Unpopular Opinions about Music

[WendyCR72]

Of note, in the still of the YT clip, one of the names behind The Edge is Berry Berenson. She was apparently the widow of Anthony Perkins of Psycho fame. Another one that perished was producer David Angell, who worked on Cheers, Frasier, and Wings.

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, cpcathy said:

I saw her live and her voice is really great.

Maybe so, but that cover is heinous due to the horrible arrangement, not her voice.

[27bored]

On 6/29/2018 at 11:48 AM, FlickerInTheNight said:

I need someone to explain to me the obsession every male under 25 has with Drake.

Please.

Because I was forced to listen to his new CD this morning at the gym and I never finished a workout quicker.  He is...TERRIBLE.

His voice could put insomniacs to sleep.  He sings with the same affect in his voice EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  How is this considered the rapper of a generation?

I wanted to pour bleach in my head by the time it was over.  I don't think I've ever hated someone's music before so intensely.  Jesus....make him stop.

America just has a love affair with him. He played a well-liked, slightly tragic character on Degrassi, and when he started rapping, he was different from a lot of other mainstream rappers in form and substance. But his heyday is behind him, and after several hundred songs and verses this decade, he’s become a shell of his former self.  

Americans have a very clingy celebrity culture. Once we decide we love you, we hold on past the expiration date. Just like we did with Britney Spears. 

[UYI]

I don't hate "Mother" by the Police. No, really, I don't. It's not something I could listen to often, for somewhat obvious reasons (I want to keep my hearing as long as I can, after all!), but it kind of fascinates me. Maybe it's a trainwreck factor, I don't know. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by UYI

[Wiendish Fitch]

Miley Cyrus is no better a singer than Hilary Duff was back in the day. 

[millennium]

"Come Together" by the Beatles (and all covers since) is the song I hate most in the world.

[GaT]

4 hours ago, millennium said:

"Come Together" by the Beatles (and all covers since) is the song I hate most in the world.

Not as much as I hate all versions of "Killing Me Softly" 

[millennium]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

Not as much as I hate all versions of "Killing Me Softly" 

More.  I guarantee it.   Even more than I hate Queen.  And that's a lot.

[Silver Raven]

You guys are making me sad.

[Wiendish Fitch]

I liked LeAnn Rimes back in the day... and I still do, and it's unfortunate she's somewhat forgotten today. I get why the backlash happened: overexposure (she seemed to release a new album twice a year at one point), her troubled personal life, her vaguely Lolita-ish image, it's sadly unsurprising that she peaked too early. 

But, IMO, I think Rimes wipes the floor with all the generic country ingenues of today (hell, I'll even include mid-aughts Taylor Swift for posterity). I think her voice had genuine power and she had impeccable technique. Over 20 years later, I still think "Blue" is a damn impressive song, and considering she was 13 years old. So, yeah, maybe Rimes isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'll always have a soft spot for her. 

Some related UOs:

LeAnn or Trisha, I don't care, I still don't like "How do I Live".

If life were fair, LeAnn Rimes would be considered a legend... and insufferably saccharine, cloying, mealy-mouthed Brenda Lee would be completely and utterly forgotten. There are many reasons I dread Christmas, and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus" are two of 'em.

[UYI]

On 9/21/2018 at 12:02 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

If life were fair, LeAnn Rimes would be considered a legend... and insufferably saccharine, cloying, mealy-mouthed Brenda Lee would be completely and utterly forgotten. There are many reasons I dread Christmas, and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus" are two of 'em.

What, no love for the rockabilly classic "Sweet Nothin's"?

 

A UO about Carrie Underwood:

I prefer both "Blown Away" and "Church Bells" to "Before He Cheats." Also: If she doesn't want to be an overly "personal" artist, so what? Her strength (besides her voice, of course) is clearly singing story songs about other people! Let her be!

(That said, the only two songs on Cry Pretty that really fit as "personal", which is what this new album has been described as, are the title track and "Kingdom"--both of which bookend the other songs.)

On 9/21/2018 at 12:02 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

 

But, IMO, I think Rimes wipes the floor with all the generic country ingenues of today (hell, I'll even include mid-aughts Taylor Swift for posterity). I think her voice had genuine power and she had impeccable technique. Over 20 years later, I still think "Blue" is a damn impressive song, and considering she was 13 years old. So, yeah, maybe Rimes isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I'll always have a soft spot for her. 

 

Having a better singing voice than Taylor Swift doesn't take much. ;) 

[UYI]

Johnny Horton deserves to be better remembered.

And while his most remembered songs tend to be "The Battle of New Orleans", "Sink the Bismarck", and "North to Alaska", I especially love "Johnny Freedom". A patriotic song done RIGHT!

Edited September 24, 2018 by UYI

[Ambrosefolly]

After reading an story about how Babyface met Michael Jackson when he was 12 years old, it reminded me  how I always felt a bit sorry for Michael Jackson's brothers, especially Marlon. I get that corporal punishment was an acceptable means of discipline (found out  recently that grandma used to beat me mom when any of her younger siblings got out of line, and she was the oldest of 7), but Joe Jackson beating a 7 year old Marlon because he can't get a dance step right? How was that going help him? The Tiger Mom at least made her kid practice hours on end until the kid got the piano piece right, which is what helps, practice.

Can't be easy when you are left behind like that, especially when you spent all of your time from your childhood to young adulthood dedicated to something that can very well fizzle out, which happened, instead of working towards other careers or interests during that time period. It seemed Marlon handled it pretty well considering all of the attention that Michael got from the jump, eventhough Michael was only a little over a year younger. While I get that Michael Jackson was a totured soul, and with good reason, he also had access to talent and guidance that weren't as readily avialable to the brothers, because of Michael's inherent charisma, unique voice and showmanship.

Edited September 30, 2018 by Ambrosefolly

[Wiendish Fitch]

On 9/21/2018 at 12:02 PM, Wiendish Fitch said:

I liked LeAnn Rimes back in the day... and I still do, and it's unfortunate she's somewhat forgotten today. I get why the backlash happened: overexposure (she seemed to release a new album twice a year at one point), her troubled personal life, her vaguely Lolita-ish image, it's sadly unsurprising that she peaked too early. 

 

Normally I would never quote myself, but I have to, because I am too slow to live. Looking at my reasoning for why Rimes's popularity fizzled out, I just realized... I practically described Taylor Swift (a difference or two notwithstanding), and Swift is as hot as ever!

I don't even hate Swift (1989 has grown on me in a big way), but this is just proof how unfair life and show business can be.

[UYI]

Four the Record is generally considered to be Miranda Lambert's weakest album, but some of my favorite songs of hers are on it. The main issue is that the majority of the songs don't go TOGETHER, the way the songs on her first three albums largely do (although Platinum is pretty damn uneven in this department, too), which makes it weirder to listen to all at once as opposed to certain songs on their own.

[27bored]

In honor of Lindsay Lohan's latest hit, I feel like we need to revisit her first hit, "Rumors". I don't care what anybody says, this was kind of the jam that people didn't want to admit they liked at the time, but I think it's okay to admit you liked "Rumors":

[Neko]

If I like Paris Hilton's Stars Are Blind, I can't hate on anyone liking Rumors.

[27bored]

On 10/5/2018 at 10:18 PM, Sweet Summer Child said:

If I like Paris Hilton's Stars Are Blind, I can't hate on anyone liking Rumors.

LOL, I liked that song, too. Actually Paris Hilton’s album wasn’t bad. In fact it sounds like a masterpiece up against a lot of the pop music of today.

That reminds me of something else I’ve always thought. Artists knowing how to pick the right producers and knowing how to let them do their thing is kind of an underrated talent. I’d say it’s probably as important as just having singing talent when it comes to pop music. Madonna, Janet, Britney, Rihanna, and even non-singers like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, are proof that if you have a good producer, can take direction, and can just hit your marks, you can go very far in pop music on little actual talent.

I’d say Beyoncé is a 2.0 version of that. She can take direction and hit her marks, but she can actually sing when she wants to. On the other hand, Christina can sing but has a compulsive need to be in charge and, well...

[BuyMoreAndSave]

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm tired of seeing female significant others of musicians get blamed for their death. This seems to happen every time a male musician meets an untimely demise from drugs, suicide, etc. Either the woman gets indirectly blamed for not trying harder to stop it, also being an addict, being a "bitch" in some way or breaking up with them, etc. Or even worse, there's some kind of conspiracy theory that she secretly murdered him or had him killed and staged a coverup. I can give so many examples of this. Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, even Layne Staley to some extent (his fiance was blamed for introducing him to heroin even though he was doing all kinds of opioids and other drugs years before they met), Elliott Smith, Mac Miller, etc. Even when that XXXTentacion person died, people were trashing his ex-girlfriend and saying that she lied about being abused by him and ruined his life. Even when Scott Weiland died people said the reason he started doing drugs again is because his ex-wife was exploiting him for child support while denying him access to his children.

I'm really starting to suspect this is a gender thing. The reason being that the wife of Jonathan Davis from Korn recently died by overdose after a long battle with drug addiction and PTSD. He had recently separated from her due to this. I didn't see a single person blaming him for not trying hard enough to help her or for abandoning her, etc. and instead people were supportive and praising him.

Edited November 6, 2018 by BuyMoreAndSave

[27bored]

20 hours ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but I'm tired of seeing female significant others of musicians get blamed for their death. This seems to happen every time a male musician meets an untimely demise from drugs, suicide, etc. Either the woman gets indirectly blamed for not trying harder to stop it, also being an addict, being a "bitch" in some way or breaking up with them, etc. Or even worse, there's some kind of conspiracy theory that she secretly murdered him or had him killed and staged a coverup. I can give so many examples of this. Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell, even Layne Staley to some extent (his fiance was blamed for introducing him to heroin even though he was doing all kinds of opioids and other drugs years before they met), Elliott Smith, Mac Miller, etc. Even when that XXXTentacion person died, people were trashing his ex-girlfriend and saying that she lied about being abused by him and ruined his life. Even when Scott Weiland died people said the reason he started doing drugs again is because his ex-wife was exploiting him for child support while denying him access to his children.

I think that comes from this idea that rock stars get with women who are only with them for their money and fame. It's not entirely wrong because with money and fame come women, but on the other hand, how many stories have we heard of money and fame bringing with it access to a lot of drugs and hard partying? I think the lingering notion that some have that Courtney Love had something to do with Kurt Cobain's death sort of started the trend of blaming the girl. I think that's kind of our go-to at this point.

Speaking of Mac Miller, Ariana Grande came out with a song called "Thank U, Next" where she mentions the guys she's dated, including the recently departed Mac Miller. The song isn't as cute as she or her fans might think it is. She was about to get married to Pete over the Summer, and now they're totally broken up? And they didn't even date a year?  I don't know. I know Ariana is young, but she's maybe a little too old to be in and out of relationships like an episode of SATC.

[BuyMoreAndSave]

5 hours ago, 27bored said:

I think that comes from this idea that rock stars get with women who are only with them for their money and fame. It's not entirely wrong because with money and fame come women, but on the other hand, how many stories have we heard of money and fame bringing with it access to a lot of drugs and hard partying? I think the lingering notion that some have that Courtney Love had something to do with Kurt Cobain's death sort of started the trend of blaming the girl. I think that's kind of our go-to at this point.

Speaking of Mac Miller, Ariana Grande came out with a song called "Thank U, Next" where she mentions the guys she's dated, including the recently departed Mac Miller. The song isn't as cute as she or her fans might think it is. She was about to get married to Pete over the Summer, and now they're totally broken up? And they didn't even date a year?  I don't know. I know Ariana is young, but she's maybe a little too old to be in and out of relationships like an episode of SATC.

All of the people listed had long, long histories of mental health issues, drug abuse, or both. Yet people find it so shocking that a person with mental health issues might commit suicide, or a drug addict might overdose? In some cases like Ariana Grande and Courtney Love, the women involved had their own money and didn't need the man for financial support. I also don't understand the Courtney Love theory because I don't understand how anyone could think Courtney Love of all people, the ultimate loose cannon, would have been able to keep completely silent about it for 25 years if she did something. I'm not ruling out completely that someone else was involved in Kurt's death in some way, but does anyone really think Courtney would have had her shit together enough to pull something like that off and then never let anything slip?

Honestly I think Ariana Grande's erratic behavior is due to the trauma of the Manchester bombing, then being in a relationship with a drug addict and leaving him knowing he was probably going to die, which he then actually did. Combine that with the pressures of celebrity and I don't think she is thinking rationally at this point.

[Neko]

I don't know if the Manchester bombing is entirely responsible for Ariana's behavior.  The doughnut-licking incident happened well before that.  I think she's always been erratic.

Edited November 7, 2018 by Sweet Summer Child

[GaT]

12 hours ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

Honestly I think Ariana Grande's erratic behavior is due to the trauma of the Manchester bombing, then being in a relationship with a drug addict and leaving him knowing he was probably going to die, which he then actually did. Combine that with the pressures of celebrity and I don't think she is thinking rationally at this point.

 

2 hours ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

I don't know if the Manchester bombing is entirely responsible for Ariana's behavior.  The doughnut-licking incident happened well before that.  I think she's always been erratic.

 

This is the girl who insisted on being carried everywhere. Her people denied it, but there were photos of it. She also insisted on being photographed on the left side of her face only resulting in this hilarious video for the song "Popular" with Mika in which she manages to always keep the left side of her face always visible. I think she had issues looooong before Manchester.

Edited November 7, 2018 by GaT

[BuyMoreAndSave]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

 

This is the girl who insisted on being carried everywhere. Her people denied it, but there were photos of it. She also insisted on being photographed on the left side of her face only resulting in this hilarious video for the song "Popular" with Mika in which she manages to always keep the left side of her face always visible. I think she had issues looooong before Manchester.

 

3 hours ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

I don't know if the Manchester bombing is entirely responsible for Ariana's behavior.  The doughnut-licking incident happened well before that.  I think she's always been erratic.

True. But it couldn't have helped either.

[27bored]

On 11/7/2018 at 3:02 AM, BuyMoreAndSave said:

All of the people listed had long, long histories of mental health issues, drug abuse, or both. Yet people find it so shocking that a person with mental health issues might commit suicide, or a drug addict might overdose? In some cases like Ariana Grande and Courtney Love, the women involved had their own money and didn't need the man for financial support. I also don't understand the Courtney Love theory because I don't understand how anyone could think Courtney Love of all people, the ultimate loose cannon, would have been able to keep completely silent about it for 25 years if she did something. I'm not ruling out completely that someone else was involved in Kurt's death in some way, but does anyone really think Courtney would have had her shit together enough to pull something like that off and then never let anything slip?

Re: Courtney Love. Well, there are several theories floating around that either she or someone else killed him, not that he committed suicide. They're fleshed out on the Wikipedia page. Sometimes people "tell" things in their own way. Of course she was before he died, but think of her career and her own issues with drugs over the years. Just saying. Maybe she was numbing more than pain...

On 11/7/2018 at 3:05 PM, GaT said:

 

This is the girl who insisted on being carried everywhere. Her people denied it, but there were photos of it. She also insisted on being photographed on the left side of her face only resulting in this hilarious video for the song "Popular" with Mika in which she manages to always keep the left side of her face always visible. I think she had issues looooong before Manchester.

True enough. Ariana's been weird. I remember when her first song came out, The Way. I didn't watch her on Cat Valentine -- because I'm an adult -- but I'd found an interview of her on a radio show and she seemed...weird. She had the same checked-out, doe-eyed look Beyonce started to get around the time she went solo, if anybody remembers back that far. Beyonce used to be kinda funny and a little quirky, but I guess Matthew told her she had to start carrying herself as A Star and they zapped all the personality out of her.

[BuyMoreAndSave]

4 hours ago, 27bored said:

Re: Courtney Love. Well, there are several theories floating around that either she or someone else killed him, not that he committed suicide. They're fleshed out on the Wikipedia page. Sometimes people "tell" things in their own way. Of course she was before he died, but think of her career and her own issues with drugs over the years. Just saying. Maybe she was numbing more than pain...

True enough. Ariana's been weird. I remember when her first song came out, The Way. I didn't watch her on Cat Valentine -- because I'm an adult -- but I'd found an interview of her on a radio show and she seemed...weird. She had the same checked-out, doe-eyed look Beyonce started to get around the time she went solo, if anybody remembers back that far. Beyonce used to be kinda funny and a little quirky, but I guess Matthew told her she had to start carrying herself as A Star and they zapped all the personality out of her.

Yeah I've seen Soaked In Bleach and that other documentary. I feel like a celebrity with constant access to money and high-purity drugs could potentially develop a massive enough tolerance to shoot up that much heroin and survive, although I don't know enough about it to say for sure. Also, if he was going to kill himself, it would make sense to shoot up a massive amount and simultaneously shoot himself as a fail-safe, although the logistics of that could be difficult. The ballistics are weird but, I don't know enough about ballistics to say why Cyril Wecht thinks they show one thing and the Seattle PD thinks they showed another. The story of El Duce being approached by Courtney to kill Kurt was obvious trolling and even confirmed as such by members of the band years later.

Courtney had drug and mental issues since she was a teenager. I wouldn't read too much into that because she was a mess long before she even met Kurt.

Either way Soaked In Bleach was pretty biased. For example when he escaped from the rehab they reenacted him calmly walking out the front door, when meanwhile IRL he climbed over a fence to escape. They wanted to advance this narrative that he was perfectly sane, he did not have any significant mental problems at the time, and his heroin addiction was only due to his stomach problems. That is completely untrue because it was documented that he had untreated bipolar disorder and according to Buzz Osborne, one of his oldest friends, he played up having stomach problems as an excuse to do heroin. The investigator also seems unduly suspicious of the shady behavior of Courtney, Dylan Carlson, etc. such as forgetting to tell him to check the room where Kurt's body was discovered, and giving evasive and contradictory answers...like of course they were acting shady and forgetting things and contradicting themselves, they were addicts and on heroin the entire time, with a dose of untreated mental illness added in for Courtney. And maybe they even supplied him with the drugs he shot up and were afraid of repercussions. That's just how people with severe drug addictions generally act.

This is a theory I have as to what happened. Kurt broke out of rehab and came home. He and Courtney were on the verge of divorce anyway and she was in LA at the time so she didn't look for him seriously, figuring he would resurface eventually. He hit up Cali or Dylan (or both) asking for drugs. They came over with the drugs and Kurt overdosed. It could have been intentional or not, but with the amount of drugs and his mental state, the chances are high it was intentional. Cali and/or Dylan discovered him shortly afterwards and were like "oh shit." They knew in such a high-profile case, the police would most likely come after whoever sold him the drugs, and they would be screwed. So they staged the scene of him shooting himself to make it look like it wasn't the drugs that killed him. Courtney most likely never even knew about it since she would be a loose cannon. I don't know if forensic analysis would be able to tell if he had been shot after death or before depending on the amount of time that passed, but that would explain the ballistics, the high amount of heroin, the erratic behavior from all parties including Kurt, the note, etc. while getting rid of the problems of getting away with murder and Courtney not saying something about it.

I think most celebrities go at least kind of insane between the unlimited access to everything, the constant attention both good and bad, and the pressure to be perfect.

[27bored]

Yeah, I think there are a few plausible theories, but we’ll never know for sure. I think I read somewhere that Seattle PD still gets a few calls a year requesting Kurt’s case be reopened.

 

Here’s another UO: I told some of my friends that Evanescence should do the Super Nowl Halftime Show at some point and they laughed at me and said no way. But I think they would make a good Halftime show. They have enough hits to fill up the time, and they’re anthemic enough to fit the venue. Am I wrong?

[Joe]

1 hour ago, 27bored said:

Here’s another UO: I told some of my friends that Evanescence should do the Super Nowl Halftime Show at some point and they laughed at me and said no way. But I think they would make a good Halftime show. They have enough hits to fill up the time, and they’re anthemic enough to fit the venue. Am I wrong?

From what little I've heard of them, the singer has a really whiny voice. You're a rock star, bloody act like it!

[BuyMoreAndSave]

19 hours ago, 27bored said:

Yeah, I think there are a few plausible theories, but we’ll never know for sure. I think I read somewhere that Seattle PD still gets a few calls a year requesting Kurt’s case be reopened.

 

Here’s another UO: I told some of my friends that Evanescence should do the Super Nowl Halftime Show at some point and they laughed at me and said no way. But I think they would make a good Halftime show. They have enough hits to fill up the time, and they’re anthemic enough to fit the venue. Am I wrong?

Hey you never know, Courtney or Dylan Carlson might come out with new information one day. I like Earth (Dylan Carlson's band) so I hope he had nothing nefarious to do with it (I don't think the scenario I described above counts as nefarious since he was already dead in that scenario) but really, with all the allegations that have come out about various musicians and such in the last few years, who knows for sure.

I hate Evanescence but I feel like it would be hilarious to have a depressing emo halftime show, so I'd like to see it. Especially if Bruno Mars is a featured guest (I sincerely apologize in advance for posting this video).

[vibeology]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 7:11 AM, 27bored said:

Here’s another UO: I told some of my friends that Evanescence should do the Super Nowl Halftime Show at some point and they laughed at me and said no way. But I think they would make a good Halftime show. They have enough hits to fill up the time, and they’re anthemic enough to fit the venue. Am I wrong?

I hate to argue with an unpopular opinion, but you're wrong. They're not relevant enough and do not have enough hits to fill up a half time show. Bring Me To Life peaked at #5. My Immortal at #7 and I didn't recognize another song on their Wikipedia page. And they haven't been popular in a long time.

My UO: I don't get the fuss around Thank You, Next. I love Ariana but that song isn't much of anything. The shout out to Mac is sweet but beyond that it was something I needed to hear once and then I was good.

[BuyMoreAndSave]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

My UO: I don't get the fuss around Thank You, Next. I love Ariana but that song isn't much of anything. The shout out to Mac is sweet but beyond that it was something I needed to hear once and then I was good.

It seems to be mostly the message of the song, because usually hit songs about exes are like "fuck you!" and this is a less commonly seen take on it. I think a lot of people see their past relationships this way in real life. People appreciate that it's a positive song about a bad situation. Also I feel like she may be in the place of where Taylor Swift was a few years ago, where she is increasing in popularity because people listen to her songs due to her relationship issues being publicized.

Unpopular opinion: seeing the video of Mac Miller's body being removed from his house by the coroner made me want to never touch drugs or alcohol again. I stopped drinking a few months ago, not because I drank excessively at all but because I met someone who was an alcoholic during a night out and it really depressed me and put me off the whole idea of it (also my brother is a recovering alcoholic and my parents drank every day growing up). I also gave up benzos after Chris Cornell died, even though I was legally taking them for anxiety...well so was he. But now I realize that like half the musicians I listen to are dead from causes related to substance abuse, many around my age or even younger, and that really makes me never want to go near any of that stuff again, it's like, fuck that shit, enough already. US drug culture has to change, where the message is you're not having fun unless you're drunk/high and the more and harder drugs you do, the more fun you're having. And we have to support decriminalization and harm reduction, and building stronger communities, and helping addicted people get their lives back on track, so we can stop losing so many people.

Edited November 15, 2018 by BuyMoreAndSave

[Annber03]

59 minutes ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

But now I realize that like half the musicians I listen to are dead from causes related to substance abuse, many around my age or even younger, and that really makes me never want to go near any of that stuff again, it's like, fuck that shit, enough already. 

I remember seeing a PSA a number of years back that made this point in an interesting way:

I fully agree with your suggestions, both in regards to wanting to change both the drug culture and how we deal with drug addiction. 

[BuyMoreAndSave]

6 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I remember seeing a PSA a number of years back that made this point in an interesting way:

I fully agree with your suggestions, both in regards to wanting to change both the drug culture and how we deal with drug addiction. 

Even a lot of the celebrities who died from drugs had that message. Layne Staley wanted people to realize how terrible heroin is and he was devastated when he learned that some people were actually influenced to do heroin after listening to Alice in Chains.

[Annber03]

16 minutes ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

Even a lot of the celebrities who died from drugs had that message. Layne Staley wanted people to realize how terrible heroin is and he was devastated when he learned that some people were actually influenced to do heroin after listening to Alice in Chains.

I can imagine. Sometimes the best advice and warnings can come from people who've been down that dark road, and know exactly how bad it can be. It's sad that Staley's struggles got him in the end (and looking it up, he was the age I am now when he died. Dang, that's way too young). 

[UYI]

This seems to be unpopular among some of the diehard Carebears (Carrie Underwood's fanbase), but I LOVE "Undo It", I don't care how stupid it sounds; it's FUN!

[WendyCR72]

9 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I can imagine. Sometimes the best advice and warnings can come from people who've been down that dark road, and know exactly how bad it can be. It's sad that Staley's struggles got him in the end (and looking it up, he was the age I am now when he died. Dang, that's way too young). 

The worst part of Layne Staley's death was it was, I believe, two WEEKS before his body was discovered. Apparently, he had become a total recluse [and had not recorded with AIC for a good while prior], but his mother became worried when he did not call or whatever. Apparently, the cops had to break in. His mom was right behind them with his stepdad. Despite the warnings not to go in and see him that way, she did. (I read a book about AIC/Layne's struggles...) And apparently sat talking to his corpse, apologizing that she couldn't help him. God.

Even eerier is the fact that it was believed his approximate death was the exact same day Kurt Cobain had died eight years prior. Very ironic, two grunge legends gone in such horrific circumstances on the same date years apart.

Heroin is a horrible, horrible drug. (Never ever did drugs, but the evidence is clear.)

[Annber03]

Yeah, I read a bit about that when looking up when he died. So disturbing and heartbreaking. 

I hadn't heard about this part, though:

12 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

His mom was right behind them with his stepdad. Despite the warnings not to go in and see him that way, she did. (I read a book about AIC/Layne's struggles...) And apparently sat talking to his corpse, apologizing that she couldn't help him. God.

Ye gods :(. That's...wow. I can't even imagine. 

[27bored]

On 11/15/2018 at 2:27 AM, BuyMoreAndSave said:

I hate Evanescence but I feel like it would be hilarious to have a depressing emo halftime show, so I'd like to see it. Especially if Bruno Mars is a featured guest (I sincerely apologize in advance for posting this video).

Aww, what's wrong with Evanescence? I agree, though. It would be great to have an over the top goth emo rock group do the Halftime Show. But it would rock.

On 11/15/2018 at 3:46 PM, vibeology said:

I hate to argue with an unpopular opinion, but you're wrong. They're not relevant enough and do not have enough hits to fill up a half time show. Bring Me To Life peaked at #5. My Immortal at #7 and I didn't recognize another song on their Wikipedia page. And they haven't been popular in a long time.

My UO: I don't get the fuss around Thank You, Next. I love Ariana but that song isn't much of anything. The shout out to Mac is sweet but beyond that it was something I needed to hear once and then I was good.

They haven't had many eras even though they've been around for almost twenty years. But remember: the Halftime Show is only about nine minutes. And to be fair: their first and second albums sold very well even for the pre-streaming, post-Napster era. They don't have many hits, but if you're around my age, you probably could name plenty of their songs, hit or not. But that aside, they could just do their hits: My Immortal, Bring Me To Life, Going Under, Call Me When You're Sober, and My Heart Is Broken. The latter song is great IMHO. Everyone should go listen.

I totally agree with you about that Ariana Grande song. I might have posted something similar, or at least I meant to. I heard it and I was cool after that. I'm a little tired of them trying to make Ariana as inconsequential as possible. She's already not the most exciting singer or performer, so to keep forcing these Cute Songs sung in a Cute Voice by a Cute Girl is too much tapering. Ariana's plenty effervescent. If anything, she needs more weighty material.

On 11/15/2018 at 6:52 PM, UYI said:

This seems to be unpopular among some of the diehard Carebears (Carrie Underwood's fanbase), but I LOVE "Undo It", I don't care how stupid it sounds; it's FUN!

 

Yeah, I like that silly little song too. For Carrie to be such a sweetheart, she sure does love those sassy little songs like that.

 

Another UO: While Liberation wasn't much to write home about, I gotta show some love for Telepathy by Christina Aguilera. One of the most underrated songs in the last five years, IMHO. I can't say I would've wanted an entire album of this sophisticated disco from her, but it was nice to hear. She sounds eerily like Whitney in parts.

[Shannon L.]

From the A Star is Born soundtrack, three songs are getting presented for consideration for an Oscar nomination:  Shallow, Always Remember Us This Way, and I'll Never Love Again.  I'm assuming it will be Shallow that gets the nomination because it seems to be the most prominent one in the movie and the promos (if a movie can get up to two songs nominated, my guess would be I'll Never Love Again as that song).  My UO, is that Shallow is my least favorite of the three.  Not by much, though--they are separated by a very slim margin, but yeah, I love Always Remember Us This Way. That one is my favorite of the three.

[GaT]

4 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

From the A Star is Born soundtrack, three songs are getting presented for consideration for an Oscar nomination:  Shallow, Always Remember Us This Way, and I'll Never Love Again.  I'm assuming it will be Shallow that gets the nomination because it seems to be the most prominent one in the movie and the promos (if a movie can get up to two songs nominated, my guess would be I'll Never Love Again as that song).  My UO, is that Shallow is my least favorite of the three.  Not by much, though--they are separated by a very slim margin, but yeah, I love Always Remember Us This Way. That one is my favorite of the three.

Shallow is the only song I've heard from the movie, & I don't get all the love. It sounds really boring to me.

[Shannon L.]

19 minutes ago, GaT said:

Shallow is the only song I've heard from the movie, & I don't get all the love. It sounds really boring to me.

I think it has more to do with the context in which it was sung.  It started as a really  quiet, sweet, and candid "making it up as you go along" moment, then turned into an exciting game changer for the female lead. 

[BuyMoreAndSave]

On 11/16/2018 at 8:44 PM, 27bored said:

Aww, what's wrong with Evanescence?

The lady's voice annoys the crap out of me.

[Neko]

13 hours ago, BuyMoreAndSave said:

The lady's voice annoys the crap out of me.

Seconded.

[Ohwell]

Josh Groban's voice annoys me to no end.

Glad I got that off my chest.

[littlewonder]

This one hard to admit... deep breath...  I love this hip-hop cover of Bohemian Rhapsody.

[UYI]

Pentatonix does nothing for me. Just not my thing at all. 

[WendyCR72]

25 minutes ago, UYI said:

Pentatonix does nothing for me. Just not my thing at all. 

Not unpopular with me. They are all over the radio during the holidays and I still don't get why. Their rendition of "Let It Snow!" annoys the crap out of me.

[UYI]

Toto's cover of "Hash Pipe">>>>>>>>>>>>>Weezer's cover of "Africa".

"Back to You" and "It Ain't Me" are Selena Gomez's best songs.

"Say Amen (Saturday Night)" is a better Panic! At The Disco song than "High Hopes", and I wish it had been the song to cross over to the pop charts.

Despite Appetite for Destruction technically being GNR's most cohesive album, I have a softer spot overall for the UYI albums, largely due to the "Don't Cry", "November Rain", and "Estranged" trilogy (and yes, that's where my screen name comes from!).

Speaking of which: I LOVE GNR's cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", random phone call interlude and all!

From Christina Aguilera's Stripped album: "Fighter">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"Beautiful".

From Kacey Musgraves' Golden Hour: "Butterflies">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"Space Cowboy".

Despite some minor quibbles about the lyrics, I love Carrie Underwood's "Love Wins" and wish it had performed a bit better on the country charts. 

Related: Carrie Underwood's album Play On is not that bad at all, but the release of "Mama's Song" as a single probably killed its momentum. "Quitter" would have made a MUCH better single! (I will always stan for "Undo It", though, sorry not sorry.)

As much as I love Rosanne Cash, I might be starting to love her stepsister, Carlene Carter, just a tiny bit more. 

[Neko]

On 12/7/2018 at 4:40 PM, UYI said:

From Christina Aguilera's Stripped album: "Fighter">>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"Beautiful".

This is unpopular?  I always thought "Fighter" was her best song, period.

[UYI]

19 minutes ago, Sweet Summer Child said:

This is unpopular?  I always thought "Fighter" was her best song, period.

Maybe it's not, I just always tend to see a lot of love for the latter song, and I hear it on the radio MUCH more often.