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[louielouie2000]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I, too, think it is rather pathetic that the prepacked star is the way music has gone in terms of relevance. But, that has been happening since the birth of Rock and Roll. The Supremes are a good example of that. I love The Supremes, but there is little depth in their music as opposed to Joni Mitchell, Dylan, etc.

So, I guess to each their own.

I think you kind of answered your own question/statement there . As long as there has been some form of popular music, there has been a bubblegum version of it. I don' think there are any fewer talented artists these days, I think there are just fewer talented artists who are famous.

Case and point, my favorite artist outside of Fleetwood Mac, Joseph Arthur. He probably has more talent in his pinky than Fleetwood Mac did with all it's 16 members. In 10 years he has released something like 200+ songs (and is said to have just as many unreleased), all of which are written by him, performed by him, produced by him, he plays like every instrument under the sun, etc. His music isn't amateurish at all either, he's every bit as polished yet envelope pushing as Fleetwood Mac. He just isn't on a major record label.

I think that's where the real problem lies: record companies have become too much an influence on what the market receives, and they are far too involved in artists works. They are not only dumbing down what's recorded, but also what reaches us. This was a huge problem in the 50s and early 60s too, so maybe it'll be cyclical, and we'll get a fresh burst of change again.

Now to stray back on topic . For what it's worth, I do believe Stevie had all those abortions. Being a gay man, I have known so many who have strayed into that drug addled lifestyle. That lifestyle makes people promiscuous, insane, and totally lacking in decent judgement. The big difference in gay men and people like Stevie is, the fact that those gay men get HIV, not pregnant obviously. I've seen it happen again and again to people I know, it's terrible and heartbreaking. Most aren't half bad people. I don't think Stevie's a horrible person either, though she may have done some horrible things. We all have. While I find that number of abortions insanely aweful, I just can't judge her for it, as much as I may want to. I guess I am just so happy after all these years that she's still around, still performing for us. I *DO* however judge her for not giving us any new material, but that's another topic yet!