It's not what you think.






At the risk of re-opening the killing fields, I have a question based on the following.

Mariah Carey (and other "singers") have gotten bashed around and accused of...

warbling
hollering
screaming
screeching
being melismatic
(with the term being used as if this musical technique was something negative in and of itself)

...the same arguments one could use against Teena Marie.


With that being said, which artist do you prefer as a singer, and more importantly, why?

Try and make this interesting by giving a reasoned explanation instead of a basic "She SUCKS!"
(That's already been done to death )


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm
[Edited 6/23/05 20:29pm]

Teena Marie


why? why not?






i think her songs have more versatility as oppose to Mariah's one dimensional love songs. imo, you can actually feel the depth of Teena's voice and soul. "I NEED YOUR LOVIN'" ? shit..nuff said!

please don't let Finess' youngin' ass see this thread. it will be embarrassing for him.

if this had been asked about 9-10 years ago, I would've said Mariah. But right now, I'm officially done with Mariah. Her music just doesn't do it for me anymore. The older I get the more I appreciate Teena Marie, and the less I appreciate Mariah.

Chico319 said:

Finess is my boy, I had to bust ya bro.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

AnckSuNamun said:

I agree with with you regarding Mariah then vs now.

You comment made me fine tune the question. Thanks.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Chico319 said:

Finess? Youngin'? In the same sentence? get tha fuck outta here!!!

Teena. Maybe if Mariah wasn't screaming on every song.....

Stymie said:

And Teena doesn't?


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

Mariah's screams seem forced now.

theAudience said:

No, I do not consider what Teena does screaming.

AnckSuNamun said:

And Teena's don't?


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Stymie said:

What would you call it and what's the difference?

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

I think I'm just anti-Mariah now. But her vocals have really gone down, and it's more obvious in her live performances.

theAudience said:

When I listen to my favorite teena song, Deja Vu, it starts off mellow and then she takes her voice to these heights. It's hitting a high note, it's range. Mariah is yelling and screaming to me.

AnckSuNamun said:

Sadly, I must agree.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Stymie said:

I could give examples of Mariah doing the same thing.

But you're just a Teena person and that's cool.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

There are some Mariah songs I like, I am particularly fond of Breakdown.

Stymie said:

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

As far as screaming goes, I love it. That's one reason I'm a big Prince fan. As for Mariah Carey, there is no denying she has a great voice but I don't like the type of music she does.....ballads, ballads, and more ballads and a few uptempo songs that are watered down for pop appeal. In other words, Whitney Houston type music.

As for Teena Marie, not only does she have a great voice and has done some great ballads, but she has also had some bad ass, hardcore, kick ass FUNK. Funk will always win for me every time.

vainandy said:

so if someone like....Britney Spears, did funk..would u be into her?

I already had a thread on these 2 female artists awhile back. And I did say that Teena would win by Round 4.

Unless Teena started the opening round with Cassanova Brown! Then she may kill Mariah within Round 1!!!
[Edited 6/23/05 22:09pm]

Moonwalkbjrain said:

Like The Neptune produced & Prince inspired Slave 4 U? Damn right I would!

Beside, Toxic isn't funky at all. But that's another story.

Hell, if Lawrence Welk did funk, I would love it. It would have to be good hard funk with absolutely no watering down though.

AnckSuNamun said:

Yes, it is evident in her live performances these days.

Vocally, I take Mariah over Teena. Still love Teena though.
[Edited 6/23/05 23:52pm]

vainandy said:

Well Vain Baby, I will have to agree with you about Teena's Funk. Shit, she learned from the master Slick Rick and has it down to a level of perfection in which Mariah can't touch. Now as the Org Funkologist , you know I have to give it to Miss Lady T b/c Mariah hasn't been steppin to the plate lately and has been relying to much on her range. She could never quite master the Funk. However, I will give her a Funk Honorable Mention for getting down with Cameo, singing Beautiful Ones by P, and collaborating with my homies Bone Thugs.
[Edited 6/24/05 2:55am]

theAudience said:

I ussed to really dig Mariah, but I didn't buy anything after Glitter. Charmbracelet and Emancipation are weak IMO. Her vocals just aren't hitting it like they used to. She seems afraid to let her voice just go.
Teena, to me is classic. I didn't buy her latest either, but I think it was better than Mariah's last 2.

This is no contest. Teena by a million miles. Teena can blow. Like Chaka and Jill Jones, Teena has a STRONG voice. Teena can blow without having to go into all of these higer registers. Her natural range has a great tone, as to Mariah's, her natural range to me, is strained. Teena KNOWS how to sing, meaning she knows what she can and can NOT do. Mariah sounds as if she's just out there, with no supervision, like perhaps a young girl who's been told by all of her relatives that she can sing, so she's just WAILING with out she's got.

blackguitaristz said:

That is a recent development for Mariah. Her vocals are now fucked. In the early years, they were right on (tonally and otherwise) and I can't fault her.

theAudience said:

Interesting that you make this comment, because I've noticed the very same thing. Though I'm really picky with her ballads, I love Lady T's dance/funk numbers. But to me, I dunno, her voice is just weird. It's crazy and all over the place, but people seem nuts about it. Something about her voice, particularly in her ballads, seems very contrived.

Overall, I think she's a force to be dealt with, and she's a very good songwriter and producer (she really proved her worthiness when she started producing her tunes without Rick's help).