Wilson Sisters are Still Great in My Book

[dane]

My wife was doing a little channel surfing tonight and stumbled on VH1’s Divas Salute the Troops Special. We didn’t see the whole thing but we did catch Nancy and Ann Wilson (Heart). You cold tell they haven’t played for a little while, but still they were great. Besides doing a lot of songs from Dream Boat Annie, they did a couple from Led Zeppelin and The Who, and really pulled it off! For me it was truly a joy to see them together again.

Ok, my post…my veer! What is the matter with the music industry in the United States, and perhaps elsewhere too? When was it decided that talent means little. If you can’t squeeze your butt in a size 1 pair of leather Daisy Duke shorts, you’re no longer an asset to the music industry? For you that may be too young to remember, I’m talking about Ann Wilson. In the 80’s she put on weight and lo and behold…Heart was considered unmarketable. She still had a great set of pipes, but because she no longer had a body like a Barbie doll, it was the end of her career as a singer. Now, I consider myself fortunate. I grew up listing to great talented voices and it didn’t matter that they were rather full sized ladies. Kate Smith, Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney…what about Cass Elliot! Man that girl had a voice! She even had her own TV show. That’s how much it didn’t matter back then; nobody cared if she looked good in spandex…it was all about talent. It’s really a shame in my opinion that the music industry had equated being sexually appealing with talent. It’s even more of a shame that we, the public give into this type of thinking. Will it ever change? I doubt it. And what a loss that is. There are so many wonderful voices out there that could just make you melt, but you’ll never hear them all because the girls just don’t fit the mold. We sure have become shallow over the past 40 years, haven’t we.

Dane

 

[fronobulax]

Consumption has shifted from consuming music to consuming entertainment. Success in the marketplace requires appealing to more senses than just the ears.

I might suggest, however, that part of the reason for the decline in Heart's fortunes was driven by factors other than Ann Wilson's physique. I seem to remember a time when "popular" music started fragmenting and genres like rap and hip-hop started becoming popular and prominent, displacing rock in the market. That, plus "internal strife" contributed to the demise of many acts.

I am somewhat amused because in classical music, the marketeers have started taken women with talent and marketing them as sex symbols. Anne-Sophie Mutter comes immediately to mind as does the Eroica Trio and several opera divas who are certainly on the Rubenesque size of things.

 

[Thunderface]

Consumption has shifted from consuming music to consuming entertainment. Success in the marketplace requires appealing to more senses than just the ears.

That was so profound I wish that I had typed it. Well said. :lol: And with the advent of MTV (when they actually used to play music videos) and then Youtube, style plays so much more of a role, which is sad because music is to be appreciated through the ears, not the eyes. Perhaps there is hope, however. Remember when Susan Boyle first stepped onto the stage, and you could almost hear the entire world snickering, until she opened her mouth and then you could almost hear the jaws dropping. Of course, they've since felt it necessary to make her more visually appealing.

I agree with Dane. The Wilson sisters were great and still are great.

 

[fronobulax]

Consumption has shifted from consuming music to consuming entertainment. Success in the marketplace requires appealing to more senses than just the ears.

That was so profound I wish that I had typed it. Well said. :lol: And with the advent of MTV (when they actually used to play music videos) and then Youtube, style plays so much more of a role, which is sad because music is to be appreciated through the ears, not the eyes. Perhaps there is hope, however. Remember when Susan Boyle first stepped onto the stage, and you could almost hear the entire world snickering, until she opened her mouth and then you could almost hear the jaws dropping. Of course, they've since felt it necessary to make her more visually appealing.

I agree with Dane. The Wilson sisters were great and still are great.

Thank you.

I am reminded of my first encounter with professional ballet when I was in middle school. I hated it and resisted the mandatory visits (the New York City Ballet was in residence just a short field trip away) until I realized that I could just close my eyes and listen to the music. I had much more fun once I learned how to ignore the dancers :wink:

 

[alpep]

the audience is less educated also.

Used to be you went to a concert and you knew the artist and their music their history etc. Now you are lucky if people shut up when they are in attendance. they act like the people on stage are on tv and just background noise

 

[fronobulax]

the audience is less educated also.

Used to be you went to a concert and you knew the artist and their music their history etc. Now you are lucky if people shut up when they are in attendance. they act like the people on stage are on tv and just background noise

Good point. Again a shift from listening to participating. I guess I don't really want to pay $50+ to sing along with the band or have to deal with the rest of the audience singing along.

 

[Thunderface]

Good point. Again a shift from listening to participating. I guess I don't really want to pay $50+ to sing along with the band or have to deal with the rest of the audience singing along.

I guess audience sing-alongs have their place. In a big venue I get a kick out of it when the crowd sings along in mass to the song, especially when the performers stop singing for a second and you can really hear the crowd singing and being involved in the music being performed. But in smaller, more intimate venues, I think sing-alongs can get distracting, as is the conversation. If you got to see a show, watch the show. If you go to talk, go somewhere else.

... and don't get me started on people talking on cell phones at a concert. :x

 

[alpep]

I was told by several friends they would rather spend 20 bucks on a CD then 100 on a concert ticket and they have the cd forever.

sad that we don't value the live experience anymore.

 

[Thunderface]

When Pearl Jam started putting out all their live shows on CD starting in 2000, I bought a whole bunch of them. But there was no real connection with the shows I didn't attend compared to the ones I did. Those are the ones I'll keep, because they bring back memories of being there.

There's nothing like being there, and really, what is a CD but a chronicle of a single moment, or a series of moments saved in the studio for eternity. Seeing a live show is a chronicle of a single event, saved in your memory for eternity (hopefully).