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Genius of music?

RubyBlue

RubyBlue

faded and jaded
I can’t do a poll as there are too many! Mine?
Nina Simone
Stevie Wonder
Michael Jackson

There are more ~ so many more……
 
I don't know enough about music to really tell.

I know what I like, but often I'm real basic.

When listening to stuff with my more musically inclined mate I find it an education on how I just don't understand music.
 
i think to be counted as a genius you have to really innovate in music < that can be hard to pin down as everybody is building on what has gone before. from a pure theory point of view i would expect academics have had a go at pinpointing people who have really broken new ground on the timeline. Easier to do with classical music and jazz i expect.

For me the best female singer (okay my favourite female singer) is Chaka Khan , but much as she understands music theory deeply it would be hard to call her a genius - its the quality and technique of her voice that makes her stand out.

And then you've got people like Prince who can play many instruments, sing, obsessively write songs all day every day, create piles of classic popular songs...hard not to call him a genius really, though did he innovate? To some extent I think yeah, he always had his own sound for sure - though I wouldn't put him in the list of key innovator necessarily, more he admired certain people before him and combined elements from them all - with his own personality too for sure.

stevie wonder is simliar to prince on all of the above points, but I think he was more innovative than Prince, in his 70s period especially - there are "stevie wonder chords" , melodies and chord progressions that could only be written by him.

And yeah I think you have to write material to be in the genius camp...Elvis Presley was a great performer, but singing other peoples tunes - I dont think thats genius, I think thats talent and charisma.
 
I'm going to argue for Arthur Russell, who's music was wildly innovative, but also the sheer breadth of his range and volume of output was huge - even now they're releasing new albums of previously unheard stuff from his archives every year and they still don't sound like they're scraping the barrel.
 
My preferred dictionary is Collins. It defines genius thus:

1.
a person with exceptional ability, esp of a highly original kind
2.
such ability or capacity
Mozart's musical genius
3.
the distinctive spirit or creative nature of a nation, era, language, etc
4.
a person considered as exerting greatinfluence of a certain sort
an evil genius
5. Roman mythology
a.
the guiding spirit who attends a person from birth to death
b.
the guardian spirit of a place, group of people, or institution


In that way, I think it is possible to combine 1 and 3 and say that Elvis’ charisma and ability and the way he was at the forefront of a zeitgeist, could be described as “genius”. Just not of the same kind as say Charlie Parker or Bartok.
 
danny la rouge said:
In that way, I think it is possible to combine 1 and 3 and say that Elvis’ charisma and ability and the way he was at the forefront of a zeitgeist, could be described as “genius”. Just not of the same kind as say Charlie Parker or Bartok.
Click to expand...
yeah i guess theres a difference between genius and ingenius - but i dont think genius should just means really really good at something - i think it points to some higher level of (new/original) thinking
 
Jacob Collier really is an extraordinary talent. I don't think he's a particularly original theorist though although he adds in a lot "advanced" ideas. (Caveat: the thing where he vocally modulated between different tunings really was original (I believe) and absolutely amazing.) I listen to a lot of his music just for the joy of listening to someone outlandishly good at what they do and for the harmonic richness he brings to it. At the same time I don't think he really hits the spot in a sublime way or does something game changing.



This though. The fuck.
 
Yeah hes got musical theory utterly down, doesnt need to concentrate just can bring it effortlessly , and I love what he does with harmonies...


Knotted said:
I don't think he really hits the spot in a sublime way or does something game changing.
Click to expand...

....but so far Ive never actually chosen to listen to a lot of his music, so theres still something a little missing in his genius, but maybe I havent dug properly so i might be missing
and that harmony thing in the video is already done to perfection by Take 6 so not exactly groundbreaking, even though amazingly impressive and perfect and effortless.
(when i first heard him on the radio i thought it was with Take 6 - was shocked he sings the tunes himself! respect that)

not enough tortured living yet maybe!
 
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