mjmooney Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 31 minutes ago, sidcow said: I am sure if only half the world's population had heard the Lithuanian folk singers there eyes would be opened wide and they would suddenly realise how overrated Elvis was, throw his records in the bin and thrust Lithuanian stars to number one for months on end all over the world. You may not have a taste in music which matches his sound but you can't say he's overrated,let alone the most overrated ever. That's just ludicrous. I will grant you however that if I was at Glastonbury when Dolly Parton played I would have developed a sudden interest in all things Lithuanian. Dolly Parton has ten times the talent Elvis ever had. Runs her own career, plays guitar, writes songs, makes better movies. Elvis made two or three groundbreaking singles and then descended into cheesy mediocrity. I genuinely don't see what anybody sees in him. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Gotta admit, of all the drive-bys I thought I might see on VT today, Lithuanian Folk Music was not one of them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Chapman, Prodigy, Prince, Bowie. Start off mellow then go large. Well at least it would be entertaining. Not really a 90's line up more of 70s-80s one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 FWIW, I have no idea what Lithuanian folk music sounds like, or even if it exists. It was just a random concept to illustrate my contempt for Elvis Presley. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 The word overrated was created specifically for Elvis. Glorified club singer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 12 minutes ago, mjmooney said: FWIW, I have no idea what Lithuanian folk music sounds like, or even if it exists. It was just a random concept to illustrate my contempt for Elvis Presley. I bet there is a tent for it at Glastonbury though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 It looks a little quiet in the mosh pit there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 So, what are we judging this revisionist Elvis thing on? Actual musical talent? Units sold? Knickers thrown? Personal taste? He’s clearly been a massive part of rock n roll since the very earliest days. If all he did was bring some attitude and get his pelvis banned well he’s done alright off that. You simply can’t argue with the numbers, so it must be down to taste. Personally, I’m not that bothered by Elvis. Can’t say i particularly like much early ‘rock n roll’ by anyone. I like the camp caped Kung fu schtick of the later years, and I probably like it partly because I know some of the back story of the drugs and the management and the relentlessness of it all leading to destruction. i wouldn’t cross a field to listen to Jailhouse Rock, I’d stick with the Lithuanian arse flutes. Viva Las Vegas, Suspicious Minds, Burning Love, well then I’d be there in a flash for the pure theatre. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 It pops up every now and again and I too was once anti Elvis. Not these days though. Out and proud, I love Elvis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 13 minutes ago, sidcow said: Thank you. Doesn't do much for me. But still better than Elvis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 (edited) To heavily paraphrase Billy Connolly, "I am one of the blessed ones. I was alive when Rock and Roll was invented. I was living in a life of beige music and then I heard the opening bars of Heartbreak Hotel and the world changed forever, what the fq is that?“ Also on the 5 years of David Bowie documentary some music journo raised 3 points which need to be answered about if an artist can be considered an Icon. The 2 I remember is if you act as a lightning rod for a generation.... Well I would say Billy Connolly would agree to that from the above quote, the second was if you spawn imitators........ Not sure Elvis qualifies on that one, I mean you would never see an Elvis imitator would you? At the end of the day the guy had a career spanning 3 decades with countless number ones and top 10 hits throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s Thats not what happens to an overrated pub singer and its just churlish to suggest otherwise. I would add that I am not in any way a big Elvis fan. I have his best of album only. I like 50s music from listening to my parent records but would put Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochrane and most especially Chuck Berry ahead of him but Elvis is without any question one of the most important and certainly successful recording artists of all time and that's not just a bit of luck. Edited August 5, 2020 by sidcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 6 minutes ago, Seat68 said: It pops up every now and again and I too was once anti Elvis. Not these days though. Out and proud, I love Elvis. Currently listening to Elvis and the Royal Philharmoic Orchestra. I used to have a real dislike of Elvis to a large extent because my mum loved him. He was her pop star of the 60’s. But over time I chilled out a bit and I find the story interesting, the meetings with Nixon, the ‘68 comeback, the management basically killing him. Incredible to think he did hundreds of concerts and towards the end needed the words to the songs in front of him. Absolute car crash of a story. I don’t know what it says about anything, but I still really dislike my dad’s taste in music. Queen and all that pompous rock shite. I wonder how many would think Freddy Mercury or Elton John were great showmen, a great ‘presence’, but then not like caped / leather clad Elvis Kung fu his way through hunk a hunk a burning love. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 Nirvana, Blur, Lauren Hill and a bag of weed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 5, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, chrisp65 said: I wonder how many would think Freddy Mercury or Elton John were great showmen, a great ‘presence’, but then not like caped / leather clad Elvis Kung fu his way through hunk a hunk a burning love. Me. But 'showmanship' is the least of it. Could Elvis play an instrument? (I don't count posing with a guitar) Could Elvis write a song? Let alone dozens of albums' worth of songs as varied as 'Your Song', 'Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting', 'Bohemian Rhapsody' or 'I Want to Brrak Free'? And, I emphasise, I'm not even particularly a fan of Queen or Elton. But both of them wipe the floor with Elvis for musical talent, before you even get to the showmanship thing (which they had in spades anyway). Now, I accept that both acts would acknowledge their debt to Presley - without him, rock as we know it would probably not have existed, at least in its current form. His influence to that generation was colossal, and cannot be overstated. But after (say) 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Jailhouse Rock' was he actually any good? Not for me. Went in the army like a good boy, came out, made those godawful films, and churned out dross. The British bands spearheaded by you-know-who blew that stuff out of the water, and rightly so. Some of his late 60s singles were actually OK - 'Suspicious Minds', etc. (although Waylon Jennings' version is way better). He'd found his level - League One and an occasional cup run, in football terms - but 'The King'? Nah. 100% marketing hype. Edited August 5, 2020 by mjmooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 5, 2020 Share Posted August 5, 2020 It’s a pointless argument really. As I said earlier, what metric do you use to judge pop music? It has to either be money made / units shifted, and I think Elvis sold a fair few. Or something personal, nebulous and completely undefinable where some people just like it because it got them going in some way. Again, I can’t see how you can argue against Elvis on that one as quite a few people clearly enjoyed it. If we’re going on musical ability / exam grades on instruments, we just end up listening to a load of prog noodling bands like Sky. Or worse still, we sit and quietly appreciate modern opera adaptations by Damon Albarn. They’ve got their place, but that place ain’t a good time in a pub in Porthcawl. I’d rather karaoke my way through Viva Las Vegas thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 6, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 6, 2020 Elvis is to me what The Beatles are to Bicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 VT hates Elvis, the Beatles and Queen. *shocked face* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 2 minutes ago, Genie said: VT hates Elvis, the Beatles and Queen. *shocked face* But it loves Abba. Remember that thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 6 minutes ago, Wainy316 said: But it loves Abba. And the Vengaboys. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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