Comments on: Old singers never die, they just Sail to Byzantium

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

As Bart Simpson, who surely knows whereof he speaks said, “Hollywood stars, what don’t they know.”

They don’t know themselves, that is what.

By: snowonpine

snowonpine — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Nyomythia–

Of course the other aspect of stardom that your post brings to mind is the problem of celebrities/stars/artists who step out of their fields of expertise and use their prominence to get a probably unmerited hearing for their “informed” and “enlightened” commentary on a host of political, military and foreign affairs issues including the war on terror, world hunger and Peace in the Middle East: Rob Reiner,Barbara Streisand, Bianca Jagger,Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin and Lynn Redgrave are names that spring to mind.

In judging their contributions one should first remember that many of these luminaries never went to college, some never finished high school and while they may seem smart and articulate when reading a script written by somebody else, this is not necessarily an indication of their true level of knowledge or intelligence.

Congress has not helped to dispel the confusion between seeming and reality and has actuallly made the problem worse by inviting stars to testify as expert witnesses at hearings devoted to subjects related to the characters they have played. Thus Sally Field, who once played a gritty Texas farm wife in the 1984 movie, “Places in the Heart”, was called on to testify at a hearing about the plight of the American farm family. Vince Edwards, who played Dr. Ben Casey in the early 1960’s TV series, was called upon to testify about the state of American medicine.

As Bart Simpson, who surely knows whereof he speaks said, “Hollywood stars, what don’t they know.”

By: paleomythia

paleomythia — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Sailing to Byzantium is often a ticket to Absurdia. The fans should not encourage that — like lovely looking smiling people offering roses bouquets to Michael Jackson. Old artist are not Gods – not saying that’s what’s being said – it’s just an observation brought on by the topic.

MJ isn’t old – but he is a somewhat of a great sage in his art.

By: snowonpine

snowonpine — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

You mean the Psychic Friends Network is phony?
I need to call my broker right away. Then, I guess, I need to call my new psychic pals Mookie and Whanghanna and tell them our get acquainted dinner at the restaurant next to my bank is off. It even looks like that bequest to my newly discovered Avatar of the great spirit on earth, Ka-ching, has to be rethought too.

By: SteveR

SteveR — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

this conversation of singers who hang on too long reminds me of how amazing are the ones that still sound the same well into their 60’s.

Jay Black (born David Blatt) can still hit all those high notes, just as he did years ago with Jay and the Americans. You should hear him sing “Cara Mia”

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Joshua: I think another strike against Warwick in people’s minds–at least those who remember this–is those ads she did for the Psychic Friends Network a while back.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Ms. Warwick isn’t alone. Joe Jackson used to have one of the most distinctive singing voices around, but it slowly became barely recognizable as he aged. [Listen to his albums Look Sharp! (1979) and Volume 4 (2003) back-to-back to hear how different he sounds now.]

Of course, it didn’t help that Jackson insisted upon making a bunch of side trips into other musical genres like classical music and showtunes (a la Billy Joel), but that’s another discussion.

By: Goesh

Goesh — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

I apologize for the intrusion but old regimes never seem to want to die either. Students in Iran have been protesting and fighting with the mullah’s security forces: http://www.thespiritofman.blogspot.com/ Bloggers from Iran do so at great risk and any Iranian blogger opposed to the mullahs needs encouraging words/support. They are wondering why our media is not picking up on this.

By: Goesh

Goesh — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

- I think so too,SCA, nice comment about the rent - expensive tastes don’t diminish well, from designer clothes to top-shelf Pennys doesn’t sit well with most folks….from prime rib to beans is a long fall

By: Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Well stated, to be sure.

Now, to be a bit sanguine, Ms Warwick may be promoting herself and what is left of her career because she has to.

Rent influences things like that.