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Not "ahead of their time," but perhaps "outside of their time."

I was always tickled by Ween's version of "the shot heard round the world" on the 1990's record of School House Rock covers by indie/alternative bands. Where the other bands did their indie rock thing (Pavement to wonderful effect), Ween's version was just about indistinguishable from the original. Not quite advanced genius material, but lovely nonetheless.

I am 67 years old and have kids 38,41 &45. They listen to what they grew up with and the music I listened too when they were kids. Now We all listen to all kinds of music. I am however, the only one of my friends who listens to current popular music.

OK, you bought a turkey record, how do you defend it to your critic? The record was obviously so genius that someone like you missed it. And you both can look to the career of the past master to support it. No. There are turkey records, period.

Boy, do I disagree with this theory!

While I do agree that a genius remains a genius throughout his/her life, their OUTPUT isn't always consistently genius. Most artists have peak periods during which their best work is done, duh.

I think artists lose it when they start conforming to the trend du jour rather than listen to their own unique POVs. That's why so many great artists from the '60s and '70s sucked in the '80s (Dylan, Reed, even Bowie) because they started to mimic the sound of the times--they became FOLLOWERS rather than LEADERS.

sonny bono had to be the greatest musical genius of all time............

I just saw the We Want Miles exhibit at the Beaux Arts Museum in Montreal.- Talk about a genius who changed with the times- Constantly changing his style and always amazing. Through all his phases: cool, be-pop, free, acid-jazz et al- Always evolving and always one step ahead.

how can we even broach the subject of advanced genius without mentioning anything about zappa.

Tom Waits
Lost it in the 70's on the Dinah Shore show...

Regarding Elton John: Is he the genius or is Bernie Taupin?

18 to 25 makes no sense i know people who grew up with big band era who loved beatles nowadays there are no hits

I think Bernie Taupin is the real genius behind Elton John.

I think the photograph at the top of this page says it all.

I think this is a stupid theory. Basically it's saying well, maybe you're wrong maybe there a genius but you can't figure it out. The show did not address what makes them deemed a genius in the first place which is a string of HITS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do not think Bob Dylan's genius has faded.

I do object to his appearing on a Victoria's Secret commercial, but maybe for different reasons. Dylan had said the only commercial he'd be it would be one for ladies lingerie, fair enough. But Victoria's Secret uses American Prison Labor to make some of their products. US citizens recieve cents on the hour for this factory labor, which is a standard that should not be acceptable even for US prisoners. Dylan should have known better...

did natalie say satchmo can't sing! he only brought modern phrasing to voice [human and trumpet] laid foundation for pop,jazz, etc. sinatra admitted to him being major figure. louie begat bing,bing begat frank. folks really!

You left out Miles Davis!
He Lost it in the seventies.
In doing so made the best selling Jazz album
of all time ( Bitches Brew)

The idea of whether or not an album is a good one requires at least a small consensus. It seems that everyone agrees, right now, that a lot of these "beyond our understanding" albums are bad. How long would you suggest it will take before the consensus agrees with you that they're not garbage, and are in fact, genius?

The theory may be true, but you have to have a corollary -- two advanced geniuses cancel each other out. Otherwise, how do you explain "Ebony and Ivory"?

The idea of whether or not an album is a good one requires at least a small consensus. It seems that everyone agrees, right now, that a lot of these "beyond our understanding" albums are bad. How long would you suggest it will take before the consensus agrees with you that they're not garbage, and are in fact, genius?

What about Tesh, John Tesh is f'n awesome!!!

The idea of whether or not an album is a good one requires at least a small consensus. It seems that everyone agrees, right now, that a lot of these "beyond our understanding" albums are bad. How long would you suggest it will take before the consensus agrees with you that they're not garbage, and are in fact, genius?

I was stunned when you appeared to disparage Slow Train Coming at the beginning of the show. Maybe I just haven't been clued in all these years, but Slow Train Coming has been my favorite Dylan album for about the past 5 years. I come out of an evangelical Christian background, although I now consider myself post-Christian (sort of like Dylan, I guess), and that might have something to do with it. In any case, the album is one of my all time favorites. About a year ago I gave a copy of the album to a friend of mine who told me a few months ago that he really got into it and found that he kept reaching for it. I have honestly never heard this idea that it was a terrible album, so that whole discussion was news to me. I'd definitely say Slow Train Coming is advanced genius.

Kate Bush - "The Red Shoes." I just can't do it. Especially the movie that went along with it.

Oy.

Guitar headstock? You're making an issue of the headstock on Lou Reed's guitars?

This critic's genius is clearly too advanced for me.

What about Scott Walker? Made pop records with the Walker Brothers then went solo and did 4 records then dissapeared for 20 years and came back with 'The Drift" one of the weirdest and scariest records.

Guitar headstock? You're making an issue of the headstock on Lou Reed's guitars?

This critic's genius is clearly too advanced for me.

SMACKDOWN! SMACKDOWN!

What not include Neil Young and his "Trans" record as far as "losing it"?

I have a theory about why dylan did the victoria's secret commercial, and it has nothing to do with genius.

This guy is an Atlanta moron numbskull. No headstock on the guitar means something? There was a little album that came out in the 80s called "New York." Did you miss that critic boy? Boy, was Elvis Costello right about critics. Mistrial was a great album. Remember the robot video? You guys are plain stupid.

How does this theory apply to someone like Frank Zappa, Sting, Elvis Costelo, and a band like Little Feat?

maybe he wanted a victorias secret check,maybe he digs pretty lingerie-make your own assumptions-maybe folkies should be able to make money in addition to venture capitalists-'ya think?

I disagree with Jason. There are two types of great artists, "advanced" or not: those who have a seemingly continuous font of creativity, such as Paul Simon and Sting, and those like Dylan and Paul McCartney, who had their great periods early in life.

Neither Dylan's, and to a greater degree McCartney's best music, popular or not, is 40 years old.

How about Grayson Chance?

Thats ridiculous the dyhlan xmas album is not the example of this time out of mind is the example of this where the methane filled critics say its genius yet it's really "just a riff" not one song there

Why are you guys choking that poor frog to the sounds of Christmas music?

a lot of this is about first impressions. we have a special hormonal connection,to the musical imprints left by the music we hear in adolescence. we are resistant to change,and to change in the music of people ,we heard during this period. i do also think that there are people who are ahead of their time,whose music needs some spatial seperation,to be digested and taken in.

This is a slight variation on what you're talking about: many of these artists, on their later albums, don't have what you'd call "Hits." i.e., there's no big Top40 song there (as if there's any outlet these days for hit rock songs for geniuses or otherwise). The critics will then praise the later cd as a work of complete genius, when it is devoid of a "hit," when they became known as geniuses BECAUSE of hits. Regardless of the era, artists did not become famous for pure genius without a hit on the album, to wit, Yoko's screaming could not exist without the hit factory that was her husband.

Why do you have a newscaster whose name is "Watch me sing" I don't want to watch her sing

Why don't you do a smackdown?

OK, I see now that it is a jokey theory.

This is sort of a joke, right?

If it is a joke, it's a little bit funny.

If it's not a joke, well, have fun with your idols. I for one prefer not to worship mortals.

I don't know if I agree with the Advanced Genius Theory . What the public picks up on is whether an artist has something to say (emotionally), regardless of whether an the artist is doing something uniquely genius.

An example for me is Joni Mitchell. She's praised for the period between Blue and Hejira. Chalk Mark In The Rain and Turbulent Indigo may prove the Advanced Genius Theory but Taming the Tiger and Shine definitely dispel it.