David Eye hipped me to Jamiroquai. I don't know if he plays instruments but there is definately actual "music" on the albums and it ain't that tired ass midtempo bullshit either....it's funk. I've been getting into him a lot lately.

As far as long term success is concerned, I don't know because radio refuses to play music anymore so it's hard for people who make music to become successful.

lovemachine said:

I first heard of Ani DiFranco about a month ago when I saw a performance she did with Cyndi Lauper. I haven't heard her music so I can't comment, but as a performer she was completely out of her depth.

honestly r kelly is the closest thing to a throwback musician, hes original, hes creative like hell, and he produces all his stuff and produces for other artist that are garbage and gives them hit songs (nick cannon - gigolo) need i say more!

honestly r kelly is the closest thing to a throwback musician, hes original, hes creative like hell, and he produces all his stuff and produces for other artist that are garbage and gives them hit songs (nick cannon - gigolo) need i say more!

R.Kelly's music is garbage....bass-heavy,plastic,programmed,midtempo R&B bullshit with stupid lyrics

whoknows said:

I saw her perform a couple of year ago and thought she was very good. A genuine free spirit. Won't ever be a big moneymaker though. She has a very indie/alt sound and I had never picked up on this before but the audience was about 80% lesbian - we were one of the few straight couples there. My boyf still listens to her a lot but I think for a number of reasons she is destined to stay in the alt genre.

DavidEye said:

I would have to agree.

R.Kelly's music is garbage....bass-heavy,plastic,programmed,midtempo R&B bullshit with stupid lyrics

NouveauDance said:

Hmmm, Jamiroquai (who are a band BTW) are a bit past their best now IMO.

First 3 records were great, but they've treaded a lot of water since, although, the water is often quite nice, so can't complain too much.

pandemoniun6 said:

DavidEye said:

prettymansson said:

Exactly! And you know how I feel about midtempo shit. A lot of people love singers like D'Angelo or Maxwell, which I might could possibly get into but only if they put some uptempo jams on their albums. I be damned if I'm going to buy an album of all slow and midtempo songs to put me to sleep. I don't care how good a singer the artist is. I need some funk dammitt!

I had seen Jamiroquai before on television in the mid 1990s but never really was interested enough to buy any of the music. After I was hipped to the group, the first album I bought was "A Funk Odyssey" which I absolutely loved and I bought the new one, "Dynamite", which I loved also.

I was discussing Jamiroquai with a friend, thinking I was going to hip him but he had already been hipped. He made me a copy of two earlier albums which I found to be very good albums but the songs seemed to be a little slower and jazzier than the later albums. I love "A Funk Odyssey" because the group seemed to go further away from the jazz and lean more towards an uptempo disco type sound....disco is my first love by the way. It's also the era that made me first discover Prince.

From what I've seen here on the org in the Jamiroquai threads, the group seems to be getting an audience similar to Prince's in regards to....starting out with a particular sound and having a following, then changing styles and gaining a slightly different audience with everyone still liking the group but particular audiences choosing their favorite era.
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Graycap23 said:

chango316 said:

you forgot the part about him sucking. Other than that, spot on.

Universaluv said:

the topic is about the process of grooming a musician over years to superstardom, not getting one chance at a hit and being jettisoned. who is the better artists is irrelevent.

fact is Prince was not the last of this kind to be groomed, so a critique of other musicians abilities are irrelevent to this discussion, except that P fans have a tendency to have to diminsih other musicians accomplishments to feel better and justify Prince when Prince's abilities and accomplishments should be able to stand on their own.

That said, I can't say I've really seen anyone groomed since Prince. Just because you release a lot of cd's (like R. kelly) does NOT mean you are groomed in any way.

Graycap23 said:

sure seems your definition of groomed was building an audience and developing a style over a course of time, not simply given one shot at a hit and given up on if that isn't accomplished.

by that definition, both R. Kelly and No Doubt fit that definition.

is there another definition you mean by groomed, or are you simply narrowing your definition as it is disputed so that it only applies to Prince, because any argument class will teach you, the more you narrow a definition to only apply to a specific thing the weaker your argument is. you need a broad definition for a sound argument.

I had this conversation with some musicians the other day and I'm curious as to what you all think. In the old days, Artist were groomed and they sort of built an audience and skills as they went along. There was always growth with each new release. Examples include Stevie Wonder, Prince and others.

With today's cookie cutter acts, they don't stick around long enough to "grow". Clive Davis told me straight to my face, "If it's not a hit right out of the box, I won't touch it". With this mentality in mind, is Prince the last of the great groomed musicians? Will we be stuck in the cookie cutter mode from this point forward? I know things go in cycles but I just don't see any new talent that is being nurtured for LONG term success.

Any thoughts?

Graycap23 said:

Alicia Keys. She's got the voice, she plays piano. She doesn't dance too hot, but the woman is smoking gorgeous. I like that song about a woman's worth, not being afraid to please a man. That's good lyrics.

Universaluv said:

the topic is about the process of grooming a musician over years to superstardom, not getting one chance at a hit and being jettisoned. who is the better artists is irrelevent.

fact is Prince was not the last of this kind to be groomed, so a critique of other musicians abilities are irrelevent to this discussion, except that P fans have a tendency to have to diminsih other musicians accomplishments to feel better and justify Prince when Prince's abilities and accomplishments should be able to stand on their own.

padawan said:

I dig her.....but man she is so OVERRATED it's not even funny. Her real talent level is no where near the HYPE of her talent level.

Now India Arie? That's another story.....

dumbass said:

I dig but I would really classify R kelly as having "grown" at all. He seems to to have regressed in a lot of ways.

R. has had a number of relatively succesful projects since he came out so, imho, his career doesn't really fit the mold of a groomed musician whom a record company was willing to support through a number minor projects until he realized his potential.