Vocalists/Musicians Wasting Their Talent

Well, I know this is going to cause the brickbats to start flying, but I've always wondered that about Barbara Streisand. She's lionized by her fans and the press as an enigmatic all-time great vocal talent, but really, is her accomplishment truly in line with those accolades? My reading of the record shows she made a splash on Broadway in the late '60s, had several insignificant pop hits in the '70s and early '80s, acted in a series of movies of little to no lasting impact, and recorded a series of albums of great appeal to her fan base but that did nothing to shape our musical culture. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Maybe anyone who spent their whole career singing pop qualifies, but the one person with the killer pipes who, to me, has squandered her talent more than anyone is Whitney Houston. And that's totally leaving aside her personal life, documented behavior on the road, etc. A real waste, IMO. and then of course, from another era there's Janis, Jimmi, Jim Morisson, Tim Buckley, Duane Allman, etc. Not really directly on point with respect to putting out crap, but I would argue that these early deaths due to excess robbed all of us of some awesome talent.

My comments may be slightly off the thread, but related. I think we'd all agree that the music industry as well as the talent pool clearly go through cycles of greatness to mediocrity and back. Just as the great rock era of 1967-1974 (approx.) was followed by the mediocrity of disco and a decline of rock later in the decade, we are currently in a mediocre period- have been for years. Iv'e read articles that even the record producers realize it too, but don't really know what to do about it.

Much has been written about the influence of the video and the importance of a camera friendly young face for TV. Muscial "acts" have replaced musicianship and virtuosity, and choreography and costumes are more important than creativity. Madonna, who probably started the modern era we're now in had talent, as did some of the early Rap pioneers. But now the bar has been lowered to such a point as to not even call the people who have followed musicians. There have always been teen stars and others of marginal talent, but the mediocrity of today's batch is almost embarassing. This level of performance used to be confined to bands that played high school dances, now they have record contracts (if they're sexy).

The talent is still out there, to be sure, but w/o the need to sacrifice to develop the level of musicianship of the past, I think very few are approaching the virtuosity of prior generations. As I watched Ken Burns Jazz, the primary thing I took away after 17 hours was the decline in musicianship of the modern era vs. the 1930's to 50's. Pride, hard work, self-sacrifice, and competition among musicians produced some extraordinary talent. Today that is largely missing from the music scene because it takes a long time and a lot of work to develop. It also takes role models which are currently nowhere in sight.

The search is for the next fresh face to launch into celebrity status, not the next great sound. In this evironment, I think even the big name stars have much less motivation to strive for the next level of greatness, because let's face it, nobody's going to bust their butt if they don't have to. It's a sad state of affairs, but histroy has taught us the cycle will turn and eventually move in the other direction. In the meantime, we can use it as an opportunity to explore some of the great music from previous eras.

I suppose some of the questions you're asking could be paraphrased as "Why do talented people not always live up to their full potential?"

My answer would be: Distractions. Money and fame are of course some of the prime distractors for almost anyone. I went to college, and I had the opportunity to stay 'in academia' and do interesting research that might have made a difference, while at the same time developing my skills and talents, maybe even resulting in something meaningful and lasting in my field. In stead, I choose to work in private enterprise. Many things I do are not meaningful to anyone other than our customers and my employers. I put out what the customers and employers want, and that's where I stop. Nine out of ten times, it's far short of greatness. My employers do not expect greatness beyond functional, they just want enough functionality to make things commercially viable and to meet the customer and business objectives.

And why do I do this good to mediocre work, in stead of exceling at everything? So I can make money and afford the lifestyle I desire! So I am not a starving academic. So I can afford the passtimes I want, including this hobby. I bet many artists settle in similar ways.

Many people that are truly great are driven, they go to extremes to achieve that greatness. Often times, they go to extremes in their field and outside of their field. This is one of the reasons, IMO, why so many truly great people are anywhere from a bit excentric and obsessive to unstable and self-destructive. Along those lines, seeing as to how this a hobby that lends itself perfectly to those characteristics, I would not be surprised if at least some great artists are in to this very hobby. Maybe this is where some of that 'search for excellence' that cannot come out in the everyday work environment comes out?

Alright, time to get off the soapbox now...