Hayley out of genre

[martindn]

Yes Elliott, I agree.

Some of my favourite artists are legends, some of the biggest selling artists of all time. Others are virtually unknown. Perhaps many of my favourites were before your time, but I always admired Dylan, Cohen, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Yes, Incredible String Band, The Who, mostly rock and folk bands according to genre. But I have also been a regular attender at classical concerts since my twenties. I have to say I never got into jazz, but sometimes I will enjoy it if the artist dislays exceptional musical virtuosity, as jazz musicians often do.

Singers I admire, well there is a list as long as your arm, but then Hayley came along and blew them all out of the water.

Like you I have never liked rap, not since Shirley Ellis invented it (or more likely brought it to our attention) back in the sixties. I didn't like it then and don't now. I'm not a fan of reggae or calypso either (strange that they all come from the same part of the world). I have admired some of the cricketers from there though. Not that I'm being racist in any way, just making an observation about my personal likes and dislikes.

Martin D

[Elliot Kane]

Martin,

I understand, yeah Music is all about what sounds good to your ears - it's the most colour blind thing there is.

You're right that most of the people you admire were before my time, but I have to admit to a real liking for Pink Floyd. I think the world is divided into people who love Dark Side Of The Moon and those who have not heard it yet.

Reggae is kind of a harsher version of Calypso (And I love Calypso! I even played Disney's Little Mermaid incessantly for Sebastian the Calypso playing crab! ) but I have found it is not always so. I ran across Mishka by accident, and by that same accident discovered that Reggae is not all harsh sounding, but can be melodic, too. Now he's one of my favourite artists for hot Summer days. Thus, Reggae fell from my list of things I do not listen to. It's a very short list, these days!

(And as an aside - talking of The Little Mermaid, how awesome would a Hayley version of Part Of Your World sound?)

[Libby]

The Mulan II song "Here Beside Me" was enough "Disney Hayley" for me. Very pretty, though, but I wouldn't want her to do a cover of an already existing Disney song. Only ones for new movies that are actually going to be popular.

[anshita]

I think recording an original song for a Disney movie would be quite nice for Hayley!

And...how about the song "Best In Me" by Blue?? I think Hayley would sound MAGNIFICENT in it.
Though this may sound nuts, but I think Hayley could also record a Taylor Swift song...

[Elliot Kane]

Anshita,

Much as I adore Taylor, her songs would not work for Hayley. She writes them to suit her own voice, which is much weaker than Hayley's. If you want to see the likely result, find Taylor & Miley's duet of Taylor's song Fifteen. Miley, despite having by far the better voice, sounds terrible because her voice is simply too strong for the song.

I like the idea of getting Taylor to write a song for Hayley, though. Taylor is, IMO, the best young songwriter in the world today, and when she writes for other people instead of herself, the result is usually fantastic. She wrote You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home for Miley and Best Days Of Your Life for Kellie Pickler (Yeah, it says 'with' but anyone who knows their Taylor songs and their Kellie songs won't be fooled by that...)

[anshita]

Elliot,

Yes, I've already seen the duet of Miley & Taylor, and certainly I agree that Miley ruined the entire performance... Also trying to get all the attention...
Perhaps Taylor's songs would not suit everyone, even not Hayley. But yes, it would be great if Taylor writes a song for Hayley! I really have to admit that Taylor is a great songwriter. Or perhaps both even do a duet together, sounds...tempting! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif
Though, I'm also really curious to see what Taylor has done in her new album!

[Elliot Kane]

Anshita,

I have visions of another Taylor/Miley, only worse, which is why I left Taylor off my own 'duet with Hayley' list. Miley has a very strong voice, but I have a feeling the famous Hayley 'foghorn' is more powerful yet. A duet between a great singer like Hayley and a quite weak singer like Taylor (For all that I love the timbre of her voice - it has a beautiful sound - there's no denying she lacks real vocal power) is not something I would wish on either girl.

A Hayley/Miley duet on the other hand would be pretty awesome - especially on one of Miley's ballads, like The Climb or When I Look At You.

(And yeah - I'm really looking forward to Speak Now. Though with some trepidation. Can Taylor keep the standard up?)

EDIT: That's useful! When I Look At You. And The Climb (Though I'm sure everyone's heard that one).

[anshita]

Hello Elliot,

Yes I agree, perhaps it would not be good, after seeing what happened during the performance between Miley and Taylor.

But indeed, Taylor does lack a vocal power. But she makes lovely music with terrific lyrics, what else could we want right?

Hmm, maybe Miley and Hayley singing together may not sound as appealing, but Hayley doing The Climb seems nice! I feel that sometimes Miley begins singing with her nose, and that ain't nice! Certainly not a good combination with Hayley's flawless voice. Though, I remember 'the climb' being my favorite song that time. Even 'when I look at you' seems nice though!

Me as well, I hope Taylor would some songs based on a different theme now, besides guys. Though, I do not know what to interpret from the title "Speak Now". We'll see!

[Elliot Kane]

Anshita,

It's the combination of everything that makes me such a huge Taylor fan, honestly. She's singer, songwriter and musician and remains both a lady (In the best sense of the word) and a very sweet and charming person. There's just no arguing with that amount of talent tied to so great a personality. I too hope she broadens the scope of her songwriting beyond romance, though, I must admit. Her voice may not be strong, but it is very sweet and melodic which I also think counts for a lot.

As for Miley, well, I like her voice personally, but many don't. I sort of see what you mean with the nasal sound, though, and your description made me laugh Miley is pretty unique, in that she actually has two singing voices which enable her to sing Rock (The lower voice) and Pop (The higher voice) with equal facility, as well as those rather wonderful ballads. Unfortunately, however, her latest album is filled with excessive use of auto-tune on her voice (Or 'electroniced-to-death', as I prefer) and thus, from my POV, to be avoided. A shame, as the live versions sound as great as I would expect from her (Miley is always live when she says she is, so no auto-tune). Check out her duet with Bret Michaels on Every Rose Has Its Thorn. Sounds great.

Hayley doing either of Miley's ballads would sound superb, I think. With the long drawn out notes that require both power and precision, we are definitely in strong Hayley territory.

[anshita]

Hey Elliot,

You sure know your music well, hahaha!

But anyway, I know what you mean when you say that Taylor's musical talent and charming personality make you a huge fan of her's..
Though, I'm not a huge fan, but I really enjoy her music very much!
And yep, Taylor really does have a sweet voice! The first song I heard by Taylor was "Love Story", and I was really hit by such a lovely voice! No doubt she has a sweet voice, maybe if Taylor just improves her vocals a little more, she'd be great! Not that she's not great now, she'd just become great-er.

I also like Miley's voice, I think she's got good vocal capability, but sometimes I feel she overdoes it a little. Her videos and her songs. Though, I really like the song "Can't be tamed"! But the music video disappoints me.
I havent heard much from her latest album. Though, I will check out this duet. Haven't heard of it.

[Elliot Kane]

Anshita,

I listen to enough music that I should have picked up a few facts, here and there

'Love Story', I suspect, will be one of the very few songs that will be loved by future generations as well as now. It's completely timeless and speaks to the romantic in all of us. Its appeal transcends both genre and generations. It's a masterclass in song writing.

As for Miley, Can't Be Tamed sounds great live without all the electronic horrors stuck on it, but I wouldn't touch the album version. I really wasn't keen on the video, but I actually realised that I wouldn't object half so much as I had (Though it's really not appropriate for a 17 year old!) if the song wasn't so awful. I'll forgive a lot for a good song!

Interestingly, just found a duet with Miley & Dolly Parton (Her Godmother) singing Jolene. Sounds great, and should be easy to YouTube if you are interested

[sharon]

Hi Elliot & Anshita,

I think the most 'impossible' looking singers can be put together for a duet. I've seen duets from which I thought would not be possible at all! But eventually it did not sound bad....some even sounds very good!

So if Taylor would feature in a song with Hayley, as second voice I would like to hear how that sounds.
Cause even though I'm not a John Mayer Fan, I really liked 'Half of My Heart' in which Taylor featured. You didn't hear her much in the song, but she added just the amount to make the song (at least to me) appealing. Especially in the end of that song I like how it sounds. Same with 'Best Days of Your Life.'

I'm not a fan of Miley either, but I would not be against a duet with Hayley. I actually just listened again to the duet between Miley & Taylor at the Grammys, and it was really horrible.
I also noticed same thing at the Grammy's this year that Taylor could not keep up with Stevie Nicks when she had to sing the part of Stevie Nicks' song (forgot the name).

I also saw and heard the 'Jolene' song. Sounds indeed good. Perhaps because it is just a classic country song and that's just Mileys kind of dish, at least, I rather hear her sing bit country rather then rock. Depends a bit I suppose.

Sharon*

[Elliot Kane]

Sharon,

There's no doubt Miley could do Country (In fact, she does a few Country numbers on the Hannah Montana film soundtrack) but then she IS the daughter of Billy Ray, and Tennessee born and bred, so she has the perfect accent for it She's actually an incredibly versatile singer who can do several genres well.

Taylor in 'backup singer' position for Hayley would surely be fine, yes, but I wouldn't classify that as a duet. While Taylor's voice is definitely improving, she's nowhere near being at the level where Hayley would not just sing her off the stage in a proper duet. That's why I'd prefer Carrie Underwood as a duet singer for Hayley, if we're talking Country singers. Carrie has a fantastic voice in her own right and would surely hold her own - or at least within bounds!

[anshita]

Elliot,

Hahaha, well, you sure do know a lot. By the way, have you heard of the Canadian band Nickelback? I believed they have toured around UK as well... If you haven't, here's a song to start off:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4y-RzVGrHg&feature=avmsc2
Beautiful song! Nickelback's my favorite, with Hayley i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

And yes, I have to agree, Love Story is a song that would even be loved by future generations. Certainly one of my first and favorite songs of Taylor. At some point, I had grown sick of it, since I heard it SO much, but now when I listen to it again, I cannot help but repeat it. Taylor's voice is SO sweet in it.

Well, definitely Miley's NO role-model, considering her videos and some songs . But I feel the same: Miley's truly very versatile! She's quite good with all genres. One of her slow songs, (its quite old though) I Miss You, I love it.
I like Miley as a singer, no doubt about that, but as a role-model, I'm not a fan.

Sharon,

Well I think a Miley and Hayley duet seems a little "inappropriate". Because both the voices are SO different, I don't think the voices would really blend... But indeed, I feel Hayley and Taylor would be magnificent!

I also know the song Half Of My Heart... I think it's lovely as well... Though, also a Hayley duet with John Mayer would be cool...

And hmm, perhaps Hayley with Carrie somewhat does seem nice, I love Carrie's voice as well. But I personally feel the voices won't match, Carrie seems to have a more "rough" voice, thats NOT a bad thing, but maybe it wouldn't blend with a voice like Hayley's.
Though, Hayley singing Carrie's "Whenever You Remember" would be great! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

[Elliot Kane]

Anshita,

I have heard Nickelback before, yes. As a long time fan of Magnum I was not impressed by what I considered to be Nickelback's blatant copy-catting. Granted, Nickelback have improved a lot since those early days, but I can't say I ever warmed to them. I am probably being unfair to them and I know it, but I doubt they will ever be favourites of mine. Sorry...

As for Miley - no role model she, for certain! But good role models for young women are pretty thin on the ground, sadly. Beyond Taylor & Hayley, the list is sparse indeed.

***

Just noticed - Martin left Rush off his list of Prog Rock groups. A very significant omission, IMO! (Not least because they were my favourite group in my younger days! )