Celtic Karaoke... uh... I mean... Celtic Thunder
You can take your Celtic Women. You can take your Irish Tenors. You can take your High Kings. You can take every other mass-produced PBS-bloated piece of crap Celtic group and shove 'em... Welcome to the latest--Celtic Thunder. WTF?!?!
*sigh* Nevermind. I was gonna rant. But just gave up. It's pointless. The music industry has been making blow pop bands (emphasis on blow) for decades now. I guess it was a matter of time before they'd start making pop bands for musical niches. That's all those bands listed above are. Pop bands to force feed you Celtic music. Sure, they're good. The Spice Girls were good too. Doesn't mean their music still didn't suck.
Again, this is where I praise the merits of INDEPENDENT CELTIC MUSIC. Not pre-packaged music designed to turn sound into just a commodity, not art. Something that that's perfect. Not something that's perfectly imperfect. I was a huge fan of The Wolfe Tones when I started listening to Celtic music. Not because they had pretty voices but because Derek Warfield has a crappy voice. And it rocks! The Pogues kicked butt because Shane MacGowan has one of the raunchiest and most-recognizable voices that every Celtic punk band out there tries to duplicate it.
I know, that's just me. There are hundreds of thousands of people out there who want the fantasy. That's why they buy Celtic Women... or the latest pop atrocity Celtic Thunder. They want that fantastical experience of seeing their heritage blown up with majesty and lights and lots of violins and smoke. They want to "feel" their heritage. So maybe it's not all that bad a thing to create these fantasies? But for me, it just gets old.
So before I split and you fall under the "spell" of Celtic Thunder, let it be know that according to a couple videos I saw online, Celtic Thunder could be the Celtic version of Milli Vanilli--it looks to me like they lip synch... but I could be wrong.
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posted by Marc Gunn @ Friday, March 21, 2008
8 Comments:
Mr. Gunn,
While you are certainly entitled to your own opinion and musical tastes, you are NOT entitled to publish lies about something you know NOTHING about!
The men of Celtic Thunder do NOT lip synch as you have posted! Each one is a recording artist and performer in his own right, each one having his own musical style. Each of them were previously established solo artists before joining Celtic Thunder.
It seems to me that the driving forces behind Celtic Thunder, Phil Coulter and producer Sharon Browne, have much documented success to back them up.
The rest of the world loves CELTIC THUNDER, and will continue to be fans, no matter what you say about "karaoke."
You may not care for their music, but you are not entitled to spread lies, stating the lie as "fact." It disturbs me, not that you don't like the music, but that you feel the need to resort to creating a lie to support your narrowly held opinion of artists that you do not like.
Get your facts straight before you make them public.
Lies? Is it a lie to express an opinion. I will admit that the apparent "karaoke" aspect came from watching a video on YouTube. Could it have been a poorly posted video. Yes, possibly.
But this is a personal opinion. Just like your statement "the rest of the world loves CELTIC THUNDER". Is that true? No.
They do have a strong publicity machine and fined-tuned sound that many people will enjoy. But no, the "rest of the world" does not love them. Just some of them.
That said, after cross-posting this to another blog, I will withdrawal my thought that they band serves no purpose. In fact, a lot of people find their way into Celtic music because of shows like Celtic Thunder, Celtic Women, Riverdance, and more. For that, I am thankful.
But do I like the music. What I've heard? A resounding, "No.". It's like most pop music, over-produced IMHO.
Finally, that is what blogs are all about, expressing opinions on topics that concern me. Sorry, you don't agree. Blog about it. :)
Mr. Gunn,
Thank you for replying to my comment, and I applaud you for rephrasing your lip synch comment.
You are also correct about my statement..so I will rephrase my own: There are many people who ARE Celtic Thunder fans, and will continue to be. Admittedly, not everyone will feel the same way.
Each of us is entitled to our favorite music, and in fact, that is what makes our world so interesting! It would be quite boring indeed if there were not differing opinions!
I respect the fact that you have your own preferences, and also recognize that every genre has its' place. Celtic Thunder does serve a great purpose in bringing Celtic music to the greater attention of the world-wide audience. There are those of us who appreciate both the orchestrated versions, and the older "folk" versions of Celtic music, and there is a place for both, thankfully! I am personally a great fan of both types!
Respectfully, R. Turner
No. You made a good point. So thank you for writing!
Mark,
I grew up with the Irish American music that is dragged out every March 17. I love it not because it is muscially wonderful but because it connects me with my memories of my grandparents.
Let me also say that I have all of your cds and love them as well because they touch the celtic part of my soul and because I enjoy them - espescially the Leprechaun.
But I also love Celtic Woman and Celtic Thunder for their theatrical and production values. It may be that they seem to trained or staged to you but that is part of the enjoyment for me.
It is possible to like a variety of styles of music and still stay true to our Celtic roots.
Yeah, a few folks have pointed that out to me. And yes, you are right. I also think I picked out the 'reason' why I felt that way. And I am sad to admit, it was partially due to jealousy... Feeling like my career is creeping along slower and slower, while Celtic Thunder is Insta-Band.
That means, it's time for change for me... both in attitude and some direction.
wow. sorry to burst any bubbles here, but Celtic Thunder lip synchs. That is a fact, not a question or a guess.
the question is whether or not you care. some do, some don't.
Google "Celtic Thunder lip synch" for an idea to just how many people DO care.
personally? there are plenty of genuine IrTrad groups out there who don't need the fancy lights or orchestra. or the head mics or the song track.
personally? give me a bit of sean-nós any day. or night, for that matter.
The kid's cute, tho. cute kids are always good.
:))
Thanks for the blog and the podcast, marc.
Wow! Too funny. So I'm not alone thinking that. lol.
But yeah, you're right. Is it important to you that they do or not. Personally, I like to see people play their instruments. And I like imperfection, because there is perfection in imperfection. So I would rather see them play live.
That's what I love of about trad music, the live feel. Personally, it seems a shame that they would put something that staged on PBS, which, I like to think is a station that puts on quality live performances.
I guess you could argue it is quality and a performance. But for me... Not so much. Ah well... Love any other feedback.
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