Stevie vs. Jewel

[dissention]

Has anyone heard the new Jewel single "Intuition"? Some of the lyrics sound strikingly similar to Silver Girl.

Jewel:

Just a simple girl
Living in a high-tech digital world

Stevie:

She was a silver girl
Caught in a high-tech world

Eeerie.

[DownOnRodeo]

Originally posted by dissention
Has anyone heard the new Jewel single "Intuition"? Some of the lyrics sound strikingly similar to Silver Girl.

Jewel:

Just a simple girl
Living in a high-tech digital world

Stevie:

She was a silver girl
Caught in a high-tech world

Eeerie.

lol It just made me think - if you were in fact going to nick something from one of her songs, of all Stevie's billions of lyrics to choose from, who would choose those lines

[FiercestCalmSea]

That is pretty funny...one of the few times Stevie tosses out some mainstream lyrics..and they get replicated

[flyfirefly]

Well they're both new songs for both artists coming out within months of each other...

I'd like to think they were on the same wavelength at the same time, though this wavelength that Jewel has taken the sound of her music to is, in my opinion, a messy detour.

[Gypsy]

Originally posted by flyfirefly
Well they're both new songs for both artists coming out within months of each other...

I'd like to think they were on the same wavelength at the same time, though this wavelength that Jewel has taken the sound of her music to is, in my opinion, a messy detour.

A messy detour indeed.
I was thinking the other day that Jewel used to be such an original, self-made folk crooner. Livin' out of the back of a car and singin' in coffeehouses. Now she's gone and joined the rest of the forgettable midriff-baring pop tarts.
She oughtta fire whoever told her that changing her image would sell more albums. What, did she run out of real music and songs that could sell themselves?

[flyfirefly]

The sad thing is, she may very well sell more albums.

[Sorcerer386]

*sigh* I'm going to veer off topic once again in support for Jewel. First of all, who's to say Silver Girl was written before Intuition...do you people seriously think Jewel just stole those lines after hearing Silver Girl, which she may not have even heard before writing Intuition? Second of all, just because Jewel is experimenting with a more mainstream sound does not in any way mean she's just trying to sell more records. I'd imagine Jewel has built a rather strong fan base by now and didn't HAVE to switch to that sound. I doubt anyone told her that she had to switch to this different sound in order to sell records. As I said in the Chit Chat forum, Jewel MAKES FUN of that kind of thing in her video for Intuition. The scrolling "comment" by "Suzi from Anchorage Alaska" (which is fake) says "Jewel's music SOUNDS better now that she's DANCING..." Also, let's not forget that even Stevie was packaged a little, little bit when she went solo. "Fishkin (I think) planned to MARKET Stevie as a straight-ahead rocker." That's straight out of her Behind the Music. And again, why is experimenting with a less mainstream sound "artistic" like Tusk, but experimenting MORE mainstream is "selling out"? Come on people, let's not be so trigger happy.

[dissention]

Originally posted by Sorcerer386
*sigh* I'm going to veer off topic once again in support for Jewel. First of all, who's to say Silver Girl was written before Intuition...do you people seriously think Jewel just stole those lines after hearing Silver Girl, which she may not have even heard before writing Intuition? Second of all, just because Jewel is experimenting with a more mainstream sound does not in any way mean she's just trying to sell more records. I'd imagine Jewel has built a rather strong fan base by now and didn't HAVE to switch to that sound. I doubt anyone told her that she had to switch to this different sound in order to sell records. As I said in the Chit Chat forum, Jewel MAKES FUN of that kind of thing in her video for Intuition. The scrolling "comment" by "Suzi from Anchorage Alaska" (which is fake) says "Jewel's music SOUNDS better now that she's DANCING..." Also, let's not forget that even Stevie was packaged a little, little bit when she went solo. "Fishkin (I think) planned to MARKET Stevie as a straight-ahead rocker." That's straight out of her Behind the Music. And again, why is experimenting with a less mainstream sound "artistic" like Tusk, but experimenting MORE mainstream is "selling out"? Come on people, let's not be so trigger happy.

I never insinuated that Jewel stole lyrics from Silver Girl. That would be too ridiculous to insinuate!

HOWEVER...

Regardless of whether or not she has a strong fan base, those fans are fans of hers because of her neo-folk music, NOT her teen pop of late. Yeah, there are the hardcore fans that will buy her new album, but the ones who like her because of her sound won't be shelling out the money for her new album. I think that's evident by the fact that her album is sinking like a stone. Also, I'm sure she thought, along with her label and reps, that she had to change to the new pop-tart image. After all, her last album didn't sell so hot.

And while smart folk like us may get her message, I HIGHLY doubt the MTV crowd will understand it. They'll just see her as another Hootchie Spears.

I just can't wait to see how Liz Phair's fans are going to react to her new album!

[flyfirefly]

Hah, "lets not be trigger happy"

Bang, bang, bang!

[flyfirefly]

I meant to respond with more than that. Nonetheless, the difference here is that Jewel set a precedent over the past 7 years with 4 albums of varying material. It wasn't as if her debut with "Pieces of You" sky-rocketed her to fame and then she left us in the dust with "0304"--there are more albums there, and two books that deal specifically with her background in that type of simple, acoustic, well-written music. To turn on Vh1 or MTV and see her now jumping around in outfits too small for her, is just ridiculous. With Fleetwood Mac--there really wasn't a steady precedent on which everything else should follow. Already the band had changed from blues-oriented to rock-pop oriented just by adding two members. 'Tusk can still be considered rock, though not as mainstream. If they'd gone and done a country record or r&b--that would be a similar situation. I don't think, at that time, Fleetwood Mac had fans that would necessarily consider themselves 'loyal' after only one hit record of rock.

[CarneVaca]

How boring, folks. Jewel has been commercializing her music from the first album, which is why the single mixes were considerably different from the album.

Artists switching between genres is nothing new. So what if Jewel is showing a little more skin? She has nothing left to prove, unless she's trying to prove she has a belly button, which I'm pretty sure we all could have concluded anyway.

To me, it is more bothersome to see a band that hasn't quite made it switching to a very polished mainstream sound with the intent of making sales and getting radio play. THis is what happened with Marah, which had two wonderful albums of genuine music and then went to the studio to record glossy crap. I've not bought that last album.

U2 has done time and time again. A lot of people knocked them for Rattle and Hum, then for Achtung Baby, which was actually a masterpiece. They they really went downhill with that Euro-pop crap.

Don't like the direction Jewel has taken? Pass on her new stuff and just enjoy what you like.

[cliffdweller]

Originally posted by Sorcerer386
*sigh* I'm going to veer off topic once again in support for Jewel. First of all, who's to say Silver Girl was written before Intuition...do you people seriously think Jewel just stole those lines after hearing Silver Girl, which she may not have even heard before writing Intuition? Second of all, just because Jewel is experimenting with a more mainstream sound does not in any way mean she's just trying to sell more records. I'd imagine Jewel has built a rather strong fan base by now and didn't HAVE to switch to that sound. I doubt anyone told her that she had to switch to this different sound in order to sell records. As I said in the Chit Chat forum, Jewel MAKES FUN of that kind of thing in her video for Intuition. The scrolling "comment" by "Suzi from Anchorage Alaska" (which is fake) says "Jewel's music SOUNDS better now that she's DANCING..." Also, let's not forget that even Stevie was packaged a little, little bit when she went solo. "Fishkin (I think) planned to MARKET Stevie as a straight-ahead rocker." That's straight out of her Behind the Music. And again, why is experimenting with a less mainstream sound "artistic" like Tusk, but experimenting MORE mainstream is "selling out"? Come on people, let's not be so trigger happy.

Stevie may have been "packaged" as a straight ahead rocker but that's not far from what she really was...a rock chick. Jewel on the other hand has done a complete 180 degree turn around, which is fine, I mean whatever. I'm sure it gets boring doing the same old thing all the time and being pigeonholed in a certain genre etc. However, I just wish she (or her lable, management etc.) would stop trying to spin her new sound like it's some kind of ironic satire, which it clearly is not. I doubt an artist would toil over an album with their blood, sweat, and tears just to put out a bit of sarcasm that they really don't believe in musically. Doesn't make sense. It's fine if she wants to do something different, just don't hide behind it saying, "i'm just kidding around, you can still take me seriously."

[ShangriLaTroubl]

I have always been a Jewel fan, I may actually buy this album to see if there are any good moments on it...I dont know...

She has incredible stage presence and her songs are always so intense, now my wonder is how she'll mix her old stuff with this stuff onstage...

About selling more albums..I'm not sure about that, her album did debut at #2 but only selling a little over 130,000 copies...which isnt BAD...But I don't think it will be a blockbuster hit for her...

I liked Intuition when I first heard it, although now that TRL and radio have picked up on it , I'm not fascinated by it...Its not just the style of music that's bothering me about her new stuff (i like it pretty much) it's the whole 360 change, her look, everything...like someone said...her hardcore fans came to love her for the things she has portrayed on her first 3 albums...not this...we'll see how it pans out

Chris

[flyfirefly]

Originally posted by trackaghost
... but the reason she made it or got more exposure was simply because of the way she looks which makes her more easy to package and market, not because she is more talented.

I don't know about that...I mean, when she first came out Jewel took a lot of hard knocks to her appearance. Her teeth, her weight. There were plenty of parodies about her background and the like. I mean, if that's considered easy to market then maybe I'm wrong.

Jewel just played the coffeehouse circuit at the right time, when that type of simple, female-driven music was beginning to emerge again (1996: Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, Indigo Girls, etc.) I think her fan base was largely created just because of the fact that she was seemingly normal, and "You Were Meant for Me" and "Who Will Save Your Soul" were haunting.

How much depth is in 0304? Real depth, here?

[darklinensuit]

I have not seen the video, but they're playing the song ALL THE TIME on the radio here.
The other similarity is between Intuition and Say You Will, both of which have an endlessly repeating chorus, it seems.

- Jake