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Branch, Lavigne, Carlton..the anti Brittney's (1 Viewer)

RickGr

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
342
At last we have young female performers with real musical talent hitting the scene strong. They write, play instruments and pray tell DO NOT DANCE!
 

RobertW

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 27, 2000
Messages
719
no, these are just the record companies response to those who detest the pre-fab construction of the britneys and the n-syncs. these girls are just as manufactured and pre-packaged as any of the boy bands and pop tarts, ezcept in this case, they are marketed as "the anti-britneys" in a way to capture those who think they are so sharp and too cool and too tasteful to fall for the britney hype, and think that they have discovered something of their own.
 

LanceJ

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2002
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3,168
After years of listening to music & worrying if it fit into the "right" categories now I just buy what I like. This has resulted in a varied set of purchases the last three years:
* Groove Armada
* Coldplay
* Zero 7
* Thievery Corporation
* Beastie Boys (4 albums so far. Very underated talent-check out ther album "The In Sound From Way Out". Funky jazz-no rap-that NO ONE will believe the Beasties are performing)
* MXPX
* Emmylou Harris (unfortunately "Wrecking Ball" has the harshest, most fingernails-on-chalkboard sounding vocal track I have ever heard).
* Rollins Band/Henry Rollins
* Les Baxter (part of Thievery Corporation's inspiration)
* Thunderball
* Linkin Park
* Koop (cover art is, uh....different....but the "beatnik" jazz inside is great)
* "Verve Remixed"
* DJ Cam: "Blunted Jazz"
* 311
* B52's
* Kruder & Dorfmeister
* Folk music: I'm just learning who's who. I really like the stories and how the human voice is featured so prominently (after years of rock's making that almost a secondary thing).
* Black Flag (cover art doesn't match what's inside)
* Supreme Beings of Leisure (1st album is better!)
* George Winston (solo piano artist on the Windham Hill label)
* Mark Isham (Windham Hill again) dreamy, atmospheric music
* Gordon Lightfoot
Thinking of getting some:
* Tool (SOOOOO many varied people have recommended this group)
* A little more classic jazz with vocals. Don't like that experimental sounding, meandering stuff with no structure to it.
* Cream
* Jefferson Airplane, especially "Surrealistic Pillow"
* Traffic
* REM
* The Doors
* Stevie Wonder
* Fifth Dimension (Zero 7 sounds kinda like this 60's group)
* Led Zeppelin (the druggie image is kind of a turn-off for me though)
Used to listen to and finally got burned-out on (examples):
* Rush
* Yes
* Alan Parsons Project
* Enigma (sort of burned-out on)
* Pink Floyd
* Genesis
* Pretenders
* The Cars
* Tears for Fears
* Moody Blues
And when I get a turntable, I expect to really get more into the old stuff.
LJ
 

MikeDeVincenzo

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 19, 2000
Messages
219
Brittney v. Branch, Lavigne, Carlton is like Coke v. Pepsi


Different brands/flavors of the exact same product: the highly marketed radio-friendly unit-shifter. (to borrow a phrase from Cobain).
 

RickGr

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
342
Beatles vs Dave Clark 5 vs Rolling Stones..its all hype and marketing for radio.
 

Joel Fontenot

Screenwriter
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Baton Rouge, LA
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Joel Fontenot
Anti-Britneys of the present and past...
  • Curve
  • Juliana Hatfield
  • Velocity Girl
  • 360's
  • Mary's Danish
  • Belly
  • Throwing Muses
  • Lush
  • The Sundays
  • Cocteau Twins
  • Xmal Deutschland
  • The Breeders
  • Sarah McLachlan
  • Blondie
  • Heart
  • Pat Benatar
  • The Cold
  • Peabody
Those last two were local bands and probably weren't known much outside the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area.
I'll stop there as just a sampling of what has been out there in the form of women led bands or solo artists who've either been doing or had done their own thing for years. And, except for a few up there (you'll recognize them), most have gone unnoticed most of the time but have put out much better stuff than anything I've heard on the radio in the last few years. Including the current crop of the record label's "critic friendly" darlings.
Joel
 

RobertW

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 27, 2000
Messages
719
Beatles vs Dave Clark 5 vs Rolling Stones..its all hype and marketing for radio.
the difference is that the beatles and rolling stones had talent, and despite a bit of a managed image(nothing compared to the extensively researched and dissected marketing formulas employed today), managed to achieve their success on their own merits, and not whether they were the flavor of the week to be marketed to a paricular demographic. now the dave clark five......

i think mike spelled it out pretty well. if it weren't for the labels pushing those artists upon you as "the next big thing", "the alternative to the pop tarts", or "the return of real rock", no one would ever have heard of these girls.

how many artists get that kind of popularity on the strength of one album, or even one song? ten or more years ago this was unheard of, and now its the rule. but they'll be forgotten in three or four years when the next big hype comes along.
 

RickGr

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
342
I was there during the Beatles run. They caused me to get into music and it continues today some 2000 plus LP's and 1000 plus CD's and countless cassette's later. They were marketed no doubt as a "boy band" but the marketing machine back then was nowhere near what it is now. I remember a big Beatles vs 4 Season's weekend on the ole AM powerhouse at the time. How they grew musically from album to album is almost scarey. Greatest ever no doubt.
No one can doubt the Beatles talent BUT it is also lame to write off any new artist in this day as manufactured. Now I will never compare any current (or past) artist/group to the Beatles but I will say that Miss Branch has a darn good album for a rookie effort. The trick will be can she maintain and improve her songwriting in future efforts? The positive is she (and her managment) are selling her for her songs not T&A like so many of these young females on the scene.
 

Joel Fontenot

Screenwriter
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Joel Fontenot
I was there during the Beatles run. They caused me to get into music and it continues today some 2000 plus LP's and 1000 plus CD's and countless cassette's later. They were marketed no doubt as a "boy band" but the marketing machine back then was nowhere near what it is now.
True, but at least the Beatles were actually a band.
For the life of me, I can't understand why they call vocal groups like "'n sync" or "98 degrees" boy bands. They aren't bands. People in bands play instruments. These guys don't play instruments - they sing into microphones and dance around. That's a vocal group.
Aerosmith is a boy band
Duran Duran is a boy band
Nirvana was a boy band
The Temptations were a vocal group
Okay, enough ranting...:)
Joel
 

mike_decock

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 21, 2002
Messages
621
Why is there such anti-Britney sentiment? Artists/Bands have been "manufactured" all along. If you were a 16 year old girl who liked to dance and sing, wouldn't you do what Britney has done?


-Mike...
 

MikeDeVincenzo

Stunt Coordinator
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Jul 19, 2000
Messages
219
Mike
I would sincerely hope not. But, as Trent Reznor (who had to lift himself out of obscurity to make it, no demographically tuned in management team to carefully plan his launch), once sang "God Money I'll do anything for you..." I don't blame Britney or her mother, they both have every right to pursue as many dollars as they can possibly pursue. And they have, to great success.
I do fault the system under which they have achieved it. Corporations do absolutely nothing to advance art, for that is not their motivation. There is only one motivation, and that is return on shareholder investment. Music is merely a commodity to be carefully marketed. They might as well be selling scrap metal.
Yes, bands and musicians have been marketed in the past. But the level of the marketing is NOTHING compared to what it is today. I think in the past, there was still the sense that we are going to try to sell good music. Now, if the industry could, they would sell 10 hours of an earthworm farting into a microphone if they could. Its become so cynical, cold, and jaded, it makes me sad.
God bless www.wfmu.org ;)
 

Ryan Spaight

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
676
There's an interesting article in this week's Entertainment Weekly about Lavigne. Apparently, she was being groomed to be the next country-pop Faith Hill, with a very conservative upbringing, but the sessions weren't going well, so they went punk-pop instead.

If you want a more "genuine" female rock group, try Sleater-Kinney.

Ryan
 

mike_decock

Supporting Actor
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May 21, 2002
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621
But the level of the marketing is NOTHING compared to what it is today.
That may be true but I still don't know why people hate the artists who make a mint under the system. Nobody is forcing YOU to buy it. I listen to a broad range of music and ALL THREE of Britney's albums are in my collection *ghasp*!!! If I'm in the mood for bubble gum pop, there ain't nothing better.

In a sense, those moneymakers pay for a lot of the less popular albums that we all love.


-Mike...
 

MikeDeVincenzo

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Ryan


Sleater-Kinney, yup! Good stuff. I saw them live a few years back at a small club in Philly called the Trocadero (sp?)


Mike


I don't resent Spears et al. for their money, let them have it. As I said, they have every right to do whatever it takes to pursue every dollar they can. She may be a perfectly nice person. But again, its not Spears et. al. who have gotten me riled up, its the system.


For once, I'd like to see the culture embrace a band like Sleater-Kinney instead of a carefully packaged product. I mean, look at Ryan's post -- Lavigne is simply a tool, a body to be told what style of music to "play" in order to generate returns. I'm sure the industry wishes it could dispense with the "artists" all together, for that would be far more profitable. Perhaps someday technology will make that possible.
 

Ryan Spaight

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
676
I don't mind pre-packaged pop at all -- it certainly has its (often guilty) pleasures, though the recent wave of teen pop does little for these very non-teen ears.

I was responding more to the original suggestion that Lavigne is a "real" alternative to the "fake" Britney, than making any judgements about the music itself.

Ryan
 

Joel Fontenot

Screenwriter
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Baton Rouge, LA
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Joel Fontenot
Nobody is forcing YOU to buy it.
True, and I'm NOT buying it.

But, the system used to cultivate artists; work with them to be long lasting contributers to the label - like the Beatles.

Now, it's instant success or you're outta here.

The first time a new Britney release doesn't break the top 10 in the first week, Jive's dumping her.

Look what happened to Mariah.

Joel
 

RobertW

Supporting Actor
Joined
Feb 27, 2000
Messages
719
my take is, how many years will it be before britney or christina are doing playboy in order to make a few bucks?

i'll say the over/under is five years, and i'll take the under.

i don't hate or resent britney or any of them for what they are making. hey, i think britney's pretty hot, but i just don't want to have to listen to her, or any of the rest of today's pop artists. same goes for shania or any of the bland "new country" artists, who sound more like pop music than country, and even the 'alternative" bands that all sound the same. i'll pick and choose and make up my own mind whether i like something or not, and not fell compelled to jump on every new trend just because it sells a lot, or is pushed as the next big thing.

i do resent the corporate machine that pushes this crap upon people, and naive people who don't know any better, either because they're too young and have no knowledge of music history, or just accept whatever it is that's marketed to them, and think that this stuff actually constitutes good music.
 

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