Your favorite popular music artist?

[Josquin des Prez]

I'm not sure whether greatness is possible without a fair amount of formal training, and that is both expensive and hard to come by, so to hold pop musicians to higher standards wouldn't increase them by all that much.

Indeed? How is it possible then that greatness could find it's way in Jazz, where many Jazz musicians grew up in poor and segregated areas with scarcely any access to and least of all the means for acquiring an "academic" education? And what about those popular musicians who did receive such an education, and failed? Sorry, but i find your argument fallacious.

[Josquin des Prez]

This pretty much says it, and quite well.

Of course, selfishness overruling virtue is a clear sign of decadence, but i guess that doesn't matter to you, right?

[Lethevich]

How is it possible then that greatness could find it's way in Jazz, where many Jazz musicians grew up in poor and segregated areas with scarcely any access and least of all the means to acquire an "academic" education?

Fair point, as I rarely listen to jazz, it didn't come to mind.

[karlhenning]

Of course, selfishness overruling virtue is a clear sign of decadence, but i guess that doesn't matter to you, right?

Actually, there was selflessness in Andy's giving your remark a more generous reading than it probably deserved;  but you were probably too selfish to notice this humility on his part.

[Dr. Dread]

Actually, there was selflessness in Andy's giving your remark a more generous reading than it probably deserved;  but you were probably too selfish to notice this humility on his part.

I think JdP is on a different planet than we are. Maybe they have the internet on Mars.

[Josquin des Prez]

I believe he was merely being sarcastic, Karl.

[Haffner]

Of course, selfishness overruling virtue is a clear sign of decadence, but i guess that doesn't matter to you, right?

Aye...guess so.

[Haffner]

I believe he was merely being sarcastic, Karl.

I wasn't. I thought your remark had some truth in it. You second guessed me.

I'm not really that bright, you gave me too much credit.

Don't forget about my predilection for selfishness and baseness. (That was facetious).

[Dr. Dread]

Anyway, we're way off topic.

[karlhenning]

I believe he was merely being sarcastic, Karl.

Hardly the first time you've been mistaken.

[karlhenning]

Anyway, we're way off topic.

Gotta be Zappa, just pulled the trigger on three 21st-c. releases.

[karlhenning]

No: two 21st- and one 20th-c. release.

[Sergeant Rock]

The question is, "Your favorite popular music artist"...singular. That would be Emmylou Harris:



But I see most are listing more than one. It is hard to list just a few (there are artists I love in every genre) but my Top 10 might be:

Emmylou (not forgetting her mentor, Graham Parsons, the "inventor" of country rock/alt country)
Van Morrison
Grateful Dead
Leonard Cohen
The Band
Townes Van Zandt
Dire Straits
Black Flag
Tom Waits
Stax/Volt (the studio responsible for Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Booker T & the MGs, etc)

And you all know my irrational fondness for Bow Wow Wow 






Sarge