Annoying Formulaic Vocals

HooRU

The worst example is my boss listens to KLOVE on his Alexa. The vocalists all have that fake grumbling male vocal. And the music my sister loves, that punk/glam rock vocalists all have that cockney vocal. And now with alternative rock, the girls all have the same affectation.

Why do artists imitate each other like this? Jeff Beck always did HIS OWN THING, so did Steve Marriott.

Somewhat-Reticent

HooRU Competing for ever-shrinking pennies - and cowardice?
Doing your own thing solo rarely pays the bills.

HooRU

Yes, that is true. But true artists aren’t in it for money. I know several starving musicians who are outstanding as artists.

Another annoyance for me is box music (music in a box, no real guitarist or drummer). I’ve given my sister some gruff about that.

Some think Guitar is dead, but it isn’t. a lot of kids are picking up their grandparent’s old guitars and discovering self expression.

Somewhat-Reticent

Even True Artists have to eat.

HooRU

It’s tragic what corps have done to music.

egeezer

The most irritating thing to me are the ‘music’ played in the current crop of “FBI … ”, “Chicago fire”, etc shows. The fake orchestral attempts and constant droning and thumping bass seem to intentionally distract from the snarky and vacuous dialog that attempts to fluff up the plots.

After attempting to sit through a few of them, I concluded that they’re as much soap opera as they are drama.

HooRU

Indeed. So much of TV has also turned to junk.

I remember the great shows like Taxi that had wonderful soundtracks. Or that one about the Sanford and Son. What a song that was!

egeezer

HooRU
It seems that there are lots of “formula” music across the spectrum.
What’s now grouped as ‘country and western’ was once two separate genres, with music based in the roots of Appalachia, blue ridge, Kentucky and Tennessee hills and mountains. Western based in Kansas Oklahoma, texas and West to old California. I enjoy the music from the days of Bob Wills, Hank Willians, Ernest Tubb, Les Paul, the outlaws and some of the ballads of Garth Brooks and similar.

With the exception of bluegrass, the current music seems little more than a combination of rap and metal.

For Jazz, the Playboy era had greats like Errol Garner, Oscar Peterson, early Miles Davis. John Coltrane. Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker and back to Josephine Baker and the antics of Moms Mably.

And Doo Wop. Still great after all these years.

Maybe some of the above are/were ‘formula’ but they were listenable and mostly enjoyable and understandable.

I wonder just how good Taylor Swift et. al. would be if limited to an acoustic quintet and nothing else for backup. Lady Gaga can pull it off.