While there've been a whole lot of female singers past and present who had a song or two I liked, there are only a handful that I can honestly say I CHOSE to listen to.
A glance through all the drawers in my CD chest will show Lorrie Morgan's Greatest Hits, Wynonna's Greatest Hits, and The Judds Greatest Hits filed alphabetically along with all the CDs from male singers/groups (except for Garth who gets his own drawer). And if I took the time to look through all my old LPs, there wouldn't be too many more in there either- Carole King's Tapestry, Janis Joplin's Pearl, Heart's Dreamboat Annie, Four Sides of Melanie, and... hmmm... I don't remember any more so maybe that's all.
Yeah, I'm a sexist when it comes to music. Always have been, probably always will be. I just prefer to listen to and sing along with male voices. The deeper tones are more pleasing to my ears and kinder to my vocal chords (My singing would make your ears bleed, but I love to sing anyhow).
So it's rather rare that a female singer starts growing on me so much that I keep going back to YouTube to play her songs over and over again.
I'm talking about Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Here she is singing live at the 2007 CMA's with an entire audience of her peers and fans entranced with every note and every word that flows from within her:
And here she is singing live with Bon Jovi. Just listen to how her voice twirls and whirls around, through, over, and under his, which elevates BOTH their voices.
As you just heard, the reason I picked those two particular videos was because they were live and they make it clear that Jennifer Nettles does not need a studio engineer to give her voice that rich, unique sound.
Here's a few of the songs from CMT Crossroads in 2005. I remember thinking before this episode aired that I just HAD to watch it because I could NOT picture Sugarland and Bon Jovi singing together. But it ended up being where I first started to pay attention to Jennifer Nettles.
It's My Life
Something More
Wanted Dead or Alive
Just Might Make Me Believe
ADDED: Cool, found it! Who Says You Can't Go Home live premiere on CMT Crossroads
Oh, and speaking of Bon Jovi, I think my favorite all time song of theirs is Blaze of Glory (from Young Guns 2). Although, now that I think of it, I wonder if that's because it has such a Country influence.
You know, I probably should stay the hell away from YouTube for awhile and actually use all that time to maybe write a commentary or two or even READ another book. It's just ridiculous how much time I've been spending over there lately because I've been in the mood to listen to music. Or maybe I should get some work done. Meh.
4 comments:
You know, I probably should stay the hell away from YouTube for awhile and actually use all that time to maybe write a commentary or two or even READ another book. It's just ridiculous how much time I've been spending over there lately because I've been in the mood to listen to music.
You could always just have it going in the background. I almost always have my iPod going when I'm reading and sometimes even plugged into my head. :D
Jennifer Nettles sounds a bit like a throatier, grittier Reba, no?
I'm not much one for country music, but sometimes I'll listen and there are a few singers who, if I hear them I like them, but I would never seek to buy or go out of my way for it.
I loved Johnny Cash. But I think it was his whole black/dark persona that went with it. I was so in love with him as a teen. He was the epitome of what I thought was the perfect man. Tall, dark, mysterious, a bit dangerous, not pretty, but a bit rough looking, a nice deep voice and loyal.
Hmmm... I guess I can hear the Reba connection in that they both have a heavy accent in their singing voices and both "over-pronounce" certain sounds.
There are not too many Country acts right now that motivate me to buy their CDs--- Blake Shelton, Joe Nichols (although he's fading fast), and I'll probably buy some Sugarland now. But, back in the very early 90's Garth brought me over to Country during a time when I found myself only listening to Oldies and Classic Rock stations because there just wasn't much I found worth listening to in Contemporary Pop/Rock.
I never appreciated Johnny Cash until his later years. Then I could look back at all that he'd done and see that he really did have an amazing talent.
OMG.
Jennifer Nettles' voice makes my teeth hurt. You picked the ONE COUNTRY SINGER whose voice I just cannot stand. LOLOLOL
BWHAHAHAHA, I can't stand a lot of the OTHER female country singers. Martina McBride and Lee Ann Womack come to mind. I'm sure they're real nice ladies, but I cannot stand their voices or songs. When they come on the radio I cannot change the station fast enough.
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