Celine Dion, Classic or Dud

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yeah I suspect that's a generational thing. Streisand has a nice patina of nostalgia and is safe to love - she's part of The Sixties, she has an I.D. for The Seventies and her eighties stuff also subsumes itself in cultural identity. Celine is the ever-uncomfortable now. Still, Streisand has sung with her several times.

Hans Rott, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 21:34 (sixteen years ago) link

Also, Streisand, Madonna, Beyonce, etc. have legions of gay fans - I can't imagine Celine being a gay icon.

danzig, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 23:35 (sixteen years ago) link

I respect Celine Dion similarly to the way I respect the guitarist from Dream Theater or something - they have a very impressive ability on their instrument, but I find the way they wield that ability to be in poor taste. Like this one time I heard Jessica Simpson sing the national anthem before a baseball game. It was all fast and melismatic and rangey and shit. Her voice sounded powerful and impressive in a way, but the whole display was really garish and distasteful and I found it awful to listen to.

Madonna seems very different - she isn't known for her mastery of her instrument, but rather for her good taste.

St3ve Go1db3rg, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 23:58 (sixteen years ago) link

yeah I'd argue in favor of Celine as rather greater than a technician - I know what you mean, musicians who're all chops and no voice (Yngwie is the classic flogging-horse here I think), but Celine dialed-back is capable of some really haunting, emotional work - comparable to Carpenter in her lower register (the "ago" in "long ago" in "Superstar" is what I have in mind here)

sorry if I'm being totally boring, I find the subject interesting and am really curious about whether Celine will, long after she's a distant memory, be excavated and praised as a pop icon of great depth once the irritants of her presence are out of the way

Hans Rott, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 00:42 (sixteen years ago) link

I honestly don't know anyone under the age of 50 years old who likes her.

Z S, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 00:45 (sixteen years ago) link

except me

Hans Rott, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 00:47 (sixteen years ago) link

i think so xxpost

Surmounter, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 01:01 (sixteen years ago) link

i have a soft spot for celine. i mean, yeah, i do.

Surmounter, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 01:01 (sixteen years ago) link

Maybe the reason Celine inspires such hatred is that she brings a Streisand thing more directly into pop?

>Definitely not. I love Streisand, and I can't stand Celine Dion.


You're likely an exception, and it doesn't negate my point. As a general rule, I don't think there was ever a huge love, or even much tolerance, among rock fans (and rock critics) for what Streisand did (or does), though she's obviously not as despised as Celine, granted.

sw00ds, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 02:25 (sixteen years ago) link

I don't mean you're an exception that you love Streisand and hate Celine--I know two other people who've said the exact same thing. I just mean that among rock fans, I don't think Streisand was particularly well-liked either (but I'm sorry if I was presumptive; I don't know you or what you listen to!).

sw00ds, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 02:36 (sixteen years ago) link

one year passes...

Just listened to 5 x Celine hit singles in a row*, and surprised at how wrong my idea of "really grating & loud" was. Voice actually mostly very pleasant, even when belting. Maybe a bit unfairly maligned yeah.

Material still crap though.

*) Every time I hear "My Heart Will Go On", I do so for the first time. I'm confused about how such a hookless song can be remembered in listeners' minds long enough to be a world No 1 etc. Maybe it's just that its tempo falls beneath my personal w number**, the same that also renders me helpless in identifying slow movements of the most obvious classical works etc.

**) Invention of Tom E: the Westlife Factor, IIRC, beneath which everything sounds the same.

anatol_merklich, Sunday, 5 October 2008 01:03 (fifteen years ago) link

sw00ds OTM re Carpenter/Dion.

(Hating it is totally understandable but I'm a little amazed someone could find "My Heart Will Go On" hookless.)

Sundar, Sunday, 5 October 2008 02:12 (fifteen years ago) link

Ultimate dud.

After The Hurricane (The Brainwasher), Sunday, 5 October 2008 02:25 (fifteen years ago) link

one year passes...

"i'm your lady" is killin it this morning

yeahhh (surm), Thursday, 4 March 2010 17:29 (fourteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

don't give up on your faith
loves come to those who believe in it
and that's the way it is

big (surm), Monday, 22 March 2010 06:24 (fourteen years ago) link

yeah, classic

booches (Tape Store), Monday, 29 March 2010 07:49 (fourteen years ago) link

eight months pass...

it's time.

valerie (surm), Friday, 3 December 2010 20:11 (thirteen years ago) link

two months pass...

^looooool

J0rdan S., Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:01 (thirteen years ago) link

uh ur right

PERFECT morning for celine

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:02 (thirteen years ago) link

*ugh

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:03 (thirteen years ago) link

anyway, i'm on hold right now w/ a bank & the music is an instrumental version of "my heart will go on" -- i'm not sure what this means

J0rdan S., Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:03 (thirteen years ago) link

jordan why are you always doing something with the bank

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:04 (thirteen years ago) link

you're like the bank's best customer

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:04 (thirteen years ago) link

haha -- well this was some random bank in VA that i was calling for my job

J0rdan S., Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:05 (thirteen years ago) link

what job are u workin?

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:09 (thirteen years ago) link

for a private investor -- it's actually a dece job

J0rdan S., Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:14 (thirteen years ago) link

wow!! v cool

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:15 (thirteen years ago) link

well, i won't be talking to steve buscemi anytime soon, so it's not that cool

J0rdan S., Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:17 (thirteen years ago) link

haha stop :P

i like lucy (surm), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 16:18 (thirteen years ago) link

five months pass...
six months pass...
one year passes...

Seriously considering checking out a greatest hits compilation.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 27 August 2013 02:30 (ten years ago) link

(after hearing "My Heart Will Go On" on the radio and remembering how much I love it)

EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 27 August 2013 02:32 (ten years ago) link

Probably worth doing. She had two or three really good songs on most albums. Don't forget about the French stuff, though. Je danse dans ma tête might be my favourite song of hers.

Inte Regina Lund eller nån, mitt namn är (ShariVari), Tuesday, 27 August 2013 07:36 (ten years ago) link

je sais les hivers
je sais le froid
mais la vie sans toi (SANS TOI!)
je sais pas (je! sais! pas!)

dyl, Tuesday, 27 August 2013 13:58 (ten years ago) link

french stuff is amazing.

surm, Tuesday, 27 August 2013 15:06 (ten years ago) link

i suppose it's too much to hope that celine is somewhere in the list of shitty boring polls that will clog up ilm for the next decade

r|t|c, Tuesday, 27 August 2013 15:13 (ten years ago) link

remember the barbra duet

surm, Tuesday, 27 August 2013 15:38 (ten years ago) link

Celine on Larry King following Hurricane Katrina remains completely amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXD4BGvPngM

"How come it's so easy to send planes to another country to kill everyone in a second... to destroy lives... we need to serve our country and for me, serving our country is to be there right now to rescue the rest of the people"

Inte Regina Lund eller nån, mitt namn är (ShariVari), Tuesday, 27 August 2013 21:46 (ten years ago) link

I thought this revival was going to be about her $72 million home for sale. The place doesn't look like a house, it looks like a resort. It's weirdly fascinating. 500,000 gallon water park built in! I'd love to learn how much it costs simply ("simply") to staff and operate. Like, what are the monthly electric bills?

Also, I could be wrong, but I could have sworn she gets paid $500K per Vegas performance. That's insane! I only know the one Celine Dion song.

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 August 2013 11:48 (ten years ago) link

It's the highest-grossing Vegas show since Elvis, iirc.

Inte Regina Lund eller nån, mitt namn är (ShariVari), Friday, 30 August 2013 11:51 (ten years ago) link

Yeah, I think the show so far has made $500 million?

Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 August 2013 12:02 (ten years ago) link

I only know the one Celine Dion song.

Interesting: I didn't know who Calvin Harris was but I'm very surprised by this tbh. AC radio and its biggest hits seem to be completely unavoidable ime, more so than top 40 or classic rock.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Friday, 30 August 2013 13:09 (ten years ago) link

two weeks pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f5KuRXtjeE

New! Not totally amazing but decent enough. Always thought that Mylene-Farmer-style dreamy electro would be a good direction for her. This doesn't totally nail it.

Inte Regina Lund eller nån, mitt namn är (ShariVari), Friday, 13 September 2013 18:46 (ten years ago) link

one year passes...

So I'm devouring Carl Wilson's book right now and his argument that her French songs carry much more subtlety has piqued my interest. However, when I Google "Best French Celine Dion songs" the recommendations come from her English fan base, who I presume prefer the same OTTness in that catalogue that attracted them in the first place. Can anyone here provide guidance to a fool just trying to carve a little space in his heart for a national hero?

Adam J Duncan, Saturday, 28 March 2015 08:20 (nine years ago) link

the only french song of hers i know is "je sais pas" which is not exactly subtle but give it a listen anyway :P

dyl, Saturday, 28 March 2015 15:23 (nine years ago) link

I'm no expert but as a kid growing up in Ottawa my favourite Celine song was this one, which is FR and relatively subtle by the standards of later things -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY7A17Uq4L8

sean gramophone, Saturday, 28 March 2015 16:20 (nine years ago) link

Yep, that's also my favourite. The Dion Chante Plamondon album is good in general.

The fact it was her 15th or 16th does highlight exactly how dauntingly large her French back catalogue is though and i can't claim any real expertise there.

Rainbow DAESH (ShariVari), Saturday, 28 March 2015 16:54 (nine years ago) link

Not so bad! I find myself actually looking forward to the stuttering hook in the chorus. The movement here is just the listener getting progressively locked into the groove. I could see Madonna covering this.

Why is it that French pop uses smooth jazzy fusion as a base? How did that become the norm there and not the Anglosphere?

Adam J Duncan, Saturday, 28 March 2015 18:21 (nine years ago) link

Widowhood has liberated her inner queer, potty-mouthed diva, says Carl Wilson:

https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/celine-dion-new-album-courage-review-comeback.html

Maria Edgelord (cryptosicko), Sunday, 24 November 2019 00:09 (four years ago) link

one year passes...

I...am amazed.

There is an unofficial Céline Dion biopic playing out of competition at Cannes where they use her songs but change her name, and I fear my concept of reality will never recover. https://t.co/ZvfPaYy6Jw

— Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil) June 3, 2021

My brain is short circuiting pic.twitter.com/NnZ7OR1x0x

— Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil) June 3, 2021

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 3 June 2021 14:14 (two years ago) link

eight months pass...

xposted to Ambient Recommendations, but this record utilizes Celine samples pretty exclusively and is fucking beautiful, I think.

https://youmustrememberthis.bandcamp.com/album/once-upon-a-time

we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Wednesday, 9 February 2022 15:47 (two years ago) link

the butthole surfers dedicated this to her! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0hVNZJTOU

xzanfar, Wednesday, 9 February 2022 19:27 (two years ago) link

nine months pass...

Horrible news <3

nxd, Friday, 9 December 2022 14:03 (one year ago) link

yes, very sad. it was known that she had health issues, but this is a bad diagnosis.

not counting on seeing her again live, although the show we have tickets for hasn’t been cancelled yet (I bought them in 2019 for her 2020 tour).

I did see Xhaka crotchgrab (breastcrawl), Friday, 9 December 2022 15:14 (one year ago) link


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