Category: Jam Session
alrite so this could go under the rant board too i guess, but this is seriously one of my pet hates
that auto tuned, kesha/lil wayn style bullshit, and all that stuff calling it'self r and b, what has it got to do with r and b?
rhythm, sure, that's all it has, but blues? really? by what stretch of the imagination can you imagine lil wayn and co sitting down and listening to robert johnson, or blind lemon jefferson, or sun house or any of that?
even the doo wop of the 50s was based on a blues scale
i mean i don't hate all r and b, far from it, it's just, why r and b?
just a thought...
Cause it's rithem and Blues. The Blues is its own, and R and B is a coined term for music like Motown, so they lump it all together, but the Blues is strictly the Blues and has nothing to do with R and B Record companies that adopted black music had to give it a non threatening title to sale it, and Soul wasn't it. Notice that all Motown, and music that comes from record company's like is is labeled Soul? Just my idea anyway.
I think it is largely used as a selling point and sails term these days, just like some of the most well known groups on the biggest labels are indi, but it's too long since i've heard r and b that is anything even slitely related to the blues
True enough.
Yes, this bothers me too. I love everything from roots delta blues to chicago and Texas blues etc. It really bothers me that so much of this current trash even has the word blues in the style name. It cheapens real blues, which was a game changing musical revolution. Finally, it also bothers me that so many young African Americans have no clue about all of the amazing music created in the black community; blues, jazz, soul/motown, funk, etc. Not only is there a treasure trove of fantastic music, but it's also important because it was a tool for social change, to bring awareness to things that were happening in various places that needed to be addressed. I used to assume that the musical history of black America was something that was passed down through family members, friends, school, community events, etc, however, I was being way too optomistic. Yes, hip hop/rap is the main source of social commentary, and has been for a while, however, I wish there was a lot more diversity that would be supported by the industry instead of stifled. Of course, that statement could be applied to any style of music at this point between little to no investment in artist development, the takeover of fm radio by faceless companies only interested in profits, etc... ffew. Sorry that turned into a bit of a rant!
i aggree completely, guitar god
I don't collect blues records because they're too expencive, but i have a couple of hundred gb of blues, mainly old recordings from compilation lps, cds and the net, and i love blues. It has nothing to do with this crap being called r and b, i mean listen to lil wayn, then to howlin wolf, where's the similarity?
I agree with DJ, Outrage, and to rant further, what is the point of AutoTune, if you want to sound like a singer who can't sing combined with JFW with a sore throat then sure, but if not, why bother? WHy can't these rap people sing normally, and not glitch, and add scratches and stuff, why not just make it musical poetry, like it was meant to be? I like the earlier rap, like Us3, and even some modern stuff like some Kayne West and Eminem just for the metaphors and some of the poetry they use. Would Bryan McNight be considered an RNB singer? I Also, wouldn't Little Wayne, be considered more Rap then Rnb, since Rnb is supposed to be a little more actual singing oriented and not autotune galore with delay and glitch everywhere?
Sorry for ranting so much, just voicing my opinion on the subject and asking some questions.
Matthew
Yeah. And you almost HAVE to use Autotune if you want to succeed in the R&B genre and even more if you want to make the charts. I've found quite a few parody videos lamenting the overuse of Autotune in the music industry. It's even being used in live performances I've heard. Two videos that stick with me were a parody of the song FIreflies called Autotune and another video called R&B Songs THe Dalek Song. And as far as I'm concerned that's fitting since a Dalek is more or less what you sound like when you use Autotune.
Lil Wayne is a great rapper, but I agree that he shouldn't make songs using AutoTune.
there should be an anti autotune group or something lol
seriously, i've no idea why people actually like that awful glitchy nasty sound it makes
Because Autotune means that even people who can't actually sing can succeed in music. And who cares if they sound fake as longas hey make money? That's pretty much the attitude.
Besides, since the music itself is sounding more and more robotic (deliberately so I suspect), they figure the singer's voice should as well. Don't get me wrong, I like a little electronica (admittedly mostly Jean-Michel Jarre), but what they call Electronica anymore these days I just find almost physically painful to listen to. And while I don't mind a little judicious use of Autotune once in a while I agree that in what they laughingly call R&B these days it's seriously overused to put it mildly. BUt fake, robotic music deserves fake, robotic voices to go along with it.
I just don't listen to current music anymore and haven't since probably the mid-Eighties. I mean, maybe recorded music may have always been nothing more than a product to sell and not art or real self-expression, but anymore and since the age of MTV, the music and its quality or just interest factor seemed to have taken a back seat to the video or the performer's costumes and such.
And hey Brian, glad to find somebody who knows from electronic music that happened before it all became dance music. Granted, I liked Kraftwerk but during their day they were one of the only ones doing what they did. Could you imagine how many fans of EDM would react if they heard something like Synergy or some of those Klaus Schulze albums from the Seventies? Hey, when does the beat start, I'm bored! LOL!
Yeah. Or Oxygene. That came out four years before I was born. THen two years after Oxygene came out there was Equinoxe. Granted Equinoxe had a bit more of a rhythmic element you could almost dance to, but it was and remains miles better than crap you'd find today. ANd it would be music along those lines that I would work to make if I was ever to get my hands on a few synthesizers. But yeah. I've introduced a few friends to Oxygene and they were like huh? Where's the beat? And moore important where's the Autotune?
you guys ever heard of things like tonto's expanding head band/the zodiac cosmic sounds/the united states of america?
I'm not sure i'd call it electronica, but way ahead of it's time stuff
indeed clouse schultz was amazing, but i love current experimental electronica, venetian snares, matmos, aman tobin etc
And then there was Vangelis and Isao Tomita. I could never get into Kraftwerk though. Well there was that song Numbers but other than that...
The only one of those I've ever heard of is the United States.
As for AutoTune, it sounds like somebody trying to sing through an electronic kazoo crossed with a harmonica and they keep having to blow up and down the holes in the harmonica. On YouTube I've seen people try and AutoTune things like babies crying or cats.
if you have a moment and an open mind, try and hear cloud song by the united states of america. That's how to make beautiful music with electronics.
I never even thought of the Kazoo when speaking of Autotune but that does make a certain amount of sense as does the harmonica analogy. But last week I saw an episode of Hot in Cleveland that made fun of the overuse of Autotune. The gals were in competition with another band and Joy left to be in said band. So the other three got their hands on a copy of Autotune and were going to use that in the competition but it was against the rules LOL. And those three are much better backup singers than lead. Lucky for them though, Joy switched sides at the last moment so while they didn't win the competition they at least placed ahead of their rivals. And they still had a little fun with the Autotune afterwards and caused their rival bandleader to fall out of a tree.