Good v Bad Singing
LaserWolf
Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
This was posted in a different thread.
I thought, this would make a great start to a thread on what makes music "good" or "bad".
Joplin, was and is considered hip and "important" among rock critics and fans.
Some even consider her the greatest blues or white blues singer ever.
Tom Jones on the other hand is considered square by the same people.
Yet in this clip (and I think a listen to their records will back this up) Jones is the "better" singer. Also; dancer, looker, performer.
As a singer, he lets his voice build as the song builds, JJ comes in shouting.
TJ's voice is more subtle and more rhythmic.
It also seems to me, he utilizes a larger range. (If you discount her shrieks.)
So, what makes either JJ or TJ either good or bad?
Comments
If anyone wants to hear a white girl sing the blues try Jo-Ann Kelly.
It's funny how polarizing she is, people generally love or hate her.
hell no.
Rock- I find Joplin unlistenable as well. Mostly.
But in 1970, 7th grade, I thought she was the greatest.
I didn't really expect to find a lot of soulstrut love for Joplin or hate for Jones (Breaks Yo). What I found interesting was the contrast of seeing 2 artists together whose fans will never agree. And pondering what makes (rockist) think Joplin is so good and Jones so bad, or plastic.
HC - I hear what you are saying. And I love a lot of awful singers because they appear authentic to me. Woody Guthrie, Tom Waits, Marriane Faithful, Joseph Spence. I even like Dylan sometimes. But what makes Joplin Authentic? The screaming? The grease hair? Because she is stoned? What makes Jones plastic? The "good" looks? The control? The prescision?
Hook - Thinking of the above, what makes it hell no?
CMF - What in that clip explains her following?
Not to rag on Joplin too much, but that clip really shows her complete lack groove/rhythm.
I am talking about her vocal attack, not dancing or "band leading" which is even worse.
Forget Joplin and Jones. What makes you like one singer and dislike another?
again i am not a fan but i think the clip shows that she could interpret and completely inhabit a song. she projects lots of feeling and energy, even if her technique and range may be somewhat limited. i find it too visceral, even exhausting, but i get why a person might like that, especially in comparison to the more staid, showbizzy chops of a tom jones.
also, she had a shambolic sort of charisma.when i saw this in the theater, the audience actually rose to their feet to give the movie screen a standing ovation. this clip may have been a few months before she died and i think its pretty obvious she was deep into an extremely unhealthy lifestyle at the time . her death at a young age sealed her legacy.
had she lived and just slowly faded maybe she would be thought of as a second or third tier singer at best a la lydia pense (whose work i much prefer btw).