LOL, Ashlee Simpson at the Orange bowl...

[GlassJaw]

music is subjective and once we all realize that, the world is a happier place.

But bad sining is not.

You know, Bob Dylan really couldn't sing worth a damn, but that's okay. He didn't pretend to be a "singer". Similar story with, say, Violent Femmes. The moral is that you don't have to be perfect to perform, but don't try to be "all that" with something you are pretty terrible at.

Well said.

The problem with Miss Ashlee's performance is that she was having trouble singing her own song. You don't need to be a classically trained opera singer to realize that. The only qualification you need is to be one of the masses. And the masses responded.

Would you consider Rosanne's singing of the national anthem a few years back a good performance? Well music is subjective right? Wrong. Apart from making a mockery of the anthem, she was trying to sing something that was beyond her ability. That is an exaggerated example compared to Ashlee's performance but you get the idea. Singing out of tune is not subjective. Whether you like off-key singing is. Unfortunately for Ashlee, the crowd didn't.

The problem with that argument is that a large percentage of appreciation of music, and any other art form really, is highly subjective and relates to personal taste.

And that's why this argument doesn't apply here. I don't like Celine Dion's style of music but she is a good singer. I don't like Ashlee Simpson's style of music and she is a bad singer (or at least a processed one).

I hope you people were paying attention.

Oh, I'm paying attention all right.

 

[Mercule]

I actually kinda like Ashlee's songs. Not my favorite, but they're entertaining, if instantly forgettable. I don't mind if her CDs have been processed up the yazoo, any more than I'd mind a model coloring her hair. You're looking at/listening to an illusion. As long as you realize that, it's fine.

She should still have more sense than to try to come off as genuine, though.

If one wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she wants to be genuine, but the music "machine" hyped her before she could get comfortable in that role. I wouldn't bet much on that, but it's a thought.