Messages

16

General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Heroes And Thieves - Live Video!

« on: November 22, 2006, 06:03:13 pm »

hey thanks for the comments. I respect every one of your comments and I know music is an extremely subjective kind of art... It's always great for people to like OR dislike music. Even today, the greatest classical composer Mozart is not universally liked. Just please refrain from ad hominem attacks on members. This is a discussion on Vanessa and I think we would benefit just keeping our discussion on her.

I do not have a record deal nor am I a singer-songwriter but as a classical and jazz composer, I am entitled to music critique. Anyways critique does not need to be backed by credentials. Who cares if I am a classical/jazz composer! Music is music and anyone who has an ear is entitled to voice his opinion. I respect all of you for voicing your opinions. That is the beauty of music.

As for saying that I am talking about vanessa in a disparaging tone by putting myself on a higher level than hers... well, all i have to say is that I do not believe that I am making myself superior when I criticize a musician. I am a musician myself and criticism is what I survive on. People always tell me how I could improve and in the same way, I am just putting out my take of areas where Vanessa could improve.

Music is like an English paper. You can always find places for improvement. You can take an English paper and tell the writer that nothing is wrong but you also know they could benefit from some advice. It is just the same thing. Being a music analyzer is totally different from being the performer. I can analyze the perfomance of an orchestra or literature, but I cannot be the orchestra or publish a book that will be deemed literature in the future. The fact that I cannot "be" the works I analyze does not make my comments trash.

I also have to say that your treatment of Vanessa Piana is quite unfair. I find it quite sad that someone who obviously is a fan of vanessa's cannot express their dislike in certain parts of her music. By saying that Vanessa Piana does not deserve to be supported as an artist on this board and that everyone should *boycott* her music in the future is something that does not pertain to vanessa's music. Again these ad hominem attacks are quite harmful.

17

General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Heroes And Thieves - Live Video!

« on: November 20, 2006, 03:26:16 am »

finally someone who understands what I think I love vanessa or else why would I be here? This is just my opinion and as a fan I am not obligated to like every song she sings.

Maybe vanessa could benefit from a more formal study of songwriting... with a classical background i think it wouldn't be difficult for her, but if she has to rely on her "hit or miss" songwriting skills at the moment, then i don't she will go very far. She has a talent for songwriting but just relying on probing her way blindlessly through the art of songwriting herself will ultimately cost her her career. I think one of the best ways she could learn is if she stopped being an isolated, headstrong artist and would engage in more co-writing with renowned composers.

If she's making mistakes and she learns from herself, she's bound to make the same mistakes again.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Heroes And Thieves - Live Video!

« on: November 16, 2006, 01:27:35 am »

high parts are good. I love the leap but the inward resolutions are icky... I especially dislike the compound meter *blech* I wish vanessa would stop using it please!! So far I have been underwhelmed with vanessa's new/ simpler/ and cutesy sound. Harmonies are so conventional and worn out... I wish she would try some other chords besides her diatonic ones or use some more passing modulations. I can't stand the cuteness of Vanessa's music anymore.. It sounds too much like music for kids or something.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Will Vanessa make a comeback or remain as is?

« on: October 03, 2006, 03:20:22 am »

actually, you'll be surprised to know the top ten earnings from celebrities comes from alicia keys and Norah Jones according to a time article i read last year. They truly have their unique style and great song writing ability and they deserve that fame. They definitely do not "whore" themselves to the world. It's surprising to know that only these two artists are on the same list with oprah... not christina aguilera or britney. search up top 10 celebrities or something on time's website and you should find the article.

we always have a misconception that pop= selling out= bad= sex appeal.
To some degree, this is true, but pop/ mainstream also encompasses a thousand variety of styles.. it's not just a homogenous mixture of beyonce, britney, and christina aguilera. Being popular means selling music and doesn't alwys mean that one is trading artistic integrity for money.. some people choose to be the way they want to be.

Alicia and Norah deserve their fame, because they were lucky in the first place and also (i'm not afraid to say this) because they are more talented, educated, and innovative songwriters than vanessa carlton.

Nessa needs to develop her own unique sense of songwriting within a pop context... You can't argue that it's impossible in pop... just look at tori amos.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Will Vanessa make a comeback or remain as is?

« on: September 30, 2006, 05:22:45 am »

it's all about luck... if she get's lucky i see no reason why nessa can't make a comeback. Sadly, I know that she won't get anywhere with her mere abilities alone...Even though i'm a fan, I know there are thousands more talented artists out there.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Will Vanessa make a comeback or remain as is?

« on: September 21, 2006, 02:32:09 am »

wishful thinking... Seriously vanessa carlton's songs are becoming too bland. From a musical perspective that is what i think. I've heard her new songs and they sound very much like love pop songs -- not interesting at all. What people look for in pop is #1) catchy hook and #2) a great production.

You have no idea how easy it is to tell between an indie label record and a major label one due to the production. Production IS the whole basis of what makes pop music appealing... and I hope that Nessa can seriously consider that aspect in her songs---> ATM was well produced AND catchy ...White houses was well produced but a bit more bland.

If vanessa is to come back in any way, she's got to learn to write better "musically". A Fine pop song is extremely hard to write even though it can be simple. People assume that since vanessa is a classical pianist she's well trained in the "music" area. Actually, pop and art music are two different things and serve two different functions...If vanessa wants to come back, she's gotta seriously consider how she's going to put herself out the world and really improve on her songwriting skills.

I'm not going to comment on the lyrics, because I'm only a musician. I'm not trying to put Vanessa down in any way, but it is just my opinion.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / To the lucky people in Taiwan and Indonesia

« on: August 26, 2006, 01:56:42 am »

I'm from Taiwan. Private radio was never released as a single here... However, white houses did get extremely heavy airplay and on mtv. If I remember correctly, Harmonium was in the top 5 (maybe 2nd) for 2 weeks.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Promosquad-This Time

« on: May 21, 2006, 07:51:23 am »

bland.... i'm so dissappointed. Seriously, i think linda perry's style is just bland pop...Don't get me wrong, because linda perry has produced some great songs, but she just doesn't do much for me. Personally, no one wants to hear bland pop music that sounds like childrens' songs, because the rhythms, harmony and melody are not at all exciting nor sophisticated.. "This time" is just boring... I'm very dissapointed. Nessa is basically spitting out reduced versions of "who's to say"'s.

 There's no edge to vanessa's music anymore and if this is the type of stuff vanessa is going to put out for her next record, it's just going to slip underneath all the great pop records out there and no one will hear about it. Even though A Thousand Miles wasn't very sophisticated (not a lot of songs are these days), it definitely had some groundbreaking elements: the killer piano riff, killer chord progression hook, killer syncopated string instrumentals, and a very ingeniously rhythmic driven melody that matched the lyrics very well....(you might be surprised that i say "rhythmic driven" but just take a listen again.. and you'll discover that very special element in the song)

Going the route of simplifying your music for the masses is not the way to go... I mean it's true that music can be "too sophisticated" for a pop audience to understand or relate to... but you're not going to go anywhere if you don't make yourself stand out... conformity will never do you any good... the best it can do is get you a one hit wonder.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / New Song! (premiered at the Palms, Melbourne gig)

« on: March 05, 2006, 02:32:29 am »

i'm so dissapointed with vanessa. She seems to be resorting to formulaic female lovey dovey pop songwriting style. I'm not impressed at all. .... If she uses these new songs in her next album it is almost guaranteed to be sipped underneath the surface of a thousand other competing pop albums. There's nothing that sounds groundbreaking.... A thousand miles, both the song and the video, were groundbreaking even though it quite a simple melody. I don't see Vanessa achieving the same kind of popularity as she did during the ATM period.... I really hope Vanessa can do well in the future, but I think chances are slim after listening to her new compositions.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / My Vanessa Record Arrived!

« on: July 19, 2005, 02:39:48 am »

there's no point in defending vinyls... it's very true what Will said and he explained very well! (i won't have to repeat all of that explanation now  Cd IS a superior format in terms of sound quality. Of course, theoretically vinyl can exceed cd's limitations, it is not at all practical. I'm not saying that cd is better than vinyl in general. I'm saying that cd is always better than vinyl in its sound quality; there is NO argument to that. If you're looking for a picture label vinyl, or you are a scratch dj, or you just simply like the "vinyl sound", go ahead and buy this record at all means. As for the purposes of listening to a vanessa recording with the best sound quality you can get, just stick to the cd. After all, that is one of the big reasons that vinyls are NOT the major music format anymore and cd's are.

I find that some people just have a tendency to rebel to anything or want to be people that don't follow the traditional norms. Thus, there have been a lot of people spreading false myths glorifying vinyls for the sake of thinking it is so cool to be old skool and different from widespread use of cd's. I think that just makes you look dumber.

ok enough with my thoughts... and the last part was just my opinion and observation so if anyone was offended, GOOD FOR YOU! just kidding. I just hope everyone realized some things out all this.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / PUNK'D

« on: April 23, 2005, 05:44:21 am »

well, it's kind of hard to find this funny for people who might not be musicians or who don't listen with much of a critical ear. The band she played with was just so sloppy and the style so out of sync with Vanessa's ... I found it so funny... Also, there are some parts that need earphones to be able to be heard properly... man it's funny. you even see one of the guitarists tuning halfway through the practice! lol.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / Vanessa Carlton Live in Nashville - VCD Ready!

« on: April 14, 2005, 07:21:04 am »

some dvd players and all ps2's won't play vcd's because they don't have mpeg capabilities... vcd's aren't an essential part of dvd players: they are considered extras. however, all computers should be able to play vcds.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / no. 25th "pop" album on amazon

« on: December 01, 2004, 05:42:19 am »

Hi guys,

Vanessa isn't doing that bad in the US after all. I went on the Amazon sales ranks for pop CD's and Vanessa is no. 25!!!!! that's a great achievement.

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General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / good news!! Harmonium doing really well!

« on: November 30, 2004, 02:49:44 am »

yah.. it's so weird that the 2nd single hasn't been released. Maybe they aren't going to release a 2nd single in the US, becuase Private radio, the 2nd single in Taiwan, has already been released to radio for 1 and a half weeks.

Yesterday, MTV also showed a whole hour of a Vanessa and MTV Taiwan interview which was quite interesting. I think the album will climb the charts this week after that one hour feature for vanessa.

30

General Vanessa Carlton Discussion / good news!! Harmonium doing really well!

« on: November 25, 2004, 05:45:43 pm »

Hi guys

I know Nessa hasn't been doing so well in the US. However, she is doing so well here in taiwan. Last week they played "Pleased to Meet You" on both MTV and Channel V for the whole week everyday. Then this week Vanessa is Artist of the Month for MTV. White houses has been playing like crazy on radio..... and PRIVATE RADIO too!!! Everyone loves it so much it's now debuted in the top 10 radio charts this week. It's the 10th most played song in taiwan at the moment!!! Commercials are also always on TV, so everything is going great for nessa.

O ya one more thing her album is is no. 10 at the moment for the National Album Sales chart beating Usher, Celine Dion, Korn, Avril, and Rod Stewart. Nessa is so amazing.