St. Vincent...

I am not a fan of the Lady GaGa style theatrics though, when the music by itself is solid.

 

Ooof

 

This is the first I've heard of her. Not my cuppa. Also some one should give her a cheeseburger or three so she doesn't end up like Karen Carpenter (RIP).

 

She's kind of all over the place stylistically. Makes her hard to pin down, but always interesting, even when it's not something I'd buy.

Here she is from 2009 with a stripped down take on an old Beatles tune. Reminds me a little of PJ Harvey, something you'd never think of watching last night's SNL performance.

 

Definitely got guitar chops.

 

As with Jeff Beck, either she is overrated or I'm just not cool enough to hear what she's saying. Given their success it can only be the latter.

 

You think Jeff Beck is overrated?

 

While that deconstructive SNL performance is not really a great introduction to St. Vincent, it is a part of the ensemble of her work that exemplifies her role.

She is the only artist, that, although I really like her, I don't listen to much because her talent is so depressingly overwhelming that I feel like just giving up when I do.

 

LOL no, I saw him at a live gig a couple of years ago. He was amazing but I didn't "get" at least a third of what he played. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

Jeff isn't everybody's thing. No big deal. I happened to catch him on a good night a few years ago during the Emotion & Commotion Tour, and it was one of the best concerts of my life. He was getting standing ovations from crowd ... by the close of the second number!

 

Saint Gaga...

 

I'm not a fan either. Something about his playing falls into the uncanny valley for me. It's like listening to a computer program mimic a (really, really good) guitar player.

 

I have one of these guitars.It's cool.Wish the back of the neck was black,and wish the headstock was the same as the body.Other than that,it's fun.

 

This is how I feel about Joe Satriani but Steve Vai is a different story.

 

I've been a fan for quite a while. Her music can be challenging in the sense that it incorporates elements of popular music along with grander influences, which means I can follow the path into it in ways, but the whole current female pop stuff is lost on me, so it sounds very foreign. I don't have the cultural fluency to 'get it' at times.

She is a former Berklee student, and I'd say if David Byrne did an album with her, there must be something there other than looks and artiness.

I did buy a Sterling version of her guitar twice, and didn't keep either one. It had the strident Fender plang to the strings like they are overtight or something. Neck was a little more of a thicker D shape that I like. But I did like the three pickups and the tonality of it. And the look.

She put out her album 'Masseduction' which was in her current musical style, and followed it up with 'Masseducation,' which is a stripped down acoustic version of much of the same material recorded at the same time. On that you can really hear what they sound like without all the added electronic embellishment.

Here's an example of the song New York done on acoustic:



Here is the more elaborate version and video of the same song:

 

MW,

I was reluctant to post anything negative, as she is earning a living in a very cut-throat business, but like Elvis and Madonna, she uses her canoe paddle, sorry, guitar as a prop.

The industry will give her the standard allocation of 15 minutes.

It's sex/F-Bombs over music, and the music is missing.

It's really too bad, but I think she's another train wreck in the making.

The late night talk show hosts will do the same thing with her as they did with Amy Winehouse, they'll praise her for being brave and unique, and when she starts to crumble, they'll crawl over one another to slag her.

No Mr. Wookie, not my cuppa either.

Just me...too old I guess.

BIB.

 

Leaving aside most of what you wrote as your opinion and acknowledging I'm not a huge SV fan, I will defend her guitar playing as much more than a prop. She's quite skilled, as several of the clips above show. She does herself a disservice as a guitar player by the other parts she brings to stage and recordings.

 

Saw bits and pieces of her performance on SNL. Nope. Don't like her sound her look or the fact that she makes tons of money playing music and I don't.

 

this performance is just brilliant

 

The above video does a fair job of showing some off her guitar skill, especially when paired with what she is singing. I venture to say a lot of people would have some trouble doing both of those at the same time. Do yourself a favor and stick through the whole thing.

And here's her and her unique playing approach in a montage: