Tuesday, January 08, 2008

confessions of an inquiring mind

i admit that i am out of the loop musically. i think i stopped really listening to top 40 sometime in the mid-1990's and only half heartedly listened while i was working with teens to stay current. they laughed at me when i would quote lyrics in my 'square white bread' style but it did break some ice. well, i am totally out of the loop now because there is no reason whatsoever to listen. i have a couple of 'oldies' stations i have in the car and my cd and tape collection from my youth. i do troll youtube for oldies :) i got the boss for cmas and the dixie chicks and the eagles newest. yeah. i love them all. i am looking to get kristofferson's latest also. i love bob seger and almost anything 1980's- so i started thinking about why. for me- meaningful lyrics and music- real music. music you can just listen to or dance to- or sing along to. music that lifts your soul or helps put you in a trance to take a break from the world. i don't think it's a mistake that seger and the eagles and the boss are out touring at their 'advanced' ages.

music is universal and speaks to people and i guess i am wondering- and would like to know without having to weed through myself- who are the artists today that are the storytellers; the war protesters; the dance machines? who has a unique sound that isn't pre-packaged or overdubbed on the album? whose cd makes a difference or moves people? i am a big fan of james blunt- for that one or two folks who don't know that :) his first album was loads better than the second. why? the second is too slick and packaged and it was disappointing because the man is talented. kelly clarkson also catches my ear and alicia keyes. please feel free to leave me links to listen to. i am in the market for some new music. but that doesn't mean i am giving up the old :)

6 comments:

Holly said...

I am also not a huge fan of today's music. The problem is I'm 21. I find I listen alot to the stuff my parents listened to. ex. The Osmonds, Jackson 5, anything from motown. Right now though, I'm really into a musician named Darren Hayes. You may remember him best as the lead singer of the 90's group Savage Garden. He's a brilliant song writter. www.darrenhayes.com or www.myspace.com/darrenhayes if you wanna look into him.

billie said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fiL9lkCaQU

i really like lemar too. he can really sing. i did listen to savage garden back in the day :) he is pretty good.

Dave Dubya said...

Not top forty, but I'd like to suggest Carrie Rodriguez. She opened for Lucinda Williams last year. She sings, writes, and plays catchy, heartfelt, and fun tunes in a similar vein as Lucinda.

shawn (aka blogstud) said...

hey b,

I think few things signal the changing of a generation more than differing musical tastes. I remember going on a date in the early 90's and playing a David Bowie song, and my date who was just 4 or 5 years younger had no idea who he was.

It made me feel old and uncomfortable. I think you have some excellent choices for current artists. the Chicks, Alicia, and Blunt are all talented. I, too love 80's music and have rediscovered ELO. I love them. If you want copies of anything 80's let me know. I have lots of hard to find club music from the 80's. you know, back when club music still had lyrics.

looks like we have a race on the dem side now. this will be interesting. I just hope they manage to stay mostly positive. I have not been impressed by Hill's negative turn. Obama has gained some points from me for taking mostly the high road. I do wish ALL the candidates were included in the debate. This is still a democratic-republic.

did I tell ya I applied for a job in newark, nj? I want out of Texas before bush comes home.

Unknown said...

John Mayer has a bluesy sound that I really like (plus, a guy strumming his own acoustic guitar is so sexy, I can't even say it out loud...it might disturb the neighbors ;) ) Anyway, I think Mayer kind of bridges the gap between today's youth and their (really cool) parents. He's got a couple of songs that speak to my political nature. I particularly love "Waiting on the World to Change".

Even though, as a DJ and as a karaoke host, being up to speed on what's hot and what's not, I find myself diving headlong into music that I think is totally overrated and overhyped (although, I do come across some things that I love...maybe exactly for their commercial aspects...like my new fascination with Jordin Sparks...don't tell the RIAA, but a friend of mine gave me the disc to listen to...I didn't think that I would like it, but I was sold).

I generally only listen to "today's music" when I'm working or preparing for work...which is the same as working...I keep the old blues and jazz chicks in my cd player (the bedroom and the shower player) and I keep old school r&b playing in the car (it keeps me calm on the road and still happy enough to resist giving the finger to inconsiderate drivers). I wake up to Billie Holiday in the mornings and cruise to Vanessa Williams in the afternoons.

You pretty much covered any other musicians I might have recommended, in your post, so I appreciate you letting me take up bandwidth in your comments giving you my 2 cents.

Stick to the classics if that is what moves you. SSG Dizzy got me a new van for my birthday and it came with 7 disc changer and a cassette player...I love cruising to the old cassettes that I bought when I was a senior in high school (yeah, I am playing 20 year old tapes!)

Mary said...

Bob Schneider, G Love and Special Sauce, Ben Taylor (son of James), Slightly Stoopid, Ray LaMontagne ( you will def. love him), The Avett Brothers, Jack Johnson, Ten Dollar Outfit, ALO, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, Ollabelle (Riverside Battle Songs), Paleface.
Most are not top 40 but they all make great tunes.