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Quincy Jones on Taylor Swift: We Need Songs; Not Hooks

 
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Genero36



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 8:11 pm    ::: Quincy Jones on Taylor Swift: We Need Songs; Not Hooks Reply Reply with quote


Quincy Jones disses Taylor Swift's music: We need 'f—ing songs, not hooks'

Some people consider her the greatest songwriter of our age.

He laughs. “Whatever crumbles your cookie.”

What’s missing?

“Knowing what you’re doing. You know what I mean? Since I was a little kid, I’ve always heard the people that don’t wanna do the work. It takes work, man. The only place you find success before work is the dictionary, and that’s alphabetical.”

So if you were producing a record for Taylor Swift, what would you have her do?

“I’ll figure something out. Man, the song is the sh— — that’s what people don’t realize. A great song can make the worst singer in the world a star. A bad song can’t be saved by the three best singers in the world. I learned that 50 years ago.”

Plenty of people talk as though Taylor Swift has great songs.

“But they don’t know, man. They don’t know. I’ve come and gone through seven decades of this sh—. Seen all that. Seen how that works. Ignorance is no thing.”

http://ew.com/music/2018/01/29/quincy-jones-taylor-swift-gq-interview/



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jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 8:23 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Not putting myself in the great man's category on so many levels, but on some levels, like, had enough of the shit and keeping our mouths shut about it level, yeah. I'm with fucking Quincy. There is NO fucking excuse for anyone's ignorance any more. It's intolerable. Stop selling it as a virtue. You belong in the discount bins of record stores of bygone eras. But here you are and someone is telling us you're a superstar.


UK1996



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 8:29 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Interesting, Taylor certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea. I do think she is one of the greatest songwriters of our time. Catchy tunes are what she is known for but if you listen to her albums she has some very deep songs on every one. All Too Well from the Red album gets to me as much as any Celine Dion song. Some other really deep songs of hers include Ronan, a song about a little boy who died from cancer based on his mother's blogs(she wrote with Mom's permission), Dear John, The Best Day, and others. She is apart of writing all her songs, Speak Now she wrote exclusively by herself. Someone I think who is emerging as a great songwriter now is Julia Michaels.



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jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 8:36 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

UK1996 wrote:
Interesting, Taylor certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea. I do think she is one of the greatest songwriters of our time. Catchy tunes are what she is known for but if you listen to her albums she has some very deep songs on every one. All Too Well from the Red album gets to me as much as any Celine Dion song. Some other really deep songs of hers include Ronan, a song about a little boy who died from cancer based on his mother's blogs(she wrote with Mom's permission), Dear John, The Best Day, and others. She is apart of writing all her songs, Speak Now she wrote exclusively by herself. Someone I think who is emerging as a great songwriter now is Julia Michaels.


Quincy likes to go after big fish. Taylor Swift now and before that Kanye. He is essentially saying to a generation and the current music business, the best that you got sucks. Doesn't even waste his breath on any lesser artists.


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PostPosted: 01/29/18 8:42 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I think I enjoy criticism of Taylor Swift just a little more than is healthy Razz
I'm really not a fan, but on the other hand I can't dispute her success and that didn't happen due to her amazing vocals that's for sure.
Quincy is sounding bitter, and for me it's an ongoing struggle to not go the same route.
I'll say one thing though, the more that time goes by, the harder it is to be original musically and lyrically. That's just basic physics & mathematics. And it tends to be originality that makes the most impact. (Which isn't to say I can excuse garbage, but just that it's unreasonable to expect an endless supply of " Surprised Damn!" moments)



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tfan



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 9:27 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

It's a subjective thing. I don't see where one person can declare that the masses are wrong in their opinion about a song. All songs cost the same amount. People buy the ones they like and don't buy the ones they don't like. It's not like wine or a dinner out, etc, where price comes into play as to what the masses buy.


mercfan3



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 9:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

IMO, Taylor showed a lot of promise as a song writer early on, and 1989 was a great pop album.

But she's an adult now, and the whiny victim act is getting dull. It was cute at 18, it's not cute now. Her music sounds much younger than she is.

I think there are a plethora of great song writers out there (Hozier, anyone?), but Swift is just great at being a pop star..just like Britney before her.



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jammerbirdi



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 10:03 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Luuuc wrote:

Quincy is sounding bitter, and for me it's an ongoing struggle to not go the same route.


First, good on you. But you've got this all wrong if you thing Quincy Jones is bitter. Maybe EYE am bitter. But Quincy's entire life's career is about making often binary decisions. Better, or worse? Like life is one long eye-exam. Only it's his ear and aesthetic genius that is being tested. Or, simply put to use.

Dizzy once was asked in an interview late in life what he'd learned that has changed his music. And he said, I'm wildly paraphrasing, something like, substraction. In his own playing, every line, but we can extend the thought process out to everything he hears. All the choices he makes. When he went 'Latin' he didn't do Brazilian music. He did Cuban music. That was his choice. He subtracted Brazilian samba and Bossa and went in another direction.

This is hard when it comes to your own playing. Believe me. It separates the artists from a hack like me. But, when it comes to my photography, which I am not a hack at, my judgements, my aesthetic, what types of images I am chasing, negativity and rejection of so many influences and styles is a big part of what leaves me with the images and work that I value and want to create. And I'm proud to announce that the Los Angeles Center of Photography has once again this year selected not one but TWO of my images for their upcoming street photography exhibition. That's out of 1700 submitted and only 50 chosen. This now makes SEVEN images they have accepted of mine for their exhibitions in the last four years. And what I do is based on rejecting (very naturally, just a matter of taste) the great trends in street or documentary photography like surrealism or the very common method of choosing a stunning background and then waiting for something to pass in front of that background to 'make' the image, etc. None of that has ever moved me.

Point is, negativity as it applies to choices by creatives in music or any art form is how they ultimately arrive at that unique thing that they create. Quincy has worked in many realms and sub-genre's of popular music. By God, he arranged music for Duke Ellington's orchestra. He wrote, PYT, and produced it. Etc. Conducted Count Basie's band for Frank Sinatra. He has spent his life listening to five versions of things and deciding that four of them aren't as good as one of them.

I don't think there's anything bitter about a genius like Quincy Jones telling you what he thinks of shit that is shit. At least he's listening. I couldn't tell a Taylor Swift record from the Carly Rae Jepson record except that mrs jammer has worn out the latter.


pilight



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PostPosted: 01/29/18 10:15 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

There's some truth both ways here. Quincy Jones definitely sounds bitter. OTOH, much of the music that's popular just sounds unfinished.



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Luuuc
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PostPosted: 01/29/18 10:45 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

jammerbirdi wrote:
Luuuc wrote:

Quincy is sounding bitter, and for me it's an ongoing struggle to not go the same route.


First, good on you. But you've got this all wrong if you thing Quincy Jones is bitter. Maybe EYE am bitter. But Quincy's entire life's career is about making often binary decisions. Better, or worse? Like life is one long eye-exam. Only it's his ear and aesthetic genius that is being tested. Or, simply put to use.

Dizzy once was asked in an interview late in life what he'd learned that has changed his music. And he said, I'm wildly paraphrasing, something like, substraction. In his own playing, every line, but we can extend the thought process out to everything he hears. All the choices he makes. When he went 'Latin' he didn't do Brazilian music. He did Cuban music. That was his choice. He subtracted Brazilian samba and Bossa and went in another direction.

This is hard when it comes to your own playing. Believe me. It separates the artists from a hack like me. But, when it comes to my photography, which I am not a hack at, my judgements, my aesthetic, what types of images I am chasing, negativity and rejection of so many influences and styles is a big part of what leaves me with the images and work that I value and want to create. And I'm proud to announce that the Los Angeles Center of Photography has once again this year selected not one but TWO of my images for their upcoming street photography exhibition. That's out of 1700 submitted and only 50 chosen. This now makes SEVEN images they have accepted of mine for their exhibitions in the last four years. And what I do is based on rejecting (very naturally, just a matter of taste) the great trends in street or documentary photography like surrealism or the very common method of choosing a stunning background and then waiting for something to pass in front of that background to 'make' the image, etc. None of that has ever moved me.

Point is, negativity as it applies to choices by creatives in music or any art form is how they ultimately arrive at that unique thing that they create. Quincy has worked in many realms and sub-genre's of popular music. By God, he arranged music for Duke Ellington's orchestra. He wrote, PYT, and produced it. Etc. Conducted Count Basie's band for Frank Sinatra. He has spent his life listening to five versions of things and deciding that four of them aren't as good as one of them.

I don't think there's anything bitter about a genius like Quincy Jones telling you what he thinks of shit that is shit. At least he's listening. I couldn't tell a Taylor Swift record from the Carly Rae Jepson record except that mrs jammer has worn out the latter.

I'm not saying I think he's wrong, just that he sounds bitter Wink



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PostPosted: 01/30/18 8:59 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Go Quincy!



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