Fred, I'm away for the weekend so I won't be able to post this till Sunday night. Great post. I love the way you wrote this. The word choice. The phrasing.
I had no idea that there was a word for the vocal gymnastics made popular of late. "melisma" I looked it up at www.webster.com and found: > 1 : a group of notes or tones sung on one syllable in plainsong 2 : melodic embellishment > Thanks for teaching me a new word about music. I read this paragraph several times, then read it aloud for my friend. This post made my day and made me glad to still have a toe in this community. "faux soul caricature": wonderful phrase, Fred. All the best, Lama p.s. Obligitory Joni content: Example of "melisma" by a master [I took my share down by the sea Paper plates and Javex bottles on the tide Seagulls come down and they squawk at me Down where the water skiers gli-i-i-i-i-i-de] "Banquet" by Joni Mitchell Fred Simon said, >>I may be in the minority, but I don't really think Keys is all that, plus she's got melisma flatulence like crazy, just like almost every other latter-day nu-soul/R&B singer. Enough already. Listen to Mahalia Jackson, or Stevie Wonder, or Aretha, if you wanna hear some tasteful, proportioned melisma. I mean, it was bad enough when Mariah Carey came on the scene, but now every little Britney and Christina is obliged to stretch every syllable into a hundred notes of faux soul caricature.>
