Natalie Merchant: :-)

[Welly Wu]

I'm listening to both of Natalie Merchant's solo albums, Tigerlily and Ophelia on Red Book CD format. Both are rather older releases, but I am utterly transfixed by her lyricism, commanding voice, and musicianship. So much so that I am unable to sleep tonight!

Why can't musicians decide to write music of this genre, of this period instead of harking back to the 1940s and 1950s American Blues, Jazz, and Big Band influences with a definitely peculiar hybrid blend as evidenced by the torrent of Norah Jones, Michael Buble, et al? I tire of trends after the first crest has fallen. We live in a very dominant market trend culture: American reality TV, 1940s - 1950s re-hashed music, and all manner of future advertisements in the next several weeks as the holiday 2004 season jingles nearer.

Did originality and creative risk become passe?

 

[S_Dedalus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu Did originality and creative risk become passe?

No, just very dangerous, and more than likely, unprofitable.

 

[Welly Wu]

"find out where the masses are going and go in the opposite direction: your chances are better." -- somebody wise who I can't remember at 4:19 AM EST, but whose personal philosophy I tend to follow more often than not.

Seriously, I have burned bit-perfect CD-R copies of all that "trendy music" (i.e., Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Norah Jones, Michael Buble, etc.) and all I want to listen to at 4:21 AM EST is two nearly decade old very well mastered Red Book CDs by an artist who probably is just as good as an outsider trying for her first big break after all of the years of obscurity.

Her music touches me. It keeps me awake. It is musicianship, poetry, and of obviously high mastering caliber. The "trendy music" has the benefits of cutting edge computerized technologies but the musicianship lacks lyricism and art. It's just commodity packaging priced to move when certain market conditions allow for an opening for maximum profits in a short period of time. Then, it's off to the next album with a different title but same old formula of the day that seems to have a hold on 97 percent of the American population.

W
H
A
T

I
S

G
O
I
N
G

O
N
!
!
!