Rufus Wainwright Slams Beyonce's Music

[sunoftheskye]

didnt she take peoples songs and claim to have written them herself???

Don't even get me started. Beyonce would sing the National Anthem and preface it with "This is a song I wrote about America".

 

[sunoftheskye]

Instead of being catty towards another recording artist--whose been MUCH more successful than him and in a shorter amount of time--I think old recovering drug addict Rufus needs to spend less time getting "foot massages" from his German houseboy and concentrate on his own music...and perhaps, one day maybe he'll record something that actually becomes a hit.

Hell, Beyoncé’s opening acts have sold more albums than Ruffy.

Because we all know, the measurement of the quality of someone's music is the amount of records they sell.

 

[xterranx]

Okay, selling more records does NOT mean "contributing to the music industry", nor does it automatically mean your music is anything good. I think we should all know that by now considering the direction mainstream American music is going.

I have to agree with this man. Beyonce is just as annoying now as Britney was to people. Except I could actually tolerate Britney's music cause she's not full of herself and starts screaming in every millisecond of her songs.

Don't even get me started. Beyonce would sing the National Anthem and preface it with "This is a song I wrote about America".

lawlz, yeah, I think it'd be wise to expect that soon.

 

[Lostlover]

I don't know who this Rufus character is... but I can tell you something, he probably hasn't seen a fraction of the success Beyonce has.

Sour grapes anyone?

 

[iluvbenmckenzie]

You have no idea who he is, yet you claim he's contributed nothing to music? Sit DOWN.

Exactly. Rufus has contributed something, most importantly, in my opinion, Poses. Just listen to "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" and "California" and you'll get the idea.

EDIT: this is directed to waitandsee, not sunofthesky.

 

[pianodude]

I don't know who this Rufus character is... but I can tell you something, he probably hasn't seen a fraction of the success Beyonce has.

There are different ways of measuring success. If you want to call topping the charts success, then OK, Rufus doesn't really have it. But if we look at the quality of the music, Rufus will be remembered as an important contributor to music. Beyonce, on the other hand...not so much.

Rufus is a talented composer of modern day art music. His first two albums (self-titled and Poses) explore a wide variety of styles (mostly in the folk/alt genres). His next two albums, Want One and Want Two, show a more mature Rufus. In particular, Rufus' orchestrations in "Agnus Dei" are breath-taking. "The Art Teacher" and "Memphis Skyline" are also much more harmonically interesting than much of pop music today.

The amount of progress made through Rufus' latest album, "Release the Stars", is a testament to his place as an artist. From the politically charged "Going to a Town", to the chamber setting of "Nobody's Off the Hook", the gay-anthem "Between My Legs", the almost impressionistic "Leaving for Paris No. 2", and again, the beautifully orchestrated "Release the Stars", Rufus continues to show that he doesn't need to rely on the generic pop-formulas so prevalent in today's music. He draws on the history of western music and infuses his own style into his music.

 

[ctrust]

I'm sure whenever Beyonce is, she's boo-hooing over some obscure and abstract singer (who has never even had a RIAA certification and is likely be dropped from his label any minute) criticizing her music, which has sold millions, topped charts, and won her various of the industries top awards. Sounds like envy to me. If he ever met Beyonce in person, he'd probably be all smiles.

I have to agree with you there 100%. Personally I don't care for either artist though since they both get on my nerves.

 

[steampunk]

I think what Rufus said was absolutely true. But pop music has fulfilled that niche from day one. Beyonce and others like her will continue to be popular because of talented production artists (who, in my honest opinion, need to start coming forward and taking credit for their work) not because she is in any way a quality singer.

 

[Lostlover]

There are different ways of measuring success. If you want to call topping the charts success, then OK, Rufus doesn't really have it. But if we look at the quality of the music, Rufus will be remembered as an important contributor to music. Beyonce, on the other hand...not so much.

Rufus is a talented composer of modern day art music. His first two albums (self-titled and Poses) explore a wide variety of styles (mostly in the folk/alt genres). His next two albums, Want One and Want Two, show a more mature Rufus. In particular, Rufus' orchestrations in "Agnus Dei" are breath-taking. "The Art Teacher" and "Memphis Skyline" are also much more harmonically interesting than much of pop music today.

The amount of progress made through Rufus' latest album, "Release the Stars", is a testament to his place as an artist. From the politically charged "Going to a Town", to the chamber setting of "Nobody's Off the Hook", the gay-anthem "Between My Legs", the almost impressionistic "Leaving for Paris No. 2", and again, the beautifully orchestrated "Release the Stars", Rufus continues to show that he doesn't need to rely on the generic pop-formulas so prevalent in today's music. He draws on the history of western music and infuses his own style into his music.

Pure nonsense. Beyonce has her own style and has a great vocal range which I'm sure he can never dream about attaining.

Just because she's beautiful and has a wide audience doesn't mean she's some talentless hack (Britney). Sort of like with Christina Aguilera who herself is very talented and has mainstream appeal (even she isn't touching Beyonce's popularity).

Often times there is a reason why some artists can't go mainstream (yes can't... I never bought that argument that artists don't want their music heard --> topping the charts. I'm not that naive.)

 

[sunoftheskye]

Good music is about vocal range now?

 

[kidwithathorn]

i wouldn't say that beyonce hasn't had a positive affect on the music industry
she actually has with destiny child before destiny fullfiled came out
then her first solo album, Dangerously in love, was actually good. it stood out in the crowd, so to say
but when she put of Destiny fulfilled and B-day
they had started to 'follow the leader' so to say as well
they, the company, saw that crappy music that downplayed their abilites and was about absolutly nothing was selling records.
i'm sure that if Beyonce and the others could write and make albums what they want, then i'm sure that they would be a hell of alot better.
i wanna know what had happened to rap and r and b
what happened to talking about growing up in the ghetto and your man cheating and beating on you?

rap and R and B has basically become what 80's rock was
and that was Sex, drugs, and alcohol
it sucks
i think that the only 2 artist out there worth listening to are Mary J. Blige and Common
everything else should just be ignored

i see a new rap artist come out every week and they say the same damn thing
"snap yo figers shawty.
let me buy you a drank
lets go home and fuck"
not in those words, but thats basically it.

it's really sad what today's mainstream music has come to

 

[Lostlover]

Good music is about vocal range now?

Try reading what I said next time and the. commenting.

Let me sum it up again... obscurity means good music?

... Don't think so Rufus Wainwright (who?).

 

[iluvbenmckenzie]

Obscurity doesn't mean bad music, either. And he's really not that obscure. In the indie music/alternative world, he's pretty big; his songs play on alternative radio stations.

And by the way, I'm not saying anything bad about Beyonce; I'm just defending Rufus.

 

[sunoftheskye]

Try reading what I said next time and the. commenting.

Let me sum it up again... obscurity means good music?

... Don't think so Rufus Wainwright (who?).

I did read what you said. You mentioned vocal range as if that had something to do with the quality of either of their music.

And who DID say obscurity meant good music?

 

[sunoftheskye]

Obscurity doesn't mean bad music, either. And he's really not that obscure. In the indie music/alternative world, he's pretty big; his songs play on alternative radio stations.

And by the way, I'm not saying anything bad about Beyonce; I'm just defending Rufus.

If he's not being played on Top 40 radio 24/7 and being shoved down your throat like a 9 inch cock 8 days a damn week, how could he POSSIBLY not be obscure?

 

[xterranx]

Screaming doesn't score in vocal range.

 

[xwings]

I agree with him on that. I personally can't stand Beyonce music. Even the least talented person on earth like Paris Hilton can cut a CD. All you need is a good engeneer with good software to make you sound as good as you want to that's all.

 

[steampunk]

I think we're losing track of his comments, so I'm going to repost them:

I’m really sick of Beyonce. All of her songs are formulaic and produced in a way that’s utterly mesmerizing in the basest way. There’s no enlightenment. Like most mainstream pop these days, it’s more of a scientific experiment than an artistic experience. But hey, it’s your life, you know?

1) Her songs are formulaic
2) Her songs are produced in a way that's utterly mesmerizing in the basest way
3) There's no enlightenment
4) Mainstream pop these days is more of a scientific experiment than an artistic experience

Those four facts are absolutely true. I would like to dispute them for the sake of playing devil's advocate but I really disagree with any argument against them in general.

Beyonce might actually have a great vocal range. Who knows? It's hard to tell these days. Pop music icons are bolstered by excessive production. But vocal range isn't the only thing which contributes to the quality of good music. Music expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color and timbre. And it originates from an appreciation of the writing of music (including its lyrics) which, as far as I can tell, completely goes out the window with Beyonce. Yes, her songs "sound nice" and she might have a great vocal range, but that in no way makes her an artist.

 

[likeit134]

if you're an artist you do what pleases the people first and then you do what pleases you . Beyonce gives the people what they want on theses formulaic pop songs then, if you delve into he album, you'll find songs that have a message and are actually good.

 

[pianodude]

If anyone is interested in musical commentary on Rufus, check out Roger Bourland's blog: http://rogerbourland.com/blog/category/rufus-wainwright/

Dr. Bourland is a Professor and Chair of the Composition program at UCLA. He has written extensively on Rufus and has even given a seminar devoted to Rufus.