Idols

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Earlier today i was listening to some music, and i got to thinking. When i was a kid my childhood Idol was Madonna. Now obviously as a young boy there was no way in hell i'd ever admit to that! So i declared Kenny Rodgers as my hero (though i thought Dolly Parton and the Judd's were more to my liking).

In the last few years another woman has climbed to the top, but people began to compare her to my Idol Madonna! Needless to say NO ONE compares to Madonna... right? So on the spot i made up my mind to hate her (like any fool would).

So today im listening to some tunes and this really good song comes on, and im lovin' it! So i decide to check out the artist only to discover it's her, the woman i swore to hate. Few songs latter and i just can't find it in me to dislike her anymore.

And so it feel's to me like a torch has been passed from an older generation to a younger one yet again. I mean, there was Marilyn Monroe, then there was Liza Minnelli, followed by Madonna (I'm sure there's one or two in there i missed) and now for the new generation we have Lady Gaga. If you ask me most of the barriers have already been broken by her predecessors, so i just dont see her achieving the same level of "Immortality" that they did.

or will she? time will tell i guess...

So, Who was your childhood idol?

Comments

Musically most likely Dire Straits.

But I have long standing weaknesses for Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, Nazareth, CCR and others...I'm a sucker for most classic rock.
*Big Hugs*

Bailey Summers

Annete Funicello

erin's picture

Pretty, smart, she could sing and dance. Her acting was better than most of her co-stars, so that counts too. :)

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

M.I.C...K.E.Y....

Sadarsa's picture

A mouseketeer! and Babes in Toyland. the song "Pineapple Princess" cracked me up!

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Tricky, tricky

erin's picture

You know how she got that incredible sound, where her voice sounded richer than anyone's could be? On most of her songs, they recorded her twice with as close to exactly the same tones and timing as she could get it. So a tiny little woman sounded like she had Ethel Merman pipes!

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Double Tracking Vocals...

...or a lead guitar is a quite common recording technique. Just the slightest differences in tone and timing, since most musicians are human, add an extreme amount of depth to a recording. Everyone from Sinatra to Robert Plant has done this on vocals.

As for my idols? Clapton got me hooked on guitar during a few way too short years when he was with Cream in the 60's. That led to my ongoing love affair with the blues. Today I'm totally fascinated by Joe Bonamassa's guitar playing. Throw in Bonnie Raitt or Beth Hart on vocals and I'm in musical nirvana.;)

For those who haven't heard of them, check out the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Or to see Joe at his finest, 'Woke Up Dreaming, Live at The Royal Albert Hall'. Or to see him and Beth look for 'Sinner's Prayer' at The Beacon Theater in NYC.;) Sorry, I have no clue how to add a link!;0

Rock On All!!!
Hugs,
Jonelle

Double tracking

erin's picture

When Annette's producer did it, it was a fairly new idea. Remember, this was back in the early to mid 50s and the Walt Disney sound engineers pioneered the technique. :) And yes, it became rather common to the point it was almost a cliche of pop recordings; John Lennon caught flack from critics for overusing it in particular. But in the 50s, it magnified Annette's little voice (she never considered herself much of a singer) and helped turn her into a star.

It's sad that her illness (MS) has taken so much away from her but in our memories, she is forever young.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

Y?

Andrea Lena's picture

...because we like you...

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Great show

Meseska mousca mouseketer mouse cartoon time now is here. Loved that show.

RAMI

Idols?

Janis Joplin, Bonnie Rait, Stevie Nicks, Grace Slick, to name a few. I just have to disagree with you on Gaga, she's a performer not a vocalist, and not a good one at that.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

of course she is

Sadarsa's picture

Of course she's more performer than vocalist, these days you cant just have a good voice and a few good tunes to be on top. though i disagree with you about her vocal's being poor... i think they are 'adequate' and considering the number of singles she's had top the charts (which has nothing to do with her formidable stage presence) i'd say she sings just fine.

~Your only Limitation is your Imagination~

Delusional Fans

If you really think singing skills has anything to do with record sales, I offer up Justin Beiber.

I grew up a Carpenters fan. I don't care what kind of show you put on, you'd better be able to sing or I'm not going to listen. (Exceptions for Janis Joplin and most of the other Blues singers.)

I just had a scary image. Janis Joplin performing the Mercedes Benz song, with her vocals run through AutoTune!


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Back when I was a pup...

Andrea Lena's picture

...at a concert featuring her right after she left Big Brother, I actually got rudely shoved to edge of the stage. I didn't really mind, since when I turned around, Ms. Joplin was leaning down after the set shaking hands. And I got my first and only taste of Southern Comfort from a bottle she was sharing with the crowd. Not especially sanitary, but what an experience.

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

And I apologize...

Andrea Lena's picture

...but you put it in my head....

Oh Lord won't you pay for my SRS?
I cannot afford it; it's left me in distress!
Some may be contented with just wearing a dress;
But Lord I need you to finance my ESS RRR-ARRR ESSSSS!

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

Lady Gaga

My musical tastes are completely different from the kind of stuff she usually does, but I was VERY impressed with her duet with Tony Bennett on the big band standard The Lady Is a Tramp. She may have blue hair in the video, but she shows that she clearly understands the conventions of big band music, and also shows that she's a terrific singer. Given her reputation, it's a fun choice of a song too. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPAmDULCVrU

Al

Daniela Wolfe's picture

Mine was Weird Al...

'nough said :P


Have delightfully devious day,

Amish Paradise ... and The Truck Driving Song

CLASSICS.

Heard Nirvana's Sounds Like Teen Spirit for the first time years ago and THOUGHT someone was cranking Weird Al's Smells Like Nirvana.

Oh, George Harrison, well ANY of the Traveling Wilburys and in particular Roy Orbison.

OLDER country artists like Johnny Cash in his prime, CCR DEFINITELY. The Beatles, The Who, Joan Jett, The B52s, The Go Gos. The Moody Blues.

Must reluctantly admit it LIKE some of ABBA's stuff and ELVIS.

Frank Zappa rules.

Not a complete list. My musical tastes are all over the map. Don't like modern country all that often, over produced everybody sounds like each other with the noses riveted shut.

Admit to liking some hip-hop and rap and other non mainstream stuff. and have a penchant for novelty records, thus King Tut by Steve Martin, The Witchdoctor Song BY David Seville. Used to adore the Smothers Brothers, Allan Sherman. PDQ Bach, though much of that is music, not singing.

Yet I CAN enjoy some opera. And I like a lot of classical.

John in Wauwatosa

John in Wauwatosa

Growing up, I caught a bit of flack

for my tastes in music. I've always been a bit eclectic, and my mom has videos of me as a little kid running around the house singing to the Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian." In fourth grade I received my first ever CD player, and the two CDs I got for it? Guns N' Roses Appetite For Destruction and Spice Girls Spice, both of which I still own and occasionally listen to.

Over the years my tastes have slowly changed, with different artists taking over as my moods changed, from No Doubt to Kitty to Christina Aguilera to The B-52s. About the only artist who's really remained consistently in the top has been Sheryl Crow, and really, you can't have a better idol than her!

Melanie E.

1967

The Move, I Can Hear The Grass Grow
The Beach Boys, Heroes And Villains
The Turtles, Happy Together
The Who, I Can See For Miles
Pink Floyd, See Emily Play
Traffic, Paper Sun
Keith West, Excerpt From A Teenage Opera
Simon Dupree & the Big Sound, Kites
The Beatles, Penny Lane
The Hollies, On A Carousel
Manfred Mann, Ha! Ha! Said the Clown
The Small Faces, Itchycoo Park
The Monkees, Pleasant Valley Sunday
The Kinks, Autumn Almanac
The Flower Pot Men, Let's Go To San Francisco

In the words of Barclay James Harvest, 'oh what it is to be young'

Ban nothing. Question everything.

In my next life

Aljan Darkmoon's picture

I want to come back as Loreena McKennitt. Most of her work is on YouTube, if you want to give her a listen...