Bill Murphy
01-14-2003, 10:28 PM
I'll spare the background but in the last couple days I've heard the new[usually only] albums by Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton=beyond mega-hottie, & Xtina=porno hottie; as well as Tori Amos' latest & Alanis 2nd from '98, for comparison.
Xtina Aguilera - Man, this sucked. Really sucked, on every level. X obviously has a great voice, but she needs to fire every single person involved on every level of musical career and start from scratch. Laughably bad. Step one: stop going pause-"Hmm"-pause five times a song.
Britney - Didn't hear the CD, but I did think that her last song, "Not A Girl", was a big step in the right direction; away from the big production, Janet Jackson type stuff. She also wisely took a break & dropped the restaurant. Only problem is she can't sing a note. Her voice is more processed/filtered than Ozzy's.
Avril - Not really fair to judge someone so new; lotta spunk & potential. The marketing of her as a 'punk' is ludicrous; the CD almost approaches bubblegum. She has been helped greatly by a very skilled team, much as everyone around her plays that down. She just bought the first Ramones album, so time'll tell. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Michelle Branch - I thought this CD was fairly repetitive, but I do think Everywhere is a great pop single. She has a producer/co-writer/musician svengali type like Alanis had w/Glen Ballard for Jagged Lil' Pill, so we'll see if she can grow beyond it, like Alanis did.
Vanessa Carlton - By far the most talented of the bunch, especially as a musician and the only one who soley writes her songs & appears to have a pre-existing, functioning, permanent band. Least poppy, almost jazz-torch in places. Not me cuppa, tho I do like 1000 Miles. A real funny smart-ass in interviews, and resembles a young Jennifer Connelley. /forums/images/icons/blush.gif /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Will become huge star, or at least more digestible-to-masses Tori Amos[see below]. In for long haul.
Pink - For completeness sake. All I've heard is Get This Party Started/forums/images/icons/cool.gif 7 Enemy To Myself[sux]. Can't judge, but it shouldn't be hard for her to replace Gwen Stefani as the 'fun kook' or whatever that category is.
Now, a coupla old bags for comparison:
Tori Amos - An absolute nut, as are most her fans, and her CDs are usually all over the place. I think Silent All These Years & Crucify are fantastic songs, and that her Strange Lil' Girls album is the worst collection of covers ever recorded except for the title track, although picking a Slayer song=sick genius. Her latest, Scarlet's Walk, is by far her most consistent & accessible to the penised, but it's WAAAY too long, 77 minutes. Coupla songs are almost Beatlesque. A real unique/original, but best in small doses.
Alanis - Her second CD, Infatuation Junkie[1998], was her dealing w/the mega success of JLPill. She obv'lly did a better job handling it than Cobain, although SFIJ ain't near as good as In Utero. 1/2 good-to-great, 1/2 unlistenable. Her latest is by far her best, despite the horrid title. She's cut the yelping way down, and toned down somewhat the "You, you, you man, you" rants. Definitely the current gold standard of the female singer/writer/musician, although Carole King still sleeps soundly. She's also taken total control in the studio.
The youngsters got their work cut out, but mostly appear to be on the right track.
And, now, after this estrogen OD, I'm ready for some actual Slayer. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Xtina Aguilera - Man, this sucked. Really sucked, on every level. X obviously has a great voice, but she needs to fire every single person involved on every level of musical career and start from scratch. Laughably bad. Step one: stop going pause-"Hmm"-pause five times a song.
Britney - Didn't hear the CD, but I did think that her last song, "Not A Girl", was a big step in the right direction; away from the big production, Janet Jackson type stuff. She also wisely took a break & dropped the restaurant. Only problem is she can't sing a note. Her voice is more processed/filtered than Ozzy's.
Avril - Not really fair to judge someone so new; lotta spunk & potential. The marketing of her as a 'punk' is ludicrous; the CD almost approaches bubblegum. She has been helped greatly by a very skilled team, much as everyone around her plays that down. She just bought the first Ramones album, so time'll tell. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif
Michelle Branch - I thought this CD was fairly repetitive, but I do think Everywhere is a great pop single. She has a producer/co-writer/musician svengali type like Alanis had w/Glen Ballard for Jagged Lil' Pill, so we'll see if she can grow beyond it, like Alanis did.
Vanessa Carlton - By far the most talented of the bunch, especially as a musician and the only one who soley writes her songs & appears to have a pre-existing, functioning, permanent band. Least poppy, almost jazz-torch in places. Not me cuppa, tho I do like 1000 Miles. A real funny smart-ass in interviews, and resembles a young Jennifer Connelley. /forums/images/icons/blush.gif /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Will become huge star, or at least more digestible-to-masses Tori Amos[see below]. In for long haul.
Pink - For completeness sake. All I've heard is Get This Party Started/forums/images/icons/cool.gif 7 Enemy To Myself[sux]. Can't judge, but it shouldn't be hard for her to replace Gwen Stefani as the 'fun kook' or whatever that category is.
Now, a coupla old bags for comparison:
Tori Amos - An absolute nut, as are most her fans, and her CDs are usually all over the place. I think Silent All These Years & Crucify are fantastic songs, and that her Strange Lil' Girls album is the worst collection of covers ever recorded except for the title track, although picking a Slayer song=sick genius. Her latest, Scarlet's Walk, is by far her most consistent & accessible to the penised, but it's WAAAY too long, 77 minutes. Coupla songs are almost Beatlesque. A real unique/original, but best in small doses.
Alanis - Her second CD, Infatuation Junkie[1998], was her dealing w/the mega success of JLPill. She obv'lly did a better job handling it than Cobain, although SFIJ ain't near as good as In Utero. 1/2 good-to-great, 1/2 unlistenable. Her latest is by far her best, despite the horrid title. She's cut the yelping way down, and toned down somewhat the "You, you, you man, you" rants. Definitely the current gold standard of the female singer/writer/musician, although Carole King still sleeps soundly. She's also taken total control in the studio.
The youngsters got their work cut out, but mostly appear to be on the right track.
And, now, after this estrogen OD, I'm ready for some actual Slayer. /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif