Cole Porter vs. Irving Berlin

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http://www.nodanw.com/biographies/pictures/porter.jpg vs. http://www.nodanw.com/biographies/pictures/berlin.jpg

Personally, I think Irving Berlin composed more aesthetically perfect songs -- What’ll I Do? being my favourite -- but Porter had an Ogdenashian wit to his lyrics Berlin’s commonly lacked. Anyway, what do you think?

― Charles Hatcher (musenheddo), Saturday, 24 January 2004 18:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Cole Porter, I have to say -- what turned me on to his work was how his songs and arrangements were used in Evil Under the Sun, an Agatha Christie adaptation that was almost a pastiche/parody of itself (directed by Goldfinger helmer Guy Hamilton, who knew exactly what he was doing) but was so deliciously put together and acted and so forth I never minded. Porter's music was used throughout in differing methods, mostly instrumental, which let me focus on that, but there's a spectacular version of "You're the Top" sung by Diana Rigg that's a treat.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 24 January 2004 18:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Irving Berlin == better songwriter.
Cole Porter == better entertainer.

― Aimless, Saturday, 24 January 2004 18:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Funny... I was about to start a thread on showtunes!

I'll go with Aimless' answer. Porter's songs were lovely but had a little too much of the old wink-nudge. Like a lot of clever songwriters this worked in his favor when writing bittersweet ballads -- light on the punning and irony, but with just enough of that (and just enough bitten-back pain) to distinguish it from the typical maudlin romantic dreck.

― aleksandr supertramp (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 24 January 2004 19:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Porter really only had two modes, sentimental ballads and list songs. Both of which he did expertly. Of course, this can lead to his not being taken 'seriously' but 'earnest' music listeners. He is a bit too showy and camp. His songs are so obviously musical.

Berlin, on the other, could possible pull off being a poet. Songs like What'll I Do cut to the emotional chase. You could almost believe him. But hedoesn't skimp on wit altogether - "Come let's mix, where Rockafellers walk with stcks and umberellers" is a faultless couplet.

In the end though, I probably go for Porter, just because I'm that sort of guy.

― Reggie Chamberlain-King, Sunday, 25 January 2004 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)

You mean, gay?

― jaymc (jaymc), Sunday, 25 January 2004 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, I thought that at the time, but my type of gay would pick records by Morris Day & the Time and three quarter length trousers.

Dick Sargent on the other hand:

http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/advocatearticle.htm

― Reggie Chamberlain-King, Sunday, 25 January 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Say It Isn't So

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Sunday, 25 January 2004 00:18 (twenty-two years ago)

It isn't so. The Star and that Elizabeth Montgomery are lying cows, the lot of them.

― Reggie Chamberlain-King, Sunday, 25 January 2004 00:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Aimless OTM, they're both great!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 25 January 2004 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Berlin was a terrible terrible songwriter with an ear for a good hook. So therefore he'd ram the hook into the fucking GROUND. I love his songs maybe two verses at a time at most, but taken as a whole they drive me nuts by halfway though.

Porter could turn a fantastic actual melody of some complexity, subtlety and length. Also he could do all sorts of songs, not just ballads and list songs (the only one of his which i could think of that even fits that category is You're The Top and maybe Brush Up Your Shakespeare). If by "list songs" you mean his verses were all on a theme, then yeah, but i think of that as being coherent and focused. He did great "sexy romp" songs and faux-sentimental ballads and fanfares and bitter "i'm through with love" songs and come-hither love songs (Night and Day!) and etc.

Also he could use black keys and white keys in the same song! (For serious, Berlin would only either do all major key or pentatonic songs) And use other complicated musical things too, like notes of different lengths and triplets and rubatos and so forth. (Again, Berlin had a very very limited set of parameters in which he produced, which does tend to make what he accomplished that much more impressive).

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:31 (twenty-two years ago)

chinks do it, japs do it, upper lapland lapps do it... let's do it. let's fall in love.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Sunday, 25 January 2004 09:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Tom does it, StemeM does, even good old Dan Perry does it,ILX does it, ILX falls in love!

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Sunday, 25 January 2004 10:35 (twenty-two years ago)

sterling how many berlin songs do you know? or rather, which ones?

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 26 January 2004 11:17 (twenty-two years ago)

For anyone that’s interested, here's a nice assortment of the libretto of Porter
and Berlin.

― Charles Hatcher (musenheddo), Monday, 26 January 2004 11:42 (twenty-two years ago)

ten years pass...

1.5 hr radio doc on Cole Porter:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02408b2

― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Friday, 21 November 2014 10:17 (eleven years ago)

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