Article: The Music In Me: Rap of History Backwards The

[The Computer Audiophile]

Has anyone else watched HBO's The Defiant Ones?

 

I watched all four episodes last night and loved it. Sure, there are some alternative facts in the documentary, but it's a great story. In it, there are many details about why gangsta rap discussed the topics it did and how much of a poet Tupac Shakur was before his death at age 25. 

 

http://www.hbo.com/the-defiant-ones

[DRB100]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Has anyone else watched HBO's The Defiant Ones?

 

I watched all four episodes last night and loved it. Sure, there are some alternative facts in the documentary, but it's a great story. In it, there are many details about why gangsta rap discussed the topics it did and how much of a poet Tupac Shakur was before his death at age 25. 

 

http://www.hbo.com/the-defiant-ones

I only watched part of one episode.  Did you catch the part where Ruthless records was started using illegal drug money or that Dr. Dre was selling illegal mix tapes?  It's too bad the Feds didn't throw them in jail.  Life sure would be different if they did.   It still didn't change my mind on how bad that stuff is and it certainly didn't change my mind.  All it did was solidify how it's created by thugs, con artists and extremely dumb people to make a buck from idiots that buy into it.  Oh well.

[DRB100]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Has anyone else watched HBO's The Defiant Ones?

 

I watched all four episodes last night and loved it. Sure, there are some alternative facts in the documentary, but it's a great story. In it, there are many details about why gangsta rap discussed the topics it did and how much of a poet Tupac Shakur was before his death at age 25. 

 

http://www.hbo.com/the-defiant-ones

Who was saying how much of a poet Tupac was?  What Poetry Society was it?

[DRB100]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Has anyone else watched HBO's The Defiant Ones?

 

I watched all four episodes last night and loved it. Sure, there are some alternative facts in the documentary, but it's a great story. In it, there are many details about why gangsta rap discussed the topics it did and how much of a poet Tupac Shakur was before his death at age 25. 

 

http://www.hbo.com/the-defiant-ones

Have you read Tupac's lyrics?   I wouldn't suggest that's great poetry.  It's more of what some thug would write that's still in junior high school, that's the mentality I sense in it.   Go ahead, read the lyrics of his songs starting from the 1st one on the list and go down from there.  And you enjoy reading that kind of prose?  Kind of made me sick.  oh, I forgot.  Didn't some blacks involved with listening to rap music kill him?   And rap doesn't incite violence.   /s Imagine that.

[LarryMagoo]

All three of those samples had melodic tones and it was going somewhere...it actually sounded pleasant!   Today's RAP is NOT MUSIC!!!!!!

[DRB100]

27 minutes ago, LarryMagoo said:

All three of those samples had melodic tones and it was going somewhere...it actually sounded pleasant!   Today's RAP is NOT MUSIC!!!!!!

First off.  Rapper's Delight was not originally a rap song, they just stole Chic's song and replaced it with rapping, but their rap didn't really have much melodic tone.   It was only pleasant because of the music, which was created by musicians that weren't part of that rap group..  I view Rapper's Delight more of a parody song and not really anything serious.  The reason why it sold well was because it was already a major hit called Good Times By Chic.  That's how they get a hit, use another song that's already a hit and put some stupid lyrics on it to be another hit.  They did the same thing with Walk This Way by Aerosmith.

 

Blondie is a singer that's doing some silly comedic rap that's only a small part of the song, plus it's not like she spits out a huge catalog of rap, that was her only one.  When a singer raps, they are most likely going to put some amount of melody in it because they are a SINGER, but she did not build her career on rap, and that was her only rap song and it wasn't even the entire song, only part of it.  But most rappers don't do that. But it's still more of a novelty than anything serious because the lyrics were kind of silly lyrics and nothing serious.

But those 3 songs are what I would call ANOMALIES and not the norm for rap.  Anomalies to support an argument?  REALLY?  

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 hour ago, DRB100 said:

I only watched part of one episode.  Did you catch the part where Ruthless records was started using illegal drug money or that Dr. Dre was selling illegal mix tapes?  It's too bad the Feds didn't throw them in jail.  Life sure would be different if they did.   It still didn't change my mind on how bad that stuff is and it certainly didn't change my mind.  All it did was solidify how it's created by thugs, con artists and extremely dumb people to make a buck from idiots that buy into it.  Oh well.

 

51 minutes ago, DRB100 said:

Who was saying how much of a poet Tupac was?  What Poetry Society was it?

 

41 minutes ago, DRB100 said:

Have you read Tupac's lyrics?   I wouldn't suggest that's great poetry.  It's more of what some thug would write that's still in junior high school, that's the mentality I sense in it.   Go ahead, read the lyrics of his songs starting from the 1st one on the list and go down from there.  And you enjoy reading that kind of prose?  Kind of made me sick.  oh, I forgot.  Didn't some blacks involved with listening to rap music kill him?   And rap doesn't incite violence.   /s Imagine that.

 

I'm guessing you and I are just from a different time. No worries, I love conversing with others who share different views and I love hearing why they hold those views much more than what the view is. 

 

Ruthless used Eric Wright's drug money to get started and Andre Young sold mix tapes. It turned out great for both of them. If, on the other hand, they both would have went to prison for the offenses, life would be far different and tax payers would have been paying for incarceration and a potential life of crime. 

 

When I watched the episodes, I actually thought of you. I thought you'd actually see that these guys are pretty talented, smart and have smart people around them. 

 

Rap doesn't incite violence by itself. I listened to the most gangsta of gangsta rap growing up and never committed a violent act. Neither did any of my friends. Using your logic, I guess you could say NFL football incites spousal abuse.

[DRB100]

No, I didn't see them as talented. I saw them as con artists selling crap.  The part that I saw made me think that Dre was an arrogant ass thinking what he's doing is music, legitimate or even important.  I think he's a major tool.  Well, there have been many concerts where they gather fights shooting occur.  

 

 

Iovine's an idiot.  He lucked into his job when someone taught him how to use a mixing console.  he got fired from his other jobs sweeping floors.  He also wasn't much a musician either.  I think of Iovine as a major bullshit artist.  Same with Dre.   It's just that some people get suckered into their nonsense.

 

Rap can incite violence as being one of the fuels.  What did NWA did at one of their concerts when they were told NOT to perform F the Police?  The Police were there to prevent a riot.   In the area where I live, there are a lot of clubs that have had shootings and fights all of the time when they play rap.  There was just a recent shooting where something like 25 people got shot.  there was another incident at a rap nightclub where it turned into a huge brawl.  Several clubs near where I live have had shootings and they had to close some of them down. Gangbangers go to nightclubs and concerts that play rap music and there is far more likelihood that people will get involved in a fight or shooting that any classical symphony concert.  That's for sure.   

Rap certainly isn't helping.  

 

In the area that I live in, any time there are shootings, or fights, it's mostly kids and young adults that are part of that sub culture.   Have you ever been at a nightclub that plays nothing but gangsta rap music?   Do you feel right at home?   Do they check for weapons at the door? Do you feel comfortable going to these clubs?

 

NFL, well, it's not a peaceful activity and there are quite a few NFL players getting busted for violent behavior, so I'm sure the training some of the players get is promoting violence.  What positions do these players play that have been busted for violent crimes?  I'm just trying to see if there's a correlation.

 

Oh, if you go to any prison system in the US, you'll most likely find that the black inmates listen to rap, the white inmates probably listen to some form of metal or some form of music that has objectionable lyrical content.  and I'm sure you'll find very few people in prison that object to those forms of music and prefer jazz, classical, classical Indian and other forms of music that requires a high level of musicianship that doesn't have violent inspired lyrics. Just trying to show a correlation.  

[The Computer Audiophile]

9 minutes ago, DRB100 said:

Iovine's an idiot.  He lucked into his job when someone taught him how to use a mixing console.  he got fired from his other jobs sweeping floors.  He also wasn't much a musician either.  I think of Iovine as a major bullshit artist.  Same with Dre.   It's just that some people get suckered into their nonsense.

 

It depends on what one's goal is and if one achieved that goal. I'd say Jimmy wanted to be rich and he accomplished that goal. I don't know a single idiot that wants to be rich that has become a billionaire. I believe he's a BS artist and not someone I'd like to hang around with, but I'd never call him an idiot. He set out to be rich and became very rich.

 

 

9 minutes ago, DRB100 said:

Oh, if you go to any prison system in the US, you'll most likely find that the black inmates listen to rap, the white inmates probably listen to some form of metal or some form of music that has objectionable lyrical content.

 

I've actually been in prison. Not sentenced to prison though. In a previous life I visited a state correctional facility to learn about it, the people there, how it worked, etc... It was quite a learning experience. Walking the cell blocks was something I'll never forget. 

 

With respect to your point, traditionally most rap consumers have been white youth. Yet, they aren't in prison. In addition, most metal heads I know have never been to prison and don't know anyone who has been to prison. There are far more people who listen to rap that live outside of prison than the other way around. 

 

 

 

[DRB100]

56 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

 

 

I'm guessing you and I are just from a different time. No worries, I love conversing with others who share different views and I love hearing why they hold those views much more than what the view is. 

 

Ruthless used Eric Wright's drug money to get started and Andre Young sold mix tapes. It turned out great for both of them. If, on the other hand, they both would have went to prison for the offenses, life would be far different and tax payers would have been paying for incarceration and a potential life of crime. 

 

When I watched the episodes, I actually thought of you. I thought you'd actually see that these guys are pretty talented, smart and have smart people around them. 

 

Rap doesn't incite violence by itself. I listened to the most gangsta of gangsta rap growing up and never committed a violent act. Neither did any of my friends. Using your logic, I guess you could say NFL football incites spousal abuse.

Here's an excerpt of an interview with a prison inmate.   

 

“If I’m listening to [Bay Area MC] Andre Nickatina’s ‘Cocaine Raps’ or ‘Fly Low Like a Blind Bird,’ where he’s talking about drinking beer, smoking cocaine, and acting like an idiot around a bunch of prostitutes, that’s going to drive me right back to my neighborhood in my mind,” he says. “If I’m doing that, it’s more likely I’m going to relapse. It would drive past behaviors which are what landed me in these facilities in the first place.”

I'm sure if you sat down with a lot of prison inmates, you'd probably hear this same story if the inmate was opening up and being honest about what influences them in their behavior.     

 

Yes, I have talked to prison guards or people that work with prison inmates in rehab, so I have had plenty of discussions with those that work directly in that world.  Music VERY much a source of instigating their violence.

 

 

I know of one single mother (white that's more  middle class income that lives in a fairly normal middle class area) that has two daughters and they both got pregnent barely out of high school, neither got good grades when they go involved with listening to rap, drinking alcohol and smoking pot in high school.   They socialize in the lower middle class world that's heavily involved with rap music and the groups of kids are both white and black and the white kids try to act like they are black from the ghetto and they use Ebonics and they call each other the N word, B word, etc. as their normal speech.   One of the daughters routinely posts Ebonics infused posts on Facebook and it's disgusting what she does  and says, and she's a white girl hanging around a group of kids, both white and black that are heavily into that rap sub culture.   She can't get a job because she's lazy, and she won't go to even Junior college. : Her boyfriend ran out on her and he wasn't too sharp of an individual either.  She still has not learned that she has to clean up her act, so in the mean time, she's sucking her single mother dry of money and I'm sure she's tapping into other family members that have money.  It's sad, but I have seen this happen to quite a few kids in the last 10 years, that's just a couple of examples within one family.  And no, I'm NOT going to release their names because it's not appropriate to do that.

 

[DRB100]

35 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

It depends on what one's goal is and if one achieved that goal. I'd say Jimmy wanted to be rich and he accomplished that goal. I don't know a single idiot that wants to be rich that has become a billionaire. I believe he's a BS artist and not someone I'd like to hang around with, but I'd never call him an idiot. He set out to be rich and became very rich.

 

 

 

I've actually been in prison. Not sentenced to prison though. In a previous life I visited a state correctional facility to learn about it, the people there, how it worked, etc... It was quite a learning experience. Walking the cell blocks was something I'll never forget. 

 

With respect to your point, traditionally most rap consumers have been white youth. Yet, they aren't in prison. In addition, most metal heads I know have never been to prison and don't know anyone who has been to prison. There are far more people who listen to rap that live outside of prison than the other way around. 

 

 

 

I've learned to not believe that just because someone is rich that I look up to them.  I have to have respect for what they did to become wealthy.    Plenty of rich con artists in this world.  Yeah, he's not as bad as that guy Troy Stratos, but I don't see what Ivone and Dre do as that much better.  Personally, I have noticed that music industry started to go downhill in the late 70's, which is when music was influenced more by people looking at the bottom line rather than preserving the integrity of the musician.    Plus, computers (as much as I love them) had a detrimental effect on the music industry as the computer or drum machines and their use helped degrade music by replacing musicians.   NO machine can really replace a great drummer.  But kids aren't being brought up to appreciate music created by musicians which is why Rap is so popular.   It's anti music as far as I'm concerned.  It violates what music was intended to be in the first place. Some of them TRY to add some level of integrity but there isn't much of that going around.  I think they should have outlawed sampling other recordings as being viable for a Grammy.  The RIAA is being stupid for allowing music that's using a samples, melodyne/autotune to alter one's voice to even be qualified as being nominated for a grammy.  to me, it's like Terance's Koh's Gold plated shit and calling it art.  It's like throwing shit at the musicians of the world that have spent years practicing, studying and perfecting music when some idiot just samples someone else's recording, puts some lame crap on top and gets a grammy for it.  Sorry, but the RIAA has lost any credibility, and what's worse is they RARELY have actual decent musicians from the jazz, blues, classical world being promoted at the awards shows.  They typically just get people that have big selling albums to help get better ratings.  It has nothing to do with quality as it does selling albums to gullible people.

[The Computer Audiophile]

I believe it's much more about entertainment than qualities of a traditional musician or music from back in the day. I'm 100% OK with rewarding entertainers for number of albums sold such as the RIAA does. 

 

I went to a Britney Spears concert many years ago. She didn't write a single word of any song, there were no live instruments being played at the show, and she didn't sing a single note the entire time all (lip-synced). But, the show as a whole was very entertaining. Worth my money.

[DRB100]

12 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I believe it's much more about entertainment than qualities of a traditional musician or music from back in the day. I'm 100% OK with rewarding entertainers for number of albums sold such as the RIAA does. 

 

I went to a Britney Spears concert many years ago. She didn't write a single word of any song, there were no live instruments being played at the show, and she didn't sing a single note the entire time all (lip-synced). But, the show as a whole was very entertaining. Worth my money.

 

That's where the music industry has failed.  They have brainwashed people like yourself to hold entertainers higher than a musician.  That's immaturity.  It's not about shaking one's ass on stage as musical.  It's just selling sex to perverts.  Because she's essentially selling sex which is why you liked the show.  She's made up to look attractive by her clothing, make up and her seductive dancing.  But imagine if she was butt ugly, had clothing that was not sudictive and she just stood there and they had no dance production?  Trust me, you wouldn't have liked it and you would have walked.   Selling sex with a dance oriented show isn't exactly music of high quality as there is little to no musicianship involved.  That's why the RIAA to me is garbage.  It's not about the music, it's about the show.   F that. That's bullshit.   And I can probably guess that you've never studied how to play a musical instrument, have you?  Have you ever learned how to play a musical instrument good enough to actually play for living? That would probably change your position if you had.  just a guess.

 

The RIAA isn't the ones that vote, it's only the members of RIAA that submit the actual votes, but not all of the members actually submit votes or even vote on every category and not all professional musicians want to be part of the RIAA either.   The RIAA sets the ground rules for their awards and they produce their stupid awards ceremony which they just want to sell records to the idiots that watch the show.  It's kind of like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  They allow some that should be there and they allow some that shouldn't and they still ignore lots that should be there, but the younger generation doesn't know about them because they aren't seen as commercial pop music.

 

The RIAA looks at classical and jazz as an after thought. The US is f'd up when it comes to music. That's why the US doesn't have tons of great jazz artists flocking here as many of them moved to Europe.  Europe has much better TV shows on music than the US.  The US is going down the freaking drain due to rap and the pop culture. 

 

I don't like lip syncing, I"d walk if I heard that.

[The Computer Audiophile]

If you only had a clue and didn't prejudge people. You have no idea about me. 

 

Music is entertainment. I have no clue how you can say entertainers are held higher than musicians in my mind. You've made that one up. 

 

Plus, what do you care why someone likes something? I can be entertained by Britney because of or for the opposite reasons you suggest. Who cares? Apparently people who stereotype and prejudge such as yourself.  

 

P.S. Hey kids, get off my lawn. 

[DRB100]

35 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

If you only had a clue and didn't prejudge people. You have no idea about me. 

 

Music is entertainment. I have no clue how you can say entertainers are held higher than musicians in my mind. You've made that one up. 

 

Plus, what do you care why someone likes something? I can be entertained by Britney because of or for the opposite reasons you suggest. Who cares? Apparently people who stereotype and prejudge such as yourself.  

 

P.S. Hey kids, get off my lawn. 

 

If it's not the music and not the sexual stage act that attracts you to Britney Spears concert, then what was the attraction to her show?  Come on.  Seriously.  You like paying money to buy tickets to watch lip syncing?    I would rather you be honest and say that you find her hot and you have fantasies of her in your dreams.  At least that's being honest about it.  But her albums don't deserve a freaking Grammy.  Her voice is altered, it's almost as bad as Milli Vanilli. They bounced Millin Vanilli out of the industry for what they did.   To me, it's the same scam as Milli Vanilli when they use Melodyne or AutoTune to make one's voice sound sellable, especially when they try to hide it.  They should put on the album a label that the vocals are altered using Melodyne, Autotune or whatever vocal processing so people know what they are really buying.

 

 

[Ralf11]

On 7/9/2017 at 9:31 PM, DRB100 said:

But are any of them able to play a musical instrument at a proficient level?  Can any of them sing proficiently?  

 

that wasn't the question -- but why not listen to them?

[DRB100]

13 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

 

that wasn't the question -- but why not listen to them?

Because my idea of what music is all about is based on a musical performance by musicians.   PERIOD.  If I don't hear anything that proves to my ears that they aren't great musicians, then there is nothing of value to me.  Why would you want to listen to music that's not created by musicians?  What's the attraction?  

 

Are you a musician by the way?  Have you spent much of your life learning how to play a variety of music forms like Blues, jazz, that requires a certain music talent?  Programming a drum machine does NOT require any musical talent..   Heck, whether you realize it, many early rap songs were actually using a stock hip hop groove that was factory programmed, so all they did was plug In the drum machine, choose the tempo, press the canned beat and that's the extent of it.  Now, why would I want to give that any attention?  do you think that someone producing an song should get a grammy for putting stupid lyrics on top of canned drum groove from a drum machine?  I certainly don't.  They might as well give the grammy to the person that programmed the stock drum machine beat.

[Ralf11]

what about composers?

[ShawnC]

So DRB100 what's your stance on Rap music?  After 75+ post I can't figure you out.  Do you hate it or just hate it? 

[The Computer Audiophile]

OK, @DRB100 I'm dying to know some of your favorite musicians and albums. 

[DRB100]

Look at the Top 100 Blues guitarists and then the top 100 to 200 Blues albums is a great start.  I've probably heard most of them during my life, some more than others. That will typically take care of blues. I have seen many great blues guitarists in the first years of me attending concerts, so they are always my beginning.  The BB Kings, Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Toy Caldwell, Ry Cooder, etc. etc.  are always going to be on my list of must listen to.  heck, Blues is the beginning of contemporary popular music, so everyone really needs to study blues and appreciate it.  EVERYONE that wants to listen to contemporary popular music.

 

Jazz?  Miles Davis up until his last album Doo Bop, which was a pile of garbage that he died half way through and he never put his final stamp of approval on it. I think the album caused him to die, but that's only my theory.  I think he was too embarrassed by what was being done.  but I don't have proof of that, that's only a theory.  Then there's Keith Jarret has some great albums. McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, the list goes on and on. 

 

Any of the early 70's fusion.  The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return to Forever, 11th House, Dixie Dreggs and then most of the offshoots of those bands because each band had musicians that went off and did their solo projects or joined other bands.   Between just those three and the offshoots, that'll cover a lot of material.  two later fusion stuff that I like is Trilok Gurtu, Zawinul Syndicate, which was after Weather Report, just about every one of those albums is great.  He always has great musicians in his bands.  Then he had drummer Paco Sery and bassist Richard Bona.

 

Funk?   Well, James Brown, Earth Wind and Fire.  There's a drummer/bassist that came from the fusion era that did some great funk albums. One album is called Still Can't Say Enough.  There are some instrumental funk songs that are freaking great.  VERY funky.  Herbie Hancock had the ManChild and Secrets albums that are great.  Lenny White's first album Venusian Summer has some cool funk on it. Stanley Clarke's first few albums are great.  After a while, I wasn't as much into his later stuff, but his first 4 or 5 albums were great.  I honestly never really got into P Funk all that much. Some if it is great, some of it doesn't float my boat.  Johnny Guitar Watson has some cool stuff.  

With this stuff, going to a concert is a different experience than the album because they would routine change the music and add additional parts, extended solos, change tempos etc. because a lot of jazz musicians like to constantly change things rather than play it the same night after night.  I like that spontaneity in music.  It keeps it fresh.  that way if I see the band play two nights in a row, it's a different concert.  A lot of rock/pop acts sometimes play the same song the same way and that gets boring.

 

The classic R&B albums/songs from mostly the 60's and early to mid 70's.   Some of it I just grew up listening to on the radio so I might not even remember the artist or the album, but I've heard the song many times.

 

Classical, but since I only have a limited exposure to classical, I'm still finding more classical albums I love, but there are some that I'm not that fond of, but I'm still trying to expose myself to more classical composers and their compositions.  One could get completely lost in just classical because there are so many composers and compositions and performances to sift through. 

 

African pop.  Most, not all, but Youssou N'dour is great, he has some that I'm not as fond of, but he's got a lot of great stuff.  He usually has a great band with him.   Angelique Kidju, Baaba Maal.  I saw him in concert and his band was just great.  All great players, the music was just really great stuff.  

 

Every once in a while there's a 80's pop song that's OK.  But I don't necessarily listen to it all that much, only every once in a while.

 

I like some of the 60's and early 70's rock bands from time to time.  But I don't listen to it all that much.

Allman Brothers, first few albums were great. I saw them. a few times in the early 70's.

Cream, Hendrix, Blind Faith, Joe Cocker.

 

There's a band that plays some interesting funk stuff, they are called 13 Cats, but there are two bands called 13 Cats and the one I'm talking about is harder to find their music.  They were big in Japan so I had to order Japanese Imports and they were expensive.  they had some players that have played with Sheila E and Santana.  If you can find any of their stuff, check it out.  Not all of their stuff was great, but a lot of it was.  I never saw them live.

 

A fairy new band called Zero 7 has some interesting stuff, I like a lot of their material.

 

If I had to choose one band or artist where I could only listen to their music and no one else's?  My choice would be John McLaughlin's entire catalog.  I see him as the ultimate musician since he's studied, mastered and has performed more forms of music than probably anyone else and he can blend them so it creates some new and original.

 

Although there's others I'd like to put in there, but if I was forced to only listen to one artist's entire catalog.  It would be his hands down, no questions asked.   He's got a great catalog of recording as a band leader, solo artist, side man and he pretty much only hired great musicians to play with.  

Reggae?  Bob Marley, obviously, Lucky Dube, and there's a few others that I've heard and liked, but I might not have been able to locate the album.  I used to play with a South African band so I heard a lot of other bands at gigs, but I don't necessarily know who they wear or was able to buy the album, but I certainly enjoyed listening to a lot of it.  Some of these bands were actually better live than in the studio.

 

Stuff I stay away from is the Death Metal, Thrash metal stuff. I don't mind Led Zeppelin, but there are some songs that don't float my boat. I like a lot of The Who, I used to listen to them back in the late 60's.   Grateful Dead?  I think there's many one or two songs I can actually listen to without getting too bored.   Pink Floyd?  Eh.  It's OK, but I'm not a HUGE fan of theirs, but I know why some people love Dark Side of the Moon.   ELP?  They are great musicians.  They had some stuff that was great.  Yes?  They have some great stuff.  Genesis?  They have some great albums.   Peter Gabriel, he's had some great albums, and he's had some that weren't as great, but I like Peter Gabriel.

Country music?  I don't own any country albums, but there's been stuff here and there that I like.  But it's not something I run out and buy and attend their concerts.  Some of it I couldn't tell you who it was, because it was just something I heard a couple of times.   I did however see Johnny Cash as I got free tickets because I was working at a music store and his keyboard player needed his keyboard fixed and I drove him 50 miles to get to a repair shop, and the music store I worked out of loaned him one to use, so he bought me brunch and we sat one table away from Johnny Cash and his wife and daughter.   I got backstage to meet him.  It was interesting evening.  Would I run out and buy his music?  I don't know about that.  It's just not my thing..  There's a bunch of older country players that I like, I forget their names off my the top of my head, but some of it I like. But I don't own the albums.

 

I don't mind some of the rock stuff that came out in the later 70's. Some of it I don't care for, some is OK. I may not go to their concert or buy their album, but if some one plays it, I'm OK with it.   I don't mind some AC/DC stuff.  I don't mind some of Def Leapards stuff. I'm not a fan of the hair bands per se.  Some of it is OK, but I probably wouldn't go out and buy it. It's more of listen to because it's on the radio or it's on some free listening site. 

 

You can mention an album, artist, band and I can respond back with if I like it or not.

[Ralf11]

The Blues is dirty, baby - Dirty DIRTY

[DRB100]

20 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

The Blues is dirty, baby - Dirty DIRTY

Th music or the lyrics?   You know, some of are listening to the music, and not the lyrics.   

Dirty?  Well, that's YOUR opinion.  And what do YOU recommend?    Let's see where your musical tastes are.     I know some of the really early stuff was pretty nasty, but I don't listen to those recordings.  The more popular blues stuff didn't have vastly language.  it might have had some metaphors, but any adult would take that with a grain of salt.   But the foul language rap is just disgusting crap far worse than the blues I've listened to. But I also focused mostly on the playing, not the lyrics.  I would rather listen to the guitarist play a great solo and great swing/feel to the rhythm.

But it sounds like you just don't know what to listen for.  You haven't displayed anything other than putting things down with not much substance behind it.  So I don't know where you're coming from.

[Sal1950]

19 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I went to a Britney Spears concert many years ago. She didn't write a single word of any song, there were no live instruments being played at the show, and she didn't sing a single note the entire time all (lip-synced). But, the show as a whole was very entertaining. Worth my money.

Really!?  I'd have been looking for a brick to throw at her.

Then short of that and being arrested for assault, I would have left and demanded my money back.

 

Not going to get drawn into this debate except to say while some admit to having used illegal monies start recording careers, but of course none admit to currently being neck deep in their gang affiliations, the laundering of money thru the large artists and labels income, etc. We all know it's going on while those in the rap-hiphop industries and trillion dollar illegal gang activity are laughing that they've been able to keep the scam going under the table. 

YOMV

You can take the gangster out of the hood

But you can't take the hood out of the gangster.

Truer today than ever.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Sal - It's probably for a much larger discussion, but the activity you mention pales in comparison to the fact that one guy from the financial industry went to prison after the last meltdown. 

 

Anyway, the Britney concert was entertainment and I was entertained. I was also entertained when seeing Eric Clapton play Royal Albert Hall from the front row. He sang and played every lick of course.

 

I was less entertained watching Metallica play Woodstock '94 while the sound cut out and I was soaking wet.