Yahoo! Q&A With LR

[erik]

Click here for a Yahoo! Q&A with Linda:

music.yahoo.com/blogs/music-news/linda-ronstadt-q-having-heart-career-wheel-011146482.html

[POP80]

Thanks, Erik. This was a great interview, although I'm tired of the same questions about the R&RHoF already!!

[erik]

Well, at this moment, rightly or wrongly, and until we hear how Duets is doing, the Hall of Fame shindig is the "it" thing, even though Linda won't be there (except in spirit).

As I think could have been predicted, though, the trolls have erupted in the Comments section, so I am going to do my level best during the day to counteract all of that.

[The Dolphins]

Thanks for the link. Again, another enjoyable interview to peruse through although the same questions will garner the same reaction from Linda as in previous interviews. But I am always enlightened by her being a fan/knowing of other artists that I would not suspect her to be. How she mentions Prince and the Purple Rain tour (which I saw too back in the day and was floored by) and her knowing of Metallica. She mention them briefly in her book when her son Carlos was trying to learn some of their riffs and her acknowledging there was more depth to their music than just noise (a Metallica fan myself--early stuff had really good music theory behind their compositions).

But her being overly critical of her rock catalogue can get old, but I've come to accept it. I mean I hate hearing the sound of my voice when I hear it too--is that really me? So on that, I can respect her thoughts.

Still I love ya, Linda! Always will.

[sliderocker]

Apr 9, 2014 9:44:31 GMT -5 erik said:

Well, at this moment, rightly or wrongly, and until we hear how Duets is doing, the Hall of Fame shindig is the "it" thing, even though Linda won't be there (except in spirit).

As I think could have been predicted, though, the trolls have erupted in the Comments section, so I am going to do my level best during the day to counteract all of that.

I tried to respond to one person's comment but the Reply link to respond didn't work. I was signed in, so it was kind of frustrating to not be able to say what I wanted to say. The person's comment wasn't really that negative, just a perception that Linda may be bitter about her illness. I wanted to reply, "No, she's not bitter. She's dealing with the disease better than others around her and the fans are dealing with it. If she's talking about it, it's probably because the reporters are talking to her and asking her about it. When we read interviews, we don't read everything that was said, just an edited, compressed version of that interview." Still, in this interview, the writer overdwelled on the R&RHoF and what blew me away was Linda saying she thought "Adieu False Heart" was a good record, and that surprised her because she didn't like any of her records! Everyone could probably argue to their last breath with her over that and she probably wouldn't budge from that stance. I'd never agree with her over her own self-assessment about her albums, nor her saying that "so and so sang it better than me" when it came to certain songs. She was always spot on, but she will never be convinced of that.

[jhar26]

All of that bashing of her own music, especially the 70's stuff makes one almost feel like an idiot for liking it.

[Richard W]

She is looking back from her late 60s to a singer in her 20s & 30s and thinking, "she didn't know squat." Because the woman in her 60s has learned and improved her art. She did not stand still. Further, it's not the music she's bashing but her performances. She doesn't have to like it. That's for the rest of us.

An artist who is satisfied with their own art is a hack.

[charlotte]

Linda is a most unusual gal. Just makes her singing voice more remarkable. Her hyper critical nature can be frustrating for those who know she had one of the greatest female voices in American music history -hard core fans are acclimated to this somewhat -so advocacy becomes a bit harder. But the truth is all you need to do is listen -any era you choose-the voice is a once in a lifetime knockout. Classic Rock Magazine has a great appreciation below. Might need to log on for the whole article but I thought it was spot on.



www.classicrockmagazine.com/features/2014-04-05/linda-ronstadt-doesn-t-need-the-hall-of-fame

[Deleted]

Apr 9, 2014 11:04:55 GMT -5 charlotte said:

Linda is a most unusual gal. Just makes her singing voice more remarkable. Her hyper critical nature can be frustrating for those who know she had one of the greatest female voices in American music history -hard core fans are acclimated to this somewhat -so advocacy becomes a bit harder. But the truth is all you need to do is listen -any era you choose-the voice is a once in a lifetime knockout. Classic Rock Magazine has a great appreciation below. Might need to log on for the whole article but I thought it was spot on.



www.classicrockmagazine.com/features/2014-04-05/linda-ronstadt-doesn-t-need-the-hall-of-fame

A fun article... worth registering for.. thanks for the link...

[sliderocker]

Apr 9, 2014 10:58:13 GMT -5 Richard W said:

She is looking back from her late 60s to a singer in her 20s & 30s and thinking, "she didn't know squat." Because the woman in her 60s has learned and improved her art. She did not stand still. Further, it's not the music she's bashing but her performances. She doesn't have to like it. That's for the rest of us.

An artist who is satisfied with their own art is a hack.

That would be true if it wasn't for the fact that Linda has always been kind of dismissive about her music. Recall there is (or was) video of youtube of Linda on the Mike Douglas Show from 1971, where she was interviewed and she was dismissive of her albums/music even then. She may not have to like her performances but an artist bashing all of their performances or songs do themselves no favor as they nay be too hard on themselves or have no objectivity. An artist who is satisfied with their own art may be a hack but most artists don't dislike all of what they have done, the way Linda seems to dislike almost all of what she has done. Disliking everything or almost everything suggests a lack of objectivity. Linda probably could've bettered her vocals on some songs but again, on certain songs, she nailed them and had she sung them another way, fan and critical reaction to those songs might have been that it was too techical, too mechanical a performance.

[the psychologist]

Linda is not a self-promoter, if you will. She allows the kudos and praise and glorifying to come from someone else in an age where self-fulfillment and endless seeking of self-satisfaction and personal happiness and other sorts of narcissistic pursuits are seen as normal and encouraged. Low self-esteem was an early feature of Linda's personality and by vocalizing these feelings she gathers the praise she requires by those who would disagree with her perception. Let's face it. She knows she is good and in her prime could outsing most anyone so she has an interesting dichotomy of behavior. Only in this way is her need for praise and attention on that particular level satisfied. To lap praise on herself would be giving in to her narcissism, something she would not want to admit to herself. However, when you look at her lifelong actions (as in most performers) it is very narcissistic. It seems to be her way of "self-regulating."

[POP80]

Linda is not a self-promoter, if you will. She allows the kudos and praise and glorifying to come from someone else in an age where self-fulfillment and endless seeking of self-satisfaction and personal happiness and other sorts of narcissistic pursuits are seen as normal and encouraged. Low self-esteem was an early feature of Linda's personality and by vocalizing these feelings she gathers the praise she requires by those who would disagree with her perception. Let's face it. She knows she is good and in her prime could outsing most anyone so she has an interesting dichotomy of behavior. Only in this way is her need for praise and attention on that particular level satisfied. To lap praise on herself would be giving in to her narcissism, something she would not want to admit to herself. However, when you look at her lifelong actions (as in most performers) it is very narcissistic. It seems to be her way of "self-regulating."

These are very astute comments. You're on target with your assessment of most performers as narcicisstic. Nonetheless, they still be perfectionistic and self-critical. Linda's comments about James Taylor also seem to express how she feels about being praised, but we all seek validation and approval from others.

[erik]

Quote by jhar26:

All of that bashing of her own music, especially the 70's stuff makes one almost feel like an idiot for liking it.

Quote by Richard W:

She is looking back from her late 60s to a singer in her 20s & 30s and thinking, "she didn't know squat." Because the woman in her 60s has learned and improved her art. She did not stand still. Further, it's not the music she's bashing but her performances. She doesn't have to like it. That's for the rest of us.

Again, I'm going to play Devils Advocate, and give what might not be the most popular view of this, but it's an honest one. It's true that Linda doesn't have to like either her music or her performances, that it is up to us. On the other hand, what I wish Linda would do just once is understand why we like her music or her performances.

And I think what Gaston was getting at, and I've mentioned it any number of times, is sometimes the way she says things, her tone, is what confuses, frustrates, and sometimes even angers fans. It can make it sound like she is ungrateful, rather than merely modest; and I think that's almost as bad an attitude to take as someone who is completely egotistical.  It's not always easy to know whether that's just a misread impression or not, and I don't think Linda always knows how she sometimes can come off in the press to people.

[POP80]

It can make it sound like she is ungrateful, rather than merely modest; and I think that's almost as bad an attitude to take as someone who is completely egotistical. It's not always easy to know whether that's just a misread impression or not, and I don't think Linda always knows how she sometimes can come off in the press to people.

Well, it's been established that she thinks we all have "bad taste" in music (LOL)! I don't take her comments as ungrateful, but I do wish she wasn't so wary and/or afraid of her fans. Do we really appear dehumanized to her???

[markv]

stop nitpicking

[simpledream]

I hope with newfound interest she does more writing - I wish someone would offer her a column.

[eddiejinnj]

a column would be great. good idea!!!!! eddiejinnj

[sliderocker]

Apr 9, 2014 17:43:23 GMT -5 POP80 said:

It can make it sound like she is ungrateful, rather than merely modest; and I think that's almost as bad an attitude to take as someone who is completely egotistical. It's not always easy to know whether that's just a misread impression or not, and I don't think Linda always knows how she sometimes can come off in the press to people.

Well, it's been established that she thinks we all have "bad taste" in music (LOL)! I don't take her comments as ungrateful, but I do wish she wasn't so wary and/or afraid of her fans. Do we really appear dehumanized to her???

I think she is being modest, but I agree with Erik that the way she dismisses her music often makes her sound like she is ungrateful for that success. I don't know if Linda is aware of how her comments may be taken by the public when in the printed medium (including electronic print). What may sound harmless when spoken can sometimes be taken another way in print. But, I also sometimes wonder if Linda's own opinion of her music - that it's bad - was the result of too many music critics who didn't like what she did? If you're an artist and all you see are negative reviews telling you how bad you are, you may begin to believe it yourself.

[jhar26]

Apr 10, 2014 0:16:44 GMT -5 sliderocker said:

Apr 9, 2014 17:43:23 GMT -5 POP80 said:

It can make it sound like she is ungrateful, rather than merely modest; and I think that's almost as bad an attitude to take as someone who is completely egotistical. It's not always easy to know whether that's just a misread impression or not, and I don't think Linda always knows how she sometimes can come off in the press to people.

Well, it's been established that she thinks we all have "bad taste" in music (LOL)! I don't take her comments as ungrateful, but I do wish she wasn't so wary and/or afraid of her fans. Do we really appear dehumanized to her???

I think she is being modest, but I agree with Erik that the way she dismisses her music often makes her sound like she is ungrateful for that success. I don't know if Linda is aware of how her comments may be taken by the public when in the printed medium (including electronic print). What may sound harmless when spoken can sometimes be taken another way in print. But, I also sometimes wonder if Linda's own opinion of her music - that it's bad - was the result of too many music critics who didn't like what she did? If you're an artist and all you see are negative reviews telling you how bad you are, you may begin to believe it yourself.

Yes, but I don't think her reviews were all bad. It's just that those that were negative stick in the mind more because the're annoying. Besides, the reviews for her Nelson Riddle albums which she adores were much more negative than those for her rock/pop/country records from the 70's.

[sliderocker]

Apr 10, 2014 4:12:19 GMT -5 jhar26 said:

Yes, but I don't think her reviews were all bad. It's just that those that were negative stick in the mind more because the're annoying. Besides, the reviews for her Nelson Riddle albums which she adores were much more negative than those for her rock/pop/country records from the 70's.

But, the thing here is that with all those albums she did with Nelson Riddle, she became more self assured as a singer and was more likely to blow off bad reviews because she was as she often said, "a better singer." If those albums had all stiffed, sold less than 100,000 copies, would she still had the stance of "I'm a better singer now because I sing these kinds of songs instead of rock and roll?" Or would she still have had the attitude that she was a terrible singer, no matter what? I just find it hard to believe she would think she was a terrible singer, especially during her most successful era. A terrible singer who has sold over 30 million officially in the US - 45 to 50 million or more unofficially - and more than 100 million worldwide. If she had been that bad of a singer - or the songs not that good, her sales would not have been that high. She is better than she gives herself credit for being but then again, maybe she is being modest.