Emotion in popular songs: Part II
[NOTE: There isn’t a previous post called “Emotion in popular songs: Part I.” But I realize that this one was actually Part I on the subject, and now I’m posting a Part II.]
Commenter “Brio” wrote the following on a post about the Everly Brothers:
Never been a fan of the Everly Brothers or the Bee Gees. I will listen to them when they pop up on the radio, but I would never spend a cent buying their music.
I prefer singers who sing with emotion rather than just mouthing the words. None of those three Everly Brothers videos show any emotion to me.
I have a very different reaction. To me the Everly Brothers, while not the most hyper-emotional of singers, certainly convey emotion. But emotional reactions to songs and singers are highly individual.
Brio added: “the feeling is more important to me than a harmony.” I certainly like both feeling and harmony, but for me, harmony adds its own emotion. Is it the emotion that comes from the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the unity of the separate into the one? Is it just the extra beauty of the aural complexity? Whatever it is, I like it immensely, although by itself it’s not enough to make me like a song or a version of a song.
In addition, I tend to divide singers very roughly into Apollonian and Dionysian types. My guess (and it’s only a guess) is that a commenter such as Brio much prefers the latter. The quintessential Dionysian singer would be Janis Joplin, I think, although there are plenty of others. Nina Simone falls into a curious category of being both for me. Her piano playing has so much of the classical, her voice is so unusual and like an instrument itself (some sort of brass or woodwind instrument, I think), and yet she puts a lot of over-the-top emotion into many of her songs as well.
The Beatles vs. the Stones I think are somewhat Apollonian versus Dionysian. I like them both, but I much prefer the Beatles, although I am far from liking everything they did . But strangely enough, the more Dionysian Stones rouse almost no emotion in me at all except appreciation of the tremendous beat and power of their music. And (also perhaps rather oddly) only a few Beatles songs – such as “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby,” for example (both with string accompaniments) – stir any emotional reaction in me but nostalgia.
And then there’s the music of Leonard Cohen – he of the low monotone and no pyrotechnics at all, quite Apollonian in my book – which I find very emotional. The emotion is in the words and the music itself, and something evocative in his unbeautiful but resonant and full-of-meaning voice. And two other big favorites of mine, Richard Thompson and Mark Knopfler, are also emotional in their playing (guitar in both cases) and yet Apollonian in their physical stillness while playing, and in their singing voices. On the other hand, Whitney Houston and her vocal flourishes leave me utterly cold, despite that glorious voice.
And the Bee Gees? (You knew I’d get around to them, didn’t you?) They are a special case to me because they have so many voices and ways of singing. I have noticed that a lot of people find their singing very emotional, even perhaps hyper-emotional, expecialy the voice of Robin and especially in his 60s incarnation, where he sounds as though he is constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Nevertheless, the Bee Gees seem to me to be a very Apollonian group, because they exercise total and complete control of their voices and of their arrangements. Some people perceive it as too slick. But I love almost everything they do. Even their disco songs – so very strongly loved and hated – are IMHO the best disco songs ever made. I defy people not to succumb to the beat. The falsettos are in the disco songs not to be annoying (although some people find them so), but to heighten the urgency and the excitement; their regular voices were way too beautiful for that, and they wanted a different sound.
But they can do falsetto in so many ways it’s astounding, including a lovely sound that’s closer, for Barry, to that of a countertenor. “Too Much Heaven” evokes tears in a great many of the YouTube reactors, for example, and it often happens almost instantaneously (and somewhat mysteriously, because a lot of them are puzzled by their reactions).
“Nights On Broadway,” one of the Bee Gees biggest hits from 1975, is another love/hate song. I love it. It has a driving catchy rhythm, a tenacious hook (watch out!), and sounds upbeat. But the words are about a love that’s ended, and a hopeless pursuit of the loved one that amounts almost to stalking. The tune masks the darker words to a certain extent unless the listener is really paying attention (that’s also true of others Bee Gees songs such as “Stayin’ Alive”).
And in the middle of the upbeat catchy part of “Nights On Broadway,” we come to the hyper-emotional (although still Apollonian) bridge, in which the frenetic pace stops and we enter something quite different. The music slows and Barry says “I will wait…” and then we wait to hear the rest, which is (to me, anyway) transcendently and almost heartbreakingly beautiful and full of yearning (in this live version from 1975, the bridge begins at 2:57 and ends at 3:50):
“Singing them love songs, singing them straight-to-the-heart songs…”
Hmmm… A very interesting concept. I will have to give this some thought.
With “Apollonian” and “Dionysian” here it seems you mean practiced perfection vs. raw emotion? I can’t stand Janis Joplin and barely tolerate the Rolling Stones, so I have a hunch where I’ll come down on this after I ponder it some more. I also can’t stand maudlin in music or performance. Feigned emotion in music, other than joy, generally puts me off. And, since I often find music so joyful I assume performers aren’t typically feigning that, even when doing the umpteenth performance of Beethoven’s Ninth.
Rufus T. Firefly:
Control vs. abandon. The latter involves the impression of wildness and frenzy, and often overt sexuality and obvious drugs and/ or drunkenness. It’s a bit hard to tell sometimes about the latter, though, because pop and rock musicians even of the Apollonian type sometimes use substances and even sometimes get hooked on them.
One quintessentially Dionysian rock star I didn’t mention would be, for example, Jim Morrison. Freddie Mercury had complete control of his voice, but still comes across as Dionysian in performance, while the other Queen members were Apollonian.
I think you might have gotten some spellchecker help on Nina.
Typically, I like a combination of both types but I know of numerous examples of my liking a song that may exhibit entirely one rather than the other. My favorite singers tend to generally convey emotion as the song dictates; Sinatra, Bennett, Nat King Cole, Don Williams, Chris Isaak, Gordon Lightfoot are particular favorites along with Ronstadt, Eileen Farrell, Carole Kidd, Connie Evingson, Corrine May and Bonnie Raitt.
Whether male or female, mellow, warm voices resonate with me. Lots of singers I’m not a particular fan of but really like one or two or three of their songs.
I’m a “music first” audiophile and don’t spend much time analyzing music, if it resonates with my soul, that does it for me. I do want the best affordable music reproduction I can attain but always, music first.
And yes, the Bee Gees ruled in the disco era. Nice that you’ve broadened our horizons with them neo.
Chases Eagles:
Eagle eye 🙂 ! Thanks, I’ve fixed it now.
Spellcheck doesn’t catch typos that make bona fide words. So “nine” evaded detection, and I have to rely on my trusty readers for that.
Thanks Neo, I do like your Apollonian/Dionysian take on this. By this metric I am almost pure Apollonian, I guess. Beatles over Stones by a country mile. And like Rufus (BTW, I used to have a huge Siamese cat named Rufus, one of the greatest cats I’ve ever known. Still miss that big fellow), Janice Joplin has always been just noise to me, and unpleasant noise, at that. But not only her, but all of those over-the-top singers who think volume and emotion (real or not) is a substitute for talent. Again, I’m with Rufus on maudlin, just can’t stand it, and feigned emotion from a performer makes me cringe.
And I’ve never been a BeeGees fan, but have enjoyed your writings on them. I’ve now listened to them after reading you, and can appreciate them better. The same with Leonard Cohen – thanks for that on both artists!
Dimash Kudaibergen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEQzfqO_l0
6+ octave range
Telemachus:
I’m happy to welcome a Bee Gees convert, even a partial one.
The Bee Gees have songs in so many styles there’s something for everyone (at least, according to me), but almost all their songs are Apollonian. Even their screaming is Apollonian, IMHO.
One of their more Apollonian songs is one of my very favorites, although it’s obscure. It’s from 1974, and in it I think that they sound like a choir:
Midnight Special and The Old Whistle Stop (?) were wonderful shows and happy much of it is accessible on the internet. During the Bee Gees heyday, I was too young and immature (late teens) to appreciate their music, and was into other styles at the time, mainly New Wave and post-punk. This is one of the reasons I am delighted to have stumbled onto Neo’s blog.
EDIT: Regarding singing emotionally, I have come around to the idea of “just sing the song!” I think some less seasoned performers put a bit too much acting into the song, if you will.
Neo:
With your encouragement, I have revisited the artists you have written about, and come to appreciate, more than I expected, virtually all you have recommended. Including, of course, The Bee Gees.
The one who does not do anything for me is Leonard Cohen. I don’t find him either musically pleasing or captivating for his story. He just sounds to me as if he needs to clear his throat.
Now I’d like to make a counterproposal to you: if you have not done so recently, I encourage to set aside several hours and listen to Mozart’s Coronation Mass. It is filled with musical complexity, with very pleasant melody and harmony, and with some very nice voices. (Go for a European rendition, preferably by the Germans.)
I first heard it about 20 years ago and I had to race out and acquire my own copy, which I have nearly worn out. If you have the time and inclination for this, I would like to hear your reaction afterward.
@F:
Well that takes care of the Apollonian.
And if you want the full gamut of emotions: Cav Pag 🙂
And wouldn’t you know it… they’ve gone and added Incest to the mix:
https://www.newcamerataopera.org/cavpag
New Camerata Opera presents Cav + Pag, an operatic ‘mash-up’ of the traditional double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. This 90-minute adaptation was developed by John de los Santos, Samuel McCoy, and internationally-renowned dramaturg Cori Ellison. By seamlessly intertwining the characters, stories, and music, the audience is treated to a super-condensed look at these classic verismo operas, performed by artists from the New York area. The performance will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra and will take place at The Muse in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Apollonian or Dionysian? I have no clue. Here are the next few upcoming tracks on my phone:
A Fine Frenzy ‘Almost Lover’ Alternative
Eumir Deodato ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ Jazz
Sarah McLachlan ‘Angel’ (live Mirrorball album) Rock
Bonnie Raitt ‘Angel From Montgomery’ Rock
Enya ‘Angeles’ New Age
Dead Can Dance ‘The Arrival and the Reunion’ Alternative & Punk
Dead Can Dance ‘As the Bell Rings the Maypole Spins’ Alternative & Punk
Rod Stewart ‘As Time Goes By’ Easy Listening
Ha! ‘Nights On Broadway’ came up on the playlist while I was painting the hall today.
And I noticed the bridge, too!
I’m not seeing the value of that taxonomy.
I agree with him that the Everly Brothers and the Bee Gees are of scant interest, but it isn’t their deficit of emotion but a deficit of much engaging in their lyrics or tunes. Joplin is engaging, but I’m not sure we have even one cassette of her music around our home; the Beatles as well, but the Beatles as a social phenomenon has been deeply annoying (which is only their fault on the margins; the perps have been the girls screaming their heads off ca 1966 and the young men babbling insipidly about ‘modern day Mozarts’ ca. 1976). In general, much discussion of popular music, particularly among men, is repellent. Our blowhard shirt-tail was posturing about Pearl Jam the other day; on other occasions you hear him yap about R.E.M’s ‘ten best albums’ v. someone else’s ‘ten best albums’. I am under strict orders from the distaff side to keep my mouth shut.
Apollonian vs Dionysian was a Nietzsche theme.
______________________________________________
The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche, though the terms had already been in use prior to this…
In Greek mythology, Apollo and Dionysus are both sons of Zeus. Apollo is the god of the sun, of rational thinking and order, and appeals to logic, prudence and purity. Dionysus is the god of wine and dance, of irrationality and chaos, and appeals to emotions and instincts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonian_and_Dionysian
______________________________________________
Both are important aspects of human nature and we can see their interplay in most art. I see it as a dance. One can only go so far in either direction before art fails in sterility or chaos.
The same distinction can be made about classical performers, just read the comments on youtube videos. Some prefer fiery and rough, others structure and flow. I tend towards the latter: Rachmaninoff vs Horowitz, Hahn vs Oistrakh.
How does Van Morrison go un-namechecked as a top Dionysian performer? His abiliy to connect emotionally with his audience even has it’s own name – ‘aargh’. Listen to the Lion and Caravan are but two examples.
From the Boss’s keyboard: “Control vs. abandon.”
I see the Stones, at least in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s as pre-meditated, cold, hard, calculating young men trying to make as much money as possible off a mastery of a handful of chords, amplification and talented sound engineers. They used Dionysian imagery and performance to sell tickets and albums, but I always figured Mick was laughing all the way to the bank. He attended the London School of Economics after all.
I doubt there’s much true abandon in any mega rock stage performance. It’s all as rehearsed and choreographed as any Broadway musical.
I much prefer attending a live performance in a small bar or restaurant (even if I’ve never heard of the musicians), to attending a concert, unless it’s a symphony in an auditorium of 10,000 or fewer patrons. So, I guess that means I lean more Dionysian. Musicians playing to a small crowd can adapt and adjust to the audience, the vibe of the club, the time of day… I listen to jazz more than anything, and it’s a genre for soloists and ad-libbing.
But I also very much enjoy a symphonic or concert band of extremely talented individuals playing with utmost precision; which, by neo’s definition, is Apollonian.
For me it’s less about control vs. abandon and more about authenticity vs. fakery. A jazz quintet playing music written for improvisation is as authentic as a symphony playing music written for precision, and I enjoy both. David Bowie prancing around in drag leaves me cold, as does Bruce Springsteen dressed in dungarees and flannel, pretending he’s angry about the “man” closing down a steel mill.
Janis Joplin – Me and Bobby McGee !!!!!!!! And also there are wonderful visuals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cg-j0X09Ag
Oh, Rollings !!!!!!!!! Play With Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xBGSlnTino
Apollonian vs Dionysian, an interesting way of cleaving music. The music I love, in my case, seems very personal and perhaps idiosyncratic. I do know that the musical forms I came to love, came to me in my teens and 20s. By my late 30s I had stopped caring much about any music.
Only during this recent Covid shutdown, and now much older, did I venture online to see what I could find and discovered performers, new to me, doing music I can love. Difference now is I go to the concerts on video in the comfort of my own home.
I see the Stones, at least in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s as pre-meditated, cold, hard, calculating young men trying to make as much money as possible off a mastery of a handful of chords, amplification and talented sound engineers
Rufus T. Firefly:
Geez, you sure don’t like the Stones! However, that doesn’t square well with the Stones story.
The Stones started off as broke young musicians devoted to the blues. Their master plan was to play black blues covers to white teenagers. (They were sincere about the blues and never stopped playing it or throwing their support to black musicians.)
Later they got the word that to stay competitive they had write their own music. Fortunately, Jagger and Richards turned out to be one of the great songwriting teams in rock.
When their career roared off like a jet, they worked hard at their music and played hard at the glamorous rock star lifestyle and got into a fair amount of poorly calculated trouble.
They weren’t managing their money or resources well either and managed to lose the rights to *all* their songs to an unscrupulous manager. Which was “an education” as Keith Richards put it.
It was then that Jagger emerged as cold, calculating CFO to put the Stones house back in order. A good thing too or the Stones might not have survived. It was a close enough call as it was with Richards’ ongoing drug problems.
I would also take issue with your characterization of their music as “mastery of a handful of chords, amplification and talented sound engineers.” If that’s all their music was, a lot more groups would have done it.
The Stones had 12 Top Ten hits in five years. The five-year arc of their music from “Beggars Banquet” to “Let It Bleed” was astonishing. For pure rock and roll, I would put that run of albums up against any group’s.
Okay. Pick a song covered by numerous artists and look at half a dozen on youtube. Does the story make a difference? Battle Hymn of The Republic by Kate Smith with WW II stock footage. Or the First Dallas Baptist choir and orchestra.
Danny Boy….Jackie Evancho with footage from military funerals versus a soloist on a state.
Greensleeves…. half a dozen different Celtic women in various flowing robes or Paula bar Giese in costume in a bare room with stringed accompaniment.
Footage from before Gulf One. USO failed to make it to a company location. First Sergeant said, make your own entertainment. Some black soldiers did some rap. Then a guy did Danny Boy–as the reporter said as was done before another war–with the former rappers doing close harmony behind him.
For me, it’s always the story, on screen or in front of my mind’s eye.
huxley,
I know all about the Stones and other, young Brit mods listening to obscure, black, blues musicians from the U.S., imitating them and then exporting the music to white audiences back in the U.S. for fame and material gain.
I’m sorry, but I don’t have much sympathy for young, healthy men who make millions and squander their money on drugs. And then I’m supposed to feel sorry for them when some accountant takes advantage of them because they are too drug addled to know what’s going on around them and too immature to pay attention to their own lives?
They got rich selling a drug fueled lifestyle and promiscuity and are responsible for encouraging thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds of thousands?) to do likewise. How many drug overdoses happened with their music playing in the background? Sexual abuse? STDs? Abortions? And they played around with satanic imagery and innuendo to profit from a “bad boy” image. How many children did they father and never raise? How many women did they take advantage of and dump?
Have they ever apologized for any of it?
And no. The music is not very good. It just happens to be the soundtrack of a certain period of your life, so you and millions of others feel nostalgic when it plays. It’s monotonous. Repetitious. Formulaic. It is fun. I’ll give them that. When one is young it’s fun to jump around with one’s peers to loud sounds, but it’s not Mozart.
And I’m sorry for being so harsh, but it really bothers me that so many of these groups never atone for the vast harm they have done. Instead they expect to be lauded as heroes. They even watch their own bandmates overdose on drugs and keep on performing the same anthems to drug use.
I respect artists who use their talent to educate, uplift and better humanity. Enriching oneself at other’s expense is not art. It’s just business. Marketing a lifestyle for profit.
I’m with huxley. The Stones are/were a great band. There is going to be a strong element of practice and pretense to any great musical performance. So authenticity is highly subjective. Rufus cracks me up. What part of sex, drugs, and rock’n roll didn’t you understand?
Back to the Apollo/Dionysius divide, I’ll say if it is pop music then it must have a very strong Dionysian element. A counterpoint might be something like the band Yes, but ultimately that genre didn’t last even though I enjoyed it.
Since Neo brought her up, I’ll pick Janis and BB&THC’s “Cheap Thrills” as a classic of emotional excess. For some bizarre reason, that empty beer bottle clanking on the barroom floor included on the soundtrack really transported me to the environment. The musicianship is quite loose. But if they had played very precisely, I believe it would have detracted from the overall experience.
And I’m sorry for being so harsh…
Rufus T. Firefly:
I consider you an online friend and you needn’t apologize for anything. Of course, I retain the right to disagree.
I’m not asking you to feel sorry for the Stones (I sure don’t!) but they simply were not the cold-hearted, manipulative bastards purely in it for the bottom line which you claimed.
As to their moral influence, you’ve got an argument, but that’s not the argument you were originally making and has no bearing on their music qua music.
Clearly you don’t like the Stones or their music and you don’t think it’s good music, but about a billion people including me disagree and often backed it with their pocketbook.
The Stones are not Mozart but nothing you hear on pop music stations is either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xBGSlnTino
Zara A:
Great Rolling Stones song with video accompaniment!
It’s interesting to put “Play With Fire” into the A vs D discussion. It’s a quiet melodic song with topical, social commentary, but also ominous, personal menace.
___________________________
Don’t play with me, ’cause you’re playing with fire.
___________________________
At the musical level, it’s practically an Apollonian Simon & Garfunkel song. If it were about True Romantic Love, that’s where we would leave it. But it’s a Stones song, so here it’s Something Different, something Dionysian and it’s the lyrics which carry the day.
I like the Apollonian v. Dionysian discussion, but I don’t think it’s all that simple.
Re: Janis Joplin and A vs. D….
My favorite Janis story is from a lesbian tell-all memoir in which she and her partner drove way out into boonies one night, then parked.
Janis got out of the car and practiced her screams.
huxley,
“I consider you an online friend and you needn’t apologize for anything.”
Back at ya’! The feeling is mutual, and I really appreciate what you write here and have learned a lot from your comments.
Regarding the Stones, maybe not purely in it for the bottom line, but purely in it for themselves; at least Mick and Keith. If the CEO of an oil company spends 90% of his time on the road, away from his wife and kids, flying on private jets, staying in fancy hotels and sleeping with women other than his wife while on business trips we have no problem depicting him as a villain. But if he does the same thing while prancing on a stage, shouting and imitating a rooster and encouraging wanton drug use he’s an icon.
I’m not impressed.
And many great rock stars do not follow that path. Neo posted about the Stones’ Charlie Watts recently. On a hunch I just google’d Rush’s Geddy Lee. Married to the same woman 45 years.
And nothing against selling fun to young people. I was young once too. But now that I’m grown I find it hard to respect other grown men behaving like teen-agers. I smile when I hear the music of my generation, but I hold no illusions Blue Oyster Cult’s, “Godzilla,” or the B-52’s, “Planet Claire” are high art.
I am what I consider musically naive. Not that I don’t love music. I have very uninformed and unrefined tastes, but a few observations. Would you classify New York Mining Disaster 1941 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S43YhQ_eGTw as Apollinian or Dionysian? Perhaps I am too moved by the lyrics rather than the music in putting it in the Dionysian camp? Or perhaps I miss some nuances of the distinction.
I looked back at your earlier post and found it very interesting. Apparently their goal was to play 2 very similar songs by Messrs Bach and Beethoven. And the results of the MRI were indeed interesting. I would be interested in seeing responses to very different music such as Air on a G String vs. the 9th Symphony.
I love what the Beatles did musically with their varied instruments and complex arrangements, but I also love much of the Stones and Sympathy for the Devil as well as much simpler songs like Beast of Burden, but Start Me Up bores me to tears. Someone please stop football teams from playing it at every kickoff!
Modern jazz leaves me cold with its display of musical virtuosity at the expense of consistent melody. Louis Armstrong and Take 5, brilliant IMO. Most modern jazz, not so much. Again probably just my unrefined taste. I love many Leonard Cohen songs though his singing, mostly not. Michael Jackson without Quincy Jones, blah, but Thriller, wow.
As I said, just a few comments from the peanut gallery.
As far as a true emotional reaction, I have to say there are only a few songs that do that for me. They are
Elvis Presley ‘Can’t help Falling in Love’. The lyric “Take my hand, take my whole life too” just brings tears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU
Righteous Brothers ‘Unchained Melody’. “I need your love”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiiyq2xrSI0
Rod Stewart ‘You’re in My Heart’. “You are my lover, You’re my best friend. You’re in my soul”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf6ng1Hsb7I
Here are a couple that the emotional connection is only due to circumstances.
The Hallmark Channel synopsis for the little story the following snippet is from is: young space engineer returns home after a failed romance, meets tall handsome guy with a troubled soul, has torrid love affair set against the backdrop of a cold-war space project.
“I went back east with Flying By to visit her parents. Her DuPont chem engineer father was then at Louisville, KY. While Flying By attended a Mother-Daughter pre-Kentucky Derby event, I visited her dad’s chemical plant. Then it was off to be presented to her east coast friends in Delaware. While in Delaware, we attended a child’s christening party at someone’s house. It was a huge extended family. Flying By was clearly among dear friends. I of course, was overwhelmed with the plethora of introductions. I noticed a couple of gold albums on the wall. I had never seen one before. They were George Thorogood albums. This piqued my interest as Thorogood’s cover of ‘Who do You Love’ was one of my favorite driving songs during the year of my discontent. I found out that Flying By knew George and the rest before they were somebodies. After she moved to Seattle, George played some northwest venue and when he performed ‘Madison Blues’ he changed one of the lyrics to be about Flying By and Seattle. My intimidation meter pegged. “
George Thorogood and the Destroyers ‘Who Do You Love’ – Rounders 1978
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYu5YbdRKL0
George Thorogood and the Destroyers ‘Madison Blues’ – Live performance location and date unidentified but probably 1980 or 1981:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XrcQaBI3pQ
I was born in 45 and my growing up put my adolescence and early adulthood and these bands’ breaking out and succeeding about the same time.
If driving and listening the radio put the Beatles on, okay. The Stones…I changed the station.
My growing up was about as buttoned-up as anybody’s in those days. Still, I wonder if some of the appeal was appearing to break the rules–mostly the implied but not legislated rules about approved behavior.
Local band, couple of good songs, but they were “wild”, which is to say they clambered around the stage and knocked over music stands or something. Pretty obvious they were, in several senses, putting on a show in which the music was only part of it.
So you take a date and…maybe lots of things are now possible. We can…just cut out and drive to….
Which you generally didn’t; finals or the job or whatever.
Used to be, Hollywood’s star system kept the stars’ reputations respectable. Except, I suspect some purpose, some vague hints of license.
Now, kids, not being respectable was…WILD and FUN and the right thing to do. Hitting the notes……meh.
And shove it in your parents face, too, along with the nuns–even if you weren’t Catholic.
Frank:
Regarding Mining Disaster – quite Apollonian, to my way of thinking. It’s restrained and rather quiet, and the words are understated with the slowly dawning realization on the listener of what’s actually being described.
One definitely can have an emotional reaction to something Apollonian. In fact, that style tends to move me more than Dionysian songs and singers – depending on a lot of things, of course, including the lyrics.
Neo:
The quintessential Dionysian singer would be Janis Joplin, I think, although there are plenty of others.
I never thought much of Janis Joplin as a vocalist- scratchy voice. Scratchy voices can be fun- Joe Cocker also- but just not good quality voice.
One of my favorite singers is Amalia Rodrigues. Don’t have to know the language to love her singing. (If she sang in Brazilian Portuguese, I’d understand more. But her Portuguese from Portugal, I get maybe every fourth word.) Regarding Apollonian versus Dionysian, I’ll just say I like her singing.
Nina Simone- sometimes her piano sounds like Bach counterpoint. Very few people have such a command of both piano and voice. I agree with not categorizing her.
Yes, I can relate to the Stones being labeled as “laughing all the way to the bank.” But they are very skilled musicians who can play blues or rock or country- or any combination thereof.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Amalia+Rodrigues
Chases Eagles
Elvis Presley ‘Can’t help Falling in Love’. The lyric “Take my hand, take my whole life too” just brings tears.
My brother couldn’t go to our sister’s wedding, but more than made up for it by hiring an Elvis impersonator for the reception. He was GOOD. Looked like Elvis, sang like Elvis. “Can’t help falling in love” brought tears to my sister.
The wedding reception also had a good mariachi band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4vAP43d2gs
Lick the Tins cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Try comparing Janis’ version with the original by Kris Kristofferson.
She just took that song away from him. (I’m sure he didn’t mind).
Gringo,
isn’t interesting that the Lick the Tins version completely changes the mood?
I should have posted more on why I love Dimash Kudaibergen. His singing often moves me to tears, even when I cannot understand the language he is singing. Be sure to listen to the end and then count how many seconds he holds the last note. He has a vocal range of 6 octaves, F#1-D8 (6 octaves + 8 semitones). This spans from the bottom of the bass range beyond the top of the soprano range.
Dimash Kudaibergen, Love is Like a Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEQzfqO_l0
In English, he sings “Hello”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G92IVn8DIw&t=3s
Music reviewer, Hamza Tufai, describes Dimash singing of “Hello” as follows: He is a Genius. I mean look at those Arabic Melismas (3:40-4:27). He not only did those melismas but he also sustained that last note for 17 seconds and in those 17 seconds he first hit that A5 note and then made a transition into an E5 and then into a D5. That’s definitely Mind Boggling. Also towards the end he hit an Eb6 note. Man he can do literally anything.