I wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be wanting to discouraging younger fans, though, there are always younger music fans who donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to listen to what the majority of their friends are]

I agree. And doesn’t Michael fit that description too? I mean, he’s more Gen-X than baby boomer and he loves the throwback sound. There are a lot of us like him. So we’re not necessarily pining for the good ol’ days but we just prefer new stuff influenced by certain genres. Actually what I love about the ’90s is that while marketing folks tend to generalize that era as grunge, I heard a lot of diversity in rock music in those days, though maybe not in the mainstream but they held their own. Maybe that’s also what he kinda means–doing the kind of music that doesn’t necessarily fit in the ‘current’ perception of what’s popular in pop or rock, past Hinder and Nickelback as Slezak put it.

As for me, I listen to both old and new stuff that I guess would fit in the general category of pop and rock. But I do think that most new stuff in pop and rock mine from the old, anyway. There are artists today influenced, consciously or not, by the ’80s and ’90s; some borrow elements from folk, and like Michael, blues and soul. As for me (I was a kid in the ’80s and a teen in the ’90s), I also like what I like but I think I tend to like those in the latter group.

I love Michaelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s acoustic performance of To Love Somebody, but I have to admit that I wonder what the CD version is going to sound like with horns and did he say gospel style singing?

Me too. I know Michael’s been saying it’s like a Stax record but I want something with a tad more HOMS-style polish to it compared to his indie label CD. I’m scared of the horns, haha.

I guess I’m in the younger range of his target audience, but I like knew stuff too.

I have tried to like him, have listened to a lot of his stuff and I just cant get the mojo going for him.

You can sell soul and blues but you have it give a modern twist. HOMS is actually more pop soul which might make it more marketable.

And the soul blues niche does tend to appeal on the whole to older folks and it’s not an oversaturated niche like many others.

I am sure when he played at a college last night, he was a judge for a college version of American Idol, I hear it was good calibre talent! he didn’t discourage them.

I wouldn’t be wanting to discouraging younger fans, though, there are always younger music fans who don’t want to listen to what the majority of their friends are, rebels or adventurers, kids who know who Led Zeppelin is for example or heaven forbid, Otis Redding. Of course if you are a rebel do you care who else is buying the song or album or you’d be following your peeps like the rest of the lemmings, bwah. T.I. whoop whoop!

The other thing is there are just some songs that come along and don’t necessarily fit a format but just resonant with a wide variety of people, sometimes it isn’t even explainable. I would cite James Blunt because I still don’t get it.

But then I am sure many artists consider their audience when you are giving interviews – if you are doing a radio interview on an adult contemporary station you are going to tailor what you say vs a pop format vs Top 40, etc, or I would manage. I wonder what the EW demographic is, bwah.

It’s really a problem because if they don’t produce stuff that sounds current, the album kinds of dies. Although as an Indie, he probably doesn’t need to sell many albums to sustain a career in music.

I’m not sure telling the younger audience the album isn’t for them is a smart marketing ploy though.

And, he’s gawwwwwwwwwwwwgeous.

Although I am a baby boomer, I donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel like his target audience at all, because Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m not one to long for the good old daysà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’I listen to mostly current music. Heh.

me too MJ. It will keep us young!

But, he probably should moderate how he presents that a little as he doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t want to turn off potential younger fans (or make us boomers feel like we are listening to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“old folksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  music, hah).

Although I am a baby boomer, I don’t feel like his target audience at all, because I’m not one to long for the good old days–I listen to mostly current music. Heh.

So yeah, I take your point on that.

Well, I’m a baby boomer and I love this type sound. But, he probably should moderate how he presents that a little as he doesn’t want to turn off potential younger fans (or make us boomers feel like we are listening to “old folks” music, hah).