The Legends spot

[balti-pie]

Take that are an abomination, Gary Barlow is a sickening twat, and the only place they should play is The Common during the Tomatina so I can shower them with tomatoes. 

And piss. 

[OneLittleFish]

I'll do it.

[The Nal]

15 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Only if you buy that 'cheesy music' is actually a thing......

I do yeah. Cheesy, corny, whatever. Its out there!

[CaledonianGonzo]

3 minutes ago, The Nal said:

I do yeah. Cheesy, corny, whatever. Its out there!

I deliberately used corny back there - excessively sentimental, mawkish - as opposed to 'cheesy', which for me seems to be more a contextual thing, the music enjoyed at Abigail's Party-style gatherings.

I dunno - I don't feel that strongly about this, but it is interesting seeing ELO regarded as some sort of return to authenticity when for plenty of people they absolutely embody mid-seventies crimplene, big hair and ersatz chintz.

Ultimately, no matter how valid and substantial and bona fide you think your favourite music is there's always gonna be some Piero Scaruffi type laughing up his sleeve at you because it isn't as nails as Swans or Ligeti or Albert Ayler or Scriabin or R Stevie Moore or what have you.

So it's best not to worry about it.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Maybe stems from my dislike of 'guilty pleasure' as a phrase or idea when it comes to talking about art.

[The Nal]

Agree 100% yeah. "Cheese" being the commonly accepted definition of it. Which is what I meant. As in Hello by Lionel is a bit "cheesy". 

Semantics though isn't it. One mans cheese is another mans drinking music. 

[giantkatestacks]

I like a bit of semantic chat. Where is the line between cheesy and irredeemably naff? I.e. between a Lionel and a Bryan Adams?

I have edited to add that I dont think Lionel is cheesy as he has the Commodores to fall back on - oh shit I've answered my own question.

 

Edited July 6, 2016 by giantkatestacks

[CaledonianGonzo]

The ace music baby often gets thrown out with the bathwater as the vagaries of fashion come and go.  Plenty of acts that couldn't get arrested 10 - 15 years ago have come back to prove that they've still got the chops to entertain the crowds on a grand scale - and that's as true for Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie and ELO as it is for, say, Chic or ZZ Top or Art Garfunkel.

I actually think the festival have got the right mix of old and new, of familiar comforting favourites and provocative strangeness, and just need to crack on regardless.

 

 

[incident]

7 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

I like a bit of semantic chat. Where is the line between cheesy and irredeemably naff? I.e. between a Lionel and a Bryan Adams?

I have edited to add that I dont think Lionel is cheesy as he has the Commodores to fall back on - oh shit I've answered my own question.

As much as people won't want to admit it, to a large degree the line will be dependent on how long they've been around and more specifically, how long since they annoyed the music snobs.

Even if the Legends Slot was as an established part of the festival, and in it's current form in the mid 90s, Lionel would most definitely have been considered on the wrong side of it at that point in time as it was only a few years removed from his alleged crimes against music (ie his mid 80s output).

Just as Bryan Adams is considered on the wrong side of it right now. But if he's still around in another 20 odd years (and the festival still exists of course), he'll absolutely be considered a viable choice for it.

[stuartbert two hats]

Cheesy does exist, even if an artist has been re-appraised.  I for one have a particular affection for ABBA - some really quite excellent arrangements and great melodies.  However, Dancing Queen is clearly cheesy, despite its many musical qualities.

I do agree that it's a largely subjective term and can change over time.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Dancing Queen is just a majestic 4 minutes, one of the greatest pop singles ever recorded.

If that's fair game as 'cheesy', then so is almost anything - and so, as an adjective, it becomes practically meaningless.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I agree that time is a factor in the Legends Slot.

I find it helps to think of it as the 'Artist Popular With A Previous Generation That's No Longer Hip Being Given A Slot At A Festival That They Wouldn't Normally Otherwise Get To Show What they Can Do To An Audience They Wouldn't Normally Perform To' slot.

[giantkatestacks]

29 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I agree that time is a factor in the Legends Slot.

I find it helps to think of it as the 'Artist Popular With A Previous Generation That's No Longer Hip Being Given A Slot At A Festival That They Wouldn't Normally Otherwise Get To Show What they Can Do To An Audience They Wouldn't Normally Perform To' slot.

Can we muse on the 'Has the Legends slot changed or have I?' question? 

I didnt turn up for Bassey or Tom Jones but was there singing along with Lionel/Dolly Parton. Lets gloss over the year I was too fked to see Johnny Cash.

 

 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Probably as you get older your palate gets jaded by the more conventional rock music on offer elsewhere as you've probably seen it a million times before.

Someone like Dolly Parton - who you probably wouldn't pay to go and see at their own show - becomes an enjoyable break from the norm.

[Quark]

4 hours ago, giantkatestacks said:

Can we muse on the 'Has the Legends slot changed or have I?' question? 

I didnt turn up for Bassey or Tom Jones but was there singing along with Lionel/Dolly Parton. Lets gloss over the year I was too fked to see Johnny Cash.

 

 

Let's not

[CaledonianGonzo]

Sadly, Johnny Cash brought the legend slot into disrepute by performing cheesy novelty rubbish like A Boy Named Sue.

[giantkatestacks]

2 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Sadly, Johnny Cash brought the legend slot into disrepute by performing cheesy novelty rubbish like A Boy Named Sue.

I wouldnt know, I was probably watching Senser in the Glade or some such ridiculousness. 

[Nickyboy]

18 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

I wouldnt know, I was probably watching Senser in the Glade or some such ridiculousness. 

I still remeber going to watch Jem over Brian Wilson in 1995 - what a t*sser!!!

 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

Cheese has to be a thing, many a questionable night club have rooms specifically called "The cheese room" it's the place you find gangs of Middle aged divorced women.

[giantkatestacks]

20 minutes ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

Cheese has to be a thing, many a questionable night club have rooms specifically called "The cheese room" it's the place you find gangs of Middle aged divorced women.

Damn those middle aged women and their insistence on having fun. 

[lukemack]

Billy Joel been mentioned? Fits the bill like

[FloorFiller]

2 hours ago, lukemack said:

Billy Joel been mentioned? Fits the bill like

He still headlines festivals around the world so, like Elton, is probably a bit too big for it at the moment, but definitely seems like a good contender for it somewhere down the road

[justperfect]

Sting perhaps?  He springs to mind as he played in '97  my first glastonbury 

[Festival Liam]

Rod Stewart said in an interview last year he would love to play again, and specifically mentioned the legends slot. 

[Quark]

Nope.  I've changed my signature so it's going to be Diana Ross.

That's how this works, right?