4 tops- still waters

[MAXIFUNK]

BOY DO I MISS REAL SINGING!

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[Jimi75]

I've once seen the 4 Tops live in Spain. At least they claimed they were the 4 Tops. Who knows...but anyways, their singing was amazing.

[Tig]

Ah, back when R&B really was R&B! The best of Motown remain timeless classics.

[MAXIFUNK]

Jimi75 & Tig,

I heard this driving home last night and it was like WOW it took me right back to being a child on the west side of Detroit all over again.
An nailed home just how much modern creativity lacks musically. Between the fans, radio station program directors, and the record company suites this current path of what gets the tag of great talent is a disgrace to those that have came before them of course there are exceptions but the overall music landscape just leaves me wanting more so I find myself going back in time more and more no matter what the Genre, and it is sad but true the R&B genre died in the late 80's to early 90's.

If it was not for the NEO-soul artists it would be completely dead at the hands of untalented hip-hop wanna-bee's.
I have a close personal friend who was as a LA studio musician for solar and capitol records and others in the 70's and 80's and he is convinced videos killed the genre. Due to the focus being shifted from talent to looks. I do not completely agree but I do understand his point just compare Rhianna & Beyonce to Chaka & Roberta Flack there is none to be had at all.

[Tig]

I was lucky enough to grow up listening to 60's and 70's R&B/Motown/soul, thanks to my Dad's taste in music (which also included jazz and blues, plus The Beatles). Mrs. Tig also grew up with the same music in her integrated neighborhood.
The Miracles
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Diana Ross & The Supremes
Stevie Wonder
Marvin Gaye
The Temptations
The Commodores
Ray Charles
The 5th Dimension
James Brown
Aretha Franklin
Al Green
Earth, Wind and Fire
...and the list could go on and on...

[deeaa]

Great music indeed!

IMO what's killing music is the focus on both video AND singles. That's where the money is...the youth buy albums rarely any more.
Because everything is so hectic and fast-paced especially for the youth of today, and there is SO much competition in the radio etc. that the only way anyone's gonna notice a song is if it's insanely compressed, doesn't have any long intros or anything, just a really in-your-face-straight-to-the-chorus structure with really compressed and autotuned vocals. Anything less aggressive just doesn't get noticed in the wash of music. Won't hurt if there's some crazy visuals as well.

I can't blame the kids, though. When I was my pupil's age, I used to sleep long and get to school before lunch at most days, somehow just managing to get the grades to pass. School lasted usually till three or so, and I would loiter downtown till five or so, then make my way home. No cell phones etc. so if you wanted to meet someone, you'd have to walk to their place or ring at suppertime and arrange to meet the next day or whatever.
Holidays were largely just reading books or lying on a beach, killing time, occasional summer job that took 4-5 hours a day or something.

Now when I look at the kids I teach...the school starts at eight and these days EVERY hour they miss they have to have a doctor's slip or parent's explanation. So many have to wake up before six to make it on time.
They usually have classes till four, but occasionally past six in the evening, and they have loads of homework and tasks they need a computer for as well. Everyone just stacks up on energy drinks so they can hold on.
Then, most of them have some sort of side job, usually at a bar or hotel or cleaning or something, which they do after school on like 4 days a week, plus they have other things in their lives of course. All the time they're on their cell phones and changing plans and whatnot, busy as bees. I ask them what they're going to do on their holiday of 4 days, it's always like 'there's this festival there and then this party there the next day and then I have 40 hours of work at the local mall' and so on. They go abroad for work placements, all kinds of stuff....me & my friends at that age, we'd just hang around day in day out.

I can't imagine they have any time at all to listen to albums. Pretty much all of them have iPods or radios though hidden under their hats or hair and they constantly listen to them, swap songs and listen to Spotify and whatnot, also during lectures and work and so on, and all the while they're also chatting away on Facebook etc. When I ask them what are they listening to, they often shrugh and don't really know what it is, some rap or something, or know the song name and got it from a friend but don't know the artist. Music is just tapestry to them, they don't really care what they listen to, as long as it's socially acceptable among their friends and it fits the general wash of information, it's fine. Preferably something with extreme swearwords and such, so they can use it to assert their parents of being badasses and self-standing. They live in a constant stream of information, from the moment they wake up they slam on the hit radio and surf to Facebook, and they do that all the time, even when in the class and simultaneously answering teacher's questions and sipping at them energy drinks.

There is no way they'd catch up on anything but the most in-your-face song...that's what's killing music. Those are the people the industry is desperately trying to reach.

[Tig]

Nice insight, Dee.
I blame some of it on short term gratification in an ever accelerating world. Quicker, faster, more, live-now-pay-later/never, etc.

I hope kids will learn the lesson that life is the journey, not just the destination. Heck, I wish more adults caught on to that, too!

[oldguy]

Thanks, Maxi, that was great! It's nice to hear real music no matter what genre. That does indeed seem to be sadly lacking in mainstream media today. But it's still out there, it just doesn't get promoted or played as much.

[Retro Hound]

Love it! Big fan of the Four Tops.