Not QUITE back online yet, but I need to start Iron Artist II soon (still going by the 30-day rule, and I need to wrap up by FC2013). Look for details of that shortly.

At any rate, this is just one topic that's timely at the moment.

People have often asked me why I only listen to female singers (especially on LJ, where this was more evident).

The simple answer is that top 40-based men, on average, are terrible singers (strictly referring to vocal talent--songwriting, instrument playing, genre, etc, do not matter much to me).
I'm well aware there are ladies with little vocal skill on the top 40 also, but generally there are heavy efforts to conceal this--autotune, vocal doubling, heavy instruments, a full choir of backup singers. With guys, it seems to be perfectly permissible to leave a flat voice front and center. Out of respect for people's tastes, I won't name many names, but let's face it; even Britney Spears can hit a note better than, say, Bob Dylan.

There's plenty of arguments over what is considered a "good" singer, so my acid test is this: Can you picture them singing "O Holy Night" WITHOUT LAUGHING?I think that's a fair test; it's an unbiased traditional song (whereas anyone can marginally squawk through two notes required by a song they penned themselves) which requires reasonable range and sustained notes.

I've been told this is an unfair test, and yet even though I don't really buy holiday albums, I can name at least a dozen pop-crossover women who have recorded versions of it (including Jessica Simpson and Avril Lavigne, if you can believe it). Other than...I don't know, Michael Buble or Il Divo, I can't think of many guys who could pass, let alone expect someone to purchase their version.

Just thought I'd bring this up now since I can never remember to mention it when it's the season for holiday music. It'd feel weird discussing it in August!

Thoughts?