tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111822283476390741.post8734249504093295159..comments2023-11-05T04:04:28.535-08:00Comments on Splashing Rocks: AFTER GAGA AND CYRUS, AMERICA NEEDS A KAREN CARPENTER BATHG. C. Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13177443866672814170noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111822283476390741.post-77947172980875385302016-05-07T05:07:01.147-07:002016-05-07T05:07:01.147-07:00I see what you are saying and it is an excellent p...I see what you are saying and it is an excellent point. I however do not see Karen having a "virginal" image. Sure the whiter-than-white image was overdone however that was tacky marketing and not really the fault of Carpenters. I like the fact that it was not about sex appeal. You focus on the music. Watching Karen play drums and sing live perfectly at the same time in black-and-white gives me a nostalgic feeling for a time i never even experienced. Karen would hold notes for longer when performing live and it would amplify her excellent lower register.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14313050150883713522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6111822283476390741.post-71446802593513448652013-08-31T21:17:42.586-07:002013-08-31T21:17:42.586-07:00Although our politics may differ (I do have a lot ...Although our politics may differ (I do have a lot of LGBT friends, for example), I must say I am greatly enjoying your Carpenters posts! They're one of my favorite groups as well, and speaking as someone in my 20s (who has enjoyed oldies ever since I was an admittedly out-of-touch-with-the-present kid), I really wish that style of music could come back. I can't stand most modern music. My local oldies station never plays the Carpenters, either (as you've pointed out), and I've even requested it. Sigh.<br /><br />I do think that Karen found her "virginal, modest" image somewhat frustrating, though. After all, she was a young woman coming of age in the '70s. She was FAR from being a "slut" or anything like that, but she was a normal girl. She had boyfriends. <br /><br />There was an interview where she said, "We believe people should be free to do what they want to do. Richard is 30, and I am 26. But the letters we got when we said we weren't virgins read as though we had committed a crime. People must have been dumb to believe we were that good." It seems like no matter what they said or did, they were criticized, whether it was from the "hip rock establishment" or even their own fans. "And when we said we thought pot ought to be legalized, in came a shoal of letters saying we were drug addicts.... We had to speak out and tell the truth about us as it is. It's hell living like a pair of angels."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11446764046041119709noreply@blogger.com