Could they have made it today?

[janz 0]

Wondering if anyone thinks singers like Mama Cass or Janis Joplin could have made it today? Are we so image oriented that we would just reject them? I think I know what the answers will be and think it's a sad commentary on what has become standard with todays values.

[d_squared431 0]

I love Janis Joplin!! No doubt she would have made it.

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[Squeak 17]

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Wondering if anyone thinks singers like Mama Cass or Janis Joplin could have made it today? Are we so image oriented that we would just reject them? I think I know what the answers will be and think it's a sad commentary on what has become standard with todays values.

Have you seen ADELE, and heard an interview with her.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[blkhwk91b 0]

The world is filled with great vocalist.

I sense it is more of an issue of connecting with the current generation for which you are exposed.

Would the Janis of yesteryear be the Janis of today. No, I don't think so.

But, is there a "Janis" of 2012? Yeah, probably out there somewhere.

It is simply a comparison that can't be made.

"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing, than a long life spent in a miserable way." - Alan Watts

[murrays 0]

I saw Alabama Shakes on Letterman a couple nights ago. Terrific lead singer who was definitely not Britney material. I think that band and her have bright future. Btw - I saw Janis in 1970 about four months before the end.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[janz 0]

Look at Susan Boyle. She was perfect exactly the way she was. To me it showed true talent and true humanity. There was mo meed for her makers to "Dolly" her up with new hairdo and costumes. Her talent speaks. Period. Nothing else was needed. To me the "superficial style" takes away from her core.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Looking at some of the fucked up people that seem to be doing well in the music business I'd say yeah, they would probably still make it.

[TriGirl 318]

Two words: Amy Winehouse.

See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus

Shut Up & Jump!

[janz 0]

Maybe I'm not making my point clear. It just doesn't seem that being themselves with talent ia enough in todays world. So they or their managers create something they are not. Maybe if Amy's handlers left her alone and just let her sing the pressure would have been less and the result may not have been fatal.

[murrays 0]

Concern with image has always been there....witness Ian Stewart being removed from the Rolling Stones by Andrew Loog Oldham because he didn't have the look he wanted for the Stones.

I do think that the visual side of things is much more emphasized these days though. That being said, people without conventional good looks can still make it. Talent with some luck and anything can happen.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[janz 0]

From the very beginning back in the 60's Streisand was offered contract with RCA. But they would have told her what to sing. That took guts way back then since she wasn't established and didn't have conventional good looks. She held out and signed with Columbia who gave her complete control over whatever she wanted to sing. At age 70 her contract expired and she just resigned contract with them. Like her or not she stook up for herself and took a chance that did not result in compromising who she was.

[quade 4]

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Look at Susan Boyle. She was perfect exactly the way she was. To me it showed true talent and true humanity. There was mo meed for her makers to "Dolly" her up with new hairdo and costumes. Her talent speaks. Period. Nothing else was needed. To me the "superficial style" takes away from her core.

But Susan Bolye happened in the UK.

Watch TV programming from the UK and compare it to programming that originates in the US. It doesn't take long to realize there is a huge difference in what is and isn't the minimum acceptable level of "hotness" for most performance gigs in the US. I honestly believe Susan Boyle wouldn't have been allowed on stage in the equivalent US program. I think she would have been cut out of the running at a point well before an appearance before the three main judges and in front of television cameras, UNLESS the sole purpose for passing her up the line was to be mocked.

The US entertainment industry is brutal.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[janz 0]

God Quade. What you say is so true and so sad.

[dontlikemustard 0]

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Wondering if anyone thinks singers like Mama Cass or Janis Joplin could have made it today? Are we so image oriented that we would just reject them? I think I know what the answers will be and think it's a sad commentary on what has become standard with todays values.

If by made it you mean Adele's or Lady Gaga status, probably not. Truth is there are probably hundreds or thousands of artists as talented as Mamma Cass today that we will never get to hear about.

[cocheese 0]

Never heard of Mama Cass and I can't stand Janis's voice at all.

Apparently, anyone can make it today. There are hundreds of bands that I can't stand that can fill a stadium full of fans.

[format 1]

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The US entertainment industry is brutal.

so is skydiving

[1969912 0]

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Never heard of Mama Cass

She's the big gal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN3GbF9Bx6E

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[skybytch 273]

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So they or their managers create something they are not. Maybe if Amy's handlers left her alone and just let her sing the pressure would have been less and the result may not have been fatal.

Same can be said for Jim Morrison.

[shah269 0]

One word answer?
NO

Look at Rhiana, the girl can't sing worth a shit....but boy is she good to look at. Ask me if i care if she can sing or not? Better yet...ask all the ladies who love her if she can sing or not?
I'll give you a hint....NO!

As shallow as i am, your average 15-25yo woman who buys music is much much much worse! Don't believe me? Watch Adelle now that she has lost weight....odds are her sales will go up.

We are human we are shallow creatures and true artists just have to deal with our shit.

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[jakee 1,489]

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Look at Susan Boyle. She was perfect exactly the way she was.

No she isn't. She isn't even an unusually good singer.

The success of Susan Boyle wasn't because she was so extraordinarily good it didn't matter what her appearance was, it was because she was fat and ugly and wierd and yet wasn't rubbish at singing. It was the shock value of an ugly person on a reality show actually being decent at something.

Which is kinda the opposite of the 'image doesn't matter' way she was spun and promoted.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[jakee 1,489]

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Maybe if Amy's handlers left her alone and just let her sing the pressure would have been less and the result may not have been fatal.

So who should have left Janis alone?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[janz 0]

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Look at Susan Boyle. She was perfect exactly the way she was.

No she isn't. She isn't even an unusually good singer.
Have to disagree. Les Miserables is my favorite show which I saw 4 times with different casts. "I Dreamed a Dream" is an extremely difficult song and only the gifted can truly sing it with the emotion it was meant to evoke. In some of the productions I actually felt sorry for the girls playing Fantine because they didn't have the voice to carry the song. Only 3 people I've heard sing it have done it justice. Patti Lupone, the deceased (much too young) Laurie Beechman and Susan Boyle.

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[lawrocket 3]

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Look at Susan Boyle. She was perfect exactly the way she was

Susan Boyle made such news BECAUSE she wasn't much to look at. Like it or not, everyone was "Don't judge a book by its cover" about her instead of, "Listen to this voice!"

Today a person doesn't even need to be able to sing to make it. The autotuner is, in my mind, an indication of how shitty music is now.

Van Morrison wouldn't have made it. Supertramp. Steely Dan.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

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[Van Morrison wouldn't have made it. Supertramp. Steely Dan.

Van Morrison has been around a very long time, when in his youth he was a slim, handsome guy, he would probably still make it today. Not so much if he started out as an older man balding and over weight.


Now on the other hand
JOE COCKER, would have a far morew difficult time of it.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[jclalor 12]

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Van Morrison wouldn't have made it. Supertramp. Steely Dan.