http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/04/karen-carpenter Comments On: Karen Carpenter by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by ballard dude]]> Sat, 16 Feb 2013 16:54:57 -0800 The Stranger
Posted by DAVIDinKENAI]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:16:00 -0800 The Stranger Rainbows have nothing to hide.
I think Todd Haynes told it best with Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

Posted by gttrgst]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:51:48 -0800 The Stranger
A solid, competent drummer. Sure.
There is a youtube video of her performing a cheesy variety-show feature of her drumming skills. She had plenty good chops. No light-weight there ( pun sorta intended ).

Brilliant? Nah.

If Buddy Rich - a genuine master and drumming monster - said something nice about her drumming, he was surely being polite ( which is probably the most remarkable part of that story. )

Posted by NotSean]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:57:55 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Sea Otter]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:34:16 -0800 The Stranger Posted by nocutename]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:59:53 -0800 The Stranger
As for your musings @48, I think it might be a combo of both, but she definitely wore her heart in her voice.
Posted by nocutename]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:58:46 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Pridge Wessea]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:32:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Fnarf]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:04:52 -0800 The Stranger
Is that because Karen Carpenter conveyed those emotions so well? Or because that's what my teenage years in the 1970's were like and, for me, the music fits the mood?
Posted by DAVIDinKENAI]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:24:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by DAVIDinKENAI]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:21:00 -0800 The Stranger Posted by very bad homo]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:17:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by saxfanatic]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:11:35 -0800 The Stranger
All this business about whether she was schmaltzy or not misses the point. The rock 'n' roll revolution is long past; the argument about who's heavy and who's not, who's cool and who's not, is about as relevant as the fashions of the Plantagenets. It's all just pop music. And Karen was terrific (and those contemporary rock gods all had feet of clay). I'll take "Rainy Days and Mondays" over anything off "Sandinista" any old day. If only the Clash had had songwriters as good as Paul Williams and the great Roger Nichols!

Was Karen Carpenter trapped in an MOR world? Yes. So was America. That doesn't diminish her achievement, and in fact kind of sets it off in a way. In the soft rock canon, Karen has a seat near the top, and no one will ever take it from her.
Posted by Fnarf]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:50:11 -0800 The Stranger
And I'm surprised no one's thrown this in, but here's the best sad, spooky tribute to Karen Carpenter I know (I mean the song more than the video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reSOp1dom…
Posted by sophist2]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:12:50 -0800 The Stranger
@27: Emm Gryner doesn't have Karen Carpenter's voice but her wonderful interpretation of "Straight to Hell" makes it very easy to imagine what Karen Carpenter might have done with it.
Posted by saxfanatic]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:33:28 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Phoebe in Wallingford]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:14:46 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Patricia Kayden]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:58:47 -0800 The Stranger
I love that Dan picked this song because basically, she's talking about depression, not the "blues" as it was called back then. Karen never ran from exploring all parts of relationships.

(I also love that her instrument of choice was the drums.)

I totally agree that Karen had a pure voice like no other. (Sort of like Miss Vicki Carr, right, Dan?)

Schmaltzy, over-produced? Sure. But there is no denying her talent or the heartache of those songs. Loved her back in the day, love her now.
Posted by westello]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:33:13 -0800 The Stranger Posted by --MC]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:25:57 -0800 The Stranger Posted by --MC]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:23:21 -0800 The Stranger Posted by leek]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:22:56 -0800 The Stranger
Looking at this video today, she looks like many women. She did not have any particular hook. Her voice was unique and she had positive energy and presence (like Mama Cass) and a shmaltzy shtick (Richard) that easily drew you in, especially if your defenses were diminished by chemicals. If you could discover the algorithm , google would pay you a fortune for it.

Due largely to the number of "We've Only Just Begun/Close To You" failed marriages I attended back when, the Carpenters haven't crossed my mind for 30 years (except during that scene in Tommy Boy- "Don't you remember...") but I'm going to send Richard some royalties via ITunes because i can't find my albums anymore.

Thanks for the memory trip.
Posted by stonato]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:59:18 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Rotten666]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:54:29 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Catherwood]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:45:22 -0800 The Stranger