Post by ADWattsOld is right! Have to cut the mold off
this sucker! :-)
Nah, leave it for the French - they'll turn it into haute cuisine.
Post by ADWattsPost by Glen A. RITCHIEActually, in retrospect, the music on
that album *really* isn't that bad -
early 90s dance / pop format.
:-) I can't stand dance and/or pop
music!
That's pro'ly 'cos you've been listening to all the wrong stuff!
I love *all kinds* of music.
Dance music has been part of every culture in every period of history.
If I can't stand a song for any particular reason, it's usually either
because it's
not very original or because it's very irritating (e.g., "The Reason" really
puts the stank in Hoobastank).
Post by ADWattsI remember watching American
Bandstand as a kid, and being *so*
annoyed with their "Rate-A-Record"
segment. They'd get two brain-dead
teenagers to listen to a new song and
then they would give it a score
between 35-98. Almost always you'd
get a variation on two pat answers;
a) "It had a great beat you can dance
to, I'll give it a 98, Dick!" or b) "It was
kind of hard to dance to, I'd give it a
40."
Perhaps my memory is just bad, but I
dont' recall more than a couple of
times in the 5 or 6 years that I watched
that show, that the teenage actually
thought about the song beyond what
kind of beat it had. It use to piss me off
to no end!
In other words, like lesbians, you don't do Dick.
Post by ADWattsNow I'm not sure if this experience
warped my musical tastes or not, but I
can not listen to music which is made
just to provide a good beat for people
to dance to. Like 95% of the stuff you'll
hear on pop music stations. I just
require more depth than that.
Some of the best music from the 80s, whether it was "Rock The Casbah" by
The Clash or "Under Cover Of The Night" by The Rolling Stones, "had a great
beat to it", which shows that you can think and dance - even rock out - all
at the same time.
Post by ADWattsSo, I'm quite sure I would hate her first
album. Maybe I should give it a listen
anyway, but I don't want to hear a
"shallow" version of an artist I respect
and admire.
I don't think that Alanis's fans can truly understand how she got to "Jagged
Little Pill" unless they listen to her earlier work.
Post by ADWattsPost by Glen A. RITCHIEPost by ADWattsbecause I don't want my image of
her to be tainted.
The way I look at it is in terms of an
You get a better understanding
where she came from, and how she
ended up making the style of music
she is now.
But I don't think *she* even wanted the
music to be that way (on the first
album), it was just what her producers
wanted her to do.
Although Alanis claimed that was what happened, I'm not quite so sure that I
completely 'buy' that anymore.
Remember, she *wrote* as well as performed her own material from the very
beginning.
For example, when she was only
10-years old, she produced a single entitled, "Fate Stay With Me"; it was in
the pop format.
Alanis decided to take a new direction in 1994, and simply realised that her
earlier work would hold her back from being considered a serious artist.
Ironically, it took the Queen of dance / pop music, Madonna, to sign up
Alanis to a recording deal, by which she became the star she'd always wanted
to be (in her "Fate Stay With Me" lyrics).
Post by ADWattsIf it's the artist themselves finding their
"voice", then yes, early efforts are very
interesting to listen to even if they
aren't up to the standards that the artist
later achieves.
Bearing in mind that Alanis was in her teens when she composed her earlier
work, the content and style is naturally going to be expressed in the
'language' of teens.
Post by ADWattsBut when it's something that is
basically forced upon them so that they
can "break through", then I generally
find the music unlistenable.
Does that make any sense? :-P
Yes, but I find it artistically dishonest to repudiate one's earlier work
just because one is not particularly proud of it.
Post by ADWattsIt reminds me of Tori Amos. Little
Earthquakes was an amazing "debut"
album, and she has done some
incredible work since. But what many
people don't know, is that she started
her recording career as Y Kant Tori
Read,
B Cos Tori Kant Spell ;-) ?
Post by ADWattsa mainstream pop metal "band" she
put together because metal was all the
rage at that time. The album was
horrible, and Tori doesn't even talk
about that period of time at all.
Although, she must've learned *something* from the experimentation process
(like not to record in an unsuitably trendy style).
Post by ADWattsCool. I have high hopes that she'll
continue to make great music for a
long time to come, even if she's
not as popular as she was. (Which isn't
necessarily a bad thing.)
I agree, sometimes being too popular can be about as bad for an artist as
performing in the wrong style.
Post by ADWattsPost by Glen A. RITCHIECanadian TV is like that for its
'memorable moments' ;-) ...
Can we count TV series filmed *in*
Canada?
Not according to Canadian content rules >:-<.
Post by ADWattsBecause The X-Files was certainly
memorable! :-)
Indeed; I really miss Sunday nights without "The X-Files".
Post by ADWattsPost by Glen A. RITCHIEPost by ADWattsAre you a Bob & Doug McKenzie
fan?
Yeah, I'll watch 'em if I catch 'em on
TV (in reruns, natch).
I'm still waiting for Strange Brew 2!
Think I should hold my breath? :-P
Well, unlike a Beatles reunion, there's certainly more chance that Bob and
Doug will do some sort of sequel, since the main parties are still alive.
Post by ADWattsPost by Glen A. RITCHIEWhich just goes to show you,
sometimes the very ideas we discard
turn into our most popular work.
True.
According to both him and his wife,
Stephen King threw Carrie in the trash
because he thought it was awful.
Tabitha dug it out, didn't think it was
*that* bad and as they say the rest is
history.
Yeah, some poor guy got electrocuted on stage because Carrie psyched out
after getting pig's blood poured all over her!
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