Remember when?

There are very few singers any more. Today's vocalists could more accurately be described as screamers. Melody and harmony are a thing of the past. Vocal gymnastics seem to be the most admired talent among today's recording artists. The more strident, the better, preferably with a maddeningly repetitious background. I was in Ross today, a paradise for piped-in screaming and one young woman kept intoning, "This girl is on fi-ya." After she screamed it about 25 times, one could only wish it was true. Not only could she not sing, but apparently she could not pronounce the word fire. For some reason the American public has taken to this form of entertainment or at least that is all they are being fed in loudspeaker systems country-wide. Every company is guilty. But every now and then somebody slips up and a real song sung by a real singer with a real tune and real lyrics gets through. Today that happy accident happened at Starbucks where  I heard Ella Fitzgerald singing "My Funny Valentine." Rapture.