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Post by wisejester7 on Feb 16, 2008 7:35:47 GMT -5
Here is a article from the Local New Haven Advocate Newspaper.
Music Notes: Claiming The Carpenters The local band we tend to overlook. By Alexis Fitts Courtesy of New Haven Museum & Historical Society Karen & Richard Carpenter: Close to us. Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters—A New Haven Heritage Salon 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Ave., New Haven. $20, $15 members. (203) 562-4183, newhavenmuseum.org.
There aren't many bands more contextualized by kitsch than The Carpenters. The brother/sister duo sashayed through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs—Karen's feathered hair swinging in time to a plodding bass line while a jump-suited Richard churned away at their aggressively-layered vocals. Sure, there was their popular cover of my favorite Sesame Street number "Sing," and I swooned when Marge and Homer danced to "Close to You" in The Simpsons Movie last summer.
But something about The Carpenters seemed out of place with my musical landscape. They were familiar, sure, but relevant? It's somehow hard to say.
Critics have been asking the same question for decades. Mocked by press but embraced by the Billboard charts, even 25 years after Karen's tragic, tabloid-friendly death, The Carpenters continue to blur the line between absurd and legendary. From Mary J. Blige to Madonna, prominent present-day artists continue to cite Karen's iconic alto as a major inspiration on their vocal styles. Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia.
But during Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters, a Carpenters revival performance and lecture on the New Haven Museum and Historical Society's Heritage Salon Series, museum director Bill Hosley hopes to highlight another unique factor of the duo: their New Haven roots.
Born and bred in New Haven, Richard Carpenter attended Wilbur Cross and Nathan Hale High School, forming his first band in the Elm City before his parents packed him and sister Karen off to California in search of fame and glory and greener pastures.
"It's sort of a hometown heroes story," says Hosley. "When they became famous, there wasn't much talk of their roots: [their fans] just listened to their music and they were from California and that's what people knew. The Beatles moved to London but somehow people always knew they started in Liverpool."
During the Valentine's Day event, Hosley will curate a multimedia presentation focusing on the life and times of The Carpenters, their influence on the contemporary music scene, and Karen's seminal struggle with anorexia nervosa—all amidst circulating trays of canapés and desserts. Cabaret singer Anne Tofflemire (who's performed Sondheim revues and other conventional cabaret acts at Chow and elsewhere) will join pianist Andrew Rubenoff (lounge entertainer at numerous hoity-toity parties in town, also known as a party designer and filmmaker) to perform a few Carpenters hits, largely drawing from the iconic sound of Richard's arrangements.
Though The Carpenters' patented synthesized vocal layering and apt usage of the kooky in composition makes it difficult to procure a modern take on the duo, this melding of genres is what gives The Carpenters their signature sound. "They were kind of caught between eras. They didn't know whether they wanted to be blues singers or jazz singers. They were just like 'Hmmm, let's try this,'" says Tofflemire.
But the $20 ticket price ($15 for Historical Society members) buys more than just history and hors d'oeuvres. On exhibit for the evening is Hosley's unabashed (dare we say, supremely contagious) enthusiasm for the '70's duo. "I know everyone's into American Idol, but there has yet to be an American Idol winner that Karen Carpenter wouldn't have squashed," said Hosley. "As good as the best are, she would've just blown the doors off of them—right from the age of 19."
editor@newhavenadvocate.com
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Mar 4, 2008 13:06:43 GMT -5
It's a sad state of affairs, but I'm just now reading this post that you put here some 3 weeks or so ago. Whoever Alexis Fitts is, I don't much care for her thinking regarding the Carpenters. This article, interestingly, brought back some of the bubbling rage I used to feel when I would read articles like this as Karen and Richard were actually performing. I absolutely abhored reading articles of criticism...and there were more of those than any sort of "praise" for certain. I mean, Carpenters might get a nod here and there for a new single, or something they'd done musically, but as all of you know (I realize I'm preaching to the choir) the outrageous negative press was constantly at play. You know though, it's really interesting to me that Carpenters were constantly the butt of the joke, or the means for a good laugh for a sarcastic writer like this Alexis Fitts....YET they continually seemed to be pumping out TOP TEN records. Continually - this one better than the one before it. Where oh where were the immense KUDOS these two deserved? WHERE? There should have been kudos every article - and many articles about how fantastic these two were. I believe this sarcastic writer even quotes the chick singer who's going to try and sing like Karen saying : "They didn't know whether they wanted to be blues singers or jazz singers. They were just like 'Hmmm, let's try this,'" ...and here's the thing - IT ALL WORKED. The jazz, the blues, the pop....all of it. I can't stand reading these demeaning articles, but I do like it when these trash writers HAVE TO ADMIT THAT CARPENTERS, both Karen and Richard, were genuises in the music field. Reading an article in a local newspaper about Carpenters, $1.25 Attending a Carpenter's historical event - $20.00 Reading that everyone was "wrong" about the duo, and that NOW THEY KNOW that Carpenters were geniuses ahead of their time................PRICELESS.
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Post by wisejester7 on Mar 4, 2008 15:12:32 GMT -5
It's a sad state of affairs ... Carpenters getting bad press. Where oh where were the immense KUDOS these two deserved? WHERE? There should have been kudos every article - and many articles about how fantastic these two were. ... demeaning articles, but I do like it when these trash writers HAVE TO ADMIT THAT CARPENTERS, both Karen and Richard, were genuises in the music field. Reading an article in a local newspaper about Carpenters, $1.25 Attending a Carpenter's historical event - $20.00 Reading that everyone was "wrong" about the duo, and that NOW THEY KNOW that Carpenters were geniuses ahead of their time................PRICELESS. Oh, yeah! There is nothing as sweet as seeing our non-choir brothers and sisters admit 'good' things about K&R!
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 4, 2008 18:41:06 GMT -5
Yes, very good article. Although, I claim Carpenters as a Southern California group (afterall this is where they developed their sound, where they did their first recordings, where they finally got their first recording contracts... magic Lamp, RCA and A&M). Though, there roots, their upbringing and all is from the East Coast. I think it's important for one to remember their roots and I think it's great that Carpenters have been honored in New Haven... now L.A. needs to do something about honoring one of their own. As for Alexis Fitts' view on Carpenters... I found it quite accurate. I mean, this is the way the general public views Carpenters... part kitsch and part intense. For many people Carpenters are out of place in their musical landscape... but for some reason they still love them. When you're listening to Radiohead or Sheryl Crow and than move on to Carpenters it's somewhat hard to figure out how and where they fit. I always enjoy reading comments on Carpenters which speak truths of how they're perceived by the public... afterall the public is not going to view them the way the die-hard fans do. And for several reasons... mostly because they don't know their entire body of work as we do. The truly intense songs like "Desperado", "Two Sides", "Road Ode" and so forth are the songs that would make the public realize that Carpenters are far more than a band who had hits with sticky sweet songs like "Close To you", "Sing" and "Top Of The World". Fortunately for Carpenters, they happen to have a much larger base of die-hard fans than most older bands have.
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Mar 5, 2008 0:53:52 GMT -5
Yes, very good article. Although, I claim Carpenters as a Southern California group (afterall this is where they developed their sound, where they did their first recordings, where they finally got their first recording contracts... magic Lamp, RCA and A&M). Though, there roots, their upbringing and all is from the East Coast. I think it's important for one to remember their roots and I think it's great that Carpenters have been honored in New Haven... now L.A. needs to do something about honoring one of their own. As for Alexis Fitts' view on Carpenters... I found it quite accurate. I mean, this is the way the general public views Carpenters... part kitsch and part intense. For many people Carpenters are out of place in their musical landscape... but for some reason they still love them. When you're listening to Radiohead or Sheryl Crow and than move on to Carpenters it's somewhat hard to figure out how and where they fit. I always enjoy reading comments on Carpenters which speak truths of how they're perceived by the public... afterall the public is not going to view them the way the die-hard fans do. And for several reasons... mostly because they don't know their entire body of work as we do. The truly intense songs like "Desperado", "Two Sides", "Road Ode" and so forth are the songs that would make the public realize that Carpenters are far more than a band who had hits with sticky sweet songs like "Close To you", "Sing" and "Top Of The World". Fortunately for Carpenters, they happen to have a much larger base of die-hard fans than most older bands have. Well, there's definitely a difference between you and I here, Rick - when you say that "you always enjoy reading comments on Carpenters which speak truths of how they were perceived by the public".....I just don't enjoy reading them. I never have. I don't like the negativity of these types of articles. Yes, I think we all know here that this is how the public viewed the Carpenters, which is exactly the point I was getting at, and it's a personal opinion....my point being how I recalled I didn't like the negativity and slander then and I don't like it now, and this article brought back that sort of bubbling under the surface distaste for these types of writers.........whether their articles were accurate, or not. I suppose I was bulliled enough when I was a kid, that, being the underdog - I just don't like reading this sort of article - especially about these two. In my opinion, the "general public" are the losers because they don't appreciate all of the things that we "die-hard fans" do - and that's too bad, because, as we know, there's an awfully lot to love about Carpenters. I think it's sad, frankly, that this is how the articles always seemed to go then, and that people seem to get some sort of twisted enjoyment out of writing articles even to this day and feel they have to be so insulting towards the Carpenters. To say something like "25 years after Karen's TABLOID-FRIENDLY death" is uncalled for, and makes me think this writer thought that was a cute thing to say. Again, only my opinion, but I don't think that was necessary, at all.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 5, 2008 2:03:04 GMT -5
I don't see it as distasteful or slander, when it's the truth. This is reality, this is how Carpenters are viewed by the general public. Oddly enough this does not bother me. As much as I love them, and everyone here knows I do love Carpenters, I do not get offended by negative remarks on them. Instead of saying "I enjoy" reading these articles maybe I should have stated that I find them amusing. Now, what does get me mad is when people start making jokes about Karen's death or troubles with anorexia. I guess, I saw the "Tabloid-Friendly" death comment a bit differently from you, Tim. I took it, again, as being another truth. As very sad as it was, Karen's death was a newsworthy happening... for both tabloids and respected news reporters. But as for the music, well everybody has a right to their opinion. Just because I (or you) like the Carpenters doesn't mean everybody else has to like them. Let's face it, as excellent as all the Carpenters' music is, they did record their share of "fluff"... even Richard Carpenter has made mention of songs he now wishes they wouldn't have recorded. Does that change my view on the Carpenters? No, it doesn't. And is this going to change the fact that they are an integral part of the history of popular music? No, it won't. Every band that has been super-popular, like the Carpenters, has their fans and their critics - so why should it be any different for Carpenters. Just as, you (Tim) and I, have a right to be upset or not upset by another person's opinion. On the other hand, Tim, you are a friend. I do value your viewpoint and I also understand and see where you're coming from. I apologize if my views on this offend you.
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Mar 5, 2008 9:41:53 GMT -5
No offense taken, Rick - but thanks just the same. We just view this one way differently, and ya know....that's okay! I get where you're coming from and you make some good points.
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Dave
Ultra Emissary
"sleeping in the arms of the cosmos..."
Posts: 1,515
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Post by Dave on Mar 5, 2008 20:59:30 GMT -5
Since I never received any reply to my e-mails, I wonder what Alexis' motivation for writing the article was. Was she attempting to reconcile part of her youth, attempting to find a convenient musical "slot" to place the Carpenters in? Good luck with that...
We covered this before. When they hit the charts, they were sharing airtime and space with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Jackson Five, the Osmonds, and John Denver. It was a time when Top 40 radio meant everything from L.A. to Nashville to Detroit to Boston, and everything in between.
So, you take Richard, whose musical influences are (to me) rooted in the Big Band era, and Jimmy Buffett (the same age as Richard), whose musical influences are more of the Hank Williams style, and yet they shared the same airwaves. Buffett's first Top 40 hit, "Come Monday", was released in April 1974.
So, why do people insist on finding fault? It's my belief that unlike others of the era who used music as a vehicle to promote their political viewpoint, K&R were too blue-collar, playing in excess of 250 shows per year. There was no "Nuke the Whales" sidebar here, just two kids who were pretty much the kids next door but who were always on the road.
"Tabloid-friendly"? It's the unfortunate truth that her passing gave the birdcage-liners plenty of fodder, but stories like that have been their stock-in-trade ever since Day One.
"Though The Carpenters' patented synthesized vocal layering and apt usage of the kooky in composition makes it difficult to procure a modern take on the duo, this melding of genres is what gives The Carpenters their signature sound. "They were kind of caught between eras. They didn't know whether they wanted to be blues singers or jazz singers. They were just like 'Hmmm, let's try this,'" says Tofflemire."
...and they proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they could make anything they set their minds to work.
This observation..."They were kind of caught between eras" is quite an astute observation. By all rights, they should have never had the kind of success they had, but they defied the conventional wisdom, and in the current vernacular, "made bank". Period.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 5, 2008 21:31:07 GMT -5
Since I never received any reply to my e-mails, I wonder what Alexis' motivation for writing the article was. Was she attempting to reconcile part of her youth, attempting to find a convenient musical "slot" to place the Carpenters in? Good luck with that... I think Alexis' point of this article was to talk about the tribute that the city of Newville was honoring Carpenters with, and in between she added her own personal remembrances and feelings for the Carpenters. So, you take Richard, whose musical influences are (to me) rooted in the Big Band era . True... but more so Richard's musical influences are rooted in jazz. Richard was a true fan of jazz music such as Dave Brubeck, Frank Zappa, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Stan Kenton and others. Karen also picked up on the jazz thing being influenced by the drummers of jazz such as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.
So, why do people insist on finding fault? Period. Anybody who is phenomenally successful is going to be critiqued. With fortune comes criticism... this is the life they choose when they decide to go into the entertainment business. This observation..."They were kind of caught between eras" is quite an astute observation. By all rights, they should have never had the kind of success they had, but they defied the conventional wisdom, and in the current vernacular, "made bank". Period. I believe Carpenters were destined to have the success they had... mainly because a voice like Karen Carpenter's is a one of a kind gem. When "Close To You" hit the airwaves it was that voice that just melted the hearts of almost every American who heard it... and than the hearts of the world.
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Post by GoodOldDreams on Mar 6, 2008 2:29:45 GMT -5
This article is rather odd and demeaning, much like the New Haven Advocate itself, a throw-away alternative rag that prides itself on putting sensationalistic spins on any and everything --- a free tabloid of sorts. With uncertain credentials but never short on opinions, Alexis Fitts not only writes about music, but also politics and local restaurant reviews.
It is apparent that Fitts was prejudiced and ready with the verbal barbs even before attending the event itself. In the first paragraph alone, some very loaded words were slung about with abandon:
"There aren't many bands more contextualized by KITSCH than The Carpenters. The brother/sister duo SASHAYED through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs—Karen's FEATHERED hair swinging in time to a PLODDING bass line while a jump-suited Richard CHURNED away at their AGGRESSIVELY-layered vocals..."
If these words were meant to portray the Carpenters as being typically flashy in appearance and clumsy in sound, then some examples to support this view would be appropriate, as there are many who would ascribe the OPPOSITE of these characteristics to the same. Apparently for Fitts, physical appearances rank equally, if not more, than the music itself.
The only vaguely positive things the author stated about the subject matter is concerned with "Sing" and "Close to You", two songs that are hardly representative of the Carpenters' entire repertoire and legacy.
It seems that Pitts, being a writer/wordsmith by profession, feels confounded and out of her element when there are no convenient labels or overly simplistic categories by which to define and brand her subjects:
"Mocked by press but embraced by the Billboard charts, even 25 years after Karen's tragic, tabloid-friendly death, The Carpenters continue to blur the line between absurd and legendary. From Mary J. Blige to Madonna, prominent present-day artists continue to cite Karen's iconic alto as a major inspiration on their vocal styles. Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia."
Pitts sees a black-and-white world of extremes and hyperbole, and cannot wrap her head around the real world of subtleties and different degrees of grays in between.
More of a reflection of the author rather than her subject, Pitts finds morbid delight in concocting phrases like "after Karen's tragic, tabloid-friendly death" and "...Karen's seminal struggle with anorexia nervosa—all amidst circulating trays of canapés and desserts." Fitts makes a sport out of how many ways she can insult and poke fun of her subjects.
What is even more surprising is the slated appearance of the poorly-informed singer Anne Tofflemire at the event, whose voice would not do justice to Carpenters' songs. She is quoted as saying, "They were kind of caught between eras. They didn't know whether they wanted to be blues singers or jazz singers. They were just like 'Hmmm, let's try this.'" Both jazz and blues had already been around for a long time when the Carpenters appeared on the music scene from the mid-1960's to early 1980's, and some would argue that blues and jazz are genres of classic American music that never really went in and out of style, especially during this period. More accurately, the Carpenters were caught between the eras of hard and soft rock, folk and country, disco, etc. and they were among pioneers in experimenting with different genres old and new before it became fashionable to do so. (For example, they were doing pop and jazz standards way before Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon or Rod Stewart ever did decades later.) As a cabaret singer, Tofflemire may be doing Stephen Sondheim and Irving Berlin, but not versatile enough in covering the Carpenters' extensive repertoire. Could this simply be a matter of professional jealousy and sour grapes for Tofflemire to justify her own vocal and musical limitations? Like Fitts, Tofflemire attempts unsuccessfully to define and pigeonhole the Carpenters into a single musical genre rather than recognize them for the depth, complexity and range of their work.
Beyond the announcement of the event, this article is very shallow and not well-researched. It does not impart any great new insights and only serves to regurgitate whatever tired-old negative prejudices the public may have had for the Carpenters as a carryover from the author's childhood days. This is just plain sloppy and lazy. Hissy Fitts' predisposition to fire pot shots and critique an event even before it happened clearly demonstrates how little journalistic integrity there is here. The actual worth of this article equals precisely the cost of this "news" weekly: NOTHING.
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Post by wisejester7 on Mar 6, 2008 8:23:59 GMT -5
Hmm, what to say. Many valid observations have been made here. My POV on this article falls in the direction of thinking that the author is just echoing what she thinks the public opinion is ... or at least, was. Putting down the Carpenters was a bad habit then. Fitts grasp of just where the Carpenters fit into our musical and cultural history seems mired in the muck. She hasn't really risen above the mudslinging days of yore. Her attempts to breathe life into a long ago bias shows a great lack of current truth. The Carpenters are BIG. Even today, maybe especially today, the Carpenters music is analyzed and appreciated by artists and the general public. It is odd the Carpenters had such weird press in their heyday. Other acts such as Bread, etc. had a similar soft sound, but they were not attacked nearly as often and never as harshly.
The C's genre popping shows the depth of their talents. Herb Albert commented that one of the reasons he really liked R & K's musical approach was because they were not followers - they were true to the music they felt in their hearts and minds.
If this went against what was currently popular at the time, then so be it. What artist can really be put in a box and labeled as brand "X"?
Confounded and unable to pigeonhole the C's lead to them being a lightning rod for uncalled for criticism and jokey fodder.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 6, 2008 10:11:53 GMT -5
Hmm, what to say. Many valid observations have been made here. My POV on this article falls in the direction of thinking that the author is just echoing what she thinks the public opinion is ... or at least, was. Putting down the Carpenters was a bad habit then. Fitts grasp of just where the Carpenters fit into our musical and cultural history seems mired in the muck. She hasn't really risen above the mudslinging days of yore. Her attempts to breathe life into a long ago bias shows a great lack of current truth. The Carpenters are BIG. Even today, maybe especially today, the Carpenters music is analyzed and appreciated by artists and the general public. It is odd the Carpenters had such weird press in their heyday. Other acts such as Bread, etc. had a similar soft sound, but they were not attacked nearly as often and never as harshly. The C's genre popping shows the depth of their talents. Herb Albert commented that one of the reasons he really liked R & K's musical approach was because they were not followers - they were true to the music they felt in their hearts and minds. If this went against what was currently popular at the time, then so be it. What artist can really be put in a box and labeled as brand "X"? Confounded and unable to pigeonhole the C's lead to them being a lightning rod for uncalled for criticism and jokey fodder.
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Mar 6, 2008 12:07:42 GMT -5
BOY, HOWDY! I absolutely couldn't agree with you more on this issue, Rick. A very bad fashion "don't." I don't recall anyone I knew (except Richard Carpenter) who wore one of these things.
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 6, 2008 16:22:13 GMT -5
It is apparent that Fitts was prejudiced and ready with the verbal barbs even before attending the event itself. In the first paragraph alone, some very loaded words were slung about with abandon: "There aren't many bands more contextualized by KITSCH than The Carpenters. The brother/sister duo SASHAYED through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs—Karen's FEATHERED hair swinging in time to a PLODDING bass line while a jump-suited Richard CHURNED away at their AGGRESSIVELY-layered vocals..." If these words were meant to portray the Carpenters as being typically flashy in appearance and clumsy in sound, then some examples to support this view would be appropriate, as there are many who would ascribe the OPPOSITE of these characteristics to the same. Apparently for Fitts, physical appearances rank equally, if not more, than the music itself. Beyond the announcement of the event, this article is very shallow and not well-researched. It does not impart any great new insight and only serves to regurgitate whatever tired-old negative prejudices the public may have had for the Carpenters as a carryover from the author's childhood days. This is just plain sloppy and lazy. Hissy Fitts' predisposition to fire pot shots and critique an event even before it happened clearly demonstrates how little journalistic integrity there is here. The actual worth of this article equals precisely the cost of this "news" weekly: NOTHING. Hey Dreams... some really good thoughts on tihs... and before I comment on your viewpoints... again I'd like to clarify that this sort of article does not offend me and eventhough there are several inaccuracies (which I will touch on in my comments to you) there are also quite a few realities stated.
We'll start of with the realities...
Kitsch... The word kitsch means to be excessively garish or sentimental art; usually considered in bad taste. In the true sense of the word "kitsch" it does not even come close to applying to the Carpenters... though, that's not to say that they haven't recorded their share of songs which are very easy for critics (and music listeners) to critique. For example "Druscilla Penny"... several people on this forum like this song... but to follow such a classic as "Superstar" with "Druscilla Penny" is almost a crime... and then Richard's lisp is evident in the song making it even more of a target for criticism. "Piano Picker" is another which several people from this forum like. The album "A Song For You" is an almost perfect album but, then comes along "Piano Picker", again there's the lisp... and I know most of you here won't like what I'm about to say... but the song contains a high "cream-puff" factor... the exact opposite of that "chill" factor... sorry but I had to say it. Then there's some of the hits like "Sing". When critiquing music any good music critic is going to take the music for it's face value and critique it on it's merits of musicianship, vocal finesse and originality. A good critic will also look at how the song relates to the current day as well as eras past and how the music may grow in generations to comes. We take "Sing", keeping all this in mind, and you have a wonderfully produced song with outstanding vocals. But, then there's the "la, la, la, la, la's" which after awhile tend to become quite, uh well, "Sesame Street", if I may say. And then when you look at "Sing" next some of the other music in 1973 which was getting the rave reviews such as Pink Floyd's chillingly and intricately beautiful "Us And Them" or Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and well the song becomes a bit of a joke. I mean think about it... take a listen to "Us And Them" or "Higher Ground" and then listen to "Sing"... get my point. I love the song "Sing" and I think it has a great message... but I can also see why critics poke fun at Carpenters... same with the song "Yesterday Once More... again a great song with outstanding vocals and lyrics... but easy to poke fun at. Too bad Carpenters didn't do an album with all songs like "This Masquerade", "I Can't Make Music", "Road Ode", "A Song For You", "Goodbye To Love", "Superstar", "Rainy Days And Mondays"... there would have been no room for critics to critique as harshly as they did... but as it stands there was quite a bit of room left for critics to critique. I guess with "Horizon" Carpenters did put out that "perfect" album... and critics raved about that one calling it Carpenters' most sophisticated album - but that was only one album. Anyway my point is I can understand 100% why Carpenters are treated as they are by the critics... and let's not get into their clothing (primarily Richard's) and the lovey-dovey photos. I understand that a lot of the image stuff wasn't their fault. That jump-suit that Richard wore in the 1976 photo just could not have been his idea. I wouldn't be surprised if he hated putting that thing on. Regardless, he did wear it and the photo was taken and that's what the public and the critics are seeing and they're saying... "cream-puff"... sorry but there's no other way to say it.
Onto your comment Dreams, about Fitts apparently seems to think that physical appearance is just as important as the music... well we all know that it's the art (the music... the product) that is most important. But when you have a product on the market (and yes, Carpenters were (are) on the market) it's the "whole" package that the consumer is looking at. Why do you think marketing is such an important part of the music business... it was important in 1970 and still important today. Obviously the people who were marketing Carpenters made some big mistakes. Fortunately for Carpenters, the music and Karen's voice were strong enough to overshadow the poor "image" decisions. The only vaguely positive things the author stated about the subject matter is concerned with "Sing" and "Close to You", two songs that are hardly representative of the Carpenters' entire repertoire and legacy. "Mocked by press but embraced by the Billboard charts, even 25 years after Karen's tragic, tabloid-friendly death, The Carpenters continue to blur the line between absurd and legendary. From Mary J. Blige to Madonna, prominent present-day artists continue to cite Karen's iconic alto as a major inspiration on their vocal styles. Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia." She is quoted as saying, "They were kind of caught between eras. They didn't know whether they wanted to be blues singers or jazz singers. They were just like 'Hmmm, let's try this.'" Both jazz and blues have already been around for a long time when the Carpenters appeared on the music scene from the mid-1960's to early 1980's, and some would argue that blues and jazz are genres of classic American music that never came and went away, especially during this period. More accurately, the Carpenters were caught between eras of hard and soft rock, folk and country, disco, etc. and they successfully experimented with different genres old and new before it became fashionable to do so. (For example, they were doing standards way before Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon or Rod Stewart ever did decades later.) As a cabaret singer, Tofflemire may be doing Stephen Sondheim and Irving Berlin, but not versatile enough in covering the Carpenters' extensive repertoire. Could this simply be a matter of professional jealousy and sour grapes for Tofflemire to justify her own vocal and musical limitations? Like Fitts, Tofflemire attempts unsuccessfully to define and pigeonhole the Carpenters into a single musical genre rather than recognize them for the depth, complexity and range of their work.
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Dave
Ultra Emissary
"sleeping in the arms of the cosmos..."
Posts: 1,515
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Post by Dave on Mar 11, 2008 19:18:43 GMT -5
You know, after much consideration, many of us needlessly became upset over this article. As a wannabe writer and sometimes journalist, I thought back to the class I took in high school...back in those kitschy, saccharine days of yore.
My first thought is that Alexis Fitts was not old enough to have a proper perspective on the 1970s. I based this assumption on her statement: "The brother/sister duo sashayed through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs"
This tells me that she never experienced what the Carpenters contributed to the 1970-1975 era directly. Her earliest memories occurred sometime in the mid-1980s To look back upon an era and attempt to frame that era in the context of the present is faulty journalism at its best, and in effect, invalidates her entire article.
I was taught that a good writer is able to convey their message without allowing any of their biases or predjudices to influence how and what they write. Unfortunately, Alexis failed on that account, allowing too much of her personal biases to creep in, and ruin what might have been quite an informative and pleasant article. It also may be a window into one of the reasons Richard has nothing to do with his birth home.
If the article had read as I will edit it to read, I believe that few would have found fault with it to this degree.
"Music Notes: Claiming The Carpenters The local band we tend to overlook. By Alexis Fitts Courtesy of New Haven Museum & Historical Society Karen & Richard Carpenter: Close to us. Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters—A New Haven Heritage Salon 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Ave., New Haven. $20, $15 members. (203) 562-4183, newhavenmuseum.org.
Embraced by the Billboard charts, even 25 years after Karen's tragic death, The Carpenters continue to blur the musical lines. From Mary J. Blige to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Madonna, prominent present-day artists continue to cite Karen's iconic alto as a major inspiration on their vocal styles. Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia.
But during Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters, a Carpenters revival performance and lecture on the New Haven Museum and Historical Society's Heritage Salon Series, museum director Bill Hosley hopes to highlight another unique factor of the duo: their New Haven roots.
Born and bred in New Haven, Richard Carpenter attended Wilbur Cross and Nathan Hale High School, forming his first band in the Elm City before his parents packed him and sister Karen off to California so that Richard could attend a school more in line with his musical talents.
"It's sort of a hometown heroes story," says Hosley. "When they became famous, there wasn't much talk of their roots: [their fans] just listened to their music and they were from California and that's what people knew. The Beatles moved to London but somehow people always knew they started in Liverpool."
During the Valentine's Day event, Hosley will curate a multimedia presentation focusing on the life and times of The Carpenters, their influence on the contemporary music scene, and Karen's seminal struggle with anorexia nervosa. Cabaret singer Anne Tofflemire (who's performed Sondheim revues and other conventional cabaret acts at Chow and elsewhere) will join pianist Andrew Rubenoff (a local performer) to perform a few Carpenters hits, largely drawing from the iconic sound of Richard's arrangements.
Though The Carpenters' patented synthesized vocal layering and apt usage of the unusual in composition makes it difficult to procure a modern take on the duo, this melding of genres is what gives The Carpenters their signature sound. "They shared radio airplay with legends such as Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, and Elvis" says Tofflemire.
But the $20 ticket price ($15 for Historical Society members) buys more than just history and hors d'oeuvres. On exhibit for the evening is Hosley's unabashed (dare we say, supremely contagious) enthusiasm for the '70's duo. "I know everyone's into American Idol, but there has yet to be an American Idol winner that Karen Carpenter wouldn't have squashed," said Hosley. "As good as the best are, she would've just blown the doors off of them—right from the age of 19."
This is how I believe a competent journalist, one worthy of the label, might have written the article. Perhaps if she learns, a newspaper position down the road in New York might open up for her.
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Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Mar 11, 2008 20:57:10 GMT -5
There aren't many bands more contextualized by kitsch than The Carpenters. The brother/sister duo sashayed through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs—Karen's feathered hair swinging in time to a plodding bass line while a jump-suited Richard churned away at their aggressively-layered vocals. Sure, there was their popular cover of my favorite Sesame Street number "Sing," and I swooned when Marge and Homer danced to "Close to You" in The Simpsons Movie last summer. But something about The Carpenters seemed out of place with my musical landscape. They were familiar, sure, but relevant? It's somehow hard to say. Critics have been asking the same question for decades. Mocked by press but embraced by the Billboard charts, even 25 years after Karen's tragic, tabloid-friendly death, The Carpenters continue to blur the line between absurd and legendary. From Mary J. Blige to Madonna, prominent present-day artists continue to cite Karen's iconic alto as a major inspiration on their vocal styles. Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia. But during Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters, a Carpenters revival performance and lecture on the New Haven Museum and Historical Society's Heritage Salon Series, museum director Bill Hosley hopes to highlight another unique factor of the duo: their New Haven roots. Born and bred in New Haven, Richard Carpenter attended Wilbur Cross and Nathan Hale High School, forming his first band in the Elm City before his parents packed him and sister Karen off to California in search of fame and glory and greener pastures. "It's sort of a hometown heroes story," says Hosley. "When they became famous, there wasn't much talk of their roots: [their fans] just listened to their music and they were from California and that's what people knew. The Beatles moved to London but somehow people always knew they started in Liverpool." During the Valentine's Day event, Hosley will curate a multimedia presentation focusing on the life and times of The Carpenters, their influence on the contemporary music scene, and Karen's seminal struggle with anorexia nervosa—all amidst circulating trays of canapés and desserts. Cabaret singer Anne Tofflemire (who's performed Sondheim revues and other conventional cabaret acts at Chow and elsewhere) will join pianist Andrew Rubenoff (lounge entertainer at numerous hoity-toity parties in town, also known as a party designer and filmmaker) to perform a few Carpenters hits, largely drawing from the iconic sound of Richard's arrangements. Though The Carpenters' patented synthesized vocal layering and apt usage of the kooky in composition makes it difficult to procure a modern take on the duo, this melding of genres is what gives The Carpenters their signature sound. "They were kind of caught between eras. They didn't know whether they wanted to be blues singers or jazz singers. They were just like 'Hmmm, let's try this,'" says Tofflemire. But the $20 ticket price ($15 for Historical Society members) buys more than just history and hors d'oeuvres. On exhibit for the evening is Hosley's unabashed (dare we say, supremely contagious) enthusiasm for the '70's duo. "I know everyone's into American Idol, but there has yet to be an American Idol winner that Karen Carpenter wouldn't have squashed," said Hosley. "As good as the best are, she would've just blown the doors off of them—right from the age of 19." editor@newhavenadvocate.com Dave, I like what you did to the article. It certainly doesn't read the same way, that's for certain. It's amazing what a few words thrown in for texture can do, in my opinion. I didn't know you were a journalism student, though the way you write, I'm not surprised. Nice job.
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Post by wisejester7 on Mar 12, 2008 8:07:08 GMT -5
Nicely written, Dave. Your version of the article was actually a pleasure to read. If only A. Fitts had done the same ...
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Post by Rick Henry on Mar 12, 2008 11:20:39 GMT -5
You know, after much consideration, many of us needlessly became upset over this article. As a wannabe writer and sometimes journalist, I thought back to the class I took in high school...back in those kitschy, saccharine days of yore. My first thought is that Alexis Fitts was not old enough to have a proper perspective on the 1970s. I based this assumption on her statement: "The brother/sister duo sashayed through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs" This tells me that she never experienced what the Carpenters contributed to the 1970-1975 era directly. Her earliest memories occurred sometime in the mid-1980s To look back upon an era and attempt to frame that era in the context of the present is faulty journalism at its best, and in effect, invalidates her entire article. I was taught that a good writer is able to convey their message without allowing any of their biases or predjudices to influence how and what they write. Unfortunately, Alexis failed on that account, allowing too much of her personal biases to creep in, and ruin what might have been quite an informative and pleasant article. It also may be a window into one of the reasons Richard has nothing to do with his birth home. If the article had read as I will edit it to read, I believe that few would have found fault with it to this degree. "Music Notes: Claiming The Carpenters The local band we tend to overlook. By Alexis Fitts Courtesy of New Haven Museum & Historical Society Karen & Richard Carpenter: Close to us. Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters—A New Haven Heritage Salon 5:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Ave., New Haven. $20, $15 members. (203) 562-4183, newhavenmuseum.org. Embraced by the Billboard charts, even 25 years after Karen's tragic death, The Carpenters continue to blur the musical lines. From Mary J. Blige to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Madonna, prominent present-day artists continue to cite Karen's iconic alto as a major inspiration on their vocal styles. Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia. But during Yesterday Once More: New Haven Remembers the Carpenters, a Carpenters revival performance and lecture on the New Haven Museum and Historical Society's Heritage Salon Series, museum director Bill Hosley hopes to highlight another unique factor of the duo: their New Haven roots. Born and bred in New Haven, Richard Carpenter attended Wilbur Cross and Nathan Hale High School, forming his first band in the Elm City before his parents packed him and sister Karen off to California so that Richard could attend a school more in line with his musical talents. "It's sort of a hometown heroes story," says Hosley. "When they became famous, there wasn't much talk of their roots: [their fans] just listened to their music and they were from California and that's what people knew. The Beatles moved to London but somehow people always knew they started in Liverpool." During the Valentine's Day event, Hosley will curate a multimedia presentation focusing on the life and times of The Carpenters, their influence on the contemporary music scene, and Karen's seminal struggle with anorexia nervosa. Cabaret singer Anne Tofflemire (who's performed Sondheim revues and other conventional cabaret acts at Chow and elsewhere) will join pianist Andrew Rubenoff (a local performer) to perform a few Carpenters hits, largely drawing from the iconic sound of Richard's arrangements. Though The Carpenters' patented synthesized vocal layering and apt usage of the unusual in composition makes it difficult to procure a modern take on the duo, this melding of genres is what gives The Carpenters their signature sound. "They shared radio airplay with legends such as Frank Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, and Elvis" says Tofflemire. But the $20 ticket price ($15 for Historical Society members) buys more than just history and hors d'oeuvres. On exhibit for the evening is Hosley's unabashed (dare we say, supremely contagious) enthusiasm for the '70's duo. "I know everyone's into American Idol, but there has yet to be an American Idol winner that Karen Carpenter wouldn't have squashed," said Hosley. "As good as the best are, she would've just blown the doors off of them—right from the age of 19." This is how I believe a competent journalist, one worthy of the label, might have written the article. Perhaps if she learns, a newspaper position down the road in New York might open up for her. Dave... your rewritten article is nice... although it doesn't quite elicit the emotion nor grab the attention of the reader quite like Fitts' article does. Your article is well written and has a few great points but like Fitts' has it's own personal biases and historical inaccuracies. "Continue to blur the musical lines"... although, I would have given the reader a very brief description of how Carpenters "blur musical lines" such as "Continue to blur musical lines with a sound which spanned genres and eras including jazz, country, big band and pop/rock."... something like that. Extending this sentence with a few examples brings it to life for the reader. Just by stating Carpenters "blur musical lines" will give the reader room to say "Carpenters blurred musical lines... all they did was sappy love songs). Although later in the article you do make mention of their varying musical styles... but only to a small degree. The reader still does not get a good scope on what Carpenters really are musically overall. "to California so that Richard could attend a school more in line with his musical talents"... This is the first time I've ever heard of this. I believe the main reasons for the move to California were because Harold just could not handle to freezing cold winters in Connecticut, better prospects for Richard's career in music and an improvement in their standard of living. " Meanwhile, the popular media insists on viewing The Carpenters as synonymous with '70's nostalgia"... This sounds like you're putting down the very people who will be reading this article... and like Fitts, infusing your own personal bias. " The Carpenters' patented synthesized vocal layering"... this is an inaccurate statement. First the Carpenters' use of layered vocals is not patented by the Carpenters... as a matter of fact they weren't even the first to use the layered vocal effect... before them there was Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Beach Boys and others. Although, Carpenters did manage to bring more attention to the layered vocal effect in the 70's. Also their layered vocal effect is not synthesized. It is done with real voices and done by recording those vocals several times and than laying the vocals on top of each other in the mixing process. If it was a synthesized process it would have all been done with a machine... including the vocals... the vocals would not be real voices. " apt usage of the unusual in composition makes it difficult to procure a modern take on the duo"... which you kept in from Fitts' article, shows a bit of bias. Personally I think Carpenters' music has aged quite well (most of their music anyway... the songs with the "la, la, la, la's", "shing-aling-a-lings" and "wa-a-a-a-ah's" are somewhat dated sounding). Songs like "Desperado", "Solitaire", "A Song For You", "This Masquerade", "Superstar", "Rainy Days And Mondays", "Goodbye To Love" and so forth are actually quite relevant in today's music scene. Than again this is a personal bias. You know, after much consideration, many of us needlessly became upset over this article. As a wannabe writer and sometimes journalist, I thought back to the class I took in high school...back in those kitschy, saccharine days of yore. My first thought is that Alexis Fitts was not old enough to have a proper perspective on the 1970s. I based this assumption on her statement: "The brother/sister duo sashayed through my childhood on local access cable advertising compilation CDs" This tells me that she never experienced what the Carpenters contributed to the 1970-1975 era directly. Her earliest memories occurred sometime in the mid-1980s To look back upon an era and attempt to frame that era in the context of the present is faulty journalism at its best, and in effect, invalidates her entire article. I was taught that a good writer is able to convey their message without allowing any of their biases or predjudices to influence how and what they write. Unfortunately, Alexis failed on that account, allowing too much of her personal biases to creep in, and ruin what might have been quite an informative and pleasant article. It also may be a window into one of the reasons Richard has nothing to do with his birth home. I have to disagree with this statement. But before I move on. Fitts may only be an average writer, though, her article managed to get the attention of quite a few people and she brought out a good amount of emotion from people by what she wrote, whether we like it or not. In my mind that makes a good writer. But mostly I disagree with your comment on " My first thought is that Alexis Fitts was not old enough to have a proper perspective on the 1970s"... Obviously Fitts is not old enough to have lived through the Carpenters' golden era. I don't think a writer needs to have experienced their subject first hand to be able to write about it. Gee, if that were so than we'd never be able to properly write about George Washington, Mozart, Pablo Picasso or any other historic figures in time. I would say that Fitts could have done more research on the Carpenters before writing her article... but Dave, the same could be said for the article you wrote. The main difference between your article and Fitts' is that yours is just a tad bit more polite. "To look back upon an era and attempt to frame that era in the context of the present is faulty journalism"... Again, I completely disagree. Not to say that Fitts was successful at bringing this era into the context of today. But, I would say that a good journalist is going to be able to take any era and make it relevant to what is going on with today's generation. That would be called giving the public something they can relate to. Dave, your article certainly shows Carpenters in a favorable light. That is always a good thing and I'd love to see more articles like that. Infusing your own bias does not make you a bad writer. There are different types of writers for different reasons. Personally, I like writers who infuse their biases and who bring to light different angles of the subject. Even if it's means bringing attention to the history of a group like Carpenters. Unfortunately the jabs and jeers Carpenters received in the 70's and 80's is a big part of their history which will never go away, as that's the way it really happened. What I think is faulty journalism is when the writer gets the facts wrong.
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