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I’m a fan of Lucinda’s and I just got done watching the ACL performance and came over here to register specifically about this very topic.
I wanted to know if everything is ok with her that she would need a lyric sheet for songs that she performs or has performed, a thousand times.
If the reasoning behind it is simply because, she’s “forgetful” or that she’s just an “average girl” then I have to admit, it bothers me that she can’t take the time to remember the lyrics to her own songs, especially on a nationally televised performance. Her performance seemed disingenuous to me. I love Lu for her lyrics and can relate to her because of her lyrics. I consider her more of a poet than a song witer and to see her having to constantly look down at her lyric sheet and lose any genuiness of her performance and not to get lost in her performance and her words, annoyed me and as a viewer, I had a hard time getting into her performance.
As a fan, I took it personally actually and if I would’ve paid to see that perfomance, I would’ve felt cheated. You expect that out of performers during recordings of the actual CD but being so blatantly obvious about it during an actual performance, on stage ()on National TV) no doubt effects the performance. There is no doubt about that.
The lyric book is a non issue to me.
Besides…how can you be sure who has lyrics up on stage?
Are they taped to the floor? Taped somewhere on the guitar? Taped to the monitor cabinet that faces away from the audience? Taped back where they go to get a drink between songs?
Who knows, who cares?
This lyric book may not be simply lyrics..it could be a set list, or an amusing anecdote she wants to remember to relate. maybe it’s a slight variation in the chord changes that Doug Pettibone suggested during his solo? ( You know..like play half the verse, then go into the chords of the chorus for his solo?)
I’m a great admirer of Ray Davies…a prolific and talented song writer. If you’ve ever seen his “StoryTeller” show…he uses a big over stuffed notebook on stage to relate early stories of the formation of the Kinks.
If anything, it adds to the show…and Ray was the basis for the creation of the VH1 Storyteller series, so obviously it became popular.
Would any of you criticize classical musicians because they have sheet music in front of them? “How dare they not have the music memorized!! They’re losing the inspiration, and ruining my enjoyment of the symphony!!”
BS
Big fat notebook on stage? Non-issue. Get a life, people.
i’m with you Stan — a non-issue. And a really silly non-issue at that. Don’t know why people fixate on this so much, or why it should bother anyone…. but it keeps coming up (a bit tiresome). 🙄
I think it’s kind of like those people who want a perfectly manicured (sterile) lawn in front of all the houses in their suburban neighborhood. They want everything (and every person) to be exactly the way they think things are “supposed” to be. They want their expectations to be met, and if they are not, they get irritable. Fortunately, I think a lot of us here appreciate a more wild, unpredictable environment. Lucinda’s performances aren’t sterile, they are unpredictable. If she needs the lyrics as a security blanket, because she forgets or has stagefright, whatever, I don’t care — I feel i am still privileged to see this great songwriter perform her work. As she as said, she’s more of an artist than a performer, and I’ll take that any day. She’s not some processed music industry marketing device. Which is a big part of why we love her.
Hey Ray…how about you and me sneak over to that perfectly manicured lawn in the middle of the night, and take a big dump on it? LOL
I apologize for the crude attempt at humor…rough night last night and I haven’t had enough coffee yet.
It’s like the “piano that no one played,” Lu sings about. The little museum room some people have roped off in their own homes.
@Stan wrote:
The lyric book is a non issue to me.
Besides…how can you be sure who has lyrics up on stage?
Are they taped to the floor? Taped somewhere on the guitar? Taped to the monitor cabinet that faces away from the audience? Taped back where they go to get a drink between songs?
Who knows, who cares?
This lyric book may not be simply lyrics..it could be a set list, or an amusing anecdote she wants to remember to relate. maybe it’s a slight variation in the chord changes that Doug Pettibone suggested during his solo? ( You know..like play half the verse, then go into the chords of the chorus for his solo?)
I’m a great admirer of Ray Davies…a prolific and talented song writer. If you’ve ever seen his “StoryTeller” show…he uses a big over stuffed notebook on stage to relate early stories of the formation of the Kinks.
If anything, it adds to the show…and Ray was the basis for the creation of the VH1 Storyteller series, so obviously it became popular.
Would any of you criticize classical musicians because they have sheet music in front of them? “How dare they not have the music memorized!! They’re losing the inspiration, and ruining my enjoyment of the symphony!!”
BS
Big fat notebook on stage? Non-issue. Get a life, people.
You obviously haven’t seen the performance, so until then, your opinion on the subject is absolutely worthless to me.
Actually, it became worthless the moment you compared a classical composer who reads sheet music to a blues singer who can’t remember the words to her own songs.
To answer your first question of how do you know: Because it was literally placed on a table within plain view of every camera angle and she literally looked down at it at the beginning of every line of every song and then would look up and get into the song only to look down again at the beginning of the next line etc etc etc…this went on the entire show and with her constantly looking down, it broke up any rhythm of the performance.Music is a big part of my life and have only seen this a couple times throughout my careerand the times I did, the musician was “mentally exhausted”. Which is precisely why I came here and went registered to ask if anyone knew if everything was Ok with Lu.
I understand the nuances of live shows and teleprompters and sheet music placed on the floor for Guitarists etc, but there’s a reason why things like that are placed in a “convenient” place as to not give the audience any reasons you don’t care. To be so blatant about it, is something Ive never seen before. Touring is a very strenous thing and it’s impossible to be into the perfromance every single night and to forget lines to songs every so often is understandable , but every line of every
song?I’ve seen Lu 3 times…and she probably had that notebook with her each time. Big fricking deal…and for the record, I too, play out professionally…and I’m a guitarist of over 40 years.
It’s a waste of time to argue the point with you, but again, how do you know she didn’t have chord charts on stage, or reminders to place the capo at the 2nd fret and play a G chord, making the song in the key of A?
Lucinda has an awful lot of songs that revolve around simple chords like G-C-Am-D-Em…etc…etc. maybe she gets confused with her schedule and wants to be sure the turnaround goes to C and not D?
Is that any different than a classical musician with sheet music?
Would a classical musician be able to put more soul and life into their performance if they had their part memorized?
Lyrics are actually more of a “chick” thing to me. They’re secondary to the music most of the time..IMHO.
If you can forgive classical musicians for having sheet music, I fail to see the difference between having lyric sheets?
If you’re so upset about this, I suggest you stop going to her concerts. Maybe Lu wasn’t able to relax enough the night you saw her, because she sensed people like you were in the audience who didn’t fully support her?
Or close your eyes the next time you see her perform, if it’s that upsetting to you?
Lyrics a “chick” thing? This comment coming from a supposed Kinks fan, home of one of rock’s greatest lyricists? I’m a Kinks fan too and can say for sure that I wouldn’t be near as much of one if not for Ray’s great lyrics throughout all of his songs. Most of my favorite songwriters I like every bit as muchfor their lyrics as their music and I ain’t no chick! Great music is nice, but if the lyrics aren’t any good, I’ll get tired of it pretty quickly… Conversely though, I have grown to love a song with average music and great lyrics; EX: American Dream by Lu; the music has pretty much no changes and is droning, but the lyrics and her delivery make it one of my favorites).
As for Lu and her notebook, I agree. With everybody! In defense of the notebook, plenty of other performers use notes of some sort, so we shouldn’t be down on Lu because she does too. That said, pretty much everyone I’ve seen do it has disguised it about 20 times better than Lu. It IS distracting to see her glance down at the beginning of every line of every verse. You want to get into the intense emotional feel of the music and her vocal delivery, which is always great, but then you see her reading the lyrics and it does take something away. But, oh well. That’s the way it is. That’s what she needs or wants to do, so as you’ve said, we can take it or leave it. Me, I’ll take it any chance I can get, but i’m not going to pretend it’s not something of a distraction.
Frankly, I think I’m a little worried about her. Is she okay physically? Could she be ill? I’ve seen Lucinda many times, for nearly 20 yrs now. but I saw her at the town Hall shows in NYC and she seemed . . .not well.
i thought the ACL taping was pretty good. while i don’t think she does her best work for television, i didn’t really notice her overdoing looking at her notes… maybe she’s excited and uses the notes as a security blanket? i don’t think it’s a big deal myself and i can’t see why some people are so offended by it. i thought the NY shows got better as they went on from WWT to LW. i can’t say how she looked as i wasn’t there but i thought she looked pretty fine on the ACL show
what does hack me off is all these attempts necessary to log in and to post this little rant on the site
Maybe Inside Job is keeping the girl up too late?
Let Lucinda get her rest, Inside Job! LOL
I agree lyrics are important, and I’m a great admirer of Mr.Ray Davies, a great lyricist in his own right, but I still maintain lyrics are more of a “chick thing.”
I agree, “American Dream” is a great song, but it would not make my personal “best of” list simply because the music is not as inspiring.
Good lyrics, by themself, do not make a great song. Good lyrics need good music to make the song memorable.
On the opposite extreme, good music can always make a good song, even if the lyrics are cheesy, or even if lyrics are non-existant…ala instrumentals.
Ask the average person to name a few of their favorite songs, and you’ll get wide and disparate answers.
Ask a person to name their favorite poem, and you’ll get blank stares most of the time.
That’s just the way it is.
To each his own, Stan! I know though that I have been pulled into many a song by the lyrics even though the music didn’t initially grab me, and then later grew to like the music (or not cared that the music wasn’t so great because the lyrics were that good). Conversely, I’ve heard music so great that I didn’t care that the lyrics were so-so or that in some cases, there weren’t any lyrics at all (see: “Jeff Beck”!).
Bruce Springsteen uses a telepromter,Bob Dylan keeps lyric sheets on his Piano and i’m sure Neil Young has some secret up on stage well hidden.If someone writes as prolifically as those 3 songwriters mentioned,it would be next to impossible to remember every word without at least some help,wether the songs mean something to them or not!
Absolutely right Saudade. Do you admire an artist because they set beautiful words to great music, or because they have good memories?
I rest my case.
Just because an artist uses a notebook/Teleprompter does not mean they are any less genuine.For some that would be like asking a painter to paint with a blindfold on.Humans are naturally a visiual species,some of the best lyrics,poetry and literature are written with strong “images”.Maybe her notebook has something to do with comfort.I had a friend that went to a show and complained about her always fooling with her notebook and said she was really unprofessional.My response was,i think it adds something to the show,almost like an artist at work,flipping through her notebook of ideas she’s about to share with everyone.I don’t know how an artist who has written so much material would be able to remember it all and then on top of that be expected to create new material.I find writing kind of like purging oneself.Once it is on paper and tape,then it no longer has to stay in my head,kind of like making room for new ideas.
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