Comments on: “With a song like that…” http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:33:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: Jerry Withrow http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220#comment-660 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 22:14:36 +0000 http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220#comment-660 Fascinating start to what I hope will be a full, beyond-the-label study. I guess Greg Brown is about the only s/s purist who can still fashion a healthy touring schedule - which is regrettable. Anxious to hear his new one, by the way. Danny Schmidt is a younger s/s(may have to give that up...starts looking dirty after awhile:) who has the lyrical intensity to stand with the vanishing elders. It remains a tough sell - and yes, I'd agree - largely due to pop's fixation on "sound". I love The Great Escape too - and just to complete Taylor's rich discography - the first album Shameless Love is available again through his website. Jerry Fascinating start to what I hope will be a full, beyond-the-label study. I guess Greg Brown is about the only s/s purist who can still fashion a healthy touring schedule - which is regrettable. Anxious to hear his new one, by the way.
Danny Schmidt is a younger s/s(may have to give that up…starts looking dirty after awhile:) who has the lyrical intensity to stand with the vanishing elders. It remains a tough sell - and yes, I’d agree - largely due to pop’s fixation on “sound”.
I love The Great Escape too - and just to complete Taylor’s rich discography - the first album Shameless Love is available again through his website.

Jerry

]]> by: Roy http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220#comment-655 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:48:33 +0000 http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220#comment-655 Hi Barry! Not much time to accept (or develop) your nomination, but I think the sonic choices can be as varied as, say, the sonic choices of country. But you're right that an extended examination of the sound of the singer-songwriter style/genre/mode/whatever is in order. I'll just say, off the top of my head, that the inversion of the pop relationship between the elaboration of lyrics and the elaboration of sound is one of the things that, at least for me, characterizes the "genre." That's hardly a newsflash, and that's probably why the singer-songwriter style is so often disliked or dismissed as inferior to other styles. Hi Barry! Not much time to accept (or develop) your nomination, but I think the sonic choices can be as varied as, say, the sonic choices of country.

But you’re right that an extended examination of the sound of the singer-songwriter style/genre/mode/whatever is in order. I’ll just say, off the top of my head, that the inversion of the pop relationship between the elaboration of lyrics and the elaboration of sound is one of the things that, at least for me, characterizes the “genre.”

That’s hardly a newsflash, and that’s probably why the singer-songwriter style is so often disliked or dismissed as inferior to other styles.

]]> by: Barry http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220#comment-654 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 19:06:44 +0000 http://livinginstereo.com/?p=220#comment-654 Glad to see Roy doing this. He needs to do a book on this general "singer-songwriter as genre" subject so we can all read it and see where he takes it. One of the things that seems--to me anyway--to call for some serious discussion is what entries in the genre SOUND like; there's an understandable tendency to go right to the lyrics and stick with them with these sorts of artists, since that's where a lot of the storytelling emphasis lies. But I've never seen very much extended examination of what the sound of these voices, the arrangements of these records, the sonic choices in general DO to make that storytelling, the songs and the records work. And if this is a genre--are the way the particopants work with sound closely related or wildly varied? (A new listen to those underestimated Bobbie Gentrie LPs linked on this site recently got me thinking about THAT aspect even more.) We wouldn't generally expect reviewers of pop dance-oriented records to spend a really high percentage of time on the lyrics--but a CHUNK, yeah--and same in this neighborhood, in reverse. I'm nominating Roy to take this all on--because he desccrbes what things sound like, when he wants to, as well as anybody I know. And as you've just seen reading this--his handling of the lyric side speaks for itself. Glad to see Roy doing this. He needs to do a book on this general “singer-songwriter as genre” subject so we can all read it and see where he takes it.

One of the things that seems–to me anyway–to call for some serious discussion is what entries in the genre SOUND like; there’s an understandable tendency to go right to the lyrics and stick with them with these sorts of artists, since that’s where a lot of the storytelling emphasis lies. But I’ve never seen very much extended examination of what the sound of these voices, the arrangements of these records, the sonic choices in general DO to make that storytelling, the songs and the records work.

And if this is a genre–are the way the particopants work with sound closely related or wildly varied?

(A new listen to those underestimated Bobbie Gentrie LPs linked on this site recently got me thinking about THAT aspect even more.)

We wouldn’t generally expect reviewers of pop dance-oriented records to spend a really high percentage of time on the lyrics–but a CHUNK, yeah–and same in this neighborhood, in reverse.

I’m nominating Roy to take this all on–because he desccrbes what things sound like, when he wants to, as well as anybody I know. And as you’ve just seen reading this–his handling of the lyric side speaks for itself.

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