I believe you are right, Donny. She was a class act and will be missed so much.

The setting for this funeral was a large Black Baptist church; the theme for this funeral was purposely staged to reflect the very essense of Aretha, who was deeply rooted in the Black church (her father was the Rev. C.L. Franklin, a very prominent minister in Detroit). The music (and Jenifer's performance of it) was very representative of what might normally be heard in a large Black urban Baptist church. It is very much a part of the culture, a culture that Aretha was very much a part of. It is heavily reflected in blues, jazz, and folk music. For millions of people (including our own DNJ) it was a beautiful, heartfelt performance. So to hear such criticism from someone who more than likely has never set foot in a Black church or has a clue about the culture surrounding it, equating it to 'constipation', is just the epitome of disrespect, insensitivity, and downright ignorance.

I love Donny's response to this:


Thanks Donny.

chas

Thanx Chas...... Even though I was brought up catholic I have been to a few of my friends Baptist church services and enjoyed them emensly.... The music, energy, and message from the reverend was super inspiring something I will never forget.

Maybe it was appropriate for the situation, but I don't need to recognize and step into someone else's environment to reconsider my opinion. It's NOT singing, period! It's screaming no matter how you slice the pie. She simply tried too hard turning herself into a caricature of Aretha Franklin.

It's not an insult to Aretha or anyone else of color or any church. My remark was directed toward the vocalist. It would have been the same remark if she was singing that way at a baseball game.

Why do you have to blow things out of proportion and play the "race card" every time someone writes something here that offends you? What offended ME is you referring to me as someone who is "the epitome of disrespect, insensitivity, and downright ignorance." Maybe you need to wear that label yourself!

Mark

Mark, sorry Gospel singing makes you constipated but I'm sure a little French Musette will quickly reverse your condition. I guess we should count ourselves lucky to have such an in-house expert to define for us in no uncertain terms what is singing and what is not. So I guess Jenifer should take take all of her awards, accolades, and gazillion dollar bank account and just pack it in since clearly, according to the Book of Mark, she can't sing. But hey, who knows, maybe she can start a new career doing Ex-Lax commercials.

I also ran across this opinion clip which doesn't quite line up with YOUR assessment, but which I thought you might find interesting anyhow. Have a good day Mark, don't forget your meds .

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-...-htmlstory.html

Your good friend,

chas

You're absolutely right, it would. French Musette has a longer history of beauty in music than Jennifer Hudson has. It will also remain long after this type of synthetic singing has faded. That, my friend, is a "track record” that she will never attain.



I'd prefer you refer to me as someone who is not afraid to speak his mind and stand by what he says! But also who remains a gentleman especially when lame accordion jokes are bandied about and he sees "red" every time he reads yours, but still rolls with the punches instead of "blowing it out of proportion!"




No, she CAN’T sing. She can scream and she can "stylize" a song but she can't "sing." I don't know what your musical background is but apparently you never listened to Opera. She's an insult to every Opera singer who spent years and years (and tons of time and money) studying his craft. She's also an insult to such greats as Lena Horne, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Etta James, Natalie Cole, etc As for her many accolades.....consider the source. She wouldn’t have lasted a second in the era when people were enveloped in the Great American Songbook days.

Lloyd Bentsen said to Dan Quayle in a Presidential debate: "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." I say: "Jennifer, you're no Aretha Franklin!"



Yes, that's what she should be doing instead of giving good singing a bad name.



Producing "opinion clips" is like "slanting the news" as it's done in media coverage of politics.

But.....my assessment is an "assessment".....that I, myself, own and stand with. Don't try to label it as attempting to spread the Gospel according to Mark.....King of Kings. Like YOU do with your authoritative opinion of accordion music!



I see you haven't lost the art of insulting.



Chas, you will not be a good friend to me, or any kind of a friend, until you apologize for those remarks you made about me...."the epitome of disrespect, insensitivity, and downright ignorance."

On the positive side, I consider you a master of "word usage" and poignant thinking and I always enjoy reading your posts which I find to be well thought out. But you need to harness those qualities and use discretion instead of treating other members here with a lack of respect and an overabundance of disdain (as you did with one of the other members here a few weeks ago).

Wasn’t Aretha famous for a song about this R.E.S.P...... you know the one . Kinda ironic really in a thread about her death .

Mark, Mark, Mark; when you make a declaritive statement like "she CAN'T SING", it has no validity unless it is pretty much a universal opinion. Clearly, all the evidence (you know, the accolades, the awards, the bank account) says that's not the case. I'm perfectly fine with someone saying they don't like it (and here's why I don't like it). It's human nature (it appears) for people to be wary of things outside their comfort zone. Clearly, this musical form (I hesitate to say Black Gospel music lest I be accused of playing the "race card") is outside your comfort zone. And that's the point I was trying to make. Because you don't understand something or are unfamiliar with it is no reason to demean it, even more so the person performing it. As far as my 'accordion jokes', I think everyone on this forum knows that it's just a long-running tease between me and Fran or Tony. Truth is, it's just another instrument to me; fits well in some genre's, not so well in others, just like my beloved B3. I'm sure there are lovers of theatre organ that detest the sound of the "888" B3, but it bothers me not in the least. As far as the "your best friend" thing, I thought someone with your level of sophistication would recognize it for the sarcasm it was.

Mark, if I went to a Jewish Temple or a Islamic Mosque or a Catholic cathederal, and didn't like the musical vocalizations of the Rabbi, Imman, or Priest, I hope that I would not be arrogant enough to declare that they 'couldn't sing'. If it were being performed at say the funeral of the Pope, I certainly would not equate it to the sounds of someone suffering from constipation. I don't think bristling at your comment is "playing the race card" at all. As Spalding said, it's about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Oh, and about that apology, ehhhhhhhhhh.........nah.

chas

I have often said there is only two or three types of music I don't like, opera and broadway musicals. Reason is fairly simple. I can't understand the lyrics of either. I have never cared for the Morman Tabernacle choir, for the same reason. Now do I call any of this music bad? No, I just don't care for it. I have a great deal of trouble getting on with accepting other peoples praise and complements for music I can't understand. I guess you might call me shallow. Oh well. Shallow it is. This whole thread is just a little over the top. Bottom line, no one has the right to question my taste. Its mine and its just as valid as is yours.

Chas.....there's only one thing I want to hear right now. That's an apology from you for those remarks you made about me. Period!!! Or are you afraid you'll break out in a rash if you do so?

Wage your war of words with someone else. I really believe you can't sleep at night unless you find someone daily to go into battle with whether it's here, there or anywhere!

Until I get that apology I really don't want any communication with you. That's how strongly I feel about your insults.

Mark