You forgot to say "Y'all" at the end.Originally Posted by Mr.Krautman
Yeah, Doug's videos are pretty good overall. I really like when he has some version of the sheet music to certain pieces and explains what's happening musically while listening. See his videos on Firth of Fifth, Mad Man Moon, lots of ELP pieces, etc.
You just put words on the uncomfortable feeling I had watching some of his videos. Of course, like you said, that doesn't take anything from his talent. He adds something valuable to the internet. And kudos to him for his interviews.
I guess I'm not fond of people speaking loudly with (overly) great confidence, trying to convince me of something and lacking humor, but it goes way beyond the realm of music. I see that almost everywhere in society. At least Beato is promoting music and musicians.
That is most videos on YouTube thanks to people whose career it is monetizing their drivel. Whether it's him or some true crime channel - a 10 minute story doesn't have to be 40 minutes.
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
If you like Doug Helvering's videos (and I do), you might check out the channel called "Rock Virgin." The "star" is a classical harpist who had heard almost no rock music in her life before her husband Vlad started her doing this; she is as good as Helvering at the technical stuff, doesn't condescend ... and doesn't try to play along with the recordings (though she may play some of the lines on her harp during analysis).
Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.
The Daily Doug dude gets on my nerves, punctuating every other sentence with, "Y'all"
I have watched a few of hers and agree they are good.
As much a 'schtick' as Rick Beato's 'Amaaaazing'.
Then there's the woman who does the Classical Musician Listens to Rock channel. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching someone from 1890 listen to rock music.
Mongrel dog soils actor's feet
Here is what drives me up a wall about some Youtube shows. I'll see a thumbnail that looks interesting (could be any, serious topic) and after a few seconds in, I nope outta there because the host wants to be a comedian. Or, he talks so fast, without taking a breath that I just lose patience. The other trope I'm sick of on podcasts is ... backwards caps.
I just listened to a small part of a Rick Beato rant about lyrics. Well, though he might be right about the lyrics he is citing as truly awfull, I'm not sure the lyrics of Across the universe are really great. And do people really listen to the lyrics of songs?
Yesterday we had veterans day and what song was requested for this occasion? Universal soldier by Donovan. Did they ever really listen to the lyrics? It's an anti-war song, stating that if no-one would join the army we would have no war and that going to war is never a way to make an end to war.
I used to give my kids crap because everything they liked was. "Amaaazing". I'd tell them, "if everything is amazing, is anything?"
I generally like Rick Beato. Yes, he may have a few annoying mannerisms, but so does Doug Helvering and as does probably every other YouTuber of note that you could mention. These people are in performance mode in their videos.
Beato is solid from a musical standpoint. He does cover multiple eras and genres, mostly but not only mainstream stuff, including the latest pop. He doesn't cover everything. I don't listen to everything, so I guess I get that. Everybody gravitates toward their preferences.
Seconded.
BTW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbo6SdyWGns
Or "Awesome!"
Some people care more about the words than the music, for sure (how else do you explain Jackson Browne's popularity?). Probably not most of us prog fans, though.
As far as Across the Universe, that was one of the few Lennon songs (along with I Am the Walrus and a few others) where he wrote memorable words that weren't just about himself (or Yoko) or some simple-minded sociopolitical plea. Later on he confessed that IatW was all BS and he was just throwing words together for the halibut.
Anyway, after I viewed the Beato video I thought about some of the biggest hits of the 1960s and 1970s, poetic classics like "Sugar Sugar" and "My Love." And I'm sure that Sturgeon's Law applies to the present era as well. There are people writing meaningful lyrics if you just ignore most of what's on the radio.
Missing the point of a song is a grand political tradition that notably includes "Born in the USA" and "Rockin' in the Free World." And it's usually folks on the rightward side of the US political spectrum that miss the irony from the leftward composers.
What we feel we have to solve is why the dregs have not dissolved.
I do, provided they're in a language I understand or at least there's a way I can translate them. And I'm really disappointed by how many artists simply don't give a shit about the lyrical side of their music. I always appreciate complex and sophisticated lyrics in prog. After all, prog is one of those genres where such lyrics actually fit. I like the wordplay-rich lyrical styles of Nok (Far Meadow) Peter Nicholls (IQ), Stefan Renström (Simon Says) and Cyrus (Citizen Cain) in particular.
What I hear often from young people that drives me batty is every other sentence and thought starts with "I was like...". And they can do it for an hour straight, because I heard it one time in a line-up for a film festival movie, haha.
Neil
Generalizations and style preferences aside - is Beato right on the money when tackling Taylor Swift phenomenon?
Or is he simply an out-of-touch old fart?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultur...f_Taylor_SwiftKirsty Fairclough of the University of Salford dubbed Swift "the center of the cultural universe." Billboard journalists felt that "her presence in popular music is the same as popular music itself. She's firing on all cylinders, across multiple mediums and eras, and has zero peers on her level", whereas News.com.au asserted "there hasn't probably been anyone on the planet as culturally significant as Swift ever." Writing for CNN, Scottie Andrew felt that "whenever there's a lull in the cultural discourse", Swift becomes the topic of focus. Billie Schwab Dunn of Newsweek remarked, "Swift has dominated the marketplace, a large portion of the cultural zeitgeist and media attention like no other artist before her". Kyle Chayka of The New Yorker felt Swift is a heroic figure like Napoleon and Julius Caesar, all of whom are "agents of the world-spirit" and symbolic of their respective periods in time. [...]
Time included Swift on its 2010, 2015 and 2019 rankings of the 100 most influential people. In 2014, she was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in the music category. Swift became the youngest woman to be included on Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful women in 2015, ranked at number 64, and the first entertainer to ever place in the list's top five in 2023. She was the most googled woman in 2019 and musician in 2022, as well as the most googled songwriter of all time, and The Guardian named her the most powerful woman in U.K. media. Media outlets noted that she reached a new zenith of fame in 2023, with Glamour saying she "has officially taken over every aspect of popular culture." Describing a critical consensus, writer Jeff Yang said Swift is "increasingly being spoken about as an economic force of nature, a transformative creator advocate, organizer and innovator and arguably the most influential and even the most powerful figure in the music industry." [...]
Swift has ventured into diverse genres and undertaken artistic reinventions throughout her career. Pitchfork opined in 2021 that Swift changed the music landscape forever with a "singularly perceptive" catalog that accommodates musical and cultural shifts. Harbron stated Swift's genre-spanning career encouraged her peers to experiment with diverse sounds. The BBC and Time designated Swift a "music chameleon". Swift stated that she "knew she had to keep innovating" to stay ahead of record labels working to replace her.
Swift's fourth album Red (2012) intensified the critical debate over her genre categorization, as she was a country artist at that time, but Red contained heavy pop, electronic and rock elements. Swift said that she opts to let others label genres. [...] According to Harbron, Red proved the industry that avant-garde is not the only experimental approach in music and that Swift "opened a door for every other musician" in 2012 to coalesce multiple genres into an album.
Post-1989, Swift released her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore, which were described as a mix of indie folk, chamber pop, and alternative rock styles. They expanded the perception of Swift's discography, with many critics describing her catalog as a musically heterogeneous collection of songs. Having demonstrated an emo appeal, Swift's songs are often covered by pop-punk and metalcore acts. American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan said that Folklore and Evermore helped reignite popular interest in folk music, and Billboard credited Swift with the power "to pull any sound she wants into mainstream orbit".
Swift [...] is primarily a Nashville-enriched writer, "steeped in Music Row's values of craftsmanship and storytelling" as per Rosen. Her songs are known for their passion and intense emotions. According to Zoya Raza-Sheikh of The Independent, Swift is able to balance universal themes with hyper-specificity, possessing "an uncanny talent for reflecting the world's emotional angst through her own lens." In being personal and vulnerable in her lyrics, music journalist Nick Catucci opined Swift helped make space for other singers like Ariana Grande, Halsey, and Billie Eilish to later do the same. Professor Hannah Wing of Wichita State University attributed Swift's popularity to the intimacy in her music, cultivating a "feeling of closeness".
According to Scarlet Keys, songwriting professor at Berklee College of Music, Swift "mixes poetry with a very colloquial, current language", and frequently uses poetic devices but also knows to be "practical". [...] Similarly, Sam Corbin of The New York Times described Swift as "a linguistic maverick, writing lyrics that toggle between mixed metaphor and catchy confessional." [...] British scholar Jonathan Bate dubbed Swift a "real poet" with a "literary sensibility" evoking the likes of Emily Dickinson and Charlotte Brontë that was rare in pop music. Stephanie Burt, an English professor at Harvard University, described Swift's songwriting skills as rare "at both the macro level of songwriting—presenting a story or an idea—as well as the micro level of fitting together vowels and consonants." [...]
Swift has been instrumental in reforming the business aspects of music, often considered a flag-bearer for artists' rights. Journalists praise her ability to question industry practices, noting how her moves changed streaming platform policies, prompted awareness of intellectual property among upcoming musicians, reshaped the concert ticket model, and negotiated better financial compensations from labels for all music artists. Elle described the Swift-enabled reforms to streaming services as "a milestone moment in the history of music".
I sometimes listen to the lyrics of songs, if they speak to me and can understand them. Meaning they should be in Dutch, German or English. but with prog or the Beatles I'm not really digging that deep in the lyrics.
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