certainly hasn't shown it to the rest of the world, save a few fabulous songs here and there.

We're just not going to see eye-to-eye on this. Of course, that's no surprise!

For me, her current work is far more level-headed and straightforward than her earlier writing. Her earlier writings were gauzier and more "mystical" (for lack of a better word). Her newer writings, to me, sound like the works of a woman who is far more grounded and has matured as a person and in her philosophy on life.

It doesn't sound at all like a "rehashing" to me... it sounds like a progression. You can't rehash something, when you're coming at it from a different perspective. When she revisits a past topic (Lindsey, for example), it's done in a way that reflects where she is emotionally, today.

Also, I'm not at all one of those people who thinks EVERY song is about Lindsey. Aside from the ones Stevie herself has noted were about him ("Thrown Down," and partially "Trouble In Shangri-La" and "Fall From Grace"), I just don't see it.
So I haven't gotten sick of her singing about Lindsey "for the millionth time," because I don't automatically assume that when she's singing about a relationship that didn't work out, that she therefore must be singing about Lindsey.

Every single one of her romantic relationships didn't work out in one regard or another, so she has a whole series of men she might be singing about.

Originally Posted by dissention

We can't begin to assume what sounds (Lindsey's) non-existant albums would have contained.

Using 'Tusk,' 'Mirage' and 'Tango In The Night' as middle ground for his three solo albums, the solo tracks sound much less diverse.
What he did on 'Tusk' easily leads into his 'L&O' songs, which easily lead into his 'Mirage' tunes.
'Go Insane' sounds, to my ears, like a natural progression from his 'Mirage' approach, and leads into his material on 'Tango.'
Many of the aspects of 'Tango' then foreshadow the direction he took with 'Out Of The Cradle.'

So if we had had 12 similar-sounding songs from him between each of those three solo albums, as opposed to just 5, then the "sameness" would have seemed even more profound, IMO.

Originally Posted by dissention

Stevie, bless her heart, writes soemthing illogical and nonsensical in her journal and proclaims it poetry. Lindsey, on the other hand, slaves over his work until it's what he considers perfect. Sometimes he fails, sometimes he succeeds, but even when he fails I can see the blood, sweat and tears that went into making it.

It makes sense to her, and isn't that all it really needs to do? We criticize her for making commercial (ie: relatable) music, and then blast her for not writing things we can relate to.

So, which shall it be? Lyrics that are relatable across the board, so everyone can love them... or lyrics written from the heart, and staying true to the writer's artistic impulses -- even if we can't always relate or immediately understand what the hell she's talking about?

Originally Posted by dissention

And I always thought it was so you could try to get the last word in.

Well, there's definitely that, too! But as long as I know I'm not the only one who always tries to get the last word in, then I'm safe.