The Voice, I know there's probably a thread but

These people are so good. I can't pick between the top 5. They are all incredible. They all deserve to win.

 

As they say, nobody's a loser when everyone is real good.

 

there are way too many of these type of shows, and only really cater to one type of singing, which to me sounds like it is meant for Broadway! but, I do love me some Xtina!!!

 

This type of guff is killing the music industry.
Unsigned artists have between slim and no chance of industry interest anymore.

 

My worry is that it's sending the wrong message to musically-inclined young people. Instead of perfecting their techniques and being original, all they need to do is copy famous singers, get on a 'show,' and 'wow' the judges. 'Fame' is the goal, not excellence. (And the contenders have to look good, too.) I tried watching a few of these shows and gave up. It's just not my thing, I guess.

 

I speak admittedly, as an embittered musician who spent most of the 00's in a band struggling to get label interest.
We were good, had a following, and lived for it but record labels want instant, marketable puppets.
Even the woefully awful (Jedward et al) make a fortune as they have had such exposure.

 

An old friend of mine, guitar player for the not-so-famous Boston-based band Judy's Tiny Head told me once that 'pop' music is the most conservative form of music there is. It exists ONLY to make money. And I think, by and large, his assessment is true.

 

This is one of the reason why I'm all about rap. Look at those guys many are from industry perspective quit ugly and many are in bad shape. I don't think that's any honor but it shows that you can be yourself in the rap game.
Of course there are somethings you can't be but still better than pop industry
Country music is also fair for males but females have to be all pretty pretty.

 

I'm of the school that says you should develop your own material (hey, I'm a writer!) before thinking much about vocal technique. Good songs are a surer path to lasting success than good vocals. Evidence: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Lou Reed, U2, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Green Day, Nirvana, etc.

And there are plenty of good singers who are one-hit wonders. Or no-hit-wonders.

 

You don't think U2 has good vocals?

 

The problem with rap is that it's rap, not music. There are no melodies. Just lots of aggression, foul language, and braggadocio. It convinces the young that musical skill and talent are superfluous, and that any potty-mouthed bonehead can have big hits.

 

Well, Bono has a lot of passion, but hardly any technique. He's been in the game for over 35 years now, and he still hasn't improved much. I get the impression that he just doesn't care much about actually singing. He cares about posturing. My objection to him isn't that he's actually bad, but that he doesn't care enough to practice. Roger Daltrey improved hugely as a singer over his career. So did Sting. So did Jackson Browne. Others, too. I think it's important that if you're going to do big, anthemic rock, you ought to become good at it. A lot of U2's music has been a wasted opportunity.

 

I don't know anything about music, technically speaking, but I always felt like Bono's vocals were better than Sting's, especially in live recordings. But maybe I've been fooled by posturing.

 

Rock music has had its day.

...followed by misanthropic rant in Maatlish dialect edited for the historical record,

 

You need to listen to better rap, old man.

 

I don't much like these shows. I won't dispute the contestants' talent, but I find singing covers pretty boring. Some have sung their own songs at least in the Finnish version of the Voice, but they have been nothing remarkable.

There was one season of American Idol, I think, with one rapper dude who made his own songs, and he was the only interesting artist there. The rest were okay technically, but seemed to have little vision, or whatever there was must have been stifled by the wants of the industry.

To quote the League of Gentlemen: "It's a shit business."

 

I know, but there isn't any.

 

Bono's vocals are better than Sting's. I never said they weren't. Sting has a terrible voice and Bono has a good one. But Sting understands that he doesn't have a good natural voice, and so he worked on his vocal technique over time. He sounds tons better today than he did back when he was with the Police.

Bono started off with a head start. He had a good voice. But he's done practically nothing to improve - he's probably worse now than he was when he first recorded "Sunday Bloody Sunday." That just annoys me a little.

I'm not comparing Bono to Sting. I'm comparing Sting now to Sting then (big improvement) versus Bono now to Bono then (almost no improvement).

 

If you want a good rap song that tells a story and isn't about the usual nonsense, check out Immortal Technique's "Dance With the Devil." I'm not sure if you'll like it or not, but at the very least it'll show you that rap isn't all about making money, degrading women, etc. The song does have foul language, however.

 

Oh. Just based on their respective personalities that observation makes a lot of sense.

I've always liked Stiing, and I can respect a guy who recognizes his limitations and tries to improve.

I heard the singer from Muse has finally been taking lessons as well.