Aretha Franklin's performance...

[Lanshark]

Oh good grief!!! Now I didn't read this whole thread but I don't see ANYONE "hating" on "The Queen". So some people didn't like the hat. Big deal. I'm pretty sure it had nothing to with the tradition of black women and their hats. Why in the world do the most innocent of criticisms have take on a racial tone?


Maybe she's still "one of the best singers out there" but it wasn't Tuesday.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I am just now finally pulling up this thread...

WOW, how anybody could be using negativity and complaining about that part of the inauguration is just sooooo beyond me.... I suppose that some people just have to be negative and critical no matter what.

I LOOOOOOVED the hat!!!! Yes, it was big, but it was tasteful and simply gorgeous!!! It was not some big multicolored monstrocity. It did not have feathers or flags or other things hanging off of it... It was classic beauty. (Sorry, but if you saw my post on the other thread about Michelle Obama's wardrobe... you know that I simply can NOT say the same about Michelle's dresses... ughhhh!!!)

Aretha IS a legend... And, she did a good job.
Good Lord, does everybody expect some 25 year old with a professionally enhanced and digitally mastered recording.... Jeez...

One has to remember that in a HUGE open air situation like that with powerful speakers in all directions, etc... you simply cannot hear the music well... It is all just an amplified reverberation (this is why performers actually wear an earpiece and do not try to listen to and to sing to the music that is reverberating off the speakers. Not to mention, that the speakers are all pointed out to the audience, away from the performer... If she did not have an earpiece, or if it was not working correctly, it would make it very very difficult to sing/follow allong with the music. And, to be honest, that is what I thought it looked like was happening to Aretha... It was like "is that my intro cue.. is that the right key" But she did a WONDERFUL job.

Thank You Aretha!!!

I have to say that the music, and her performance, along with the photo slide show of the red-white-and-blue flags at our Capitol, and other beautiful scenes of our country from coast to coast, nearly brought me to tears.... "My Country Tis of Thee... Sweet Land of LIBERTY...."

It was one of the most moving and memorable moments of the entire day!!!

 

[CLEVERGIRL]

He would have to have been drinking to wear a hat like that




A liitle touchy are we?
Commenting on her poor vocal performance and her poor choice in head atire is not "hating"

"Hating" is slang for having negative opinions of or making them about someone. If someone was attacking one of your cultural trditions and icons, you'd be touchy too.

 

[CLEVERGIRL]

Oh good grief!!! Now I didn't read this whole thread but I don't see ANYONE "hating" on "The Queen". So some people didn't like the hat. Big deal. I'm pretty sure it had nothing to with the tradition of black women and their hats. Why in the world do the most innocent of criticisms have take on a racial tone?


Maybe she's still "one of the best singers out there" but it wasn't Tuesday.

If you had read my entire reply you would have seen that I said it was cold and she is getting on up in years! She was on Larry King tonight and said it wasn't her best performance and that the weather was not kind to her voice! I just find it amazing how people want to find any little area to belittle or ridicule the events on Inauguration Day. Someone else called her behavior at another event childish. I wonder why some other artists who may be demanding get labeled eccentric but Aretha was called childish. No matter what anybody says I love Aretha. I loved the hat. And for the record I never said this was racial. YOUdid. So what's really on your mind?

 

[chisnpeke]

"Hating" is slang for having negative opinions of or making them about someone. If someone was attacking one of your cultural trditions and icons, you'd be touchy too.

I've had plenty of my icons and traditions "attacked" and I got over it.

If you had read my entire reply you would have seen that I said it was cold and she is getting on up in years! She was on Larry King tonight and said it wasn't her best performance and that the weather was not kind to her voice! I just find it amazing how people want to find any little area to belittle or ridicule the events on Inauguration Day. Someone else called her behavior at another event childish. I wonder why some other artists who may be demanding get labeled eccentric but Aretha was called childish. No matter what anybody says I love Aretha. I loved the hat. And for the record I never said this was racial. YOUdid. So what's really on your mind?

You got kind of huffy and seemed to make this about a black tradition and seemed to think that because people didn't like the hat it was "hating" on her. I don't think anyone was bashing the tradition of the hat just the hat itself. Not everyone has to like it just because it's a tradition.

And honestly, I didn't see another black woman there with a huge hat on (again big hats are not a bad thing) but I just got the vibe from her that she wanted to have attention on her.

Everyone has different tastes in what is good or bad. Just because you think she's the best doesn't mean everyone who doesn't is "hating."

 

[Charade]

If you had read my entire reply you would have seen that I said it was cold and she is getting on up in years! She was on Larry King tonight and said it wasn't her best performance and that the weather was not kind to her voice! I just find it amazing how people want to find any little area to belittle or ridicule the events on Inauguration Day. Someone else called her behavior at another event childish. I wonder why some other artists who may be demanding get labeled eccentric but Aretha was called childish. No matter what anybody says I love Aretha. I loved the hat. And for the record I never said this was racial. YOUdid. So what's really on your mind?

True, you didn't but that's the impression I got from the tone of your message.

So even she said it wasn't her best performance. I agree.

 

[agnes!]

"Hating" is slang for having negative opinions of or making them about someone. If someone was attacking one of your cultural trditions and icons, you'd be touchy too.

When you say 'yours', are you referring to Ms. Franklin or are you referring to the tradition of being dressed in Sunday-Best/Church Clothes? If referring to Sunday Best, in my case some Sundays I'm lucky to just make it in the church door and if that means I'm not wearing my Meeting clothes...oh well. I'm impressed by those who take the time to get dressed to the nines. If, however, you are referring to Ms.Franklin as yours, you seem to possibly be implying that she cannot be someone else's.
If one is an American, then Ms. Franklin is ours. If one is a student of history, then she is ours. If one is a lover of music, then she is ours.
The Grammy performance, while legendary and truly mind-blowing, was in 1998. Even her PBS concert from 2002 shows her in fine form, considering her age (66 now, since she was born in 1942) but Ms. Franklin's physical instrument is not what it once was. When I say that, does that mean that I don't hold her in the highest respect? No, it just means I have an opinion about the technical aspects of her singing. *No* singer's voice exists in a vacuum. The vocal cords age and thicken, the diaphragm can't exert the same amount of pressure, the lungs can't take in the same amount of air. For instance, Johnny Cash's voice in his latter years, was simply not the same as when he started out (with his age and previous hard-living), *but* he still could bring people to tears.

That being said, I think that her voice and the engine that runs that voice are possibly suffering from underlying physical issues (that the public doesn't truly understand).

agnes!

 

[mamajoan]

I thought Aretha did well... I cried... but then I did alot of tearing up yesterday. happy tears!

As for the hat.... loved it... and Aretha is a big girl, she can wear a big hat!...

and I betcha.. there will be many ladies going to the next Sunday Service in hats very similar to Ms. Aretha's hat!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I haven't read through all the pages of replies. I just wanted to add that I thought she sounded great and I even liked her hat! Not for myself, but I thought it looked very becoming on Aretha. I especially liked the rhinestones around the bow.

 

[CLEVERGIRL]

When you say 'yours', are you referring to Ms. Franklin or are you referring to the tradition of being dressed in Sunday-Best/Church Clothes? If referring to Sunday Best, in my case some Sundays I'm lucky to just make it in the church door and if that means I'm not wearing my Meeting clothes...oh well. I'm impressed by those who take the time to get dressed to the nines. If, however, you are referring to Ms.Franklin as yours, you seem to possibly be implying that she cannot be someone else's.
If one is an American, then Ms. Franklin is ours. If one is a student of history, then she is ours. If one is a lover of music, then she is ours.
The Grammy performance, while legendary and truly mind-blowing, was in 1998. Even her PBS concert from 2002 shows her in fine form, considering her age (66 now, since she was born in 1942) but Ms. Franklin's physical instrument is not what it once was. When I say that, does that mean that I don't hold her in the highest respect? No, it just means I have an opinion about the technical aspects of her singing. *No* singer's voice exists in a vacuum. The vocal cords age and thicken, the diaphragm can't exert the same amount of pressure, the lungs can't take in the same amount of air. For instance, Johnny Cash's voice in his latter years, was simply not the same as when he started out (with his age and previous hard-living), *but* he still could bring people to tears.

That being said, I think that her voice and the engine that runs that voice are possibly suffering from underlying physical issues (that the public doesn't truly understand).

agnes!

I am referring to both.The tradition of dressing because I am an AA and Aretha because as a singer she is one of my idols and an icon to me.She just happens to be AA also. I never interjected race in this except to give background on the big hat. Sure Aretha is an American. Her father and many others fought for the right to be just that.It just seems that all of a sudden the consensus is that African Americans should get amnesia about their heritage.Why would it have offended you if I had been claiming Aretha as an Icon of the African American community? She is and has been for years! This is just truth. Why is the truth so offensive?

 

[dwheatl]

I loved the hat, and was touched by the song. I didn't think the hat was so much, "Look at me," as, "This is a most amazing and significant event, I better dress to reflect that."

Finally, my favorite. Her version of Spanish Harlem (again, no video, but amazing voice):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGyUhGTa8FM&feature=related

Thanks for the link. I really enjoyed her rendition of this song.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I feel totally the opposite - on the song arrangement and her hat. Isn't that funny?

And I do not care if you are the Queen of Soul be careful where you break the word country when you sing!

 

[luvmy3]

"Hating" is slang for having negative opinions of or making them about someone. If someone was attacking one of your cultural trditions and icons, you'd be touchy too.

NO need for eye rolling, I know what hating means No one is attacking anyone, we are commenting on her choice of atire and her performance. Since when does criticism equal attack? She is a legend and I don't think anyone here said otherwise, some of us just didn't like her hat and her rendition of that song and performance that day.
I don't want this to be personal but you need to go back a re-read this thread. This is no way attacking your cultural traditions. Its about a single hat, worn by one woman, not the entire African American population and their tradition of dressing up for Sunday services or whatever else they choose to dress up for. Lighten up.

 

[mickeyboat]

Really - I need flash cards or something to keep track of when it is o.k. to like a hat and when it isn't.

Personal style is just that - personal. I don't have to like what you are wearing, and it has nothing to do with your culture or traditions. I am fortunate that I live in a country that allows me to express my preferences freely.

Same is true for a vocal performance. I can still see the historical significance of the event and the choice of song while at the same time commenting that I didn't like the arrangement.

 

[agnes!]

I am referring to both.The tradition of dressing because I am an AA and Aretha because as a singer she is one of my idols and an icon to me.She just happens to be AA also. I never interjected race in this except to give background on the big hat. Sure Aretha is an American. Her father and many others fought for the right to be just that.It just seems that all of a sudden the consensus is that African Americans should get amnesia about their heritage.Why would it have offended you if I had been claiming Aretha as an Icon of the African American community? She is and has been for years! This is just truth. Why is the truth so offensive?

Ah. Having not read all the pages, I am unsure what others have posted, but my point is that Aretha Franklin is an icon to many in this country and to many around the world, not just to African-Americans. That's all. And I would not subscribe to any mass-amnesia on anyone's ceremonies and heritage and was asking for clarification on what you meant. I guess I tend to think that people can be proud of someone from their hometown, someone they know, etc. but that doesn't negate the fact that folks from other groups and towns might also be proud of this person simply as an American.

If you look around on YouTube, there is at least one video of her singing "Nessun Dorma" at Pavarotti's memorial service...pure raw emotion and shivers up your spine. When she did it at the Grammys was the first time I actually understood why "Nessun Dorma" is such a compelling song.

agnes!

 

[CLEVERGIRL]

NO need for eye rolling, I know what hating means No one is attacking anyone, we are commenting on her choice of atire and her performance. Since when does criticism equal attack? She is a legend and I don't think anyone here said otherwise, some of us just didn't like her hat and her rendition of that song and performance that day.
I don't want this to be personal but you need to go back a re-read this thread. This is no way attacking your cultural traditions. Its about a single hat, worn by one woman, not the entire African American population and their tradition of dressing up for Sunday services or whatever else they choose to dress up for. Lighten up.

No you need to go back and read it again at look at it from another perspective. Try mine. I'm all for criticism when it is constructive. In my opinion, which I am entitled to like everyone else here, these comments are a feeble attempt to diminish the the magnitude of that day and that performance.No it wasn't her best, but it was important never the less. And when has debate or differing opinions been a nonstop love fest. This makes me angry and I am expressing that. I am entitled to as an Americn remember? So you lighten up. When someone criticizes something you hold dear remember that okay? Lighten up!

 

[ReneeA]

I loved her hat. It totally suited her personality. They interviewed the hatmaker this morning on Fox2 Detroit - she came in 2 days before leaving for Washington. He designed and handmade that hat in less than 36 hours.

As for her singing, she's 67 years old, 100 pounds overweight, and has had LOTS of reported health conditions in the past 10 years. All of that is obviously going to affect both her vocal range and pitch. Given all that, I thought she did a good job with the song.

 

[Charade]

No you need to go back and read it again at look at it from another perspective. Try mine. I'm all for criticism when it is constructive. In my opinion, which I am entitled to like everyone else here, these comments are a feeble attempt to diminish the the magnitude of that day and that performance.No it wasn't her best, but it was important never the less. And when has debate or differing opinions been a nonstop love fest. This makes me angry and I am expressing that. I am entitled to as an Americn remember? So you lighten up. When someone criticizes something you hold dear remember that okay? Lighten up!

Please define "constructive"?

And seriously, no one has to look at it from your perspective because then it wouldn't be their perspective. It'd be yours.

 

[CLEVERGIRL]

Please define "constructive"?

And seriously, no one has to look at it from your perspective because then it wouldn't be their perspective. It'd be yours.

Look it up. You know what, we are going to have to agree to disagree. Some see it one way, I see it another, and nothing is going to change my or your opinion. Later.

 

[wvjules]

No you need to go back and read it again at look at it from another perspective. Try mine. I'm all for criticism when it is constructive. In my opinion, which I am entitled to like everyone else here, these comments are a feeble attempt to diminish the the magnitude of that day and that performance.No it wasn't her best, but it was important never the less. And when has debate or differing opinions been a nonstop love fest. This makes me angry and I am expressing that. I am entitled to as an Americn remember? So you lighten up. When someone criticizes something you hold dear remember that okay? Lighten up!

These comments are about a woman, her hat and her performance, nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't matter when and where she sung that song and wore that hat, my opinion would have been the same.

Really - I need flash cards or something to keep track of when it is o.k. to like a hat and when it isn't.

No kidding! No one can say anything anymore without out offending someone. Its getting ridiculous!