Sábado 3 Mai 2008, 15h:42
It's true. And frankly, I don't want it. Sure I like a song with a pleasant rhythm if I'm in the mood to dance (read: do the monkey and/or hand jive and/or Charleston), but generally I can live without a thumping beat. What I've gathered from my twentysomething friends, however, is that the beat is their main attraction to music. They put on some electronic noise (haha am I 65 or what) with a heavy bass line and jam out.
No, friends, I don't jam.
And then they look at me quizzically and ask,'Well, don't you ever just listen to music without words and zone out?' To which I reply a resounding, 'Generally not.' Unless it's jazz or classical, music without words becomes background fuzz and I don't like background fuzz. It becomes the equivalent of smooth jazz in an elevator, except music in elevators generally had words before they met whatever soulless orchestra mutilated it, and I usually know them. A band banging on electric guitars and screaming undecipherable obscenities while I'm trying to relax or drive or paint does nothing for me.
No, I like my music to be relevant to whatever I'm doing at the time. If I'm driving and it's sunny, I want warm songs about driving in the sun (California One - The Decemberists, 55 - Billy Bauer Band) or at least some warm, summery sounding music (The Refreshments.) If it's snowy, I want cold music (Radiohead has always come off as pleasantly cold) and if it's raining, I want jazz or something gentle. If I'm sad, I want sombre and in a minor chord (Gloomy Sunday, anyone?) and if I'm happy, something cheery (All Will Be Well - Gabe Dixon Band.) The same goes with holidays and so on and so forth—I want my music to be like a coordinating movie soundtrack to my life. It's not based on who's hot right now or who is played on the radio but who fits my life at the moment. I'll jump on a new artist if they're relevant, but I don't base my tastes on charts. I'm not on top of the newest bands—I care, but if I'm constantly looking for new music, it's difficult to enjoy the full flavour of the bands I have now.
I don't know. I've always had an old musical soul. People say that a lot and usually they're thinking, 70's, Elvis, things they play on the Oldies station that your parents like. I'm thinking old stuff. 1920-1940's, music your grandparents listen to on AM radio and your parents think is lame. And old guys like Roger Miller and Neil Sedaka, the sort of music you don't crank when you have your windows down.
Still, when it comes down to it, it's all about the stories the songs tell. And who tells stories better than folkies, jazz singers, old guys and musicals? Old music spins yarn well. New music just repeats a few key phrases over and over again. And sometimes the key phrases work out—the Beatles is the sort of band that exists because of that style of writing but because of the voices singing, are more than tolerable.
'So if they have a good voice, you'll listen to it. Okay. Not every band can manage that. But /every/ song tells a story, or it wouldn't exist,' you sagely say. Sure, but it does matter which section of the music library the stories are taken from. I want the sort of stories that appeal to my old soul. Songs about pimping hoes and pick-up trucks may tell their own sordid tales, but my old soul can't handle that stuff. I'm certainly not urban and I'm not overly rural, so those stories don't correlate with my old romantic sensibilities.
I want a bard's tale, a hero, a villain, peril, tears and love. Classic crap, you know? I want to hang on every word and delight in line structure and storytelling prowess. Music isn't just noise to dull the mind but a lesson to listen to, a thought to consider. But words must be followed with good music, too.
Rule number one: no fake instrumentation. I want real, rich instruments with squeaks and vibrato and trills. I'll have no overproduced ProTools orchestra if I can help it (unless it's indistinguishable, and then I'll let it pass. My ear is trained, but not that trained.) You can tell me a tale, but put it to a synthesizer and the mood is ruined. A story is no good if the teller is irritating or off-putting. Voices don't have to be perfect, but if they write hard music, they must be able to hit the notes. Bright Eyes is an example of this—good music, irritating singer, and I can't bare to listen to a good 3/4ths of their music. Waterdeep, Nickel Creek and The Decemberists are great examples (among numerous others) with proper musicians who play proper instruments with great skill with lovely vocals. I'm no trained musician and there's a good chance I can't tell a good musician from a mediocre one, but Harry and the Potters, however novel, are simply not good musicians and they annoy me.
Hmm. Well, I think I've gone far more in-depth than I had planned. Oh well. Now I know more about me, since I KNOW no one will read this long, ridiculous post on someone else. I suppose I should end it in a more academic manner, though.
We all have unique ways of listening to music. Like romantic partners, we all look for different things in different bands, and I know my way is not the only way to look at music, certainly. However, it is the way I do and I imagine there's someone out there who does as well and I bet we'd get along pretty well. (If you see him, let me know…he might be the One.) So give me a pleasant tale and keep your gangsta rap, country hoe-downs and bass-laden window busters. I'll listen to the warblings of Glen Yarborough with my window down at the stop sign and I'll bask in the treble goodness.