Do you get bored or frustrated when an artist you like sticks to one subject matter in the songs they make?

For EX. I get kind of bored if i have to listen to an entire album of love songs , i do like love songs but there are just so many. And an entire album of them can get zzzz

My favorite subjects are political/social matter. But there is a TON to be covered in that area, and if an artists just continues talking about 1 issue i'm like come on now.

Me personally i love when an artist can talk about any subject and do it great, or if they at least try to write about different thing's.

For example the rapper murs recently made a song about 2 gay youths falling in love, one is deeply in the closet & religious & ends up killing his lover. In hip-hip in general no one will touch that subject.

But Murs did and it was something he had never done & he did it quite well!

So do you think an artist should stick to what they know cause it's familar? should they try to go outside the comfort zone?

Thought's?

I don't really care that much about the lyrics. But if you buy a Johnny Mathis album, you know you're usually going to get romantic or Christmas tunes. His audience isn't expecting him to sing about shooting people or doing drugs.

MickyDolenz said:

I don't really care that much about the lyrics. But if you buy a Johnny Mathis album, you know you're usually going to get romantic or Christmas tunes. His audience isn't expecting him to sing about shooting people or doing drugs.

True! & Well i give Johnny props either way, dude has sold 350 million worldwide

So people like my grandma & others obviously are fine with what he sings about

Its okay I think in the beginning stages for an artist to stick to the same mode..but by the third album they should AT LEAST be saying something other than love. At least be writing their own personal thoughts and struggles..so that they become more than just some singer singing the same old tune. Which Janet is starting to become if she dont come on nah.

I personally love song about love and relationships if they're personal and from the heart. There are so many different sides to love and relationships that it never gets boring to me. I'm not a fan of lyrics about political/social issues. I feel a lot of political issues are quite complicated and you need a lot of knowledge to really talk about them intelligently which honestly some singers and songwriters don't have. A lot of issues aren't black and white, I think they don't really lend themselves that well to three or 4 minute pop songs.

I think sometimes artists write songs about one issue like for example equal rights for gay people that is kind of simple and lend itself to a statement in a song. To me, there's no real debate, of course gay people deserve equal rights and shouldn't be the victim of hate crimes. But it's harder to write a song say about peace in the Middle East or the health care system because those issues are much more complicated and there's not one clear answer to the problem.

Gunsnhalen said:

MickyDolenz said:

I don't really care that much about the lyrics. But if you buy a Johnny Mathis album, you know you're usually going to get romantic or Christmas tunes. His audience isn't expecting him to sing about shooting people or doing drugs.

True! & Well i give Johnny props either way, dude has sold 350 million worldwide

So people like my grandma & others obviously are fine with what he sings about

It's like when some acts try to change what they are known for, it doesn't sell as well, like Debbie Gibson singing sexy songs or Run DMC doing gangsta and using a lot of profanity.

I say take the chance and challenge yourself with different subject matter, what's the worst that is going to happen other than flaky fans falling off? Bless his soul but Luther V was stuck in his field, he was damn good at it but he may not have been able to pull off a What's Going On or even a great song like Wake Up Everybody, we can only speculate what the reaction would have been like. Its a sign of growing up when an artist steps out of their comfort zone and broachs a new topic, we as an audience need to grow up as well.

UncleGrandpa said:

I say take the chance and challenge yourself with different subject matter, what's the worst that is going to happen other than flaky fans falling off?

What if the act doesn't want to do that? I don't think someone should sing something different just to do it, if that's not what they're about. Nor change to appear cool to critics. Critics don't buy records, so what does it matter what they say? Also, what if it's an instrumental act? Is anybody expecting Kenny G to make a psychedelic rock album?

MickyDolenz said:

UncleGrandpa said:

I say take the chance and challenge yourself with different subject matter, what's the worst that is going to happen other than flaky fans falling off?

What if the act doesn't want to do that? I don't think someone should sing something different just to do it, if that's not what they're about. Nor change to appear cool to critics. Critics don't buy records, so what does it matter what they say? Also, what if it's an instrumental act? Is anybody expecting Kenny G to make a psychedelic rock album?

I Would buy it

Some folks can't easily go from one subject matter to another. The only one that did it as if it was no problem, to me, was Marvin Gaye. Dude went from every issue, romantic, social, political, sexual, personal and religious that no other artist was able to do, least in the way he did it. Prince tried but he lost his way somewhere. Someone like Stevie or Michael or Bono would get stuck on one or two subject matters because they're in the "if it's broke I ain't fixing it" category. Same with Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. Also the reason most modern day pop artists stick to one subject matter is because they're not as educated on other matters to sing about what they claim to know.

Timmy84 said:

Some folks can't easily go from one subject matter to another. The only one that did it as if it was no problem, to me, was Marvin Gaye. Dude went from every issue, romantic, social, political, sexual, personal and religious that no other artist was able to do, least in the way he did it. Prince tried but he lost his way somewhere. Someone like Stevie or Michael or Bono would get stuck on one or two subject matters because they're in the "if it's broke I ain't fixing it" category. Same with Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. Also the reason most modern day pop artists stick to one subject matter is because they're not as educated on other matters to sing about what they claim to know.

I guess i never totally thought about that.

Maybe they don't know about ''other'' matters, i always think labels play a huge role in what is said. And that is why there is a ton of party music going on for summertime and such.

But someone like.... Bruce Springsteen for example. i love his music cause like Marvin he has tackled everything

Politics, Love, Sex, Life Meanings, Being broke, working low wage shity jobs, getting old & staying young, Gay subjects etc. I mean a wide range of topics.

Bob Dylan & Stevie Wonder did this as well, but they honestly didn't sing about sexual tension as Marvin or Bruce did so that is the one thign Stevie & Bob didn't really do.

Now another thing i will get flamed for but i don't give a fuck Is that while i am not a huge fan of Lady GaGa & i can't stand Katy Perry's music at all..

They have actually had a different subject for most songs i mean GaGa goes from love to obsession to gay rights to bad love to betrayal. Katy perry had songs about dumb Cali girls , being young forver, accepting yourself, missing someone, staying true to yourself yada yada.

While they are not very broad subjects, they do cover different topics & don't just talk about partying or having sexual metaphors and shit

So even when i am not a fan, i can respect that at least.

There are many recent examples where said change failed miserably, most recently Kelly Clarkson's challenge against Clive Davis and Jewel's crazy attempt to be in Brittany's territory - 0304, a time best forgotten - but those artist are always under the company's thumb until their contract is up. It all comes down to who is truly in control of their career when an artist wants to venture out of their lane, if you're independent than you can take that risk, if you belong to the AI camp, tough shit to say the least.

Gunsnhalen said:

Timmy84 said:

Some folks can't easily go from one subject matter to another. The only one that did it as if it was no problem, to me, was Marvin Gaye. Dude went from every issue, romantic, social, political, sexual, personal and religious that no other artist was able to do, least in the way he did it. Prince tried but he lost his way somewhere. Someone like Stevie or Michael or Bono would get stuck on one or two subject matters because they're in the "if it's broke I ain't fixing it" category. Same with Bob Marley and Bob Dylan. Also the reason most modern day pop artists stick to one subject matter is because they're not as educated on other matters to sing about what they claim to know.

I guess i never totally thought about that.

Maybe they don't know about ''other'' matters, i always think labels play a huge role in what is said. And that is why there is a ton of party music going on for summertime and such.

But someone like.... Bruce Springsteen for example. i love his music cause like Marvin he has tackled everything

Politics, Love, Sex, Life Meanings, Being broke, working low wage shity jobs, getting old & staying young, Gay subjects etc. I mean a wide range of topics.

Bob Dylan & Stevie Wonder did this as well, but they honestly didn't sing about sexual tension as Marvin or Bruce did so that is the one thign Stevie & Bob didn't really do.

Now another thing i will get flamed for but i don't give a fuck Is that while i am not a huge fan of Lady GaGa & i can't stand Katy Perry's music at all..

They have actually had a different subject for most songs i mean GaGa goes from love to obsession to gay rights to bad love to betrayal. Katy perry had songs about dumb Cali girls , being young forver, accepting yourself, missing someone, staying true to yourself yada yada.

While they are not very broad subjects, they do cover different topics & don't just talk about partying or having sexual metaphors and shit

So even when i am not a fan, i can respect that at least.

Thing about their songs (Gaga/Perry) is that they don't really...talk about anything (Gaga tries but her songs always sound too personal for her or too abstract). They fall into the category of folks I mentioned earlier about "not being able to articulate what they claim to know as far as social issues go" (both of them have covered, or attempted to cover, bullying in their songs).

Timmy84 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

I guess i never totally thought about that.

Maybe they don't know about ''other'' matters, i always think labels play a huge role in what is said. And that is why there is a ton of party music going on for summertime and such.

But someone like.... Bruce Springsteen for example. i love his music cause like Marvin he has tackled everything

Politics, Love, Sex, Life Meanings, Being broke, working low wage shity jobs, getting old & staying young, Gay subjects etc. I mean a wide range of topics.

Bob Dylan & Stevie Wonder did this as well, but they honestly didn't sing about sexual tension as Marvin or Bruce did so that is the one thign Stevie & Bob didn't really do.

Now another thing i will get flamed for but i don't give a fuck Is that while i am not a huge fan of Lady GaGa & i can't stand Katy Perry's music at all..

They have actually had a different subject for most songs i mean GaGa goes from love to obsession to gay rights to bad love to betrayal. Katy perry had songs about dumb Cali girls , being young forver, accepting yourself, missing someone, staying true to yourself yada yada.

While they are not very broad subjects, they do cover different topics & don't just talk about partying or having sexual metaphors and shit

So even when i am not a fan, i can respect that at least.

Thing about their songs (Gaga/Perry) is that they don't really...talk about anything (Gaga tries but her songs always sound too personal for her or too abstract). They fall into the category of folks I mentioned earlier about "not being able to articulate what they claim to know as far as social issues go" (both of them have covered, or attempted to cover, bullying in their songs).

I can agree with that to, But last year everyone was jumping on that ''talk about bullying'' bandwagon

Pink, Kesha, Katy Perry, GaGa... although i kind of liked Pink's song. I feel people sort of jumped on the bandwagon for that cause it was such a huge issue in the media at the time.

Now i don't think we will see GaGa or Perry talking about the wars anytime soon

UncleGrandpa said:

There are many recent examples where said change failed miserably, most recently Kelly Clarkson's challenge against Clive Davis and Jewel's crazy attempt to be in Brittany's territory - 0304, a time best forgotten - but those artist are always under the company's thumb until their contract is up. It all comes down to who is truly in control of their career when an artist wants to venture out of their lane, if you're independent than you can take that risk, if you belong to the AI camp, tough shit to say the least.

I hate that labels don't like taking risks! i can see they want to stick to a formula.. but that can really drain an artist's abilities

Gunsnhalen said:

Timmy84 said:

Thing about their songs (Gaga/Perry) is that they don't really...talk about anything (Gaga tries but her songs always sound too personal for her or too abstract). They fall into the category of folks I mentioned earlier about "not being able to articulate what they claim to know as far as social issues go" (both of them have covered, or attempted to cover, bullying in their songs).

I can agree with that to, But last year everyone was jumping on that ''talk about bullying'' bandwagon

Pink, Kesha, Katy Perry, GaGa... although i kind of liked Pink's song. I feel people sort of jumped on the bandwagon for that cause it was such a huge issue in the media at the time.

Now i don't think we will see GaGa or Perry talking about the wars anytime soon

They only talk about what the biased media overexaggerates about. When they do learn the facts, they back away from it. That's what usually happens with these so-called "progressive thinking artists". Stevie Wonder has been awfully quiet this election year by the way. Wonder why...

I have no problem with artists sticking to one subject because I grew up in an era where the focus was more on the rhythm of the music rather than the lyrics so the lyrics meant absolutely nothing. I listened to music that made my ass want to move. If I was conscerned with a song telling a story or making a political point, I'd turn on the TV and watch a TV show because TV was made for stories and music was made for ass shakin'.

Like Roger and Zapp for instance...."Shake, shake it baby. Shake, shake it. Shake, shake it mama. Shake it for me.". It's the bad ass funky music behind that's making your ass move moreso than the lyrics. Now, if the music sounded the same on all the songs, I'd get bored real quick. Ooops, I just described the majority of today's music.

^ Why would Roger and Zapp even go beyond that anyway? They came off as a "free spirited" band anyway. It would be wrong to assume that because of that they're monolithic. Fuck that.

Gunsnhalen said:

I hate that labels don't like taking risks! i can see they want to stick to a formula.. but that can really drain an artist's abilities

But the "artist" is an employee of a company. I don't think most people go to their job and tell the boss what they want to do, that's not how it works. Since the company is spending their money and expecting to make a profit, why shouldn't they dictate what they want to sell? Many acts have turned in songs to the record company and the label rejected it or remixed it without the performers knowledge. People think singers/bands have some kind of power that they never had.

Timmy84 said:

^ Why would Roger and Zapp even go beyond that anyway? They came off as a "free spirited" band anyway. It would be wrong to assume that because of that they're monolithic. Fuck that.

They had a variety of styles on each album but the tracks that made it to the radio, folks weren't too concerned with the lyrics anyway. Their fast jams had a great funky rhythm to them and their slow jams had a sexy melody and slower sexier rhythm that slow jams had back then to them also. The focus was more on the overall sound of the music and melody rather than the lyrics.

vainandy said:

They had a variety of styles on each album but the tracks that made it to the radio, folks weren't too concerned with the lyrics anyway. Their fast jams had a great funky rhythm to them and their slow jams had a sexy melody and slower sexier rhythm that slow jams had back then to them also. The focus was more on the overall sound of the music and melody rather than the lyrics.

Like they used to say on American Bandstand "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it".

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

They had a variety of styles on each album but the tracks that made it to the radio, folks weren't too concerned with the lyrics anyway. Their fast jams had a great funky rhythm to them and their slow jams had a sexy melody and slower sexier rhythm that slow jams had back then to them also. The focus was more on the overall sound of the music and melody rather than the lyrics.

Like they used to say on American Bandstand "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it".

Yep.

MickyDolenz said:

vainandy said:

They had a variety of styles on each album but the tracks that made it to the radio, folks weren't too concerned with the lyrics anyway. Their fast jams had a great funky rhythm to them and their slow jams had a sexy melody and slower sexier rhythm that slow jams had back then to them also. The focus was more on the overall sound of the music and melody rather than the lyrics.

Like they used to say on American Bandstand "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it".

That's exactly right. I don't know what the HELL those kids are saying in "Double Dutch Bus" but the song makes my ass move.

Diversity is the way to go

EVERY SINGLE HIP HOP ARTIST:

Economic Materialism

vainandy said:

MickyDolenz said:

Like they used to say on American Bandstand "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it".

That's exactly right. I don't know what the HELL those kids are saying in "Double Dutch Bus" but the song makes my ass move.

I think Snoop Doggy Dogg got his lingo from Double Dutch Bus.