Rumer speaks of Karen on UK TV

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Thanks for the 'heads-up' on the Rumer link!
UK seems to be unabashed regarding their appreciation of Carpenters music.
Nice to hear!
 
That's nice, she must get asked that a lot of Karen Carpenter.
It is something how our world has changed, Karen had to hide her problems and when confronted live on the air she flat out denied the issue...now artists and celebrities speak out and are open about when they are dealing with and how they are over coming their problems. I wonder how much more pressure Richard and Karen got from the record label about suppressing/hiding any indication that there might be a problem or was this just Richard and Karen's decision to keep it out of the media.
 
Chris-An Ordinary Fool said:
That's nice, she must get asked that a lot of Karen Carpenter.
It is something how our world has changed, Karen had to hide her problems and when confronted live on the air she flat out denied the issue...now artists and celebrities speak out and are open about when they are dealing with and how they are over coming their problems. I wonder how much more pressure Richard and Karen got from the record label about suppressing/hiding any indication that there might be a problem or was this just Richard and Karen's decision to keep it out of the media.
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It's a good thing when celebs talk about their sincere efforts to recover as it may reach young ones. I remember in one article after Karen's passing, mention was made that she had intended to 'go public' about her struggle in the coming months. Perhaps when interviewed going forward she would have discussed it.
 
Chris-An Ordinary Fool said:
That's nice, she must get asked that a lot of Karen Carpenter.
It is something how our world has changed, Karen had to hide her problems and when confronted live on the air she flat out denied the issue...now artists and celebrities speak out and are open about when they are dealing with and how they are over coming their problems. I wonder how much more pressure Richard and Karen got from the record label about suppressing/hiding any indication that there might be a problem or was this just Richard and Karen's decision to keep it out of the media.
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I think it's probably both. Firstly, Agnes firmly believed they shouldn't air their dirty laundry to people like Steven Levenkron. Secondly, the person hired as their publicist by A&M, Paul Bloch, was probably also given a mandate to portray them as closely as possible to their squeaky clean image. The only reason he came clean in the end and disclosed her illness was unfortunately Karen's passing itself. It was no longer possible to hide the truth in the face of such a shocking, tragic event. And yet, even in her death they were still covering up the true extent of the problem. Look at what he actually said to the press in the days after her passing - it was made to appear that she'd had the illness for a few months, beaten it and bounced back:

"Bloch said she had suffered from anorexia for the last 12 months, but was believed to have overcome the condition after treatment and had planned a new album this month and a summer tour of the United States".

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...W9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E1kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7111,1208613
 
newvillefan said:
I think it's probably both. Firstly, Agnes firmly believed they shouldn't air their dirty laundry to people like Steven Levenkron. Secondly, the person hired as their publicist by A&M, Paul Bloch, was probably also given a mandate to portray them as closely as possible to their squeaky clean image. The only reason he came clean in the end and disclosed her illness was unfortunately Karen's passing itself. It was no longer possible to hide the truth in the face of such a shocking, tragic event. And yet, even in her death they were still covering up the true extent of the problem. Look at what 5he actually said to the press in the days after her passing - it was made to appear that she'd had the illness for a few months, beaten it and bounced back:

"Bloch said she had suffered from anorexia for the last 12 months, but was believed to have overcome the condition after treatment and had planned a new album this month and a summer tour of the United States".

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...W9QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E1kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7111,1208613
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I like to think that part of Karen's recovery process would have been discussing publicly some of her struggle in an effort to reach out to others with anorexia nervosa. She seemed to be that kind of person, and hopefully wouldn't have bowed to her mother's pressure. It seems that being independent of her mother's control was a part of her recovery process so it may have been therapeutic for her.

From a P.R. perspective it would have drawn attention to her work as well, as we saw it did in the aftermath of her passing.
 
Sadly, it appears as if the extent to which Karen had suffered was 'covered-up' as late as 1985.
Quite frankly, a news conference by Kornblum--of Los Angeles--promulgated a lie one month after Karen left us.
While I will not quote exactly what he said (it can be located on google newspaper archives 1983), I was shocked
by the fact that he purposely misled the public regarding the extent of the problem.
This, again, plays into the Carpenters' image phenomenon.
Karen Carpenter, though she should be remembered for the outstanding vocalist that she was,
is ,instead ,ceaselessly mentioned as the celebrity who brought this disease to the forefront of the public's attention.
Of course, it is fine to have helped others overcome this disease.
But, I agree with Richard Carpenter that she should be remembered for much, much, more.
Nice to hear that Rumer is unabashed in her appreciation of, and comparisons to, Karen Carpenter.
 
song4u said:
She seemed to be that kind of person, and hopefully wouldn't have bowed to her mother's pressure. It seems that being independent of her mother's control was a part of her recovery process so it may have been therapeutic for her.
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The shame of it is, having reached the age of 32, she was still under the control of her mother and brother and nowhere near escaping the confines of the Carpenter cage. It was part of the family dynamic (and supported by the label) that they suppress everything negative or damaging to the brand. I don't for a second think Karen would have gone public with her disease in 1983. It wasn't the done thing at that time. Those close to her with influence - the label and her family - would have stopped that. Exactly as they did with her solo album.
 
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newvillefan said:
The shame of it is, having reached the age of 32, she was still under the control of her mother and brother and nowhere near escaping the confines of the Carpenter cage. It was part of the family dynamic (and supported by the label) that they suppress everything negative or damaging to the brand. I don't for a second think Karen would have gone public with her disease in 1983. It wasn't the done thing at that time. Those close to her with influence - the label and her family - would have stopped that. Exactly as they did with her solo album.
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It's one thing to learn assertiveness in therapy and quite another to go back to living near her family and applying what she learned. She seemed to be on the way to standing up to Richard, albeit not for the right reason. She really shouldn't have gone home without seeing a therapist near her to help her in her transition, but she wouldn't have it. Neither here or there at this point.
 
Could Rumer be any more delightful? I doubt it. Love her first two albums and can’t wait for the new one early next year (I believe that’s the U.S. release time frame). I close my eyes when I listen to Rumer and imagine these songs to be similar to what Karen might be doing, these days, had things worked out differently...
 
Wow, what a lovely person she is! Rumer's voice is exquisite ... and it turns out she has a personality to match. I had no idea she had been dealing with mental illness. Rumer talks about it with such grace. She and Karen have more in common than their beautiful voices. As others have noted ... if only Karen could have taken the reins of her life the way Rumer has.
 
Rumer does a live session with Dermot O'leary on BBC yesterday, songs include 'Dangerous' and a fantastic cover of Todd Rundgren's " Love is the Answer".

There's also plenty if fun and chat.


http://fb.me/3hyCKaLou
 
I saw her in concert at Manchester UK last night ( Album launch show), what a voice the girl has! I've seen her 3 times but last night was by far the best( she's getting better and better), and she has a great mix of music in the show both "up" and "down" stuff.
I had good chat with her boyfriend Rob after the show and met her dog "Alfie", also talked with backing singers Annabelle & Suzanne who said "pre-show they were pretty nervous because they hadn't done a live gig in quite a while and with a lot of new music it was quite tricky"

Another good thing about Rumer is that she is a lovely Person and she must have have been there 1hr 30 afterwards signing all things and everything and doing photos for everybody that wanted it, which was everyone i think.
 
Nicko said:
I saw her in concert at Manchester UK last night ( Album launch show), what a voice the girl has! I've seen her 3 times but last night was by far the best( she's getting better and better), and she has a great mix of music in the show both "up" and "down" stuff.
I had good chat with her boyfriend Rob after the show and met her dog "Alfie", also talked with backing singers Annabelle & Suzanne who said "pre-show they were pretty nervous because they hadn't done a live gig in quite a while and with a lot of new music it was quite tricky"

Another good thing about Rumer is that she is a lovely Person and she must have have been there 1hr 30 afterwards signing all things and everything and doing photos for everybody that wanted it, which was everyone i think.
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She sounds like Sharon Corr. Very kind to fans and comes out to meet and sign things afterward. Anyone else see her on her U.S. tour early this year?

My interest is now peaked in Rumer. If she should tour the U.S. I will definitely take in the show.
 
BTW I forgot to say she treated us to a fabulous encore performance of that Todd Rundgren song "love is the Answer"
 
Sorry to disagree, but she isn't a patch on Karen. Karen could kick her voice up into high octane, especially on the chorus of any given song. This girl is good, but she is not in the same room as Karen Carpenter. Rumer doesn't have an edge, much like Norah Jones.... good voice, but not enough emotive content to it.


Freddie
 
FreddieB said:
Sorry to disagree, but she isn't a patch on Karen. Karen could kick her voice up into high octane, especially on the chorus of any given song. This girl is good, but she is not in the same room as Karen Carpenter. Rumer doesn't have an edge, much like Norah Jones.... good voice, but not enough emotive content to it.


Freddie
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Rumer is Rumer not Karen, it's other people that make the comparisons not her and they're usually Karen or Dusty fans, there has to be something there to make them do that!

In the end it's Rumer you're listening to not Karen or anyone else.
 
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