Norah Jones


I'm watching a live show on PBS right now and I have to ask myself, how does this girl write so much amazing music? I watched one of her live shows last year and was absolutely floored by her performance but most of all the sheer beauty of her music. Any fans out there? She truly flies under the radar considering her high level of talent as a songwriter and musician.
donjr

Showing 8 responses by tubegroover

Love the passion guys! I'm in that camp that doesn't get her vocal appeal, or I should say she doesn't engage me. I also find her boring and too found it very difficult to listen through her first album. I wouldn't say she has a bad voice, actually it is quite distinctive but doesn't ring a chord with me. Maybe if I saw her live a light would go on, nah, I doubt that.
Thanks Dorkwad for the "The Joni Letter" recommendation. Being a big fan of Joni maybe this can connect me to Norah in a small way. Coincidentally I just had a few buddies over to listen this morning/afternoon and one brought the first Norah cd. We listened to the first three cuts and funny thing is of the four of us listening, two get her and two don't.
I don't get your point Schubert. You are comparing arguably the greatest jazz singer ever (not from me for sure) with two contemporary singers that would most likely be the first to cringe at your silly comparison. Just because they are successful maybe or is it the taste of the masses that you are digging at? I mean come on Schubert, some things are so obvious they don't need to be said. We don't need acknowledgement of that in-law of yours. What REALLY belongs on the trash heap is your mean spirited comment and lack of class, come on dude!

PS I WOULD argue that Ella could keep time with any of the best, so there!
Hey the bottom line is this, music is something that should bring us together. It shouldn't be a blood sport regardless of differences in tastes. We should encourage each other in our individual choices regardless of whether we agree or not. While I'm not a particular fan of this singer, I am interested in why others might be and maybe what it is that I'm missing. Why does it have to come to negative demeaning comments about a musical artist we just don't get and then bring into the discussion a legendary musical talent that no one would relish being compared to? We do enough of that in our lives than for it to intrude into the sanctuary of music, which should unite us in spite of our tastes differences. Encourage vs discourage, why hate, what is the point of that? Music is art that can draw Human Beings together regardless of race, religion or culture, it really has that power. Furthermore, there should be some degree of respect towards the OP when he voices his love of the artist. It is ok to disagree but why not try to understand or at the very least show respect? Are we all critics now hiding behind keyboards carelessly tossing out reckless criticism on a whim? There is a large enough supply of professional critics as is or do we need hear from the rank amateurs too? It is really pathetic. Everyone has an opinion, how many of us have genuine talent as these artists do? Criticism is cheap, real talent to connect people through music is rare and should be celebrated not disparaged. I don't need any damn expert to tell me whether or not I should like or dislike what I do or what's wrong with me if I don't agree with HIS opinion. You need to reread your comments Schubert and rethink and maybe elaborate and clarify further on what you said, I found it a bit disturbing.

"the good is the enemy of the best, Music is powerful stuff, bad taste in it leads to bad taste in other areas of life."
Really Lloydc? Have you read the whole thread? You might want to go back to Onhwy61's reference link on 9-7 to the actual quote apparently paraphrased by Schubert which gives it a completely different meaning. Was Schubert intentionally twisting the words to suit his position or was it just an unwitting misquote on his part? If he clearly meant what he said it sounds authoritarian, "right" and unyielding, at least in the context of this thread. You be the judge.

"Perfect is the enemy of good" (Onhwy61's 9/7 link)

"the good is the enemy of the best" (Schubert)
Hi Schubert

I like a good argument as well as the next guy but so far your argument is going all over the board and for me at least has entered the area of entertaining, man am I relieved, I hate to get too serious on line. There really is no problem whatsoever in what YOU consider good music and good taste and wisdom. I have no issue at all with that. The reason you raised my hackles (past not now)is your diminishment of other tastes if they don't happen to coincide with yours or your revered esteemed "best minds" or the Avant Garde Jazz pianist in-law that has "met them all", or so it seems. You have been given an opportunity to clarify your controversial comments and so far you have "elevated" yourself to a position above the fray that you are causing.

NOW you're going off on a different tangent and speaking of Serious Music. Presuming you are speaking of the evolution of Western Music and what is agreed to as “serious”. Experts (best minds as you call them) rarely agree on everything even among themselves. Your last statement bears out my suspicions of your previous comments, particularly the latter ones concerning “wisdom”. It seems to me at least, you are letting us mere mortals know that to elevate our “awareness” that there is some kind of quantifiable method of determining what is great vs. ordinary. If one misses the boat, or makes a “bad” taste choices there is a correlation that this will quite possibly transfer over to other bad choices in their lives? LOL, really I did after your last post. This is so preposterous that this thread has now become quite entertaining to me. I think I get you now Schubert, I really do. One question, please answer me as you have been most neglectful in requests to clarify your words, (“The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword”, IME the one thing more powerful than music,) how do you quantify and filter “good taste” in your quest for the best and might I suggest "musical purity"? Do you have a list, a formula, a process for determining or do you rely on experts that meet your criteria? A list would be helpful also, thanks for your anticipated cooperation!
Czarivey you really make some excellent points about the business side of the music biz and how someone could be one of the choosen few based on the criteria you've outlined but wouldn't you agree that for sustainability in this business there has to be something more than can be encapsulated in some kind of formula?

Why has Madonna remained relevant for 30 years? Why did Bobby Sherman and the Partridge Family (David Cassidy) last a few years? There are many factors in the equation to sustained success that IMHO you haven't covered although it is quite obvious to me that you certainly know a bit about the subject. Norah Jones, love her or not has passed the stage of a "packaged" product to make a few bucks, the business side. She is still relevant, folks like her regardless of the things she had going for her from the start, looks, connections etc. There has to be more, a genuine talent to keep folks coming back for more. Maybe it's nothing more than determination on the part of the artist or even a great manager, or producer. But beyond even those things there has to be sustainable appeal and talent in some part or parcel to maintain success and revelancy. I doubt there will ever be a formula to get that one right all the time.