Wednesday, February 9, 2011

BEEN FEELIN' THIS WAY FOR YEARS

Glad someone articulated it pretty well here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I watched her sing the anthem and thought how hard she seemed to be trying. Now I know what to call it and I'm not a fan. I missed the goof up in the words because it was so over the top "over souling" I couldn't even focus. I do know someone who thought she was great but I think it's non musicians that may like it, just a guess.
Caitlin

Lally said...

I've been complaining about it for years, ever since it became the predominant style, but thought it was just me missing the singers of my boyhood who used it sparingly or were doing the much more thrillingly creative and original jazz singing or even scatting, still hitting notes exactly though, not sliding up and down as if searching for them.

AlamedaTom said...

Lal, me too. Been saying it like you for years. And it's not just vocals. Everyone from sax men to trumpet players to piano plinkers. Every body gotta play 10 notes when one (or better yet, plain silence) will just fine. A good friend of mine has it right: "Less is more."

~ Willy

Miles said...

"Music is the silence between the notes"

- Claude Debussy

Also there is an unattributed saying amongst musicians that goes like this:

"Play the music, not the instrument"

Oversouling is a great term for what Christina did that night. Hopefully, we're rounding the corner on this over the top style. Certainly the success of all kinds of "retro" r&b acts (like Sharon Jones) reveals an undercurrent that is flowing away from oversouling.

Miles said...

Here's a link (I hope) to Sharon Jones doing "This Land is Your Land":


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9E86xHKop4&feature=related


She uses all kinds of bends and other vocalizations, but doesn't go over what the song can handle (in my opinion). It doesn't hurt that the band and horn section are groovin like a mutha'!