Idk if this is a popular or unpopular opinion on her being just a decent artist, but Whitney Houston is objectively one of the most technically profound singers to ever live. With that being said, I can’t get seem to get through a full album of hers.
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
Hasn’t this been asked ALL the time and the top comment is always jacob collier
Infinite karma machine
Jacob Collier, another fuckin' karma machine!
His songs are pretty dull, but I’m always impressed by video’s of him on a stage conducting a crowd, he looks like a natural entertainer.
Yes he is, and historically, people who compose songs are not good entertainers. They are composers. Jacob is a great performer, but bad composer. Composers are usually more introverted and weird(historical revisionism says most were on the autism spectrum)
Charlie Pluth
You don’t think he should be a bigger artist?
Love this reference
Bro is actually so talented then makes the most cookie cutter shit ever
First one that came to mind
jacob collier
Darn! You beat me to it
The thing I hate most about him is that he's british
There’s no music out there even remotely similar to his and for that reason alone I think he’s a great artist. To me a key part of being an artist is being authentically yourself and he absolutely does that. Extra and eccentric and a bit pretentious yes but that’s just who the dude really is. 5000 artists that sound the same in every genre and nobody bats an eye, you’re never gonna catch me hating on someone that sounds truly unique.
I think people need to stop saying "good" or "bad" when they really mean "familiar" or "not familiar".
If you don't listen to harmonically dense stuff like that...of course you don't like it. I'm not trying to sound like a prick when I say people need to even take a step back from what it means to like something. That is so tied to your biography. Think about when Michael Keaton's Batman complains that the soup is cold, but then he's told it's supposed to be. It changes the experience.
So, what is Collier even doing? If you don't have much of a toe hold there, then you're going to reject it.
I don't personally connect with a lot of his stuff, but occasionally...
https://youtu.be/QMVMtxmUjFc?si=5b8P9IH7m0Qe0NwW
He does this.
I don't love his voice, but this is solid work.
Edit: Also, he sort of stole this bit from Bobby McFerrin, but, imagine doing this.
https://youtu.be/3KsF309XpJo?si=8cMMOQTK5Ikc0GK2
This is a person who's connecting people with music in a pretty profound manner that we don't see too often. It's often some dork-ass shit, but as a guitar player, his 5 string instrument is itself worth sitting with for a while to understand what he's up to.
https://youtu.be/Lz1LEYxFQ5Q?si=k8l63jSLpIVtcl8D
I'm just not sure what people are into if this doesn't strike them as something worth hearing.
Ehhhhh kinda disagree. When I first listened to Pink Floyd, I had never heard anything like it before. Same with bands like King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard or Neutral Milk Hotel.
For something way more out there, if you asked me a month ago what music from Chechnya sounded like, I wouldn’t even know what Chechnya was. Then a couple weeks ago I find a video about how they banned music outside of 80-116BPM (great video btw, love Adam Neely), and it plays a few examples and I actually really dig it. Here’s one I found the other day
On the flip side, I’m very familiar with country music because I grew up in the south and 99.9999% of the time if you send me a country song I’ll either say “I don’t like it” or “it’s meh”
It’s not so much a question of good versus bad or even familiar versus not familiar, it all comes down to taste and preference. The willingness to accept new things definitely plays a factor too, but I can’t just say “this is a new thing I want to like” and then BAM I like that thing. I’ve actively tried to get in to artists like Lana Del Rey or The Weeknd but nothing ever clicked even though I’m familiar with the kind of music they make
I do agree about the guitar thing though. I watch the video he did with Paul Davids and it’s really interesting seeing how an instrument like the guitar can still be modified and build upon to make different sounds and boost other work flows
Dude this Lezginka track goes so hard wtf lol I love this I’m so glad you shared this.
You’ve never heard anything like the band that influenced everyone?
You're disagreeing with things I didn't say, though.
It might be something worth hearing, but it's something that's hard to put on when people are used to listening to other music. Can you smoke weed with your friends to this? Make out? Get down in the club? Stay focused while working? I think people might just find it hard to emotionally connect to his work. Unlike, for example, the work of Brian Wilson or Steven Wilson.
When collier hits tho that shit is crazy. The bridge over troubled water cover is like absolutely insanely good
it’s shit
Agree. That cover is really awful. Cluttered, overcomplicated. Sincerity is best conveyed through simplicity, and that cover is insincere garbage
Lenny Kravitz. A friend was just defending that he plays so many instruments well but I just don’t think he generally makes compelling music with those skills
I’m sorta with you on that one
Gotta say though, “It ain’t over til it’s over” is a bit of a banger, and LK plays everything on it (except the orchestral stuff but I’m sure he arranged it) and he produced it.
His cover of American Woman though is one of my least favourite songs ever recorded though
Ya dude took an alright song and made it so fucking bad, like he took all the good parts of it out
I’ve never A & B’d them, but every time that song comes on the radio I feel like doing this
Yeah, he’s got a handful of great songs (“Fly Away” is another one) but overall his music and vibe is like a karaoke approximation of “cool classic rock”
Yeah “Fly Away” is sooo 1999. Massive hit. A bit of a novelty song now.
That being said too, credit where credit is due, “Are You Gonna Go My Way” legit sounds like Hendrix.
I also love it ain’t over til it’s over, but I’m always shocked by how bad the guitar solo is
I just went back and listened. Yeah it’s pretty pitchy and rough…Whoopsiedoodle
Lenny to me is like a shit Jimi Hendrix ripoff
Not even that, a Slash ripoff with singing capabilities
Fly Away will forever be one of the most annoying songs I know.
tim henson is probably the most technically proficient guitarist of the modern age i can think of but i am not huge on polyphia
I just wish polyphia songs didn’t feel like them jerking themselves off😭
if i was tim henson i would jerk myself off too
Real
I feel like playing god and abc did a good job at feeling more musical than wankery
Also Drown, literally a perfect song and imo their best riff
And Ego Death. Steve Vai bringing those David Gilmour vibes really helps balance out the cavalcade of notes coming from everyone else
Eh I kind of like that about them but I get it
yeah Eric is much better
Physically proficient. Conceptually, not so much. It's like if stanley jordan just played trap/edm
Reminds me of when my friends and I used to throw crazy fast stuff together through midi files. Technically incredible but I hear no soul or humanity in the last few Polyphia records.
A lot of lead guitarists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Oh yeah, and Yngwie Malmsteen. A lot of metal acts, including hair metal, had a lot of good musicians but had little or no ability to produce compelling material. So if one to listen to some of it, the ‘70s covers they’d do frequently are often a good choice.
I say this as a guitar geek, but only guitar geeks care about that kind of music.
Surprisingly, I was introduced to some of my fave '80s shred albums by a guy who didn't play any instruments. And then later in life, I met girls who loved listening to Brett Garsed, John Petrucci, Vai, Satch, etc.
Nobody seems to share my love for Yngwie's music, though.
the rest of the arrangements sound so bland, like they're just backing tracks.
I think you've sorta boxed yourself in artistically when your whole thing is that the guitar has to be the centre of every track and the playing technically impressive. Nothing else gets to shine.
I think Vai has some really good songs honestly, his last album 'Inviolate' was quite solid
Tender Surrender is absolutely beautiful
Never could get into Stevie Ray Vaughn. His playing is great, but the songs suck, the backing band is one dimensional and never allowed to be anything except a steady rhythm section for Vaughn to riff over. My take is that if he played in a band with a real singer and a songwriter that could put some meat and bone on his songs, they could've been one of the greatest bands ever.
On the whole SRV vs. Hendrix debate, my opinion is Vaughn could play guitar as good as Hendrix, but Hendrix could write way more interesting songs, approach interesting topic matter, had a band that was also hella talented, experiment with harmony in an exciting way, and innovate with guitar tones to an extent that hasn't been matched yet. Essentially they were equal guitar players, but Hendrix was actually an artist through and through.
I mean SRV is the lead guitarist on Bowie’s album Let’s Dance with Nile Rodgers on rhythm guitar and to me that record works to your point
Naw you on crack son. Stevie ray Vaughn at el mocambo in Toronto is one of the all time best shows. Of course hendrix is hendrix but that doesn’t take away from Srv
Steve Vai’s music is so hard for me to listen to. Just so lame and desperate.
Dream Theater. Every single one of those guys are bonkers talented when it comes to ability. Its a shame they only use it for like two songs.
The most talented band in the world and they don’t make good music. It’s the weirdest thing and the best example of this
I feel this way about most prog bands; undoubtedly ridiculously talented, but the songs just don't hold up. It usually ends up sounding self-serving and frankly, very corny.
Yeah I have the same issue with prog. Insane instrumentation but so incredibly corny
A lot of prog music feels like this to me tbh. Awsome musician and absolute master of their instruments but always feels very narrow artisticaly and perhaps too bland. I feel like Steven Wilson is good exemple even tho I still like some of his songs.
Steven Wilson is the perfect example of someone who knows how to lay down a groove, and who should do that instead of noodling, but can't seem to help himself
When does he really noodle? I can’t think of anything from him that fits that description, might be wrong.
Wondering the same thing too. He's kind of the king of laying down a great groove, melody, etc and not needlessly soloing all the time. In fact he's what the main commenter here should be gravitating towards if other prog wankery turns them off.
This is how I feel about like all of porcupine tree
Porcupine Tree has some great pop songs. Of course they have their prog albums but you can't tell me Lazurus is prog wanking.
Or Nine Cats, Trains, Fadeaway, Collapse the Light into Earth, The Jokes On You, Shesmovedon, Feel So Low etc
Piano lessons too.
I think Steven Wilson is great when he keeps his worst impulses in check. He's made a lot of pretentious wankery, but he's also made it quite clear that it's not all he's capable of. I don't think a lot of prog metal guitarists could write something like Trains or Piano Lessons.
Check out some opeth
Similar to a lot of Steven Wilson stuff but is a LOT better at capturing emotion
yeah I wanted to say Steven Wilson too, not even because of prog shenanigans, rather bec he gets to stuck up in trying to create the "perfect" song, which leads to perfectly produced, maybe even catchy songs that still feel and bland and don't stick around. I feel like he wants to force his way to "good" music by perfectionism and lots of pressure instead of just letting it happen...
To cast a shadow over the whole genre is ridiculous. What about King Gizzard or Tool. Or, Mars Volta, System of a Down? Pink Floyd. Give me a break with that BS.
Yes, Rush, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles. All prog. All are (or once were) progressive.
A lot of prog? A lot of elevator jazz fusion maybe.
Thundercat is great at his instrument but not a great artist.
A lot of prog?? wtf lol. You can’t possibly establish yourself as a progressive artist without being a real artist who’s pushing boundaries.
Eh… hard disagree on that last part. A lot of prog artists, especially in the prog rock genre and especially post 70s did very little in terms of actually progressing and instead largely aped the sound of King Crimson/Genesis.
Dream Theatre is comprised of amazing musicians. I tried liking them. Not for me.
I think Bruno Mars is a pretty charismatic and talented guy but most of his music plays it very safe.
Silk Sonic tho...
Na Mars peaked with 24k Magic, I thought it was better than Sill Sonic. .
Agree. Dude can play every instrument, dance, and sing like he was invented in a factory. But the songs are so fucking lame.
I would agree for everything but Silk Sonic, but I think that's thanks to .Paak being so full of soul compared to Bruno.
i think the appeal of bruno is that the songs themselves are simple, but he makes them work by being so charismatic
I feel like we get this thread here at least once a week. The obligatory answer is always Dream Theater
Tim Henson (Polyphia) Insanely talented guitarist, technically masterful, Makes soulless music.
I remember being like 13 seeing August Rush and fucking hating how that kid played guitar. Tim Henson plays guitar like 100x better then that kid, but basically the same style.
Polyphia music definitely isn’t “soulless”
As someone who enjoys a bit of their music, I’d say it feels soulless in the sense that it legitamtely sounds robotic
Alicia Keys?
You dont want nothing at all and thats youre problem
John Mayer. Seems like a very talented guitarist, but i have yet to find a song he’s made i enjoy
his songwriting is kinda sappy and i can see how that would turn some people off, but he's got a few strong albums under his belt.
I enjoyed continuum, nothing else though
I personally really love sob rock
He’s amazing in Dead and company though