Taster's Choice (NY Times Book Review)

Is disdain for Céline Dion innate or learned? And what’s wrong with liking her music anyway?

Awesome.............

"Dion is the Antichrist of the indie sensibility, an overemoting schmaltz-bot who has somehow managed to convert the ethos of Wal-Mart into sine waves and broadcast them, at kidney-rupturingly high volume, directly into our internal soulPods."

I can't stand Celine Dion's music, but I never listened to any of her records, just the stuff I heard on radio and television. Somehow, yes, I tend to think this kind of music (and lots of others) is the enemy of taste. But before I ever assert or expand this cheap point, I'd need to listen to her records, like I did lately for Shania Twain.

I can safely say that I don't like Shania Twain's music at all, though her first album isn't too bad (just harmless, like some early records of Allison Moorer - imo).

About the matter of taste, I have reflected about it on my own, and I'm convinced it's something you learn. Taste belongs to culture, education, knowledge, experience, and life. It's something that evolves all the time as early as you remain curious and never cease to discover new musics, or new artists. Nothing definitive about taste.

So: is it wrong to like Celine Dion's music? Yes and no.

No: the way one loves her music can be beautiful and interesting. It's a subjective matter that's not directly related to "taste".

Yes: let's not neglect the damage that "bad culture" does to the masses, for hiding the good one, and keeping from evolving.

Of course I could bring more tinges to my points, but frankly, my english doesn't allow me to be less "schématique".

I guess I'm wrong, then. 'Cuz I like her voice, even if some of her songs leave me cold.

I like Shania Twain, too.

A lot of people must really love her because while driving past the Tacoma Dome (south of Seattle, seats ~25,000) they were advertising for her concert: in October of 2008! That tells me tickets sell pretty fast.

Once, when I was home with my daughter the Today show was on in the background and she was performing. When she started playing air guitar I had to turn it off. It was unsuitable for my daughter's toddler eyes. I think we then listened to Bob Dylan or something.

SHe is the current maven for overusing a wonderful instrument. SHe has the chops, but her manner odf running through every single thing she knows how to0 do with her voice in every single song, and her way of creating bpmbast form simplicity and creating false drama drive me to distrasction. I have no idea what she's like as a person, but as a singer she and a number of other singers from her generation are what is WRONG with mainstream Top 40 pop.

In a head-scratching and soul-stirring move, Sony Music has sent me not one, but two new Celine Dion albums. The first, My Love - Essential Collection, features seventeen beloved Celine classics, among them one-of-a-kind titles such as "The Power of the Dream," "The Power of Love," and "A New Day Has Come." The cover, featuring Celine in an unbuttoned white blouse, finds the chanteuse staring moodily down into her cleavage. The power of the dream, indeed. And if essential isn't good enough for you, Sony has also issued My Love - Ultimate Essential Collection, which splits the goodness between two discs and 26 tracks. This time the cover shows Celine in the same unbuttoned white blouse, but the wider shot reveals what the first cover does not: Celine is actually, inexplicably, standing half naked while holding a camera. As you might guess, there are several additional and equally essential tracks, including "Where Does My Heart Beat Now?" (hint: right above the camera, and right below ... ah, never mind)

I find the marketing curious. I don't pay much attention to Celine's music, so I will admit that I expect nothing more than the usual robodiva scale trilling and overemotive schmaltz. But the covers baffle me. If I had to guess, I would guess that Celine's music appeals primarily to young women. But the covers suggest a concerted effort to woo young men. And maybe it will work. The images are, ah, arresting. But I just can't see many young, virile dudes belting out the love theme from Titanic.

But it has me curious, and at least somewhat interested to see if there might be an upcoming My Love - Definitively Ultimate Essential Collection box set.

I've always felt that her voice would be well suited to country music. That fragile-esque warble...add a little yodel and it could be great.
For me, it's not a matter of talent, but mis-guided talent... and lack of taste.

I never cared for Dion's music but I stayed mostly indifferent to it until she started doing covers. The last straw for me was her cover of Roy Orbison's "I Drove All Night". Call me sexist but Orbison singing the lines "I drove all night to get to you. Is that all right?" means something completely different than Dion's overwrought, techno'ed out version. Orbison was vulnerable and romantic while Dion was annoying and a little stalkerish.

I couldn't agree more...
hijack: You should give the Cyndi Lauper version a listen, too... it was a hit for her before Roy Orbison (though it was written for him). I think that one is worth listening to...

I liked her before she was famous, back when she was still playing sweaty little venues, back when she, you know, really meant it.

Yeah, but she still had that annoying habit of carrying stuffed animals on stage. Of course, she was only five.

Man, when she was on that tiny label? All of those 7" releases were great, so vital. Then she had to sell out.


And when I want a good weep, I watch these two videos and think about the results: