Andreus Scholl versus Sam Smith?

Certainly one is, but it's neither Andreus nor Sam.

Dear Fred,

That does read a bit strong. Sorry.

I suppose what I am really thinking is that when one considers modern pop music, one can easily hanker for the style of the likes of Petula Clark and others. Tunes that remain memorable almost fifty years on, Clear words, delivered with the kind of clarity that seems to be a lost art and so on.

ATB from George

I've never drank any Andrues Scholl beer, but SM's is crap.

Smooth-pour gives you a proper headache!

Stick to the real stuff I say!

ATB from George

I watched both above singers and for me Andreus Scholl wins, he is pure pleasure to listen to his voice and for me he is at least a class above Sam Smith in the technique of singing.  I acknowledge that Sam Smith is a reasonably good singer, but for me personally his tone of voice is a little irritating, a lot like Phill Collins voice who also is a good singer with an irritating tone of voice. 

George - you really are sounding like a Victorian here. You are any 53 (a year younger than me), not 103. My Grandad always used to say, back in the 60s, when ever he heard the Beatles, or other popular beat combos, that 'it soils the ears of mankind', which I always thought was a nice line.

Now, I do like Andreas Scholl (it's an 'a' by the way, not an 'e') and have never heard Sam Smith as far as I know, but it's a bit daft to dismiss someone who is massively popular just because they are not a highbrow artist known to a small elite.

It's maybe time you let you hair down and went to some pub gigs with unknown bands, to hear the energy and sheer lust for life that exists. As you know, I love Bach, and indeed Andreas Scholl, but there really is a whole world out there. To hear my son's band in full flight is inspirational. 

I can't abide prog music, but millions do like it, and the musicianship is often brilliant, but I'm not going do dismiss it out of hand just because it's not my thing - that would be small minded.

Surely Sam Smith is a bit of popular fluff - to be forgotten in a couple of years - and not even prog rock, which at least is a bit of sand in the oyster. At least a pearl might come along, but Sam Smith is nothing but John Smith smooth-pour. It leaves you without a satisfactory taste, and gives you a massive head-ache next day.

What peeves me is that SS has garnered some Brit Award  - not that that would worry me - but rather that as a result we forced to listen to Radio One playing three songs of his in a row - Fern Cotton show last week!

It is enough to make a person want to slit their wrists if they care about real music making. At least Radio Three never inflicted on us three performances in a row of Andreas Scholl!

Very best wishes from George

Which rather raises the question of how you were forced to listen to Radio 1.........

George your posts reek of arrogance and ignorance and sound very like the nonsense my father used to spout about the Beatles, Stones etc. According to him they and their cronies would be forgotten in a couple of years.

Has Mr Scholl's voice still not broken or have his meat and two veg been reduced to just meat?

Come on now, your real name's Adam Adamant isn't it?

That would be you then.

What is your opinion of the musics of the world outside your smaller subset - 'European Classical'?

We are not discussing Balinese music, or Chinese Classical Opera, which has a history millennia older than Mozart or Monteverdi.

At work for eight hours a day, which just shows how much democracy intrudes on the feelings of minorities ..

George that was just an obviously jokey wee add on in the spirit of how this music affected me. I never proclaimed to know anything about this except for the effect it had on my ears. Frankly I thought it was hideous. For me it was totally lacking soul, life and at time did I feel like jumping on my seat and playing air guitar. Had I been tempted by the beautiful sounds I would have investigated further but I wasn't so I didn't.

By the way you never commented on the obvious arrogance and outrageously antiquated nature of your posts. I often enjoy your input as it's usually informative, interesting, funny, quaint or some combination of. This I confess to be bordering on the offensive.

My music is superior to yours. That's what you're actually saying.

I did comment, but edited to something more polite. This is the Music Room after all, but my opinion of your position and of your method of posting in your attitude both to me and toward your father [who by definition has more experience than you] could not be broadcast on Radio Four let alone this family show - The Music Room.

My opinion may be understood quite easily without being stated in all the rudeness necessary to underline it ...

ATB from George

Let's hear your worst. I can take it. It could hardly make you look sillier than you already do.

I was going to let this go because you didn't know my father but it was inappropriate of you even to mention him. An idiot is an idiot no matter how much experience he has and my old man was an idiot. He was a bully and I was terrified of him as a child. He beat me several times and punched me in the face when I was 16 putting my tooth through my lip. That was just after challenging me to a fight in the back garden because, “That was how real men sorted their differences”. My crime? Refusing to get a short back and sides. This was 1970, and my hair was much shorter than average at that time. He assaulted me, his son, because my hair wasn't quite short enough. The same son who'd been a prize-winning pupil every year at school and then at University.

When he died in 1978 I was distraught because I thought our conflict had been in some way at least partially responsible but I know now that wasn't the case. I feel anger when think of him. Anger that I hadn't had the opportunity to tell him what a dick he was before he died.

So don't dare drag him into this in a facile attempt to defend the ludicrous nature of your post.

Dear Tom,

I have no idea why you mentioned your father if you did not want to have him mentioned in reply!

And gave far too much information out about a dead person none of us know!

Still there it goes.

I do not see why you mention him in a thread about music. Seems that you have self-control issues.

Anyway. I shall avoid replying to your posts in future, even if they seem to beg a reply.

Best wishes from George

Originally posted by Geaoge J:

Seems that you have self-control issues.

Come on George, that’s a bit rich, I saw your reply before you edited it & also your reply to Florestan last weekend before it was deleted on Sunday, neither of which, I would have thought, showed much self restraint.

Its alright Morton, I am getting better at recognising Trolls these days. And at least I have the sense to delete things! In fact it took two goes by Tom for me to let fly and he deserved every inch of it.

I suspect that I would have preferred Tom's father to Tom!

Sometoimes there is a big need to shake the child up so he grows up properly.

Clearly the father died too soon in Tom's case.

ATB from George

I'm actually shocked into protest George. This is uncharacteristic and unnecessary...In my opinion.

G

Calling it as it is is not only necessary but necessary so as to prevent people considering that I am a soft touch. 

If you find that offensive then block me on the Forum.

Simples.

Must be the Norwegian influence!

+1, extreme

Has someone stolen George's identity I'm wondering?

G

No Graeme, they have not. 

Tom mentions his father, and I simply pointed to the elemental truth that  a father while he lives always has more experience than the son. At which point Tom went into over-drive. 

I'll not be pushed round by people who clearly have not yet grown up. This place is lot rougher than it used to be. One has to toughen up, unfortunately. 

We have not had a good musical thread for a long time. Most contributions seem to be trite or without a jot of understand of what is being discussed, and that makes me question the point of posting in the Music Room. 

ATB from George