The Voices in my Head

Last week I wrote about several students and their auditions. I spent hours with my brain bleeding out my ears as I watched American Idol auditions. I saw the judges laughing as poor, pathetic singers (hearing Beyonce in their pitiful, deluded heads) gave their all. It was horrible. Then, today, the Nameless Cynic sat me down and we watch Todd in the Shadows give his Top 10 Songs of 2012. I may never recover. 

I know that when I was a kid, adults were sighing over the direction that music was taking, and harkening back to the "good old days," when music had melodies and singers could actually sing. My younger days gave me The Beatles; Journey; Elton John; Styx; and ABBA to name a very, very few. Hmm . . . let's look at what's going on with their music today. 

Well, half of The Beatles have gone to join heaven's rock and roll band.  But, Love was a huge hit, again, for the remaining members. The Cirque du Soleil show that was designed around the songs is still being performed in Vegas. Because of this, I am slowly beginning to accept that remixing can be an art-form. 

Journey is still recording new songs, having made their fortunes with the strong tenor voice of Steve Perry, they are now doing more of the same with the new lead singer, Arnel Pineda. And, no, Don't Stop Believin' was not written for Glee! (Maybe there's a reason that Glee was using so much Journey music? Because it's good!)

This is from a live performance. How do I know? It's different from the studio version. There are changes that were made, some good, some just there, that happen when music is performed live. It's never going to sound like the studio version, and it shouldn't.

Elton John began performing as a solo act in 1968, and has been going ever since. He's added movie soundtracks and Broadway musicals to an already brimming portfolio of work. Yup, he's still standing. (And I'm not using a live version of this because I want to understand the lyrics. I never said that live is always better. That's why it's live, there's the chance for defeat. Not that Sir Elton could ever fail. Just sayin')

Chris and I went to see Styx a few years ago. Nothing was new, but the amount of energy that Tommy Shaw was giving off was electrifying. That little old guy was all over the stage! Here they are singing a slightly more recent hit, from 2005, their version of The Beatles' I am the Walrus. Once again, this is a bit different from the studio version: being LIVE, and all.

And, finally: ABBA. Let's not belabor the point. If you can't find something from the Broadway version of Mama Mia, then rent the movie. I bet it's even on Netflix. (And for the record: they should never have let Pierce Brosnan sing. But, then again, we know that it really was him. They wouldn't have gotten a vocalist who sounded that bad.)

So, the music of my youth is still out there, and still gaining new fans. Why is this? Could it be that so much that is out there right now sucks?