I don't need to take my time. I already explained to you that I felt today's standards have been lowered to accomidate the preference of quantity over quality. J5 is as entitled to join in on this discussion as anyone. Last time I checked, she was posting in this thread long before you ever came around.
Sue me for having good taste. I listen to almost every form of music, from yesterdays artists, to todays, and I can make the assessment that today's acts just aren't as good. Instead of great singers, or great dancers or great songwriters, you have average singers, who think they can dance and who pretend to co-write their music. Instead of having people who are masterful over one talent, you have a bunch of people who are just okay at a bunch of things. Michael caused that. He came along and was world class in several areas. No one had ever come along who had such high quality talent in so many areas as Michael. So in order to compete, the industry decided to dumb down the standards so they could concieveably offer something similar.
But since you decided to ride my ass and tell me all these things about myself that I apparently am unaware of, I'll give you some artists from the last few years who I think are talented. Angie Stone, Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and Michael Bubble. I think they've got talent.
As for what these acts today could do to be more innovative? That's easy. And you DID say everything's been done and that's why they can't come up with anything new. Here's your exact quote, just to refresh your memory.
They can be innovative by coming up with a unique vocal style, something which hasn't been heard before. They can be innovative by coming up, if they fancy themselves such great dancers, a distinctive and unique way of moving. That doesn't mean new steps, that means putting steps together in a way that hasn't been seen before and which can associated with them. They can come up with a distinct musical sound, a style which can be accosiated with them, that if you heard on the radio, you would think of them, that would remind you of them, or that you would be able to instantly recognize, within the first few bars, as one of their works. That is, if they could actually write music. They could come up with new visual ideas for music videos and stage performances, set designs, scenarios and atmospheres, on and on and on. A lot hasn't been done. Innovations have been made in all of these areas, but not everything that could be done has been. If that was the case, then new ideas and visionaries sould have stopped showing up about, oh, 2000 years ago. What IS a cop-out is that you would throw such a question at me to come up with how today's acts could be innovative. It shows that you have no arguments to support why they lack innovation or originality, other then to say that it's hard. The fact that they can't come up with anything new shows a lack talent not only as singers, dancers and songwriters, but that they lack the ability to think creatively.