David Bowie vs. James Brown

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The greater artist is....

The Godfather of Soul
35
44%
The Thin White Duke
45
56%
 
Total votes: 80

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Snarfyguy
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Snarfyguy » 28 Jul 2010, 20:05

I'm kind of a rockist myself, but I might hop the fence for this one.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby sloopjohnc » 28 Jul 2010, 20:08

They both had good hair though.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Snarfyguy » 28 Jul 2010, 20:08

Josef Tay wrote:Bowie was stylistically all over the shop - accusations of pilfering and recycling, be damned! - and just more interesting to my ears.

Bowie made some great records, but they weren't great because they were stylistically all over the shop. I don't see how genre hopping in itself confers quality.

Making great records in more than one style doesn't make the records greater than if they'd all been made in the same style.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Josef Tay » 28 Jul 2010, 20:19

Snarfyguy wrote:
Josef Tay wrote:Bowie was stylistically all over the shop - accusations of pilfering and recycling, be damned! - and just more interesting to my ears.

Bowie made some great records, but they weren't great because they were stylistically all over the shop. I don't see how genre hopping in itself confers quality.

Making great records in more than one style doesn't make the records greater than if they'd all been made in the same style.


Yes, but I never said they were better records than Brown's, I said I preferred them due to being more interesting to me!
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby The Modernist » 28 Jul 2010, 20:19

Snarfyguy wrote:
Josef Tay wrote:Bowie was stylistically all over the shop - accusations of pilfering and recycling, be damned! - and just more interesting to my ears.

Bowie made some great records, but they weren't great because they were stylistically all over the shop. I don't see how genre hopping in itself confers quality.

Making great records in more than one style doesn't make the records greater than if they'd all been made in the same style.


No, but you could argue having the ability and imagination to successfully explore a range of styles and moods makes one a more expressive artist than somebody who essentially repeats themselves.

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Count Machuki » 28 Jul 2010, 20:23

Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Nolamike » 28 Jul 2010, 20:24

The Modernist wrote:
Snarfyguy wrote:
Josef Tay wrote:Bowie was stylistically all over the shop - accusations of pilfering and recycling, be damned! - and just more interesting to my ears.

Bowie made some great records, but they weren't great because they were stylistically all over the shop. I don't see how genre hopping in itself confers quality.

Making great records in more than one style doesn't make the records greater than if they'd all been made in the same style.


No, but you could argue having the ability and imagination to successfully explore a range of styles and moods makes one a more expressive artist than somebody who essentially repeats themselves.


Hmmm... I don't know about "more expressive" - Hank Williams, for example, stuck to his thing, and is one of the most expressive artists I've ever heard. And I think Brown actually had a good deal of change throughout his career - some of the differences are a bit subtle, but there is a huge difference between JB in 1960 and JB in 1970, for example.

But at any rate, this thread is a bit "apples to oranges."
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Matt Wilson » 28 Jul 2010, 20:25

Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.


JB invented a whole style of music!

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Count Machuki » 28 Jul 2010, 20:27

Lance Matthew wrote:
Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.


JB invented a whole style of music!


A Britisher will be along shortly to tell you that Bowie did, too!
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Minnie the Minx » 28 Jul 2010, 20:27

Bowie did, too!
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby The Modernist » 28 Jul 2010, 20:27

Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.

I've been listening to James Brown half my life, but texturally or emotionally there is not great variety to his music. I don't dispute his brilliance.

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Matt Wilson » 28 Jul 2010, 20:29

Minnie the Minx wrote:Bowie did, too!


Examples?

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Josef Tay » 28 Jul 2010, 20:30

Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.


Care to point me in the direction of something that might help me reconsider, Machuki? To be honest, anything I have heard by Brown just seems like more of the same.
martha wrote:"Teaches my kid that if they try anything on their own they will fail and that they must have help in everything or disaster will befall them. The music irritates me too as does the ducks lisp."

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Snarfyguy » 28 Jul 2010, 20:31

The Modernist wrote:
Snarfyguy wrote:
Josef Tay wrote:Bowie was stylistically all over the shop - accusations of pilfering and recycling, be damned! - and just more interesting to my ears.

Bowie made some great records, but they weren't great because they were stylistically all over the shop. I don't see how genre hopping in itself confers quality.

Making great records in more than one style doesn't make the records greater than if they'd all been made in the same style.


No, but you could argue having the ability and imagination to successfully explore a range of styles and moods makes one a more expressive artist than somebody who essentially repeats themselves.

I can certainly see how the artist that didn't plough the same furrow could see seen as the more interesting one, but it seems to me that a proper way to compare these two is by stacking up how many great records they each made and seeing who has more/better ones.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Minnie the Minx » 28 Jul 2010, 20:31

Lance Matthew wrote:
Minnie the Minx wrote:Bowie did, too!


Examples?


Ask nicely :x
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Sneelock » 28 Jul 2010, 20:32

Bowie's eyes are two different colors so I disqualify him and vote for JB.

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Count Machuki » 28 Jul 2010, 20:37

Josef Tay wrote:
Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.


Care to point me in the direction of something that might help me reconsider, Machuki? To be honest, anything I have heard by Brown just seems like more of the same.








Last edited by Count Machuki on 28 Jul 2010, 20:38, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby harvey k-tel » 28 Jul 2010, 20:37

The Modernist wrote:
Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.

I've been listening to James Brown half my life, but texturally or emotionally there is not great variety to his music. I don't dispute his brilliance.


Well, yes, but your ears aren't trained, you see.
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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Balboa » 28 Jul 2010, 20:37

The Modernist wrote:
Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.

I've been listening to James Brown half my life, but texturally or emotionally there is not great variety to his music. I don't dispute his brilliance.


Well there is a huge difference between say 'Live at the Apollo' or his early soul sides, and say 'Say It Live and Loud: Dallas '68' which is the funk side of thing. And then 'The Payback' sounds different again. I guess in all cases he had a red hot band, but they are very different sounds - they could be by a different act if you didn't know better.
Of course, I was mostly stoned at the time.

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Re: David Bowie vs. James Brown

Postby Count Machuki » 28 Jul 2010, 20:39

Balboa wrote:
The Modernist wrote:
Count Machuki wrote:Anyway, to the trained ear, there's lots of variation in JB's work.

I've been listening to James Brown half my life, but texturally or emotionally there is not great variety to his music. I don't dispute his brilliance.


Well there is a huge difference between say 'Live at the Apollo' or his early soul sides, and say 'Say It Live and Loud: Dallas '68' which is the funk side of thing. And then 'The Payback' sounds different again. I guess in all cases he had a red hot band, but they are very different sounds - they could be by a different act if you didn't know better.


This man has trained his ears.
Let U be the set of all united sets, K be the set of the kids and D be the set of things divided.
Then it follows that ∀ k ∈ K: K ∈ U ⇒ k ∉ D


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