Elvis...or Michael?

[alphabassettgrrl]

I think for me the difference between actors (who don't write their own material) versus singers (who in my opinion ought to) is that I don't expect actors to do their own. I want singers to write the stuff they sing. If somebody else writes it, and I don't know it, I feel cheated and lied to.

And I really hate the tweaked and refined c*ap that populates the pop music field recently: anybody who's relatively cute and can wiggle on stage can be made popular and she can sound good with enough manipulation by the sound engineer. Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, and the Simpson sister are some that come to mind.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by alphabassettgrrl

I want singers to write the stuff they sing. If somebody else writes it, and I don't know it, I feel cheated and lied to.

I don't hold hard and fast to this myself. For example, Neil Young writes some great songs, but his voice makes my skin crawl.

There are a lot of great songwriters out there who cannot perform well. I would hate to miss their songwriting skills just because I can't stand their performance.

Conversely, there are performers who I greatly enjoy who don't write all of their own material. Led Zeppelin, one of the great (IMO) hard rock bands did a LOT of cover material from old blues musicians of the 40's 50's and 60's.

[mousepod]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Led Zeppelin, one of the great (IMO) hard rock bands did a LOT of cover material from old blues musicians of the 40's 50's and 60's.

And they eventually even admitted it!