I just downloaded ...

[uwe]

... all five current Taylor Swift albums plus the 13 CD Foghat Bearsville Years Boxed Set on my Brennan B2 hard disk in the office. I was done with ripping Nick Cave and Einstürzende Neubauten.

What does that make me? Eclectic, mad, indiscriminate or just equipped with a plain bad taste throughout the decades? 

13 Foghat CDs is a lot. 

[Basvarken]

What does that make me?

Self Flagellating Deep Purplist

[uwe]

Ok, I'll pick that one up with my shrink!

[gearHed289]

Taylor Swift is great... to look at.  I actually do admire the kid. She seems pretty down to Earth for a Hollyweirdo on the rise.

[uwe]

I kind of liked how she forcefully transferred herself from New Country star to, well, pop star (against industry backlash), out went the steel guitars, in came the 80ies synths! Not that there was anything wrong with the curly-haired Taylor Swift to the now more urban NYC version, but she wanted change as you would expect from a young woman her age.

And one thing she doesn't (can't?) do: that melisma thing which Dave so hates. OTOH her voice is nothing to write home about, but she can write a tune or two.

I bought/buy her CDs because she is a cultural phenomenon. Gotta keep abreast with things! But in my heart of hearts I like her better:

[Dave W]

[uwe]

You grumpy old man.

[Dave W]

But I like goat music! And they don't use autotune like Ms. Swift obviously does.

[Rob]

But I like goat music! And they don't use autotune like Ms. Swift obviously does.

BRILLIANT!!!

[uwe]

Pah, Foghat never autotuned and had iconic 'taches!

[patman]

Older Foghat kicked ass.

[uwe]

Is there a Midwesterner among us?  Foghat is fly-over-country arena rock!



But even with Frau Swift I am not sure whether the audible autotune is not a nod to "what modern pop is supposed to sound like" and her attempt of 80ies dance pop reception. I guess autotuned, multi-layered voices are to today's pop what distorted guitars became to rock and pop in the 60ies: a sound that provides a setting and has the listener identify "his" or "her" preferred category of music immediately. Back in her New Country or Country Pop days, her vocals sounded less processed (or were less overtly processed).

[gweimer]

As long as you got In The Mood For Something Rude, you're forgiven.

[uwe]

Yeah, that is part of the collection, one of the later ones. I basically only know Fool for the City (the album) and their other hit songs (had a double CD compilation from them) from Foghat, I thought I'd catch up a little. They were (though a Brit band) strictly a Yank phenomenon, never toured Europe in the 70ies if I'm not mistaken, certainly not Germany, the Midwest was obviously large enough to keep them busy. I even bought a Savoy Brown CD to get the foundations right.

[Lightyear]

Excellent!  The only way it gets any better would be if they had auto tuned the goat!