smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Chuck Limmer" <climmer@cox.net> |
| Subject | Re: Grammies, Mayer & Jones |
| Date | Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:18:15 -0700 |
[Part 1 text/plain Windows-1252 (2.8 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Two words for watching the Grammies (or any other award show): Tape It. You can carve an hour or more out of your viewing time, between fast-forwarding commercials, lame/ incoherent presentation speeches, and the more excruciating performances (e.g., Ashanti, Eminem, Avril Lavigne). Of course, you'll have to forego the drama of Not Knowing Who's Going To Win. Your call.
It was a nostalgic night for baby boomers, with Simon & Garfunkel and James Taylor performing near note-for-note renditions of 30+ year-old songs. Note to young vocalists: take care of your instrument, boys and girls, and you too may still have a career in later life.
Enjoyed watching Springsteen and the E-Streeters roar through "The Rising" in a New York venue (even if much of the crowd *were* out-of-towners). Heard recently that Patti Scialfa is finally working on her follow-up to 1993's RUMBLE DOLL; good news for those of us who liked that album's girl-group inflected pop-rock. Wanna bet that Bruce and Patti's kids win most of the "my parents are cooler than yours" disputes?
I've been glad to see Bob Segarini and others evaluate John Mayer in terms other than the reflexive "he's-on-a-big-label-and-shifts-major-units-so-he's-gotta-suck" mentality that often seems pervasive here. Singer-songwriters may not float your boat--I respect Miles Goosens' apparent hatred of the entire genre, from James Taylor on down--but Mayer clearly has *some* talent; he went to Berklee and played blues clubs as a teenager, fer chrissakes.
I was a relatively early fan of Mayer, buying the initial (May '01) release of ROOM FOR SQUARES before its September 2001 remix/ reissue, and including it in my Top 20 for the year. Those who like his music may want to seek out that first version, which dials down the backing tracks considerably and features the trio of Mayer on guitar, bassist David LaBruyere and drummer Nir Z. Mayer himself has referred to the remixed album as "a lot more lavish and a lot more lush"; if lush ain't your thing, the comparatively spare sound of the original album could be a revelation. It's easy to spot, with completely different cover art (black background, blue & white block lettering, and half a headshot of Mayer obscured by a strip of picture booth photos).
Is it just me, or does the mass appeal/ commercial success of Norah Jones' debut album rest pretty heavily on one neo-classic piano ballad that she didn't write? Two thoughts: (1) Jones seems to be the real deal as a performer/ recording artist, and I hope for her sake that she can continue to find suitable material, and (2) I sure wish more artists/ bands would figure out that they don't have to write their own songs, if that isn't one of their primary talents.
Chuck Limmer
n.p. "Nevermore," Soundtrack Of Our Lives, BEHIND THE MUSIC
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.