Music Banter - View Single Post

jackhammer · 04-27-2012, 07:09 PM

It's been a while for obvious reasons since I posted in my journal but feel ready to post again.

Singer/Songwriters

I really feel that there are two types of Singer/Songwriters. The first is a half decent musician, commercially appealing (be it looks, young age etc) and quite safe. I don't like these artists. You can spot them a mile off. I don't doubt their sincerity but 90% of the time they are a marketable commodity who just happen to come along at the right time but I bet you a pound to a penny you will find their albums in bargain bins and charity shops within a couple of years with no particular track they have written having any longevity let alone classic status- Newton Faulkner, James Blunt, Sandi Thom to name just a few.

Then there are singer/songwriters that don't achieve commercial or constant critical success because they don't look right or play by the rules or prefer to keep a low profile and let the music do the talking because what they are singing about is not an idea of a particular experience but an ACTUAL experience and not what what they think should appeal to the masses.

I won't concentrate on the classic singer/songwriters here because if the heyday of those folk has long since past (and this is not a critique of their work more a comment on record company policy) they still sell records and amass fans each year.

I don't have some unique insight into music formula or have an opinion that HAS to be right but I really feel that when I listen to singer/songwriters I can see through the lies and bull**** and know when artist means what they say and write and play by their own rules and if they don't get more recognition then bollocks to it because it's music by their rules and not a suit or a big company telling them to do it this way or that.

I want to give a perfect example of this by the emergence of Ed Sheeran in the U.K with everyone falling all over themselves for this guy when there are other singer/songwriters here that have been doing similar things for years without recognition because they are not marketable.

Yes, yes I know how the music business works and I can't change it but it doesn't mean that I have to like it does it? When a guy at work brings in the new Ed Sheeran album and proclaims it as unique and heartfelt I quite honestly want to punch them in the face and force C,D's down their throat- this guy or that woman has been doing this better and for a lot longer but u haven't bothered looking have you?

I am ranting a little too much here so to get back to the original idea of the thread, why are those who REALLY put everything into their music - their experiences, their heartaches, their heart passed over so many times?

Of course the last few months of my life have clouded my judgment in what is more heartfelt and sincere than another artist but this is my journal and it is a place to express myself whether right or wrong.

We need some tunes. No background, just check them out and hopefully you may find one or two artists that REALLY get you.

and yes I will have to plug my faves:

04-27-2012, 07:09 PM	#206 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	It's been a while for obvious reasons since I posted in my journal but feel ready to post again. Singer/Songwriters I really feel that there are two types of Singer/Songwriters. The first is a half decent musician, commercially appealing (be it looks, young age etc) and quite safe. I don't like these artists. You can spot them a mile off. I don't doubt their sincerity but 90% of the time they are a marketable commodity who just happen to come along at the right time but I bet you a pound to a penny you will find their albums in bargain bins and charity shops within a couple of years with no particular track they have written having any longevity let alone classic status- Newton Faulkner, James Blunt, Sandi Thom to name just a few. Then there are singer/songwriters that don't achieve commercial or constant critical success because they don't look right or play by the rules or prefer to keep a low profile and let the music do the talking because what they are singing about is not an idea of a particular experience but an ACTUAL experience and not what what they think should appeal to the masses. I won't concentrate on the classic singer/songwriters here because if the heyday of those folk has long since past (and this is not a critique of their work more a comment on record company policy) they still sell records and amass fans each year. I don't have some unique insight into music formula or have an opinion that HAS to be right but I really feel that when I listen to singer/songwriters I can see through the lies and bull**** and know when artist means what they say and write and play by their own rules and if they don't get more recognition then bollocks to it because it's music by their rules and not a suit or a big company telling them to do it this way or that. I want to give a perfect example of this by the emergence of Ed Sheeran in the U.K with everyone falling all over themselves for this guy when there are other singer/songwriters here that have been doing similar things for years without recognition because they are not marketable. Yes, yes I know how the music business works and I can't change it but it doesn't mean that I have to like it does it? When a guy at work brings in the new Ed Sheeran album and proclaims it as unique and heartfelt I quite honestly want to punch them in the face and force C,D's down their throat- this guy or that woman has been doing this better and for a lot longer but u haven't bothered looking have you? I am ranting a little too much here so to get back to the original idea of the thread, why are those who REALLY put everything into their music - their experiences, their heartaches, their heart passed over so many times? Of course the last few months of my life have clouded my judgment in what is more heartfelt and sincere than another artist but this is my journal and it is a place to express myself whether right or wrong. We need some tunes. No background, just check them out and hopefully you may find one or two artists that REALLY get you. and yes I will have to plug my faves: __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”