Anyone ever heard of Michael Buble'?

[bham shooter]

My dad is always giving me stuff to listen to. We have different tastes in music, but both of us listen to a lot of good stuff. He loves older rock stuff, like Pink Floyd, Eagles, Chicago, Queen, etc. I like some of the same. But I also listen to a lot of the Jam Bands. I started out listening to Dave Matthews Band in high school, and then tried Phish, which I didn't like that much. Then Widespread Panic, which is a great southern rock, jam band. I listen to a lot of country as well.

But two of the CDs he has given me in the past few years have both been great. What's weird is that he gave them both to me before the guys got big in the US. The first one was Josh Grobin. Excellent voice. One of the most natural sounds I have heard in a while. About 6 months after that he had his first big hit, and a few months later he is singing at the Super Bowl. Michael Buble is the same way. (His last name is pronounced VU-Blay). He had bought the CD, and we were riding somewhere and he turned it on. It was great. I asked him who it was, and he took it out and gave it to me. He said he could get another one.

What's funny is that he is always listening to something different. I'll get in his car, and it could be a Classical music piece, an old rock song, some church music that he is practicing, something in Italian (Josh Grobin), country, rock, or just the radio.

[HulkXD]

I also am classically trained, specializing in Italian and French Arias. I had vocal training and I and my wife sing in weddings and for benefits and churches locally. My parents sing, my granparents sing, my older brother, also trained, sang professional gospel music for about 11 years, appearing on the Grand Ol' Opry 13 times. So, I think I have earned the right to comment on what is good music and singing, and what is crap. Most people, though, just want to see a hot blonde or some guy in tight jeans. That's why I am elated that guys like Brad Paisley are big in the music industry. Otherwise, I'd be forced to listen to older stuff, or the new crap. The days of a musician who can sing, play an instrument, and write thier own songs have gone the way of the 8 track!

Talking about the days of single cuts, there was an Eric Clapton blues album, I forget which one, that was released about 10 years ago, that was one solid take through the whole record. They literally went from one song to the other without any cuts or overdubs. That, my friends, is UNHEARD OF in today's industry.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now.

[Brickboy240]

Yes, my wife's current favorite. Great voice. We haven't seen a good vocal performer like him since Harry Connick Jr., really.

I saw him sing with Chris Botti and thought he was fantastic. He is a very gifted singer.

- Brickboy240

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by Brickboy240

Yes, my wife's current favorite. Great voice. We haven't seen a good vocal performer like him since Harry Connick Jr., really.

I saw him sing with Chris Botti and thought he was fantastic. He is a very gifted singer.

- Brickboy240

You should check out Peter Cincotti too.

[Brickboy240]

I hate to fall into the "old guy" category, but I agree about 90% of the radio fare these days. The musicianship is pretty much gone and they're computer enhanced wonders or grungy, angry types that just plain sound bad. I like a few of the newer bands, but yes, there is a huge abscence of bands like Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Queen, Yes, Talking Heads and other mainstream rock bands that prided themselves on actually being able to PLAY instruments...not mess with computers until it sounded good.

There ARE good musicians out there right now, but less and less of them actually see radioplay than in the past. Part of this also has to be the fault of large conglomerate companys like Clearchannel that buy up indy radio stations and "Wal-Mart-ize" them by making them homogenous, bland and repetitive and less spontaneous and creative as they were in their indy days.

Clearchannel owns several stations here in Houston and they're all very bland, predictable, boring stations that show little creativity and bore me to tears, no matter what the music format...theres a sameness and sterileness to their sound. The Clearchannel alternative rock station in Dallas sounds identical to the one in Houston. Gone is the original, different styles and a blandness has settled in. No more pioneering spirit...like MTV, it has all gone bland and flat and pretty predictable.

There may be great musicians out there today, but the "Wal-Martization" of US radio waves ensures that very few will see the light of day and the bland stuff we see right now will continue. Satellite radio may hold the key, if you want to hear something different, but I have pretty much given up on commercial radio stations...their blandness is what turns me off.

Sad..but true.

- Brickboy240

[XD-982]

I think he is an amazing singer. I'm pretty sure all his songs are old remakes

[HulkXD]

Originally Posted by XD-982

I think he is an amazing singer. I'm pretty sure all his songs are old remakes

For the most part, he does standards and jazz that were sung by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and others of that era, but he has also done covers of The Bee Gees (How Can You Mend A Broken Heart), Ray Charles (You Don't Know Me), Otis Redding (Try A Little Tenderness), and even Van Morrison and The Beatles. He also co-wrote the song, "Home" which went #1 on several international charts. If other songs he writes has the same powerful feel as "Home", we are in for a few years more of good music.

[boater1217]

Amazing Yesterday was my wife's birthday and our daugther give her his CD. We listened to it and thought it was great. We had never heard of the guy before. Now we are looking for more of his stuff.

[Plinkomatic]

If you like his work, you'll LOVE the new Paris Hilton record.
Her artistic genius really shines when she is on the mic.

[bham shooter]

Originally Posted by Brickboy240

There ARE good musicians out there right now, but less and less of them actually see radioplay than in the past. Part of this also has to be the fault of large conglomerate companys like Clearchannel that buy up indy radio stations and "Wal-Mart-ize" them by making them homogenous, bland and repetitive and less spontaneous and creative as they were in their indy days.

Clearchannel owns several stations here in Houston and they're all very bland, predictable, boring stations that show little creativity and bore me to tears, no matter what the music format...theres a sameness and sterileness to their sound. The Clearchannel alternative rock station in Dallas sounds identical to the one in Houston. Gone is the original, different styles and a blandness has settled in. No more pioneering spirit...like MTV, it has all gone bland and flat and pretty predictable.

There may be great musicians out there today, but the "Wal-Martization" of US radio waves ensures that very few will see the light of day and the bland stuff we see right now will continue. Satellite radio may hold the key, if you want to hear something different, but I have pretty much given up on commercial radio stations...their blandness is what turns me off.

Sad..but true.

- Brickboy240

I wholeheartedly agree. The only problem with Satellite radio is that it still censors the music. In my opinion, like with Cable TV that you pay for, the FCC should leave it alone. Broadcast channels like NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox should be regulated because anyone with a set of rabbit ears can pick them up for free. Same thing with radio stations. But with stuff that I am paying for, they should leave alone. I was listening to one of the XM stations the other day, and all of a sudden they had bleeped a rap song. And it's not like the bleeped the F-word. It was a$$. It really didn't bother me until I switched over to the country station and heard it in a Garth Brooks song. It's almost like if your music is known for it, it is gone over with a fine-tooth comb. But if it is not, they probably don't even listen to it. It's fine when Garth says it, but not when Nate Dogg does? How is that double standard fair in any way? It's not. And what I think is even worse, is the fact that some of the stations on XM allow uncensored music to play. They have an XL in their station name for Explicit Lyrics. So you're paying for this service, and have bought the fancy radio to hear it on, and if you're on one station listening to a certain song it is bleeped, but roll the dial a few forward to another station and hear the same song uncensored. It's not like they are competing for you to listen, it all comes from the same place. Sorry for the rant. Off my soapbox now.