From: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org (believers-digest) To: believers-digest@smoe.org Subject: believers-digest V8 #49 Reply-To: believers@smoe.org Sender: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-believers-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk believers-digest Sunday, March 21 2004 Volume 08 : Number 049 In Today's believer's digest: ----------------- NoJo bashing ["Richard Hill" ] Re: NoJo bashing [WoodellDC@aol.com] So Nice (was NoJo bashing) ["Ron Rosen" ] Re: NoJo bashing [meredith ] House concert CDs [Leslie Dreyer Kalra ] Re: NoJo bashing ["Ron Rosen" ] Re: NoJo bashing [Kellie Lin Knott ] Re: bashing [PBacoustic@aol.com] Re: NoJo bashing ["Ron Rosen" ] Re: NoJo bashing [John DeFord ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 04:17:10 -0600 From: "Richard Hill" Subject: NoJo bashing It's so predictable. Norah Jones has, much to her own surprise, sold approx. 20 million discs, worldwide (so far). Then follows the mentality that, if she's that successful, then she's horrid. I wasn't paying very much attention, as Norah made her radio debut (with Vin Scelsa 9-29-01), but the instant she started singing, she leaped through that radio and commanded my attention faster than any artist ever had before. As Vin's interview continued, I pulled up Norah's website, checked her itinerary, and then within those next few weeks before "Come Away With Me" was released, I caught her in concert twice (one of those was at Schubas). I've been a huge fan, ever since that initial Vin Scelsa interview. Sure, Norah is imperfect. As was pointed out here in the last few days, so is Susan Werner. I love both of them. Further, to quote Susan Werner (from her "Morning Edition" interview w. Susan Stamberg): "I also think what's great about the Norah Jones recordings is that she whispers to you, she draws you in, and that's a wonderful thing for music to offer people." To my ears, that sounds like respect and admiration, not annoyance. Yes, of course we all have our own individual tastes in music. It just annoys the heck out of me when I see Norah so easily dismissed. To my ears, Norah has been a major breath of fresh air, at a time when we need all the fresh air we can get. Off my soapbox, back to lurkdom, ~Richard HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 10:54:32 EST From: WoodellDC@aol.com Subject: Re: NoJo bashing Richard came out of lurkdom to comment: > It's so predictable. Norah Jones has, much to her own surprise, sold > approx. > 20 million discs, worldwide (so far). Then follows the mentality that, if > she's that successful, then she's horrid. > - --- I was thinking the same thing on the ride home for work last night, listening to the World Cafe replay of NoJo, part 2. She's OK. She does some interesting things; she covers Tom Waits and Gram Parsons; not too shabby! I sometimes drive home listening to the college station where I teach my class; try listening to some speed and/or death metal and you'll appreciate NoJo greatly! I know folks who have the same negative vibes about Sheryl Crow (or is it SheCrow?). It's as if we resent their success. I say, Enjoy! Deb (who lurks here, too, but needs to get out more) === The further in you look, the further out you see... -- Sonia Rutstein === You want a rich experience on this earth, so seek it out. -- Nicole Kidman HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 09:05:36 -0800 From: "Ron Rosen" Subject: So Nice (was NoJo bashing) I had never heard of NoJo until Susan mentioned her a couple years ago. I really have nothing against her. I thought I Don't Know Why was nice (even if the main hook of the melody came from Yesterday). I think the resentment of NoJo among Susan fans is simply because they feel that Susan should get more recognition. But now, wouldn't it be So Nice if the new CD exposed Susan to the likes of NoJo, Diana Krall and others and maybe one of these days one of Suze's songs will make it onto one of their albums? I received the new CD yesterday, and right now I've got it on the juke along with the romantic song cycles from two live shows. I'm comparing the new release with the live show versions. I remember the time when people would go to shows and be frustrated that the bands didn't sound like their records. Now sometimes we are frustrated when the recordings don't sound like the live shows!! HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 13:04:54 -0500 From: meredith Subject: Re: NoJo bashing Hi, >It's so predictable. Norah Jones has, much to her own surprise, sold approx. >20 million discs, worldwide (so far). Then follows the mentality that, if >she's that successful, then she's horrid. Speaking just for myself, that doesn't apply at all. My feelings about her have been the same since the very first time I heard her, before people really knew who she was. I first heard Norah Jones when Rita Houston got back from SXSW two years ago and suddenly she was *all over* WFUV. This was right after the album came out, but before it started rocketing up the charts. Hardly anybody knew who she was then. I remember listening and thinking, "why???" There's just no "there" there. No emotion behind the songs at *all*. She might as well be singing her shopping list. And seeing her in live performance on tv didn't help. Even now (she was just on SNL a couple weeks ago) she's like a zombie up there on stage, reproducing her recordings precisely note-for-note. That just doesn't interest me. It completely befuddles me that she's sold as many albums as she has and won all those Grammys. I don't begrudge her success at all -- I've seen and heard interviews with her, and I'm sure she's a really nice person I'd enjoy hanging out with. I'm glad she now has enough money to move into a better apartment in NYC, and I especially appreciate the donation she made to the new Living Room of her old Yamaha studio upright piano that actually stays in tune. (Anyone who ever suffered through an unwitting artist using the toy spinet piano in the old Living Room will know exactly what I mean.) I do, however, have trouble understanding why she's become all that, as bland and paper-thin as her music is. I sincerely hope her success opens doors for artists like Susan, who actually sing what they mean and mean what they sing. American pop radio is chock-full of empty blandness, but I do believe that there are lots of people out there who just simply don't know what they're missing. =============================================== Meredith Tarr New Haven, CT USA mailto:meth@smoe.org http://www.smoe.org/meth =============================================== Live At The House O'Muzak House Concert Series http://muzak.smoe.org =============================================== HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 12:52:16 -0500 From: Leslie Dreyer Kalra Subject: House concert CDs Hello, all.. Ron's mention of live show recordings made me remember again that I never got the CDs of the house concert that was distributed last year. I sent blank CDs and a self-addressed envelope to my "branch", and I sent reminders a couple of times, but I still don't have it. Would someone take pity on me and send me a copy? I'll send you blank CDs and an envelope, if you like. If you can, e-mail me privately and I'll send you my address. Many thanks... Leslie Dreyer Kalra HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 11:36:52 -0800 From: "Ron Rosen" Subject: Re: NoJo bashing > She might as well be singing her shopping list. Especially if it's coffee, ham, and eggs ! > I sincerely hope her success opens doors for artists like Susan, who > actually sing what they mean and mean what they sing. American pop radio > is chock-full of empty blandness, but I do believe that there are lots of > people out there who just simply don't know what they're missing. This is why Susan grabbed me in 1994 - she reminded me of artists of the 60s like no one since had done - someone who was saying some serious, emotional things in her music. A lot of people don't know what they're missing - although I've introduced a lot of people to Susan's music and no one has been grabbed by her like I was. Maybe I have the wrong friends... I do think that Susan will get a huge boost if a big- name artist records one of her romantic songs. I recall when I first heard The Beautiful Chains of Love I thought, if Sinatra had recorded this it would be a standard. Are you out there Tony Bennet? And the guy from New Orleans whose name I can't think of at the moment whose father is a DA... Harry Connick, Jr. ;- HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 16:41:07 -0500 From: Kellie Lin Knott Subject: Re: NoJo bashing >> It's so predictable. Norah Jones has, much to her own surprise, sold >> approx. >> 20 million discs, worldwide (so far). Then follows the mentality >> that, if >> she's that successful, then she's horrid. My feelings about Norah have nothing to do with her success. She seems very sweet - and I'm happy that she's doing well. Most folks that I know who really love her, say it's because she relaxes them. I can see how that would be the case. I wish her well. She's just not my cup of tea. I went to see her with some friends once, and every single one of us had trouble staying awake. I've never experienced that before - where a performer didn't eventually warm up and get my attention somehow. Norah seemed really unhappy to be onstage, and so nervous. She hardly addressed the audience, and played each note exactly as it was on the CD, except for the fact that every one of those notes seemed tinged with hesitance, as if she was terrified to hit a wanker. She also dropped the ends of all her phrases (both spoken and sung) so that I could only hear the first few words of any phrase. I really wanted to like her - because I had heard good things about her, but after listening to 'Come Away with Me' multiple times, hoping it would 'click' at some point, I gave up. I thought it was just me, but I know others as perplexed as myself. The CD is great for sleeping, and for low background music, because it's unobtrusive and nothing really happens. But, I'm grateful to Norah for opening the door for more nostalgic genres - and she's obviously spoken to quite a few listeners out there. Good for her. She ain't no Susan Werner, though, and that's not Norah bashing. They're different in performance style and emotional delivery - I just happen to prefer Susan. HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 16:55:07 EST From: PBacoustic@aol.com Subject: Re: bashing It's the basic perceived "unfairness" of it that's bugging people, obviously... the eternal question of why does one performer hit it big, while others equally or more talented continue to pay the dues... It's a little different for a rock and roll band -- I asked Monte Montgomery once after a packed bar gig whether he'd rather continue to play small venues and pack them full, or play for larger arenas... He laughed, and said, "What do YOU think?" Although I have a difficult time imagining Susan packing a 50,000 seat arena, I'm sure she'd be perfectly comfortable playing for 5-10,000 or so!!!! PB HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 14:35:36 -0800 From: "Ron Rosen" Subject: Re: NoJo bashing > I went to see her with some friends once, and every single one of us > had trouble staying awake. I've never experienced that before - Wait till you get to be my age.... > But, I'm grateful to Norah for opening the door for more nostalgic > genres - and she's obviously spoken to quite a few listeners out there. I thought Tony Bennet and Harry Connick already opened that door for the younger crowd! As a swing dancer, I've seen some great swing singers out here in LA over the last 15 years. Great singers laboring in relative obscurity. > It's the basic perceived "unfairness" of it that's bugging people, > obviously... the eternal question of why does one performer hit > it big, while others equally or more talented continue to pay the dues... Chant the following mantra...My Father is Ravi Shankar...My Father is Ravi Shankar... Not that Nora doesn't have talent, but it had to be a big coup for a record company to promote...Her Father is Ravi Shankar.. Her Father is Ravi Shankar HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Mar 2004 17:31:57 -0800 (PST) From: John DeFord Subject: Re: NoJo bashing - --- Kellie Lin Knott wrote: > The CD is great for > sleeping, and for low background music, because it's unobtrusive and > nothing really happens. yep. It's one of the very few cd's that can be on while I am concentrating on something else, reading, writing, computing, etc.. It's pretty funny that it is right up (down?) there with a white noise generator when there are chords and lyrics and stuff. Ambient is more interesting to me from a music listening perspective. I actually don't mind when she shows up in the mix on radio though, Norah is a good palate cleanser. Even though she is clearly not my cuppa tunes, I don't begrudge her the popularity and success she has received. Popular music has never been a fair or level playing field. All I can do is support those whom I like and hope that they make enough to keep them dry and warm at night with a good supply of guitar strings, strong coffee, and the urge to keep 'courting the muse'. - -john ===== ........... Sometimes the beauty of life John ...... Hits like lightning .... DeFord Washing everything clear ........... -Shawn Colvin http://fridgepoets.com HELP! owner-believers@smoe.org Send mail to believers@smoe.org Susan's CD's are available on your desktop at World Cafe CDs http://worldcafecds.com ------------------------------ End of believers-digest V8 #49 ****************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- -------------------------- This has been a posting from the Susan Werner believers-digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe believers-digest" in the body of the message