Give Me Perspective On Yanni

[Empty Planet]

PBS periodically loses its mind, usually just on those nights during pledge week when it completely abandons its commitment to quality and art for the sake of drawing in those bucks, and tonight is no exception. It's Yanni, hours and hours of Yanni. A full string section! A huge ensemble! Pseudo Middle-Eastern riffs, lots of shakers shaking, lots of Yanni shaking his hair dramatically, crescendi out the ying-yang...well, you get the picture. I've often turned to this group in troubling moments, and have often drawn strength from the collected wisdom and perspective exhibited by many of its members. So I appeal to you. Is there anyone who can offer me a little perspective on Yanni, that I may somehow in some small way appreciate what this man does, that I might forswear this horror and revulsion I feel at his pompous, bombastic and nauseatingly trite musical wankeries? Many thanks in advance....

[midispaceho]

Yawnie. heh. I can appreciate how much he must spend on hair products.

[Salyphus]

:bor: :bor: :bor: :bor: :bor: :bor: :bor: :bor:

[whitefang]

Hey, now! If it wasn't for the Yawn, we wouldn't have performers like John Tesch! :bor: Wotts a matta you? Whitefang

[Throatsinger]

I remember when he was a member of the local rock band Chameleon, here in Mpls. Can't get into his stuff. Sounds lame to me, but, well, I'm glad there is something for everybody. Steve Sklar/Big Sky

[Philter]

I caught that on PBS too; they torture us for not signing up. I thought that his orchestra sounded crummy, not to mention the uninspiring and uninspired material.

[deanmass]

Don't dig the music too much, but it is technically good, and I think the energy that goes into it is sincere. I have a hard time bagging on Yanni when there is so much OTHER crap that need bagging on.. :)

[Alndln]

[quote]Originally posted by Empty Planet: [b] hours and hours of Yanni. [/b][/quote]Uncle!I give!

[G. Ratte]

[quote] 2) He's never released a movie as bad as Xanadu. [/quote]HEY! Xanadu was a GREAT movie!

[Alndln]

[quote]Originally posted by Hank The Cave Peanut: [b]1) He isn't a gangsta rapper. [/b][/quote]Not yet anyway,he hasn't run out of enough $$$ yet.I guess when "Jon Tesh" get's shot in a "drive by",we can take that as a signal that the "feud" is on.

[GZsound]

Gee, since I'm on my way to see John Tesh in a Christmas concert tomorrow night, I guess I should just stay home now that I know all you lovers and players of fine music have put him down. Maybe I'll just stay home and listen to my Nirvana collection. And Kenny G? Any of you play a sax..? I've only been playing for forty years and his abilities are staggering. Catching him trading fours with Jeff Lorber when he was in the same band was amazing. What would you give to have the biggest selling instrumental album in history? Oh, I forgot..you guys would never sell out.. As a life long rock and roller I find Yanni, Tesh, Enya, Kenny G, etc. refreshing when my brain needs a break. But then I listen to Bartok, Mozart, etc. too.

[Alndln]

[quote]Originally posted by GZsound@hotmail.com: [b] But then I listen to Bartok, Mozart, etc. too.[/b][/quote]Iv'e been playing 40 years myself and I can think of plenty of horn player's I'd rather listen to than Kenny G ,chops or no,matter of preference/taste,something like that,in fact there plenty of people with chops out there and no vision,at least not one that I'm intersted in anyway.Yanni's(the gangsta wer'e discussing) skills as composer/arranger/musician do next to nothing for me either, except get me angry and want to flip the channel(the only place I'll ever see him) immediatly.Sales and chops don't neccesarily sell me,sorry.

[Hippie]

Good things to say about Yanni. Women like him. He's created a genre that can't be classified; I've seen it described as 'bubblegum world music' or just 'Yanni-Tesh' :) Women like him.

[Philip OKeefe]

Yanni's not really my bag either... what good thing(s) can I say about him? At least he's not Michael Bolton. :eek: If PBS wants my $$$, playing Yanni isn't the way to get it... whatever happened to that James Taylor Boston MA concert they used to play at pledge time? Now THAT makes me want to throw $$$ at them. :thu: My step-daughter (19) just asked me what we were discussing here. I told her "Yanni". She said to tell you all, and I quote, "tell them all that I think Yanni sux balls and Paul Simon (who's currently playing on VH1) is the shit". I am not condoning the language, just repeating what she said...

[pauldil]

PBS broadcast a Yanni concert a couple of years ago, and I wathced it for a short while. I think I heard like 3-4 songs. On every single one, I remember wondering when the intro would end and the song start. On every single one, the song never started. Each piece sounded to me like just one long, long intro that went nowhere. Yet after each one, the huge crowd there went crazy. I'll listen to him again someday when I'm older and wiser and see if I get it then. Paul

[Tusker]

I (gulp) bought the acropolis video, when I first bought a surround setup. Still have it. The violinist and bass player on the album are superb musicians. But the music .... I think Yanni writes pop music for instruments. The melodies are no better or worse than the idiotic stuff I hear Britney huffing and puffing to. Yanni has better hair. Britney has better ... um ... everything else. Let's see who else can I compare him to? The big European "pop" orchestras used to do a bunch of cheezeball renditions of whatever was popular. He reminds me of them. He combines middle of road with just enough eclectic to provide a cheap cultural tour. Not the metropolitan museum, just the Bali table at the community hall on "International Day". I still play the video once in awhile for my three year old. Jonathan enjoys pointing out all the orchestral instruments, says he likes this instrument, or that instrument. After a little while he says. "Daddy can we watch Pat Metheny? I like him better than Yanni." Jerry

[Wewus432]

I know we all cut down other musicians and entertainers BUT in my final analysis... music is a very subjective thing, so I say if someone somewhere gets something out of listening to Yanni, I'm fine with that. I'm not going to dislike that person or not associate with them because of their taste in music. I might try to turn them onto something I think is better though.

[Botch.]

[quote]Originally posted by Tusker: After a little while he says. "Daddy can we watch Pat Metheny? I like him better than Yanni." Jerry[/QB][/quote]Jerry, that's quite a son you have!! :thu: :thu:

[strat0124]

...not my cup of tea, but its obviously has a market. The bastards rich. But I'll go out on a limb and say I'd rather listen to Yanni than Christina or Brittney any day of the decade. I'd rather listen to Andreas Vollenweider, Deep Breakfast, or Shadowfax in that genre...among others.

[Gabriel E.]

To me, people like Yanni, John Tesh and Kenny G are the absolute WORST because they commit the unpardonable sin of being bland. I'd much rather listen to someone who annoys me and who's music I can't stand but at least has a strong personality and direction. Eminem, Whitney Houston and Korn come to mind as artists who I hate but can at least respect for being original. Yanni's music is so dull that you don't really notice it. It's indistinguishable from old-school Muzak and with the music on douche commercials.

[jeffbayson]

I'll give you a good perspective on Yanni: picture him onstage at the piano, from the front row of the balcony, in the sights of a twelve gauge shotgun. Yeah. That's the perspective I was envisioning when I saw he had co-opted my precious PBS evening programming last night. I tried blasting him off the TV screen with my old Nintendo "Duck Hunt" handgun, but apparently the gun doesn't work any more. I'll have to upgrade to the Game Cube model. If they make one. Who knows - I lost touch with the gaming industry after they discontinued the Zelda series. [quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]I know we all cut down other musicians and entertainers BUT in my final analysis... music is a very subjective thing, so I say if someone somewhere gets something out of listening to Yanni, I'm fine with that. I'm not going to dislike that person or not associate with them because of their taste in music. I might try to turn them onto something I think is better though.[/b][/quote]TheWeWus, what hateful instinct borne of a troubled childhood prompted that vile outburst? This is nothing but moral relativism taken to the worst possible extreme. Anybody who likes Yanni is A BAD PERSON, and should be beaten with broken broom handles and banished to Siberia. Would you say that Hitler and Stalin were entitled to their “subjective” opinions on world history, race and the value of human life? Maybe if they had kept them to themselves, and perhaps had scribbled them furtively in a private journal, along with confessions of personal crushes and drawing of ponies... but once they ACTED on these opinions, the world practically drowned in the proverbial crapper. Just as I nearly drowned when Yanni brazenly sprayed his sentimental turd mist all over my living room last night. As for turning these misled miscreants on to better music... well, while I almost envy your naïve idealism, I think that once things have gotten to the point of Yanni-worship, only turning on the shock therapy will do any good. Have you actually ever MET a real Yanni fan? They’re not human like us, WeWus. They have lizard eyes; an unbroken string of saliva shimmers between their lower lips and their chests; they practice Yoga in their souped-up Ford Explorers, sitting contentedly in a pool of their own waste; they feed on human suffering. Yes, you can only deal with these creatures with extreme torture or banishment. Even then, there’s no cure. You can only hope to minimize the damage they inflict upon society. I want my PBS back. I want my WORLD back. I’ll buy the goddamn tote bag! If the network is on the decline, there’s no reason to drag the rest of us with it. That's my two cents.

[Gabriel E.]

[quote] Anybody who likes Yanni is A BAD PERSON, and should be beaten with broken broom handles and banished to Siberia. [/quote]Here here!

[meccajay]

Yanni.... Well he kinda makes me wanna vomit too. ...Blowing huge chucks of liquid foul across the room drowning dozens of his fans in the rising tide of spewage... Other than that, I like to hit the clicker every few minutes when he's on PBS so I can catch [b]Karen Briggs[/b] playing the absolute hell out of that Violin!! She's incredible! What I wouldn't give to be able to go to a state of the art studio and do a song which featured her doing my entire string section...One track at a time!

[SFOracle]

I don't really care much for Yanni as a musician, composer or hair model. But what I really hate about him is the stuff he says. I saw him and then wife Linda Evans in an interview. When asked about his musical influences he said he has none. He music is unique, comes from deep within and is not influenced by either classical or contemporary composers. What an ego. I also don't get the hair thing. It's like when the San Francisco Symphony hired (formerly big haired) Michael Tilson Thomas as it's new director - primarily to improve it's appeal to middle aged women. Now Mike Thomas (I hate people who feel they need to use 3 names to identify themselves) is far more talented than Yanni, and eventually, he had his locks shorn, but come on, what's with middle aged women and big haired men? That whole Yanni/Tesh/Zamphir new age bland garbage doesn't appeal to me at all.

[Gtoledo3]

I wish Yanni and JOhn Tesh would do a Elton John/Billy joel style tour. Awesome!!! :freak:

[Gabriel E.]

My wife says that Kenny G. is music for people who masturbate with silk scarves. Just thought I'd share that. :)

[progfusion74]

Yanni - Yawn!!!! This from someone who likes some of Kitaro's stuff

[linwood]

Q. What's New Age music played backwards? A. New Age Music I'm not all that fimiliar with his music. i might of seen him on TV for a sec. while flippin' through the channels. I've never bought a Yanni CD and I don't see myself ever buying one. But lets face it, for that style of thing, he's one of the best out there. I'm sure he's a fine musician. He's had huge success. I wouldn't mind looking like that and playing that crap and being 200 miles from home once.

[fantasticsound]

Deanmass has it down. Yanni's music bores me. However, after working as a cable page, onstage, for his Nashville concert in 1997 or '98, I believe he's sincere. My only appreciation of the concert beyond that was the first piece after intermission. It began with an Aborigine musician just [i]wailing[/i] on digeridoo. Not many things that can light up a modern PA with such force and grandeur. An engineer I know from Chicago told me he worked with Yanni on a remote recording. He was floored by Yanni's engineering and listening skills. I still won't listen to his music. ;)

[Kendrix]

[quote]Originally posted by Geenard Skeenard: [b]...not my cup of tea, but its obviously has a market. The bastards rich. But I'll go out on a limb and say I'd rather listen to Yanni than Christina or Brittney any day of the decade. I'd rather listen to Andreas Vollenweider, Deep Breakfast, or Shadowfax in that genre...among others.[/b][/quote]I second your point on Andreas. I think some of his stuff ( the little i've heard) is interesing to listen to in the right time/place. (Dont get to hear too much harp these days) One Positive about Yanni- He's got a large following, sells lots of records and therby generates some record co. profits that they might invest in some other artists.