from rollingstone.com


"Since we always enjoy watching a man lock the barn door after the horse has not only escaped but entered the witness protection program as a diving donkey in a traveling circus, we've been thrilled with George Michael's recent spate of interviews. Having spent the last several years being completely ignored on this side of the Atlantic, the once over-exposed singer has issued a missive saying that he's ready to step out of the spotlight. Michael, you see, has been tirelessly promoting the film A Different Story, which spends the better part of two hours explaining why he's going to go away -- a tale we could've told in about thirty seconds with a graph depicting his record sales over the past decade . . ."

ingrates.

rollingstone.

com said:

Can you attach a name to this? It doesn’t really matter if you do, the person that wrote that can go nameless. George Michael on the other hand has made great pop songs, is handsome, and has a great butt. He’s actually done something with his life. Rolling Stone judges music based on record sales....Rolling Stone hasn’t been a rock mag for years.

I dunno. I dig George's music, but the little article gave me a good laugh.

I like George, but he has always taken himself WAY, WAY, WAY too seriously. His notion of his place among the pop music greats of the world is highly exaggerated. His tendency to make dramatic pronouncements like this kinda gives me the giggles.

JonSnow said:

Unfortunately, the more seriously he takes himself, the more pretentious his music gets. I know he didn't wanna be a 40 year old man shakin' his ass to Faith, but that doesn't mean he had to load Older and Patience with tuneless ballads. What happened to the guy that sang 'One More Try' or 'Waiting for that Day'? I'd take that guy any day over the one singing 'Through' or 'My Mother Had a Brother'.

That is what stopped me from getting "Patience", all those maudlin ballads. And George has seemed to find a niche in maudlin ballads but there were just too many on this disc. The dance songs still have snap. But he does have a tendency to take himself WAY too seriously. I blame his astrological sign, Cancer. Cancers are known to be moody and overly sensitive.

Sdldawn said:

They have a point. George, much as I love him, is a bit of a self-important prig.

The guy just needs to do a straightfoward dance oriented album like he planned to way back when with Listen Without Prejudice Volume 2. He can still get a dance floor moving.

That's what people say about Madonna. Just do a "dance" record. I liked most of Older. Prince didn't make a comeback because Musicology was danceable.

WhamBamGlamSlam said:

Everyone that is versitile should experiement with dance music, in order to save it from dying more than anything. And not nesscarily campy club stuff. Just something with a beat and a pulse, you know. The more I reflect back on AL, it really just stood there like a bored hooker sometimes...same with "Musicology".
[Edited 2/22/05 17:44pm]

I think the best stuff from every (well both) record since Listen Without Prejudice has been the dancier stuff. Fastlove, Strangest Thing (especially the remix), Spinning the Wheel (esp the remix), Star People, Cars and Trains, Freeek, Shoot the Dog (why wasn't this on the US edition), Amazing, and Precious Box all show that George is more than capable of delivering a great uptempo album. I think he feels there's less "cred" in an uptempo album.

Axchi696 said:

I enjoy George's uptempo stuff and admit that the uptempo tunes on 'Patience' clearly outdid the ballads, but 'You Have Been Loved', 'Jesus To A Child', and 'To Be Forgiven' are easily among his best tunes. It's a shame we didn't get anything of that caliber on 'Patience'.

Axchi696 said:

You know what it wasn't on there.....And I think a lot of people think there is less cred in uptempo music...shame.

violator said:

I do like George's ballads, although lately they have been less than stellar. Jesus to a Child was excellent, as was You Have Been Loved... honestly, there isn't one slow song on Patience that has grabbed me. Please Send Me Someone is the only decent mid-tempo on the album, other than Cars and Trains (which I consider a "dance" song anyway).

Listen Without Prejudice only really had two uptempo tracks on it, along with a handful of midtempos, and it still was an excellent album. Every song doesn't need to be "Outside", but Patience just drags throughout.

Cancers are known to be moody and overly sensitive.[/quote]

hey fuck off...no we're not

Sdldawn said:

ouch! truth hurts.

WhamBamGlamSlam said:

I love most of Older as well, and I love his ballads. I just think its time for him to do a straightforward dance album. The dude does great dance tunes, and i think the ratio of them to ballads has been lacking.

i liked patience. it was no listen without prejudice or older but it was good. yes, george does take himself too seriously but i think it comes with the territory of being a performer. prince. mj. madonna. they've all escalated in how seriously they take themselves. i think, to some degree, a serious artist has to be somewhat of a megalomaniac...especially one who hasn't been noticed in a decade (in regards to his US presence). not too mention the insecurities he must surely be facing as an aging gay man in the entertainment industry.

george will go the route of releasing music once in a while, a song at a time, through his website. he'll sell them at a small cost and dismiss of any middle men. when he needs a few hundred thousand dollars he'll go on a small theatre tour of europe. it is kind of silly (to put it politely) for him to have made an announcement of his stepping out of the spotlight. i understand he's moderately popular in europe still but, c'mon george, step out of the spotlight and into reality.

SassyBritches said:

Shit, that sounds like a washed-up celebs autobiography.

Stepping out of the spotlight and into reality: My story, by Morgan Fairchild, as told to Bruce Vilanch.
[Edited 2/24/05 12:32pm]