8 thoughts on “What The Rubettes Wish They Were

  1. You know Steve, Noddy certainly has that growl, and apparently can be a compelling singer, despite the shoes, but no way i would consider him a better vocalist that Bono or Joni Mitchell or even Bob Seeger. there is no nuance to what he does at all (and i delineate between singer and vocalizing, using Elvis Costello as an example: he is not a particularly great singer, but he is as good a vocalist as there is.). and, well, fuck the hat. how old were you when this stuff was released? He Man Ninja Turtle age? Same age as the girls squirming in the vid? And, we all love what we love, but how old are you now? I mean, I did outgrow ELO and the Moody Blues.

  2. Growl? His pipes are damn unique. When others are going falsetto (Robert Plant, for example), Noddy is wailing full tilt.

    Yes, I know we should all mature and outgrow primal rock ‘n’ roll and “progress” to boring tasteful shit.

    Been there, done that and I’m old enough to know what works for me. I’m beyond pretension.

    I’d say I was sorry to keep ragging U2 if I was, but there’s another great part in “It Might Get Loud” where Jimmy Page is trying to show The Corner a guitar part and he’s simply not getting it. He can’t play it. Needs his closet full of knobs and gadgets. It’s hilarious to watch him struggle.

    Would be the same thing if Boner tried to sing this.

  3. i understand this is what works for you. no issue. but, just because he has pipes, doesn’t mean he can use them more effectively than other singers.

    like to see Noddy trying to sing Red Hill Mining Town.

    however, your point about the edge and skill set totally makes my point: it ain’t necessarily what chops you have: it is how you use/interpret/present them.

    i remember watching 60 minutes once years ago and there was a Dr/scientist who developed a simulation device that would trick quadrupeds brains into thinking they could walk. and, damn if this sample of wheelchair ridden folks could actually get out of their chairs.

    well, 60 minutes, giving all voices, talked to some stupid creationism doctor who slammed the whole process, saying, “those people are being deluded: they are not really walking.”

  4. Shit, just watched the video for Red Hill Mining Town and I could sing that. With ease. If Noddy sang it, it would move a tiny bit closer to goodness.

    The video is hilarious too. Boner at his most pretentious. (Is he ever at anything less?)

  5. With ease? I can do the Noddy/Robert Plant growl, but not easily. And, there is a difference between saying you can sing it, and emulating all the little pauses and oohs and ahs that make that vocal effective, in my view. Try mimicking all the shit he does (i have covered this song and spent weeks listening in my car to get all that shit, so i could first do it as Bono, before messing with it and making it mine) and tell me it is easy. Or better, that you could have, or would have thought of that approach.

    I don’t really see U2 as pretentious. Yeah, they are rich as all shit. And, they are big stars, for sure, and I guess some hubris comes with that. But, name a rock star who has championed causes, like World Aids, Hunger, and Human Rights more effectively than Bono?

    So, if he uses his power for the good of the planet, doesn’t that count for anything? How much time do you donate to your community? How much do you donate to the Tea Party or ACLU or whatever you believe in?

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