10 Artists who NEED to stop releasing albums

[DeadliestPoison]

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

It was also the decade of the angry white female, with SNIP heck even the Spice Girls.

Hold the bus. Care to explain how the Spice Girls qualify as "angry white female?" I own everything they've released, and there isn't a shred of anger anywhere in there.

Also, if you're trying to record a punk song, you're doing it wrong.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by DeadliestPoison

Hold the bus. Care to explain how the Spice Girls qualify as "angry white female?" I own everything they've released, and there isn't a shred of anger anywhere in there.

Also, if you're trying to record a punk song, you're doing it wrong.

Are you sure that's something you really want to admit to? LOL!

[DeadliestPoison]

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Are you sure that's something you really want to admit to? LOL!

I have no shame! I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm all about the Spice Girls.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by DeadliestPoison

I have no shame! I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm all about the Spice Girls.

I must admit that I love Savage Garden and have every record John Denver ever did. I guess we all have our musical skeletons!

[estranged4life]

Even though I am a MAJOR fan of the band Queen, without Freddie Mercury I think Mr.May & Mr.Taylor should use a different name for the project with Mr.Paul Rodgers...

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

Even though I am a MAJOR fan of the band Queen, without Freddie Mercury I think Mr.May & Mr.Taylor should use a different name for the project with Mr.Paul Rodgers...

They could go back to being Smiles? I mean, it'd be like Matchbox Twenty with no Rob Thomas!

[Brwn_eyes0511]

The fact that they mentioned both Joni and Carly.. tells me that they have no F*CKING CLUE what they are talking about!


Both SHINE and THIS KIND OF LOVE are in heavy rotation on my Ipod!

Just because an artist reaches a specific age doesn't mean that he/she has to give up their craft.. their art.. what brings them pleasure!

Just another douche with another opinion if you ask me..

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by Brwn_eyes0511

The fact that they mentioned both Joni and Carly.. tells me that they have no F*CKING CLUE what they are talking about!


Both SHINE and THIS KIND OF LOVE are in heavy rotation on my Ipod!

Just because an artist reaches a specific age doesn't mean that he/she has to give up their craft.. their art.. what brings them pleasure!

Just another douche with another opinion if you ask me..

I basically consider these types of people(critics) internet trolls who happen to get paid!

[skcin]

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Why the hostility?!

It could be that I'm a bit younger than you. I'm 26, so, when Nirvana was in their heyday, I was 11. So, they didn't define that decade for me. When I think about driving around with my friends in the car, we sang along to the songs I mentioned and not Beck or Radiohead. Beck is a little hard to sing along to. I didn't listen to hip-hop ever, so I can't really name anyone. I never liked anything I heard, although I did find Snow amusing.

As far as Pearl Jam goes, I was referring to airplay more than anything. I mean, Say You Will hit pretty high on the album charts, but both singles basically stalled. The last Pearl Jam song I can recall on the radio was "I Am Mine", which I REALLY liked. I wasn't aware of their new albums. They were never one of my favorites. I have Ten and that's about it for me.

I'm glad you found my list amusing, that's what I listened to during that decade. I'm not a Gen-X'er, so the 90's mean something different to me. I never listened to Phish or Radiohead or anything else like it. For the majority of the 90's, I listened to classical music only. It wasn't until 1998 that I even started listening to music with words!

Who are The Flaming Lips?

I was actually serious about asking for great guitar work by Neil Young. I posted that video because it was funny, so why get offended?

You're right, I don't keep up with the radio anymore. I hate the way it sounds. Too much compression and loudness effects ruin the purity of the sound and makes it hard to listen to. I end up with a headache. It sounds fake as opposed to CD. I mainly listen to talk radio or alternative music radio stations that play b-sides now. No doubt, someone is going to argue with me that the radio sounds great and CD''s have crappy sound. (sigh)

I can't speak for Sharon, but I wasn't trying to be hostile. At the start of this thread you seemed to want to try & give the impression that you were very knowledgeable about music. The more you posted, it became apparent that you aren't. Now, I'm not either, but I don't pretend to be. If you're going to discuss something, at least know what you're talking about. And if you judge an artist's entire body of work on 1 or 2 songs, we're going to call you on it. No big deal, just a good discussion.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by skcin

I can't speak for Sharon, but I wasn't trying to be hostile. At the start of this thread you seemed to want to try & give the impression that you were very knowledgeable about music. The more you posted, it became apparent that you aren't. Now, I'm not either, but I don't pretend to be. If you're going to discuss something, at least know what you're talking about. And if you judge an artist's entire body of work on 1 or 2 songs, we're going to call you on it. No big deal, just a good discussion.

I have to laugh at this. Well, considering that I am a musician, I probably know a great deal more than you do. Not to lord it over anybody, but I have a different perspective than you do. Give my music a listen and you may decide I know a great deal more than you thought. Look up Sinai 48 on Amazon or iTunes and listen to the songs. I wrote them. Listen to my take on Classical Gas and then afterwards tell me I don't know as much about music as you do. I mean, Charlie Chalmers, the guy who arranged all of Aretha Franklin's hits and has six Grammy Hall of Fame and an album of the century award contributions certainly thinks I know something about music, as he said that he couldn't have done a better job on the arrangments of my songs as I had done. Ask Gary Hodges, the guy who actually played with such greats as Lindsey, BB King, Merle Haggard, SRV and many others. He thinks I'm a fantastic musician. My actual musical mentor Mason Williams also thinks I know something, otherwise he wouldn't send me songs of his to finish, or ask me to review things he's working on. The selection committees of the classical guitar competitions I used to compete in also think I know something about music. I've had 8 years of classical music education in all. I'm sorry to be cocky, but I don't care who you are, if I were competing against you (meaning just about any guitarist) in a competition, I would probably beat you. How many songs have you written and how many Grammies have you won? Yet, you think that your vast knowledge is superior to other very experienced musicians? Good Lord.

[skcin]

^ Wow, dude. Just wow. Show me where I said I knew more than you do about music, or that I am a guitar player. No, really. Please. I'll wait...

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by skcin

^ Wow, dude. Just wow. Show me where I said I knew more than you do about music, or that I am a guitar player. No, really. Please. I'll wait...

What you said was that I wasn't very knowledgable about music, which would imply that if you were making that judgement, that your knowledge was of the level to deem mine inferior. Here's you quote, "At the start of this thread you seemed to want to try & give the impression that you were very knowledgeable about music. The more you posted, it became apparent that you aren't." Now, don't you think something like that gives the impression that you know more? Hello, basic Greek logic here.

Anyway, if you still hold that opinion, download "You Don't Know". I wrote, arranged, produced and mixed that. It's a blend of grunge, industrial, gospel and flamenco. Not an easy task to pull off. Listen to my solo at the end of "Only One" and see if I don't have some sort of perspective on guitar solos enough to be able to hold a position that I don't like Neil Young's? Take a listen to "Leave Me Alone", which is a blend of Tin Pan Alley and country, which would showcase technical composition skill. I've had music teachers listen and say it shows how much I've studied music.

Anyway, saying stuff like that to someone who devoted much of his life to music, you're bound to ruffle some feathers.

[gretchen]

Maureen McGovern, STOP RELEASING ALBUMS, PLEASE!!!

[skcin]

I just had to go back & point out several of your posts. You really seem to need to go back & reiterate or clarify many of your statements, then you end up contradicting yourself.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Can we throw anyone, besides Dave Matthews, who did Farm Aid in there as well? How did Neil Young even get famous?! He can't really play, he CANNOT sing, and I hate his songs because they're so darn cheesy!

So NOBODY who did Farm Aid should release anymore albums. Quite the blanket statement to make - which is why you sound like you don't know wtf you're talking about.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

I don't know if you can call what he does "playing". It is all at an extremely rudimentary level. His "singing" is better described as moaning and croaking. LOL! One poster pointed out The Needle and the Damage done which is a good song, I will admit. Please tell me someone who doesn't cringe at "Keep on Rocking". LOL!

You don't need to be a technically great guitarist to have talent, and you don't need to be a classically trained or "normal" sounding singer to be able to sing a song & convey emotion.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

I'd say she's a master manipulator and has gotten where she is largely because of image and not any innate performance talent. She has an okay voice and I don't know if she plays anything or not. She is an excellent songwriter, far better than Neil Young. LOL! )Have to take another jab at the guy......) Like A Prayer, La Isle Bonita, Crazy for You, Music, Cherish, and many others are all wonderful songs. I just think there has to be a point where you put the slut image behind you and try to have some dignity. I think a 50 something year old women in an S & M outfit isn't sexy, it's just pathetic.

You're comparing apples to oranges - how can you compare a folk/rock singer/songwriter who writes most of his songs about politics & current events to someone who writes pop songs that mean nothing? Sure, Madonna has written lots of fun POP songs - fluff, pure & simple. But being cute & catchy doesn't make it a "great" song.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Ya know, I never noticed the correlation about the war thing. I just hate his music and I think Madonna needs to grow up a bit. I mean, she looks good, but if you can afford to buy a body and face, anyone can look good. I think it is just a leftist thing to prolong adolescence as long as possible. I mean, how many conservative sluts are there? Anyway, I don't want to get too political here. I actually like Madonna's music, but I don't understand the ego or the hype. On a local radio station, she did a voiceover that says "I AM madonna" instead of "Hey there, it's Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty and you are listening to...." I don't get the reason for the ego. To me, entertainers are supposed to be a distraction from real life problems and when they weigh in on current events with a high school education and no real experience in the private sector beyond gigging, I lose most interest in them whether conservative or liberal. I would listen to a Michael Jordan, who is a businessman, over Madonna anyday. As far as the dignity goes, I have to say that dignity is based on societal norms and not what you think of yourself. That would mean that any degraded person, or insane person, is dignified even if they are lying in a gutter in their own filth. Not to say Madonna is doing that, but I disagree with your premise.

I don't mind being outnumbered by people worldwide. I mean, last year there was a survey on British culture and the majority of people thought that Sherlock Holmes was real and that Winston Churchill was a myth! I have never really cared what the majority thought about anything, since most of them know the names of the Idol contestants but couldn't name their own senator, or those who know the name of Paris Hilton's dog, but couldn't tell you who the secretary of the treasury is. Most polls prove to me that people just swallow good marketing and believe whatever they are handed. Music is all about packaging and has little to do with quality anymore.

So which is it? From your list below, seems like you go with whatever the majority is listening to at the time. First you implied Nirvana "started" something & those other bands progressed, then you said that was simply a list of popular bands you used to listen to.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Well, we just hired an attorney who says there are 3 labels that we may end up getting signed with, so you never know?!

I'd be surprised if any of my songs made it there, but I think we'd all agree that Rhiannon and Go Your Own Way should be higher and a lot of those songs shouldn't be on there at all.

Besides, how "great" a song may be is irrelevant to musicianship. I mean, everyone knows Twinkle Twinkle and it is a "great" song because of its influence and impact, but it doesn't take much to play it. Neil Young may have "great" songs, but he's a poor musician. I mean, look at Kurt Cobain. He could barely play, he can't sing that well, he wrote some good songs, but he's consistently on the list of the greatest guitarists?! Why? Good marketing and the fact that he's dead. If he hadn't died, he'd be another STP or Live. He certaintly isn't a great guitarist. I mean, he makes the list and Elvis makes the list, but Lindsey doesn't?

My parents listened to a lot of Neil Young albums while I grew up and I just didn't like them. So what?! His voice grates, his songs are okay but nothing spectacular, and his guitar playing annoys me. Can we talk this subject to death any more?!

Exactly, it doesn't. So stop arguing that it does.

And nobody cares that you don't like Neil Young, they care that you made the comment:

He can't really play, he CANNOT sing, and I hate his songs because they're so darn cheesy

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

I compiled a list of the greatest songs from the 1990's (in my opinion anyway) and I came up with over 250. I tried the same thing for this decade and I had a hard time coming up with 50! There is still some good music being put out, but it doesn't tend to hit REALLY big. Kelly Clarkson is one major exception! I like a lot of the semi-smaller acts like Matisyahu, Brandi Carlile, etc. They'll never be Madonna level, but at least they're popular enough to get serious notice.

So you made a list of your favorite songs from your adolescence. Like you said, it's your opinion, you LIKED the songs - doesn't mean they're great. I like a lot of songs that are crap too, I'm not going to tell people they must be great because I like them & I'm a fantastic musician. Which I'm not.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

Okay, I didn't dismiss Madonna. I like her music, I don't like her image. I wasn't dismissing Elvis either, but pointing out that he's not one of the top ten best guitarists in the world and Kurt Cobain wasn't either.

My question for you would be, do you play the guitar? My mentor is Mason Williams, the guy who did "Classical Gas", so I'm a little more picky about what a superb guitar player would be than your average person would be. When I look at a guitar player, I am looking at technique, such as hand positioning, execution and clarity of notes, the absense of buzzing noises, tone and a variety of other things. I'm a classical player, so I don't have a lot of respect for people that most people would consider great. I mean people adore Cobain, but forget guys like Eric Johnson. One more example, that may piss you off too, is Big Love. For a BAD classical player, it is easy and most classical guitarists could do it sleeping. For most people, it is unattainable to think they could play it. It just depends on your perspective. There's an old joke, "Q: How do you get a guitar player to stop playing? A: Put sheet music in front of him." 99% of guitarists can't read music, but it doesn't diminish their accomplishments. Lindsey can't read music, which makes him poor technically, but it doesn't diminish his accomplishments. In fact, it magnifies them. Most guitarists are not like LB, however, and that does make them poor musicians.

I think the thing about things sounding "too perfect" is the same excuse many musicians use about being "too commcercial". It just means they don't know how to write hooks. I don't think it is that I don't understand Neil Young, I just think you are not a musician, so my opinion seems foreign. Like, "how can someone think that". I'm looking at it from a critical standpoint and not one of a fan. When I hear a song, I pick the different parts out in my head and analyze them. I can't just "listen".
I like a lot of punk, hardcore and garage rock too. I don't think you understood me.

I love challenging music. I just think most people would be surprised that Van Halen's Spanish Fly is not the hardest guitar song to play, Bach's Prelude # 6 is. For someone like me that has an exceptional musical education for most of his life, it seems totally foreign that something Neil Young does isn't all that hard for me.

Maybe you should go & talk about your technical knowledge in a thread discussing technical abilities of guitar players. Doesn't really belong in a thread about "who shouldn't release albums anymore." It's a simple fun discussion that you're taking too seriously, then when people question you because your knowledge of pop music seems pretty superficial, you get defensive & arrogant & insist nobody should dare to question you because you're a musician & they aren't. You being able to play an instrument doesn't mean that you know a lot about music dude.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

I liked MC Hammer and Heavy D. Does that count as Hip Hop!

I'll have to look up the Flaming Lips and give them a listen. I PROMISE, when Neil Young next comes to Seattle, I will go see him and give you a full report. The one disclaimer being ticket prices.

I have to apologize a bit, since I'm not up on most things. I don't have an iPod or even a cell phone. I've never even USED an iPod. I still use Direct X plugins and haven't even upgraded to VST! I still have a record player.... I was raised in a cult, so my exposure to the outside world is a little limited at times.

No, it's not

AND

You've never even HEARD of the Flaming Lips?

AND

That explains a lot. I'll remember that for the next time so I don't waste my time.

Originally Posted by ajmccarrell

What you said was that I wasn't very knowledgable about music, which would imply that if you were making that judgement, that your knowledge was of the level to deem mine inferior. Here's you quote, "At the start of this thread you seemed to want to try & give the impression that you were very knowledgeable about music. The more you posted, it became apparent that you aren't." Now, don't you think something like that gives the impression that you know more? Hello, basic Greek logic here.

Not when the next line in the post says "Now I'm not either, but I don't pretend to be." Hello, basic English reading skills?

Anyway, if you still hold that opinion, download "You Don't Know". I wrote, arranged, produced and mixed that. It's a blend of grunge, industrial, gospel and flamenco. Not an easy task to pull off. Listen to my solo at the end of "Only One" and see if I don't have some sort of perspective on guitar solos enough to be able to hold a position that I don't like Neil Young's? Take a listen to "Leave Me Alone", which is a blend of Tin Pan Alley and country, which would showcase technical composition skill. I've had music teachers listen and say it shows how much I've studied music.

Anyway, saying stuff like that to someone who devoted much of his life to music, you're bound to ruffle some feathers.

Well telling people that you must know more about music than them because you play an instrument is bound to ruffle some feathers as well, because it might not be the case.

And I'd rather take a cue from you & just prejudge your music as cheesy without bothering to investigate further. Thanks anyway.

[ajmccarrell]

Originally Posted by skcin

I just had to go back & point out several of your posts. You really seem to need to go back & reiterate or clarify many of your statements, then you end up contradicting yourself.



So NOBODY who did Farm Aid should release anymore albums. Quite the blanket statement to make - which is why you sound like you don't know wtf you're talking about.



You don't need to be a technically great guitarist to have talent, and you don't need to be a classically trained or "normal" sounding singer to be able to sing a song & convey emotion.



You're comparing apples to oranges - how can you compare a folk/rock singer/songwriter who writes most of his songs about politics & current events to someone who writes pop songs that mean nothing? Sure, Madonna has written lots of fun POP songs - fluff, pure & simple. But being cute & catchy doesn't make it a "great" song.



So which is it? From your list below, seems like you go with whatever the majority is listening to at the time. First you implied Nirvana "started" something & those other bands progressed, then you said that was simply a list of popular bands you used to listen to.



Exactly, it doesn't. So stop arguing that it does.

And nobody cares that you don't like Neil Young, they care that you made the comment:



So you made a list of your favorite songs from your adolescence. Like you said, it's your opinion, you LIKED the songs - doesn't mean they're great. I like a lot of songs that are crap too, I'm not going to tell people they must be great because I like them & I'm a fantastic musician. Which I'm not.



Maybe you should go & talk about your technical knowledge in a thread discussing technical abilities of guitar players. Doesn't really belong in a thread about "who shouldn't release albums anymore." It's a simple fun discussion that you're taking too seriously, then when people question you because your knowledge of pop music seems pretty superficial, you get defensive & arrogant & insist nobody should dare to question you because you're a musician & they aren't. You being able to play an instrument doesn't mean that you know a lot about music dude.



No, it's not

AND

You've never even HEARD of the Flaming Lips?

AND

That explains a lot. I'll remember that for the next time so I don't waste my time.



Not when the next line in the post says "Now I'm not either, but I don't pretend to be." Hello, basic English reading skills?



Well telling people that you must know more about music than them because you play an instrument is bound to ruffle some feathers as well, because it might not be the case.

And I'd rather take a cue from you & just prejudge your music as cheesy without bothering to investigate further. Thanks anyway.

I'm glad you like to parade being ignorant. Saves me the trouble of pointing it out. Most of what you have a problem with is a matter of opinion. Go be pissy and insult people somewhere else.