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Huge Solo Acts that I can't stand

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 07:57 PM

Booted from the Huge Band thread As long as solo acts are going on here, let me add: The King, Elvis Aaron Presley! That’s right; I'm taking THE KING down! Oh where should we begin? Well probably the biggest indictment for me is that fact that when you take various tribute bands of artists that evolve their looks and styles over time, you'll get tribute bands that will stick to one era or another, or run the entire gamut in their show, but for the most part, you will see a variety of styles represented. Well, what do we have for Elvis? Do we have the young, charismatic teen idol from the Sun and early RCA years? No. We have the sequin wearing, slurring, karate gyrating, overweight, overindulgent Vegas lounge singer that Presley wound up as. Considering that image, there is a reason the Elvis imitators are more mocking than paying tribute to someone who really did have a huge impact on the culture. Could also go with the fact that Elvis for the most part was the first prefab artist considering how well Sam Phillips and later Tom Parker controlled every aspect of him, basically help create the rather bigoted, self-centered isolationist that Elvis turned into for most of his adult life. The man simply couldn't control himself because others were in control of his world. Another thing that really bothers me about Elvis is the way the media treats him and how they created this Cult of Elvis among his fan base. Put it this way, okay there are vigils at Strawberry Fields in the city on the anniversary of Lennon's death, and I'm sure people make pilgrimages to the sites of Buddy Holly's, Patsy Cline's, Ottis Redding's, Ronnie Van Zandt's and other's deaths but generally do we hear much about them? Lennon in NYC okay because he was shot here, but for the most part, no. Okay country stations will play a set of Patsy's songs, blues stations will honor Redding, classic rock will play some Skynard classics and oldies will play some Buddy, but for the most part the passing gets nary a mention by the national media. Well maybe Buddy does get more because of the whole American Pie phenomenon, but the fact of the matter is that on the YEARLY anniversary of Elvis' birth and death, the mainstream media goes overboard with stories about The King. Hell Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr don't even get this much attention to say nothing about the late John Lennon, George Harrison and Frank Sinatra (along with Elvis considered by many rock critics to be the three greatest forces in American music history, and we are still apparently waiting for a fourth to come along). Quick when was the last time a non-NYC station (TV or radio) did a story on the anniversary of Sinatra's passing (which will be 10 years ago this year) or his birth? Ditto McCartney (save for the "He's 64!" stuff from a couple of years ago), Harrison, Starr and Lennon (again, save for the NYC stuff)? See the point, a good size of Elvis' popularity these days almost comes from a "gee, he still garners all this attention, so I guess I HAVE to like him" as opposed to a more organic "boy this Elvis fellow, he could really belt out a tune, I could get to like this stuff" appreciation that most long since forgotten (or irrelevant in terms of today's music) artists (both dead or still kicking) of his time get.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 07:59 PM

Because it's more important to make noise than to participate in a conversation, SteveJ is here for you.

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 08:02 PM

No I can't think of any bands I detest at the moment and I didn't want to lose the Elvis post. Though at some point I will defend Beatle bashers by saying they do have a point.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 08:04 PM

I recommend that you lose it.

metirish Apr 07 2008 08:06 PM

How can you hate Elvis because of what tribute acts choose to wear?

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 08:08 PM

Its more I think he is overrated than hate, and yes the Elvis that the imitators imitate is part of it, because of what I said, they mock what he became (which is a sad and pathetic image actually), not what he was.

sharpie Apr 07 2008 08:12 PM

See the documentary "Elvis '56" -- then you wouldn't write such foolish stuff. Yes, he became a joke but for one brief shining moment he was the hand of God changing everything.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 08:16 PM

Fine, Steve, if you really want to fly this kite. Let's put aside the absolute madness of complaining that the media doesn't mark the anniversaries of the passings of people who aren't dead, and just point out that you've bammed out 590 words attacking a dead musician without saying one word about his music. Stop the insanity.

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 08:27 PM

AG/DC wrote: Fine, Steve, if you really want to fly this kite. Let's put aside the absolute madness of complaining that the media doesn't mark the anniversaries of the passings of people who aren't dead, and just point out that you've bammed out 590 words attacking a dead musician without saying one word about his music. Stop the insanity. McCartney and Starr I did mean their birthdays and not their passings OBVIOUSLY. And whats wrong with attacking a great entertainer in ways other than his music? See the hate for Garth Brooks for classic examples of that, or just plain pop country music post-Outlaw era (Brooks, McGraw, Keith, Chesney, Twain, etc)? If one thinks part of an artist's act that has nothing to do with the music they are singing is worth ripping on said artist, shouldn't that still be a vaild reason for not liking that artist? Presentation is still part of the whole package, so is their whole personae off the stage and how they treated others (for example Elvis was a raging racist, I'm sure people hate everyone from the Stones to the Beatles to Billy Joel for various pecadillios through the years as well) and last I checked that is a vaild reason for liking or not liking a certain artist. Was Elvis a great singer? Oh hell yeah he was. Was Elvis one of the greatest, most elecrtifing entertainers ever to grace God's green earth? A resounding yes. Was Elvis a great contributor and influence on artists in various genres? Yes he was. But does that mean his flaws as a human being, the way the media overhypes him and his place in history and the way imitators choose to mock (not honor) him are enough for me to consider him one of the most overrated acts in history? Yes they are!

metirish Apr 07 2008 08:30 PM

Wasn't the point of all this the music , who cares that Kurt Cobain wore rags or that Joe Elliot used hair spray or that Elvis wore sequins, it's the music that matters. On that score I think Elvis mattered a whole lot.

soupcan Apr 07 2008 08:35 PM

AG/DC wrote: ..and just point out that you've bammed out 590 words attacking a dead musician without saying one word about his music. You didn't really count his words did you?

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 08:36 PM

metirish wrote: Wasn't the point of all this the music , who cares that Kurt Cobain wore rags or that Joe Elliot used hair spray or that Elvis wore sequins, it's the music that matters. On that score I think Elvis mattered a whole lot. Classic Country artists hate the fact that Garth Brooks brought Stadium Rock to country music, which actually obscured the fact that he (and others that came after him, the aforementioned McGraw, Chesney and Keith) really had nothing inside those wannabe cowboy lyrics, so yes presentation really can be a reason for considering an artist overrated. My problem though isn't the sequins, its that its the sequins that Elvis imitators seem to remember, and not the Elvis from his pre-Army days, which really was the peak of his powers, and the time he SHOULD be tributed as, and not the bloated, sad shell of what he was during the 70s.

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 08:37 PM

soupcan wrote: ="AG/DC"]..and just point out that you've bammed out 590 words attacking a dead musician without saying one word about his music. You didn't really count his words did you? Cut & past into Word and do a Word Count would be my guess.

smg58 Apr 07 2008 08:37 PM

I think Elvis died halfway through his 1968 comeback special. The show opened up with him doing an informal jam with some of his band, and I thought that was essential rock and roll. Then the band moves off and he puts the guitar down to sing what basically amounted to muzak versions of his hits. It was the most horrifying thing I ever sat through.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 08:39 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 07 2008 08:40 PM

]McCartney and Starr I did mean their birthdays and not their passings OBVIOUSLY. C'mon Steve, read what you wrote. It's self-evidently filled with bias and factually lost. ]And whats wrong with attacking a great entertainer in ways other than his music? If he's a great entertainer, then this is pointless and it's just about you acting like a big shot and expecting us to indulge you. What you have is a complaint about the media. Good luck with that. But as long as you're writing for yourself, you'll never improve on the standard. Just please be cool. Don't you think it's a little insulting to the rest of us to expect us to entertain your inconoclastic self-image?

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 08:40 PM

soupcan wrote: ="AG/DC"]..and just point out that you've bammed out 590 words attacking a dead musician without saying one word about his music. You didn't really count his words did you? Try it. It was a better mental exercise then reading them.

soupcan Apr 07 2008 08:41 PM

AG/DC wrote: Try it. It was a better mental exercise then reading them. I have no doubt.

Nymr83 Apr 07 2008 08:41 PM

AG/DC wrote: ="soupcan"] AG/DC wrote: ..and just point out that you've bammed out 590 words attacking a dead musician without saying one word about his music. You didn't really count his words did you? Try it. It was a better mental exercise then reading them. ouch. but then again i've read court opinions i feel that way about.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 08:45 PM

Yeah, I know I'm being a douche and I'm sorry. Sometimes, I can be such an immoderate moderator.

SteveJRogers Apr 07 2008 09:01 PM

="SteveJRogers"] Classic Country artists hate the fact that Garth Brooks brought Stadium Rock to country music, which actually obscured the fact that he (and others that came after him, the aforementioned McGraw, Chesney and Keith) really had nothing inside those wannabe cowboy lyrics, so yes presentation really can be a reason for considering an artist overrated. That should have been fans BTW, but I have heard venom spewed from artists from the Outlaw era, as well as fans, blast the Brooks/McGraw/Hill/Chesney/Twain era of artists because they added the "pop" element with songs that lacked any heart and soul they way it was back when they were major players. There are a couple of factors that I wonder are part of it; 1) That guys like Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw aren't "singer-songwriters" the way a Nelson, Jennings, Kristofferson, and Cash were. Like the reason why the songs they sing have no heart or soul to them are because they didn't write them, which could lead to the second reason 2) Great art comes from great pain. Many of today's artists (and this is despite Tim McGraw's upbringing that would put him in the league with The Outlaws) never lead the lives that Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard did. Heck they never faced rejection or heartache and hence when they sing mournfull, down and out lyrics it doesn't resonate the way you could tell Hank Williams Jr. really did live his life like the songs that he wrote and such. Ehhh, too each their own I guess.

metirish Apr 07 2008 09:04 PM

] Heck they never faced rejection or heartache A life like that is a life not lived.

AG/DC Apr 07 2008 09:07 PM

="SteveJRogers"] ="SteveJRogers"] Classic Country artists hate the fact that Garth Brooks brought Stadium Rock to country music, which actually obscured the fact that he (and others that came after him, the aforementioned McGraw, Chesney and Keith) really had nothing inside those wannabe cowboy lyrics, so yes presentation really can be a reason for considering an artist overrated. That should have been fans BTW, but I have heard venom spewed from artists from the Outlaw era, as well as fans, blast the Brooks/McGraw/Hill/Chesney/Twain era of artists because they added the "pop" element with songs that lacked any heart and soul they way it was back when they were major players. There are a couple of factors that I wonder are part of it; 1) That guys like Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw aren't "singer-songwriters" the way a Nelson, Jennings, Kristofferson, and Cash were. Like the reason why the songs they sing have no heart or soul to them are because they didn't write them, which could lead to the second reason 2) Great art comes from great pain. Many of today's artists (and this is despite Tim McGraw's upbringing that would put him in the league with The Outlaws) never lead the lives that Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard did. Heck they never faced rejection or heartache and hence when they sing mournfull, down and out lyrics it doesn't resonate the way you could tell Hank Williams Jr. really did live his life like the songs that he wrote and such. Ehhh, too each their own I guess. And this is my problem, you using the forum to have extensive conversations with yourself.

metsmarathon Apr 08 2008 07:17 AM

i like steve. he proves that proper capitalization does not necessarily make your writing easier to follow, and for that, i appreciate him. i still don't know why he can't stand elvis. i mean, i totally get that he can't stand the elvis impersonators (how many impersonators really strive to honor their subjects as opposed to parodying them, i can't say) and the sad souls who cannot yet reconcile with his passing some 30 years ago. maybe the key is in the title of the thread - huge solo acts its not that steve dislikes elvis the artist, but elvis the act. and then its not elvis he can't stand, but elvis culture. is it true that elvis impersonators only focus on the vegassy, muzak elvis? i wouldn't know. but i expect that the better ones don't. but its easy to do the vegas elvis. and maybe people still eat it up - again, i wouldn't know. its not like i frequently, or ever, find myself exposed to elvis impersonators. but is it really true that tribute bands focus on the whole gamut of a musical act's repertoire? sure, it may be easy for a band whose sound and style hasn't changed all too much, but are there many beatles tributes that can really pull off the broad range of their catalog? again, i don't know. i'm not good with the music.

Fman99 Apr 08 2008 08:28 AM

="SteveJRogers"] ="SteveJRogers"] Classic Country artists hate the fact that Garth Brooks brought Stadium Rock to country music, which actually obscured the fact that he (and others that came after him, the aforementioned McGraw, Chesney and Keith) really had nothing inside those wannabe cowboy lyrics, so yes presentation really can be a reason for considering an artist overrated. That should have been fans BTW, but I have heard venom spewed from artists from the Outlaw era, as well as fans, blast the Brooks/McGraw/Hill/Chesney/Twain era of artists because they added the "pop" element with songs that lacked any heart and soul they way it was back when they were major players. There are a couple of factors that I wonder are part of it; 1) That guys like Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw aren't "singer-songwriters" the way a Nelson, Jennings, Kristofferson, and Cash were. Like the reason why the songs they sing have no heart or soul to them are because they didn't write them, which could lead to the second reason 2) Great art comes from great pain. Many of today's artists (and this is despite Tim McGraw's upbringing that would put him in the league with The Outlaws) never lead the lives that Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard did. Heck they never faced rejection or heartache and hence when they sing mournfull, down and out lyrics it doesn't resonate the way you could tell Hank Williams Jr. really did live his life like the songs that he wrote and such. Ehhh, too each their own I guess. Analyzing country music is like dissecting a turd.

Rockin' Doc Apr 08 2008 11:08 AM

Frman99 - "Analyzing country music is like dissecting a turd." Perfect. I only wish I had been the one to express it so perfect.

metirish Apr 09 2008 08:47 AM

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