Long Live Musical Snobbery

RhythmNative · Lookin' After Number 1

Long Live Musical Snobbery

franna · V Deep

Musical snobbery. Right. That explains Mariah Carey. I've always known she was deadly serious.

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

quote:
Originally posted by: franna
"Musical snobbery. Right. That explains Mariah Carey. I've always known she was deadly serious. "

They had Howard Jones and Nik Kershaw at Live Aid, so.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Aid#Live_Aid_performers

Maybe the Spice Girls can headline Paris!

ArrGee · Back To Boomtown

quote:
Originally posted by: RhythmNative
...The Spice Girls are undeniably one of the most influential, and successful pop acts of the last decade. Their first two albums along have sold in excess of 40 million copies, as a group they have achieved 8 UK number one singles, and as solo acts have amassed a staggering 34 top 20 hit between them, all while being the last British act to majorly crack the US charts. If this along does not make the Spice Girls 'worthy' enough to perform at Live 8, then I would like to ask Sir Bob and the Live 8 organisers, by what criteria are they assessing the suitability of the peformers at the event? Who decides what is 'credible' music? The Radio One playlist? The NME? Sir Bob himself? "

Other stars will be announced over the coming weeks - with the Spice Girls still rumoured to be staging a reunion.

"I spoke to them this morning and it's looking very good," Geldof said. "There's a lot of stuff they have got to sort through. They are trying to resolve differences of many years."

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/articles/PA_NEWA1100221117552551A0?source=PA%20Feed)

Personally, I suspect the reason they would not be in 'Live' 8 is that they aren't renowned for their 'live' performances. You do make some valid points, but I think the criteria for selection is how good they are live, not their record sales. It would be good if the NME did select the acts, but it looks more like Q magazine

TheBruce · Lookin' After Number 1

Yes, lip-synching at a live gig is not really appreciated is it. Shallow, plastic pap is what they spew out.

Long live musical snobbery!

-- Edited by TheBruce at 13:40, 2005-06-02

motema2004 · Tonight

Hello all! What do you think of having African musicians play at these shows? Who would you like to see? Who are some of your favorites? Do any of you play instruments?

MJ · Tonight

One of my pet peeve is when someone rants about something without citing the source, making it impossible to judge the validity of it. My general understanding was that Bob was fond of the Spice Girls (wasn't he in their movie?), so I don't see why he would be snubbing them all of a sudden.

MJ · Tonight

motema2004 wrote:

Hello all! What do you think of having African musicians play at these shows? Who would you like to see? Who are some of your favorites? Do any of you play instruments?

I think this would be a fantastic idea. Sadly I don't know enough African musicians to make suggestions other than Johnny Clegg. I saw him again last summer and he was great.

meekus · Tonight

Your quote: "Have the Live 8 organisers abused their power and influence over the charity event in order to steer the concerts choice in acts in a direction they want it to go?"

This is a very idiotic question, to be honest. If they are the organisers of the event - meaning that Bob Geldof probably granted that position, and thoroughly monitors is - then they have every right to steer the acts in a way that they believe would be pleasing to the audience.

They also have the right to choose any performers that they know on a personal level. The Spice Girls were popular in the mid and late 1990's. Singers such as Joss Stone are relatively new. How popular was Madonna at Live Aid? Not very. He picked rising stars to bring in more viewers, just as he is doing now. Personally, I enjoy rock 'n' roll more than pop. I was a large fan of the Spice Girls however.

But do you really think that almost a decade after their break that they should be playing at such an event? In my mind it makes no sense. I don't necessarily appreciate the music of 50 Cent, P. Diddy, Jay-Z, or several of the other "artists" that will perform. Unfortunately it's what's popular at the moment. The idea for this event is for people to watch. Big names get more viewers. The Spice Girls are no longer a big name. Perhaps you could make that argument for REM, A-ha, and Duran Duran. The difference is that these bands have been together (or were together) for many years and had many hits in their prime as well. But the main reason is that their music was actually good, not necessarily about just making money by flashing some skin and talking about "love," but by having good songs with powerful lyrics, instruments, talent, etc. They had more than boobs and a few albums. They had power.

While your opinion may not agree with that of the organisers, complaining in a simple forum won't do anything to really change the lineup of the show. My argument against your complaint probably won't do anything either. But I have nothing else to do right now than try to set a confused mind straight.

Stay groovy.

PS: Try to at least stop listening to the Spice Girls. Their music was lame and their movie sucked.

oeokosko · House on Fire

MJ wrote:

I think this would be a fantastic idea. Sadly I don't know enough African musicians to make suggestions other than Johnny Clegg. I saw him again last summer and he was great.

Try my Ya Congo website for an introducton to Congolese music. Different parts of Africa have their own music, so you could try the Sterns music shop website (also accessible via my website) as well if you want to sample some other African music. The Sterns samples are one minute long, which gives a good flavour of the introduction; many songs are eight or more minutes long and the tempo often increases as the songs develop, so the songs can get quite wild by the end.

motema2004 · Tonight

YaCongo is a very informative website. See also www.clubafrika.com another time. the music forum. Thank you for your interest in African music.

TheBruce · Lookin' After Number 1

Soweto String Quartet

motema2004 · Tonight

They look interesting. I looked them up on the Google search engine. Have you seen them on concert? Do you have CDs? Would you recommend them for one of the Live8 shows?

motema2004 · Tonight

Amazon website had sampling of this group and they seemed a bit quiet compared to African Congolese music which is more daneceable. Do you expect to dance at Live8 or do you prefer to listen & watch? A lot of African shows, you can't help but dance.