Originally published May 31, 2004, 10:58 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- Linda Ronstadt, whose singing career began in the 1960s, says today's music industry values sex appeal more than talent.

"It puts a huge amount of pressure on kids," who are aspiring performers, she told the Daily News in Monday editions.

"If you are someone like Beyonce who happens to be gorgeous and talented, well great. But there are a lot of people who are not paid attention to because they don't look like a fashion model," the 57-year-old singer said.

Ronstadt, a native of Tucson, Ariz., was a sex symbol herself, with such hit albums as "Heart Like a Wheel" and "Simple Dreams."

She never plays those recordings anymore, though.

"I never go back. I never listen to them," said Ronstadt, who is scheduled to perform at the Beacon Theatre on Tuesday. "Music is a work in progress. On a record, it gets frozen in time, and it's oddly unnatural."

source

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/wire/ats-ap_entertainment15may31,0,7315227.story?coll=sns-ap-topentertainment

"On a record, it gets frozen in time, and it's oddly unnatural." -- Linda Ronstadt

Funny . . . that seems to be part of the multinational entertainment-media complex's view of how copyright should be structured. The "frozen in time" part, that is.

And apart from "Different Drum," "Long Long Time" and "You're No Good," and her duets on "Somewhere Out There," "Don't Know Much" and "All My Life," I don't really care that much for the rest of her work. But still, in terms of what passes for "talent" these days, Ms. Ronstadt does raise some valid points.

"Funny . . . that seems to be part of the multinational entertainment-media complex's view of how copyright should be structured. The "frozen in time" part, that is."

You're pretty much right except when one of Disney's characters is about to fall into the public domain, at which point they walk back to Congress to get the copyright laws extended by 20 or more years.

Too bad the U.S. Constitutional founders didn't set a concrete number of years for a copyright in the Constitution instead of "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Mathematically speaking, "limited times" is any number below infinity (e.g., 10,000 years is limited).

Linda Ronstadt makes a lot of sense. wonder what she thinks of file sharing.

I had the biggest crush on Linda Ronstadt also Oliva Newton John, The gals in Abba, Stevie Nicks, etc.... but I was a teenager then. I still love Olivia.

You know, she's right about big industry music, but the music I listen to is all about talent and writing/playing ability.

I wish everyone felt that way...

Kestral, I could not agree more. I think a lot more people would think that way if better quality music was being promoted, rather than the crap that the major labels are jamming down everyone's throats today.

haha she was in the Pirates of Penzance(sp?) one of the best musicals ever!!!!

RIAA Music tends to seek the lowest common denominator.

She was so cute in the movie version of the Pirates of Penzance that my poor bass playing brother still complains of wet dreams... (I myself just say nothing of my own problems

Code, RIAA Music IS the lowest denominator.

I agree fatchuck, but I throw something else into the "limit" thought. If the limits don't happen in a lifetime, yours, mine, his, hers, etc., then the "limit" may as well not exist. In my lifetime, there has been NO limit on copyright for one of Disney's characters. It was copyrighted BEFORE I was born, and, if it keeps getting extended by 20 years, will likely remain copyrighted AFTER I die. Therefore, it has NO LIMIT.

i've been preaching the exact sermon...

i believe that for the most part, the controlling dollars in the entertainment industry care little for quality...

its much easier and cheaper to show some skin to take people's minds from the quality or lack of... than to create

i think the movie industry's dependency upon sequels and remakes demonstrate this...

in our narcistic, greedy society... the end result is most important... its not how you play the game, its winning that counts...

doing whatever it takes to get what you want...

tossing morals, ethics, and honor into the styx...

then, there's what i have been calling the "dumbing down of society"...

how many kids can't read? don't think? rather get high than learn? beat, rob, kill somebody to get the $ to get high?

what does the entertainment culture teach them?

in your face sex and violence are cool with a CAPITAL K!

ignorant people are easy to control... if you don't think so, pay attention to the political spots on television...

but that's another sermon *grin*...

no, i'm not really a preacher... just an old guy with an independent attitude and a big mouth....

see y'all...

Does anyone know if that is a recent photo of Ms Ronstadt? I barely recognize her. And hey! She is older than me! (by only a few months)

I haven't seen or heard from Linda Ronstadt in over 15 years. I wondered what had happened to her. She did a mexican mariache band album and a big band (I think it was Nelson Riddle) album.
I have her earlier music on vinyl and CD.
I think that it's great to be "frozen in time". She should be proud of her work.