She screams at the top of her lungs. A look of bewilderment dances across her honey-colored face. She whips her blond-streaked mane in a ferocious rage. R&B singer Beyoncé is in the foul throes of a Quarterlife Crisis. That’s the angst twenty-somethings feel about life and the future. The pressures of careers, finances and relationships give its victims whiplash as they… return to article
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Reader Comments (10)Page 1 of 1 pagesThe article is great. I am no fan of modern R&B preferring the earlier varieties but I think the insights here were excellent. Our society is getting shallower by the minute, certainly much more so than in Tina Turner’s time. All the songs are about immediate gratification and attaining wealth and respect. We are truely witnessing the death of intellectual, musical, and emotional depth. It is true that Madonna’s sexuality was more liberating for women because she was in control and because she said it was ok to be curvey and have a realistic physique. Madonna also broached difficult issues for women and society. Beyonce’ lacks the creativity, depth, perspective, and personal strength of Tina Turner, her supposed leggy inspiration and precurser. Today’s Hip Hop ain’t sayin nothin’. To bad.
Posted by cabdriverinchicago on Nov 18, 2006 at 7:58 AM Beyonce’; Another sign of the end times.
Tina Turner and Madonna sing, and dance, circles around her.
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Nov 18, 2006 at 8:13 AM MaDonna…? I think yu guys just don’t know….
Beyonce is Baddd…Alicia Keyes is Badddder….Tina will always be a Diva…but these young ladies are indeed something to be admired…..The youth have taken R&B and fused it with the Hip Hop style to take the industry to another level….
And sense when has R&B, Jazz or Blue’s been so moral…sex, drugs, and violence have allows been fertile ground for musicians..
.When hurricane Katrina hit…Gov’t official said…” nobody knew…”, but Blues artists been singing about those levees for ages…Music has always brought attention to social ills…
Posted by Redhorse on Nov 18, 2006 at 6:12 PM She’s very attractive physically but seems to have little cognitive input.
Jazz is a very mixed bag, some is quite good as is some R&B, never
cared for the blues. Hip hop & rap is trash, pure and simple.A real sign of cultural degeneration.
Posted by blondemike on Nov 22, 2006 at 8:23 PM Beyonce is damn hot, and pop music (whether with a rock, RnB, hip-hop, punk, or whatever accent) has a lot to do with having a good time.
Not expanding consciousness, not creating an atmosphere for intellectual discourse, not upping the revolution… having a good time! And that means partying, getting a buzz on, revelling in your oh-so-transient beauty and energy, and shakin’ what you have to shake while it’s worth shakin’.
C’mon y’all, didn’t ya ever just want to dance around, flaunt it a bit, and drink deeply of the narcotic called “fun”? I mean, I like cerebral too, but sometimes you just want to get down and swing your ass to the groove.
Maybe we just have a talented and striking young woman who is making the most of what she has while she still has it. That’s intelligent, not demeaning. If she has the staying power of, say, Tina Turner, it’ll be because, like Tina, she remains exciting and interesting to watch when gravity starts having its way with her. Plenty of time for that in the future.
Until then, more power to her. It’s difficult for me to see how her undeniable sexiness is out of sync with her equally undeniable vocal talents, or why her dignity is somehow suspect because of it. Some of us think sexiness is a benefit to humankind, even if we’re not particularly sexy ourselves. What’s the harm if she gets paid for it while she’s young enough and in good enough shape to carry off the charade while she can?
It is a performance, a play-act, a charade, after all. No need to over-analyze.
Posted by Kuya on Nov 23, 2006 at 9:49 AM De nada, blondemike. Sometimes the tone around here gets a little too much with the “furrowed-brow gravity”, as though something awful has happened because the talented Ms Knowles made a hot video. Seems a bit of a reach…
Posted by Kuya on Nov 28, 2006 at 8:37 AM You’re right, Kuya. I appreciate your taking the time to make your thoughtful point.
Posted by blondemike on Nov 28, 2006 at 5:58 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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