Is 'A' better than 'B'?

Subject: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Tunesmith
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:25 PM

Is it all down to personal opinion, or is it possible to say that a particular artist is better than another artist? I think when the talents of two artists are so obviously miles apart it is definitely possible. For example, when it comes to singing the blues, Bonnie Raitt is better than me! Nobody is going to disagree with that! However, is Bonnie a better blues singer than Otis Rush? And, posters, don't take this question too seriously! It's just a bit of fun!

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:27 PM

Obviously, "B" is better.

bb

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:28 PM

Of course, Amos might disagree.


8-{E

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: artbrooks
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:29 PM

It is clearly a matter of personal choice.

AB

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:30 PM

I like C best.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: jeffp
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:30 PM

Well, B does have nice humps.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:30 PM

A is often more distinctive while B can sometimes be a bit generic.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: AWG
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:32 PM

Otis who??

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Ernest
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:38 PM

A is awful and B is bullshit!












YOU said this wasn`t serious....
Regards
Ernest

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Tunesmith
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:41 PM

AWG's answer raises an interesting (to me) point. How can a person know what is really good if they haven't heard the best! Because of mass communication, we can compare artists' work from all over the world. In days gone by, people just didn't know the true standard of talent our there. I remember reading about an English keyboard player who thought he was very talented but then he came across Domenico Scarlatti!

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: AWG
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:41 PM

Can we please keep this ON topic. Thank you. By the way, they both suck !!

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Tunesmith
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:46 PM

Right! Let's get some "interesting" replies! I state that The Band are better than The Rolling Stones. I declare that can sing better, write better, play better and left us with far more interesting body of work.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Declan
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:48 PM

OTIS U, must go and I must bide

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Peace
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:50 PM

I jus' know what I like. That's good enough for me.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: AWG
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 01:52 PM

Is Hayley Westenra better than Charlotte Church?

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Tunesmith
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:01 PM

I was in a supermarket recently and they were playing some Hayley Westenra recordings over the p.a. system. The recordings were introduced by an announcer who described Hayley's voice as beautiful. A customer who was standing close to me said to her friend, " She sounds more like a wailing banshee to me!"

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: leeneia
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:02 PM

Setting aside the question of taste, there are factual criteria.

A singing style which damages the voice is bad.

A playing style which damages the listeners' hearing is bad.

If A sings something, listens to it, and says, "I wish it hadn't come out sounding like that," then that's bad.

Gimmicks which are performed merely to grab attention rather than to give pleasure or communicate, are bad. I'm thinking here of music on radio, etc, where they know people are working and they wish to get the listener to notice the radio so as to hear the next commercial. I believe this explains the yowls, yips, wails and gurgles so prevalent in pop music.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Tunesmith
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:06 PM

Leeeia: "A singing style which damages the voice is bad".
What do you mean by bad? It may be "bad" for the singer, but great for the listener. Take, Paul Brady, for example, his "strangled throat" technique has probably damaged his voice, but it's a marvelous sound to hear.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Amos
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:09 PM

A is the first among vowels, and the King of Letters. All other letters are mere derivatives. Once that is understood, conversations such as this one become, well, meaningless!


A.
First Vowel.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Bee
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:38 PM

I'm partial to 'B', myself - 'B' conjures thoughts of great literature: "To B or not to B...", and great composers, like B-thoven, and great places, like Beaches.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:53 PM

Every trade has a set of skills. Skills can be judged as to weather or not they are well used. A carpenter who can't measure is a bad carpenter, full stop. To suggest that all of these choices are merely subjective and have no basis in skill is to deny the obvious. To further suggest that we cannot judge what is good because we have not yet heard the best is to refute everything we have heard. This seems to belong to the "I don't know anything about art, but I know what I like", school of thought.
We can make informed judgements, Mozart is better than Brahms.He does more creative thigs with his skills and he understands the skills. Bonnie Raitt is a better Blues singer than Otis Rush for the same reason.
But they don't have to be perfect to be enjoyed but I still prefer Bonnie Raitt.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 02:54 PM

I don't care for type 'A' personalities.

Bill

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: fat B****rd
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:04 PM

Bonnie Raitt said that Jo Ann Kelly was a better blues singer than she(Bonnie)was.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Amos
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:04 PM

All personalities are type "A" until they sag into apathy.

A

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:08 PM

"Apathy" is an improvement on antagonism and aggression. ;>)

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:35 PM

A or B....perhaps ought to 'C' them both before deciding...and of course the preference will always be to the taste of the individual observer....'G' might like 'A' whilst 'F' might like 'B' but of course 'G' might just say he/she likes 'A' to wind up 'F' who might only be winding 'G' up by saying he/she likes 'B'...do you get my drift? Actually I believe I like 'A' and 'B' and I don't give a flying one for what 'G' and 'F' think.
Best wishes, 'M'

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: catspaw49
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:40 PM

Amos fails to mention that Asshole is just behind Amos as it should be.

How do you know what is good until you've heard the best? What kind of broke-dick fucking question is that? Someone up there asked it and I'd like them to explain it. I mean if somebody tells you A is the best, what does that mean? The guy might be a complete moronic fanook with no taste. And who is to say who has taste and who doesn't?

Let's face it ...... A is always better than B unless you like B better, or God forbid, you are really nutso about C. Even worse, and I hate to bring this up at all, but what if you can't abide anything at all except.......P. Aw geez, well there it is...I said it......P......Frankly the P stuff just makes me wanna' blow lunch, ya' know?

Most of you who are willing to argue this need a few weeks treatment at the NYCFTTS. Remember, it's free of charge to all 'Catters

Spaw

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:45 PM

Less filling.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: catspaw49
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:47 PM

Up your ass........Tastes great!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Seaking
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:48 PM

Which half of ABBA are we referring to here ?

I thought both 'A's were better than both 'B's - especially the blond one.

Chris

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:49 PM

an odd sense of taste...

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: catspaw49
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:52 PM

Well, ass isn't for everyone....Kinda' an acquired taste. Dogs seem to come by it naturally though...................

Spaw

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Amos
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:54 PM

Pat,

Your always refreshing perpsective is, once again, having its usual catastrophic impact on any attempt at reasonable discourse. Obviously you don't have the wits God gave a gnat's fart, or else you're being paid off by the lower letters. Who is it? Z? Q? Are are you on the take from P?

A.
First Vowel

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:58 PM

Oh, it's a vowel. Never really thought of it that way.
Jen Syget then.... "B"

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:58 PM

Main Entry: vow·el
Pronunciation: 'vau(-&)l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French vowele, from Latin vocalis -- more at VOCALIC
1 : one of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not constricted enough to cause audible friction; broadly : the one most prominent sound in a syllable
2 : a letter or other symbol representing a vowel -- usually used in English of a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y


Main Entry: 1a
Pronunciation: 'A
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural a's or as /'Az/
Usage: often capitalized, often attributive
...
7 capitalized : the one of the four ABO blood groups characterized by the presence of antigens designated by the letter A and by the presence of antibodies against the antigens present in the B blood group

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 04:00 PM

Hepatitis Eh?

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 04:16 PM

As a general rule, I find the A parts of fiddle tunes more interesting. Sometimes the B part just seems like something to take up space until the A part comes around again.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Amos
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 04:20 PM

Main Entry: vow·el
Pronunciation: 'vau(-&)l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French vowele, from Latin vocalis -- more at VOCALIC
1 : one of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not constricted enough to cause audible friction; broadly : the one most prominent sound in a syllable; commonly recognized as superior to other letters, generally in their normal order descending from A, through E, I, O, U and sometimes unto Y.

2. The symbols used to represent vowels, whether capitalized or lower case.

---

Guess it all depends which dictionary you read, huh?


A
First Vowel

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: AWG
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 09:36 PM

Hey Tunesmith, that girl in the supermarket was probably deaf !! No other explanation...

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: michaelr
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 12:32 AM

Well, this thread is degenerating into silliness... but the premise is intriguing.

It is the same premise underlying Robert M. Pirsig's seminal book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". The question being: What is quality? How does one recognize it?

It drove Pirsig crazy, so I don't expect to resolve it here. But it's a fascinating question all the same.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Amos
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 01:29 AM

Good on you for reviving that wonderful work.

It treads on dangerous ground though. Sure there is goodness and badness in an construction or performance, against the standards of expectation. But tse are the postulates of expectation and are generated by the viewer. He can use ones he was trainedin, or he can use ones he inherited from Aunt Zelda or he can stir them up from his primordial sense of loss in life, or from his inkling of divinity.

Popularity begins when one meets a sort of average of all those projections in the bullseye of agreement.

But sometimes people will fool you because a work taps a vein of these expectations that was not hitherto widely admitted or understood and reveals it.

A

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: GUEST, Mikefule
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 03:21 AM

AC/DC should have a look in here, surely?

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 04:56 AM

This thread certainly provides many 'Q's and 'A's......but nothing definitive as per usual.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: guitar
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 05:47 AM

who are these people

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: guitar
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 06:01 AM

I think z

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: GUEST,Steve-Cooperator
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 08:15 AM

This is very anglo-centric. There are othe rleeters in slovak languages which I cant type due to the limitations of my keyboard, and that is before considering Asian and Middle-Eastern alphabets.

Subject: RE: Is 'A' better than 'B'?
From: AWG
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 09:18 AM

I bet the person who started this thread never dreamed it would go THIS far. Let's put this dog to rest with this FINAL comment... I'm digressing again...where was I ??