Then there's this: "has enjoyed success due to a lack of competition". Whoever uses a sentence like this in a poll clearly has an agenda, tries to stir the discussion in a certain direction. It's actually hard not to see it.
@Neonbeam Most modern Pop artists don't have any fans here, so it always appears like they're undermined and ganged up on but this community is ironically the minority in all of this. If you go to a forum like atrl and put down these Pop artists you'd get the same reaction as you'd get here if you denounce the greatness of the Beatles. It's a generational divide.
It isn't as well disguised as when Modern Dad would stop on by here lol I wonder what happened to that guy, speaking of him We have gotten Adele and Ed Sheeran with near identical polls, who is next?
"It's Déjà vu all over again" - Mr. Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra. Complete with the mandatory subliminal addition of the name of another Artist, in an attempt to draw your attention to the middle possibility. Next up... "Just how good are The Beatles". Fool me once, shame on me...
Lana would do surprisingly well because her style caters more to the old fashioned music they grew up with. It's modernized but still has that vintage flare that appeals to them.
I went for mediocre simply because of his generic music often written by a committee As a musician he is actually pretty good and has stage presence. Loop peddle stuff looks impressive but is more an acquired skill / use of technology than skillful musicianship which enables him to perform as a one man act. Remember KT Tunstall did this in popular music first.
Ladies and Gentleman of The Jukebox Jury™, please don't be duped (not Dua Lipa) by the addition of one selection possibility... Adele is... One of the greatest artists of all time who deserves to break 'all time' sales records 13 vote(s) 2.0% * A very accomplished artist, best or one of the best of her generation 216 vote(s) 33.5% A good artist but pales besides greats such as Joni Mitchell 164 vote(s) 25.4% A mediocre artist who stands out as something better than she really is due to lack of competition Ed Sheeran is... One of the greatest artists of all time who has deservedly smashed many sales records A highly accomplished artist. One of the greatest male solo artists of his generation A good artist but short of greats like Elton John A mediocre artist who has enjoyed success due to a lack of competition A poor artist where marketing has hoodwinked a gullible public into buying his 'product'
It's a lot to do with how interesting or variable modern pop records are. A lot of it displays limited musicianship or an unwillingness to move from a formula. If you really want to dig into why modern music is often rubbish I suggest look at The Beato channel on Youtube. He actually likes listening to modern stuff but does musical analysis that shows what is going on here. A major problem is technology has taken over to the extent of not needing professional players and real instruments. Standards have slipped in terms of what is 'popular' even though there are some great younger musicians around. Mostly they don't make much impact on charts that are defined by Spotify, Itunes, Tik Tok etc. It's a question of finding the good material which is often the exception. That usually is looking back to the 70s and earlier. Would put Lana Del Rey and St Vincent into that Category. If you like rock there is little around that isn't a pale imitation of previous music. Nothing really different and generally bland output since the 90s.
I'm not sure either. Plenty of folk will say that "good" in art can only be subjective opinion. You can say that there is just as much good music as before, but if the music itself is different then we can't really judge it by what came before. All we can do is subjectively judge it on it's own merit. How would I do that? Hmmm! Many ways, and none any more valid than the other. Age may come into it, but I've liked pretty much all kinds of music one way or another even if I only like a small percentage of artists within whatever genre or era. There has always been dross and good stuffs in all genres. The question is why can't I remember modern music as easily as I can remember old music, even if that old music is new to me? Perhaps a musicologist can explain. There does appear to be an anti melody thing in modern music, where it's either so simple of melody or so complex or convoluted of melody that it's not lodging enough in my memory banks. That's not a sign of ageing memory banks in me, as there has been old music that I've heard recently for the first time and still rattles around in my head for days upon one listen only. Been a long time since any new music did that. Hasn't happened with Ed. P.S. I'm not talking about stuff like a Schoenberg symphony or a modern jazz improvisation, or an ambient soundscape where you wouldn't expect there to be catchy melodies, I'm talking about rock and pop music.
Sure you would. He'd be the ginger lad strumming a guitar and singing about the joys of platonic relationships.
Country Music for some and Hip Hop for others. Ed, Adele etc. grab that big middle ground where most people live.
KT Tunstall definitely did it before Sheeran, but she certainly didn't do it first. Unless your comment hangs on the term 'popular music'... John Martyn was doing it a couple of decades before her even.
Wasn't she still wearing her Playboy Bunny costume about then? Even if just during her Hefner era, I agree....certainly her best look !
I think he is very good at what he does, but I don't think he particularly talented if you compare him to songwriters of the past. He always reminds me of the slightly annoying sixth former at a British school who takes over school concerts! I remember George Martin saying once you get singers who sing in tune but still aren't great sounding singers, Ed to me is one of those, his sound, delivery and phrasing is very amateurish and low grade. I get the feeling he was pushed as a recording artist to appeal to the 'nerd' crowd, a clever marketing ploy.
Essentially guitar effects with tape delay. State of the art then but not capable of looping numerous voices. Instruments as in the digital era. KT used / uses an Akai Headrush. Sheeran's rig looks rather more complex. ( I did say 'popular' as she likely was not the first using this kind of set up).
You have to define your words. When it comes to "greatest", I think about talent, not money or success. I've not heard a song by him that I think is remotely great in that context. But is he popular, does he have a lot of fans, and is he making lots of money? Apparently, yes.
It's a simple phrase such as: Just M&S Just Brazils..... It's just a thread about how good the music of Ed Sheeran is. You're overanalysing it.... However to call the OP's thread sneering and thus insult my integrity and character is out of line. Your comments say more about you than anything else.
I will leave that up to others to interpret 'greatest' in their own way as it helps foster meaningful discussion. For me he is not (yet) a great artist or even that close but he is a very good performer and able to captivate and engage with an audience, even on a large scale.
Tis fair enough. It's still a "no" from me. Pop artists come and go, usually dealing in recycled ideas and performances. It's a legit was to make a living, and when you're talking the greats he's not even in the same book as real contenders. By then, fame, fortune, and popularity don't rely on being a great - you just need attention.
