Re: Reaching Out (was Re: The album's cover + Melody Maker)

[stewarte@ucscc.UCSC.EDU (The Man Who Invented Himself)]

Hairy frogs from Neptune forced CCJS@cc.nu.OZ.AU (James Smith) to type:

>What has Kate's style to do with the beauty of her work?  If she's
>choosen a style akin to Barbara Streisand, so what?  She's still
>produced a beautiful piece of music.  Or are you saying that the
>style of music Kate chooses to produce in some way affects how
>good or bad it is?

How can the style _not_ affect how good or bad it is?  The style in
which a song is written & performed is just as much a part of it as
its production, or musicianship, or lyrical profundity, or whatever.
Perhaps what you meant to imply is that an entire genre shouldn't
be condemned in this way (e.g., "all reggae sucks"), and I agree with
that.  But if the genre is particularly cliche-ridden, and the song
largely follows those cliches rather than varying them or breaking
them, the style can definitely weaken the song.  

>This is, I guess, why I posted.  You are saying "Reaching Out is
>horrible" instead of "I think Reaching Out is horrible"; you are
>putting forth your own opinion as though it were the absolute truth,
>albiet unintentionally.  I'm sure this rubs a lot of people up the
>wrong way--it certainly does me.

It is my opinion that people on the net take this kind of thing
way too personally.  What else would Jon mean when he says "Reaching
Out is horrible", other than his own opinion?  The very nature of
such a statement is a value judgment, and therefore subjective.
Why do people get so upset about these things?  

>Reaching Out is a perfect example of the sort of song that it is.  

Can you say "tautology"?  Sure you can.

>It is well produced, has a beautiful melody, is arranged beautifully, and
>features great performances from those who made it.  

See, even you do it!  Is calling the song "beautiful" any less an opinion
than calling it "horrible".  I think it's ridiculously awkward to expect
people to qualify absolutely everything that isn't verifiable fact
as opinion, when it should be quite obvious from context.

-- Stewart
-- 
"Personally, I think that weapons are dangerous..."
				-- Arthur Evans
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