I can’t believe it’s the middle of August already. I assume you all know what that means. It’s time for another somewhat philosophical essay on music! Hip hop hooray!
So here’s what I’ve been thinking. Each and every one of us has a brain filled with different music and different amounts of familiarity these works of music. We’ve been exposed to music in hundreds of different ways, often by complete coincidence. For example, John Doe grew up the child of parents who worshipped Neil Sedaka. By age eight, he could sing “Calendar Girl” forwards, backwards and sideways. As he grew up through the 1980s, he played percussion in the Millard Fillmore High School band and he heard about the Smiths from a fellow drummer and absolutely loved them. This led to all kinds of discoveries of his own (including the Stone Roses), developing a unique musical palette.
John Doe has a musical fingerprint like no one else. Because of this, when he hears a new song, he’ll have a different take than anybody else. He compares this song to what he’s heard and what he likes and develops an opinion based on this. But the cool part is, it’s always changing. For every bit of music one discovers, that opens the door to more and more possibilities. You might compare this to Pandora’s box, without all the evilness. Oh wait, crap, that metaphor’s already been taken.
This idea seems to make sense for any music lover but I recently started thinking about it from the perspective of a composer. No music is written out of thin air. Like a great cake, it requires many different ingredients mixed together. Each artist is equipped with years of stockpiled ingredients and the taste of the cake depends on what he/she chooses to mix together. For instance, today, I discovered I’d used part of the melody from Eels’ “World Of Shit” on my trumpet and organ piece, which was a rather odd sensation.
This is yet another reason why music is so magical. Each of us is on our own, lifelong, individual exploration for the best stuff we can find. Whether you are a 5th grade hillbilly or an 80-year-old erudite, there’s always something out there that will strike your fancy.
*Last week's sub-heading was from Crosby, Stills and Nash's "I Give You Give Blind"
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
All You Need Is Love
Recently, I’ve been inspired. The main reason for the inspiration is a concert that I’ll be performing in this upcoming weekend. All the proceeds will be going to a charity called Central Asia Institute, providing education to kids in Central Asia. I didn’t come up with idea to do this, merely agreed to it. Albeit, I wish I’d decided this myself, for the plan of playing music to raise money for a good cause feels so right! Much more than making a few bucks. I mean, I’ve done benefit concerts before but never have I gotten quite this excited about it. Maybe it’s because I’m older than last time I did a show like this. I don’t know. But more important than helping children in need, the concert inspired me to write this post!
If you haven’t heard the title of this post, you probably have been living under a rock your whole life, somehow got a hold of your first computer and were navigated to this site by mysterious circumstances. But just in case this is true, “All You Need Is Love” is a song by the Beatles released on their 1967 album, Magical Mystery Tour. The song has been hugely popular since the day it came out. Type it in on google, you get 362 million hits. However, even though I’ve heard the song many times, its message is more effective each time it enters the surrounding airwaves.
This, to me, is the ultimate use of music. It uses the medium to spread an unbelievably simple message in a way that is infinitely more powerful than speaking the words. Too often, music (and all art) is viewed as a form of expression in a very personal sense. In the pop world, this is where songwriter A writes a song about his/her troubled life only seeking sympathy and personal attention. In the classical world, this is where composer B writes an avant-garde piece simply for the sake of being weird or potentially one-upping his/her fellow haughty academics. If you write music only to make yourself happy, with no intention of reaching other people, sharing your thoughts on the human condition, or inspiring change, you shouldn't write it at all.
If I had a dollar for every minute I weighed art versus entertainment in reference to music, I would be a rich man. Is it more important to be enjoyable or meaningful? And what is my answer, after all these hours of thought? Umm…both. Sorry, even though it’s a yes or no question, that’s all I got.
It’s just about impossible to name the one thing that makes music good or not but I know for a fact that it won’t work if it isn’t honest. As I continue on and pursue a career, likely in music, the dream above all is to be successful by improving other people’s lives with music. The old cliché is that the pen is mightier than the sword but the piano is mightier than both. And using the pen to write about the piano is pretty mighty too!
*Last week's subheading was from Steely Dan's "Night By Night"
If you haven’t heard the title of this post, you probably have been living under a rock your whole life, somehow got a hold of your first computer and were navigated to this site by mysterious circumstances. But just in case this is true, “All You Need Is Love” is a song by the Beatles released on their 1967 album, Magical Mystery Tour. The song has been hugely popular since the day it came out. Type it in on google, you get 362 million hits. However, even though I’ve heard the song many times, its message is more effective each time it enters the surrounding airwaves.
This, to me, is the ultimate use of music. It uses the medium to spread an unbelievably simple message in a way that is infinitely more powerful than speaking the words. Too often, music (and all art) is viewed as a form of expression in a very personal sense. In the pop world, this is where songwriter A writes a song about his/her troubled life only seeking sympathy and personal attention. In the classical world, this is where composer B writes an avant-garde piece simply for the sake of being weird or potentially one-upping his/her fellow haughty academics. If you write music only to make yourself happy, with no intention of reaching other people, sharing your thoughts on the human condition, or inspiring change, you shouldn't write it at all.
If I had a dollar for every minute I weighed art versus entertainment in reference to music, I would be a rich man. Is it more important to be enjoyable or meaningful? And what is my answer, after all these hours of thought? Umm…both. Sorry, even though it’s a yes or no question, that’s all I got.
It’s just about impossible to name the one thing that makes music good or not but I know for a fact that it won’t work if it isn’t honest. As I continue on and pursue a career, likely in music, the dream above all is to be successful by improving other people’s lives with music. The old cliché is that the pen is mightier than the sword but the piano is mightier than both. And using the pen to write about the piano is pretty mighty too!
*Last week's subheading was from Steely Dan's "Night By Night"
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
It's Too Darn Hot
Musical theater is great!
Usually, I go into these blog posts with a specific point I’m trying to make. My original intention was to pack a weekly punch of well-articulated musical opinions. Well, at the moment, it’s upwards of 90 degrees and in the heat of the moment, I’m going to be completely spontaneous and extemporaneous. Plus, it will give all my thousands of faithful readers out there a little something different. And I promise there will be no more puns.
First of all, I’d like to make a plug. This book is an absolute gem. I’ve started calling it the Bible for in this collection of reviews, Mr. Tom Moon writes about music with the perfect combination of sophistication and user-friendliness. Not only is it fantastic writing, it is an invaluable resource for just about any level of music fan. The quote on the front cover just about says it all: “The more you love music, the more music you love.” Spend that $12.97 now. This man deserves to be a millionaire!
I think the one thing I love the most about that book however is the way Moon convincingly describes the greatness of any type of music you can think of. Dozens of world music recordings, hundreds of classical, and more soul than a sock with a hole, this masterpiece does so much more than your typical “Top 100” list. And it doesn’t give confusing explanations for what it is. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. You don’t have to love all of them, you just have to hear them. And it’s a lifelong goal, not a demanding list that makes you feel ignorant if you hadn’t lived and died to each album. Not to mention, it’s recordings not albums. Believe it or not, the album format has not always been the standard for music making.
In other news, I just acquired a whole bunch of music making my goal of finishing a “Best of the 2000s” list even more daunting. Whatever, I put myself in this black hole of music to begin with and I’m content on never escaping.
So final words of wisdom, go out and listen to Steely Dan then jump headfirst into some Cat Stevens followed by a healthy dose of Buddy Holly. And here’s a nice summer playlist if that isn’t enough:
1. “Bummer In the Summer” by Love
2. “Summer Day” by Coconut Records
3. “Summer Teeth” by Wilco
4. “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” by Joni Mitchell = SO SEXY
5. “A Summer Wasting” by Belle and Sebastian
6. “Summer’s Cauldron” by XTC = GLORIOUS
7. “Summer Crane” by The Avalanches
8. “Summersong” by The Decemberists = I HEART MELOY
9. “Summer” from Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”
10. “Summertime Blues” as performed by The Who
11. “It’s Summertime” by The Flaming Lips
12. “Summertime” as performed by many people but specifically John Coltrane
13. “Summertime Clothes” by Animal Collective
14. “Summer Babe [Winter Babe]” by Pavement
15. “Summer Skin” by Death Cab for Cutie
16. “Indian Summer” by Pedro The Lion
17. “Long Hot Summer Night” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience = ELECTRIFYING
18. “Summer’s Gone” by CunninLynguists
19. "Summer In the City” by The Lovin’ Spoonful = TASTY
20. “Oslo In the Summertime” by of Montreal
21. “Summer Soft” by Stevie Wonder = GENIUS
Check these out (especially the ones with bold captions)
*Last week’s subheading was from John Cale’s “Paris 1919” which I just reviewed.
Usually, I go into these blog posts with a specific point I’m trying to make. My original intention was to pack a weekly punch of well-articulated musical opinions. Well, at the moment, it’s upwards of 90 degrees and in the heat of the moment, I’m going to be completely spontaneous and extemporaneous. Plus, it will give all my thousands of faithful readers out there a little something different. And I promise there will be no more puns.
First of all, I’d like to make a plug. This book is an absolute gem. I’ve started calling it the Bible for in this collection of reviews, Mr. Tom Moon writes about music with the perfect combination of sophistication and user-friendliness. Not only is it fantastic writing, it is an invaluable resource for just about any level of music fan. The quote on the front cover just about says it all: “The more you love music, the more music you love.” Spend that $12.97 now. This man deserves to be a millionaire!
I think the one thing I love the most about that book however is the way Moon convincingly describes the greatness of any type of music you can think of. Dozens of world music recordings, hundreds of classical, and more soul than a sock with a hole, this masterpiece does so much more than your typical “Top 100” list. And it doesn’t give confusing explanations for what it is. 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. You don’t have to love all of them, you just have to hear them. And it’s a lifelong goal, not a demanding list that makes you feel ignorant if you hadn’t lived and died to each album. Not to mention, it’s recordings not albums. Believe it or not, the album format has not always been the standard for music making.
In other news, I just acquired a whole bunch of music making my goal of finishing a “Best of the 2000s” list even more daunting. Whatever, I put myself in this black hole of music to begin with and I’m content on never escaping.
So final words of wisdom, go out and listen to Steely Dan then jump headfirst into some Cat Stevens followed by a healthy dose of Buddy Holly. And here’s a nice summer playlist if that isn’t enough:
1. “Bummer In the Summer” by Love
2. “Summer Day” by Coconut Records
3. “Summer Teeth” by Wilco
4. “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” by Joni Mitchell = SO SEXY
5. “A Summer Wasting” by Belle and Sebastian
6. “Summer’s Cauldron” by XTC = GLORIOUS
7. “Summer Crane” by The Avalanches
8. “Summersong” by The Decemberists = I HEART MELOY
9. “Summer” from Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”
10. “Summertime Blues” as performed by The Who
11. “It’s Summertime” by The Flaming Lips
12. “Summertime” as performed by many people but specifically John Coltrane
13. “Summertime Clothes” by Animal Collective
14. “Summer Babe [Winter Babe]” by Pavement
15. “Summer Skin” by Death Cab for Cutie
16. “Indian Summer” by Pedro The Lion
17. “Long Hot Summer Night” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience = ELECTRIFYING
18. “Summer’s Gone” by CunninLynguists
19. "Summer In the City” by The Lovin’ Spoonful = TASTY
20. “Oslo In the Summertime” by of Montreal
21. “Summer Soft” by Stevie Wonder = GENIUS
Check these out (especially the ones with bold captions)
*Last week’s subheading was from John Cale’s “Paris 1919” which I just reviewed.
Friday, July 17, 2009
It's Got a Back Beat, You Can't Lose It
After writing my last post about the current decade, I felt the need to clarify my brief comment about middle-age people angering me by questioning my music taste. Getting the good ol’ “Why are you listening to that?” actually never prompted me to start listening to music of “my time”, for I try to listen to music not according to era but according to quality. But this has not always been the case. Way back in the day, after I finally opened up to bands that weren’t the Beatles, I still was hesitant to listen to anything post 70s. Being the ignorant 14-year-old I was, I stayed away from the “current” music which, to me, consisted of Avril Lavigne and P. Diddy (as I believe he was known at the time). It was so easy to be a teenage curmudgeon and say that music just isn’t like what it used to be.
However, college has been an about face for me as I’ve more or less stopped listening to my old friends such as Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix in search of newer, lesser known artists. But as I’ve recently started going back again and dusting off the old MP3s, I must publicly reaffirm my convictions: the late 60s/early 70s are about as good as it will ever get for rock and roll.
It may seem odd to post this after heavily praising the work of current artists. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be plenty of goodness to go around. But 40 years ago seemed to be an aligning of the stars for so many gifted individuals. The year 1969 alone gave us Tommy, Abbey Road, Let It Bleed, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, The Band, The Velvet Underground and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Aaaaah! So many great albums! And all of them seem to come out just a heartbeat after the previous masterpiece!
So going back to the purpose of this post, it’s partly because I feel like I’m in the minority in being quite passionate about both old and new rock music. People I’ve met generally fall in one camp or the other. Well I want the Beatles and Radiohead playing at the pearly gates when I get there.
Another reason why this is relevant is that it seems like music critics focus on the present too much to be more in line with the journalistic side of their profession. It certainly makes sense. If you want readers, you write something people haven’t already read all about. However, this is my blog and I’ll write about the 60s if I want too!
P.S. This little family tree is highly amusing and seems to fill in some of the gaps between my last two posts.
*Last week's subheading was from Wilco’s "Kingpin."
However, college has been an about face for me as I’ve more or less stopped listening to my old friends such as Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix in search of newer, lesser known artists. But as I’ve recently started going back again and dusting off the old MP3s, I must publicly reaffirm my convictions: the late 60s/early 70s are about as good as it will ever get for rock and roll.
It may seem odd to post this after heavily praising the work of current artists. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be plenty of goodness to go around. But 40 years ago seemed to be an aligning of the stars for so many gifted individuals. The year 1969 alone gave us Tommy, Abbey Road, Let It Bleed, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, The Band, The Velvet Underground and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Aaaaah! So many great albums! And all of them seem to come out just a heartbeat after the previous masterpiece!
So going back to the purpose of this post, it’s partly because I feel like I’m in the minority in being quite passionate about both old and new rock music. People I’ve met generally fall in one camp or the other. Well I want the Beatles and Radiohead playing at the pearly gates when I get there.
Another reason why this is relevant is that it seems like music critics focus on the present too much to be more in line with the journalistic side of their profession. It certainly makes sense. If you want readers, you write something people haven’t already read all about. However, this is my blog and I’ll write about the 60s if I want too!
P.S. This little family tree is highly amusing and seems to fill in some of the gaps between my last two posts.
*Last week's subheading was from Wilco’s "Kingpin."
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ten Years Gone
It may be hard to believe but there are less than six months left in this decade. Soon, we’ll all be met with a barrage of lists. Everything from “The Top 100 Celebrity Marriages of the 2000s” to “The Top 50 Romantic Comedies of the 2000s” to “The Top 20 Fashion Mistakes of the 2000s!” Oh what we have to look forward to!!
But of course, we can also expect all kinds of interesting music lists as well. If there’s one thing that music journalists can’t live without, it’s “definitive” lists. I’ll be sure to see what Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Uncut, Metacritc etc. have to offer when these things are released in a little while but before I become biased by these publications, I plan to make a list of my own. Yes, my summer music project here on Page 43 will be going through all 112 albums I own from this decade and narrowing it down to the best ten. It may be too hard to rank this top echelon from 1 to 10, but I will decide as I get closer to finishing.
Here is the alphabetical list of the albums I own from the current millennium thus far. I’m sure I’ll add a few more on before the year is up but hopefully not too many as I have enough on my plate as it is. The one danger of doing something like this in the middle of the year is the possibility of the next Sgt. Pepper’s being released in October. If this happens, I will be painfully forced to edit the list. Nonetheless, I think this will be a fun project and the summer months suit such a conquest best.
Before I begin this, I guess I’ll try to briefly sum up the decade from a musical perspective. In terms of what artist instantly comes to mind associated with each decade, I’ll say the 60s=Beatles, the 70s=Zeppelin, the 80s=U2, the 90s=Nirvana and the 00s=Death Cab for Cutie. These aren't always my favorite artists from each decade but their image and style seems to best represent the decade as far as rock and roll is concerned. Why Death Cab for the zeroes? They define “indie” while being tremendously popular. As access to music has gotten easier for all thanks to technology, being universally popular has become even more difficult and hence, “indie” is the way to go. Maybe I’m not quite impartial being a Seattleite, but it seems to me that nobody screams “indie” better than Gibbard, Walla, Harmer and McGerr. Just my opinion though. Feel free not too get heated over this as there are probably as many ideas on "what artists define any given decade" as there are sand grains on the beach.
I didn’t intend this post to be all about Death Cab and what exactly indie is. That may be a good post for the future. But for now, I’d like to say something I never would’ve imagined saying five years ago: it has been truly a great decade for music! I will have a hard time narrowing down my favorites records but I’m really excited to go through and listen to music that my generation put out!! I’m ridiculously tired of middle age people saying “Oh wow, that takes me back! What are you doing listening to that?” when I mention who some of my favorite artists are (Beatles, Floyd, CSNY etc.). Well, I’m ready to take a headfirst plunge into the artists of Generation Y and I encourage you to do so as well. A lot has happened since Y2K and I’m sure that many of these records will be playing more in decades to come.
*Last week's heading was from Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall."
But of course, we can also expect all kinds of interesting music lists as well. If there’s one thing that music journalists can’t live without, it’s “definitive” lists. I’ll be sure to see what Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Uncut, Metacritc etc. have to offer when these things are released in a little while but before I become biased by these publications, I plan to make a list of my own. Yes, my summer music project here on Page 43 will be going through all 112 albums I own from this decade and narrowing it down to the best ten. It may be too hard to rank this top echelon from 1 to 10, but I will decide as I get closer to finishing.
Here is the alphabetical list of the albums I own from the current millennium thus far. I’m sure I’ll add a few more on before the year is up but hopefully not too many as I have enough on my plate as it is. The one danger of doing something like this in the middle of the year is the possibility of the next Sgt. Pepper’s being released in October. If this happens, I will be painfully forced to edit the list. Nonetheless, I think this will be a fun project and the summer months suit such a conquest best.
Before I begin this, I guess I’ll try to briefly sum up the decade from a musical perspective. In terms of what artist instantly comes to mind associated with each decade, I’ll say the 60s=Beatles, the 70s=Zeppelin, the 80s=U2, the 90s=Nirvana and the 00s=Death Cab for Cutie. These aren't always my favorite artists from each decade but their image and style seems to best represent the decade as far as rock and roll is concerned. Why Death Cab for the zeroes? They define “indie” while being tremendously popular. As access to music has gotten easier for all thanks to technology, being universally popular has become even more difficult and hence, “indie” is the way to go. Maybe I’m not quite impartial being a Seattleite, but it seems to me that nobody screams “indie” better than Gibbard, Walla, Harmer and McGerr. Just my opinion though. Feel free not too get heated over this as there are probably as many ideas on "what artists define any given decade" as there are sand grains on the beach.
I didn’t intend this post to be all about Death Cab and what exactly indie is. That may be a good post for the future. But for now, I’d like to say something I never would’ve imagined saying five years ago: it has been truly a great decade for music! I will have a hard time narrowing down my favorites records but I’m really excited to go through and listen to music that my generation put out!! I’m ridiculously tired of middle age people saying “Oh wow, that takes me back! What are you doing listening to that?” when I mention who some of my favorite artists are (Beatles, Floyd, CSNY etc.). Well, I’m ready to take a headfirst plunge into the artists of Generation Y and I encourage you to do so as well. A lot has happened since Y2K and I’m sure that many of these records will be playing more in decades to come.
*Last week's heading was from Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Rest In Peace King of Pop
It seems that events having to do with music rarely make headlines. In other forms of entertainment, such as sports, we can always count on hearing about the World Series or Super Bowl champion when that time of year comes around. In music however, the only thing close to a major yearly event is the Grammy Awards, which seems to get less and less important/respected every year. Though music is a huge part of so many people’s lives, it affects us all in different times and different places. Furthermore, developments happen slowly and aren’t fully realized until years later. With the exception of the Beatles’ concert on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, I can’t think of single, specific music-making event that went down as truly significant in recent history. As you might have figured out by now, all this goes to say that music only makes news when people pass away. It’s just the nature of the partnership between music and the media.
Without a doubt, I can say that Michael Jackson is the most famous musician to die in my lifetime. I’m sure I can speak for many people to say this came as a shock. As unhealthy as he looked, that was the basically the norm and I never imagined that this giant would ever kick the bucket in the current decade, or even in the next one. His music, his oft-imitated dance moves, his tabloid appearances and all the jokes about him seemed to be as much a part of our culture as iPods and cell phones. Because of this, it will take us awhile to adjust to having the throne of pop sitting startlingly empty.
Shortly after hearing the news, I felt the need to pay my respects here on Page 43. To tell you the truth, I’m not that much more familiar with Jackson’s catalogue than the average 20-year-old. I’ve heard “Billie Jean” tons of times and attempted to do the moonwalk with little success. I’ve seen the music video for “Thriller,” grooved to the awesome bass of “I Want You Back” and sung along with “ABC” when it's been on the radio. I even bought a copy of Off the Wall a couple years ago and oddly enough, checked Thriller out from the library two days before MJ died. Nonetheless, I’m hardly an expert on the man’s career.
I can say this, however. Michael was tremendously talented and recorded some of the catchiest songs ever heard. It’s easy for music snobs like myself to scoff at people like Mr. Jackson while we listen to artsy bullshit all day long simply because that’s the route we’re supposed to take. Well you know what? Michael Jackson’s work is just too damn good to categorize as bubble gum music. Off The Wall is the only album I’m entirely familiar with but it’s instantly clear that this is a well-crafted record of substance AND style. I give the great producer Quincy Jones a huge credit for this, but if anyone out there this can listen Michael sing “Working Day and Night” and honestly not feel just a little bit inspired to bust a move, I pity you deeply.
A month ago, if I’d posted an homage to MJ, it might have been slightly weird. A common reaction might be, “Umm…yeah that’s nice and all but why are you throwing praise at a guy who spends his free time doing God knows what with small boys?” This is very sad. As we (myself included) got caught up in making fun of “Wacko Jacko,” we neglected how much life had screwed him over. The press, his own family, his management and just about everyone connected with him exploited his fame and the guy just wasn’t built to take it. I have no doubt he was an extreme oddball and certainly am not defending what he may or may not have done. Still, we’ll never know exactly what went on in Michael Jackson’s head and what he would have been like if he hadn’t become a global icon at 24. All that we have now is his music and I know I won’t stop listening to it till I’ve had enough. And trust me, that won’t be anytime soon.
P.S. Last week’s subheading was from Bob Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie.” Let’s see if anyone can guess the next one.
Without a doubt, I can say that Michael Jackson is the most famous musician to die in my lifetime. I’m sure I can speak for many people to say this came as a shock. As unhealthy as he looked, that was the basically the norm and I never imagined that this giant would ever kick the bucket in the current decade, or even in the next one. His music, his oft-imitated dance moves, his tabloid appearances and all the jokes about him seemed to be as much a part of our culture as iPods and cell phones. Because of this, it will take us awhile to adjust to having the throne of pop sitting startlingly empty.
Shortly after hearing the news, I felt the need to pay my respects here on Page 43. To tell you the truth, I’m not that much more familiar with Jackson’s catalogue than the average 20-year-old. I’ve heard “Billie Jean” tons of times and attempted to do the moonwalk with little success. I’ve seen the music video for “Thriller,” grooved to the awesome bass of “I Want You Back” and sung along with “ABC” when it's been on the radio. I even bought a copy of Off the Wall a couple years ago and oddly enough, checked Thriller out from the library two days before MJ died. Nonetheless, I’m hardly an expert on the man’s career.
I can say this, however. Michael was tremendously talented and recorded some of the catchiest songs ever heard. It’s easy for music snobs like myself to scoff at people like Mr. Jackson while we listen to artsy bullshit all day long simply because that’s the route we’re supposed to take. Well you know what? Michael Jackson’s work is just too damn good to categorize as bubble gum music. Off The Wall is the only album I’m entirely familiar with but it’s instantly clear that this is a well-crafted record of substance AND style. I give the great producer Quincy Jones a huge credit for this, but if anyone out there this can listen Michael sing “Working Day and Night” and honestly not feel just a little bit inspired to bust a move, I pity you deeply.
A month ago, if I’d posted an homage to MJ, it might have been slightly weird. A common reaction might be, “Umm…yeah that’s nice and all but why are you throwing praise at a guy who spends his free time doing God knows what with small boys?” This is very sad. As we (myself included) got caught up in making fun of “Wacko Jacko,” we neglected how much life had screwed him over. The press, his own family, his management and just about everyone connected with him exploited his fame and the guy just wasn’t built to take it. I have no doubt he was an extreme oddball and certainly am not defending what he may or may not have done. Still, we’ll never know exactly what went on in Michael Jackson’s head and what he would have been like if he hadn’t become a global icon at 24. All that we have now is his music and I know I won’t stop listening to it till I’ve had enough. And trust me, that won’t be anytime soon.
P.S. Last week’s subheading was from Bob Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie.” Let’s see if anyone can guess the next one.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Back In the USA
After two weeks in China, I am back in the land of forks and knives. The trip was a true whirlwind of awesomeness. The group of 71 PLU students and faculty went to Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and Shanghai to play concerts in each city and look at the scenery along the way. If you’d like to know about all the sightseeing I’d be happy to tell you but as this is a music blog, I’m going to keep this post limited to that aspect of the adventure.
As I was anticipating, sharing jazz with unfamiliar listeners was a blast. In Xi’an particularly, the audience went absolutely crazy. Probably the closest I’ll ever be to rock stardom and that’s okay. Despite my varied experience playing music, this is the first sort of tour I’ve gone on and what a first taste! Each facility we played at was different from the next and of course, the best of all was the Great Wall of China. Not only did we play on the 4,000 mile partition, we played during a windstorm of epic proportions. Apparently the ancestors didn’t approve of our modern sounds.
Musically, China is an interesting combination of Eastern and Western styles. This is true for just about everything there but I thought is was interesting hearing Pearl Jam in the hotel gift shop shortly after seeing a Chinese flute/pipe player perform live at a restaurant. Another example of this is the music shop in Shanghai where I purchased my liuqin or Chinese mandolin. One half of the store was filled with guitars and band instruments, the other with gongs, erhus (Chinese violin equivalent) and pipas (Chinese lute equivalent).
I’ve written a few times about the never-ending abyss that is Western music. Popular, classical, and all that fall in to this category make up a more vast set of sounds than we can imagine. But focusing on Western music is often like looking only at the Milky Way instead of the entire universe. There are so many other styles of music, built on entirely different sets of fundamental principles. This is a bit overwhelming and I don’t claim to ever become an expert on any other musical system. Still, it’s important to know what else is out there at the very least.
It would take more than two weeks abroad to really digest anything substantial about the Chinese musical tradition but still, I’m now very interested and hope to spend this summer picking up recordings and teaching myself the liuqin. Speaking of summer, after my month-long hiatus, I plan on writing here with consistency again. Also, I may do some contributions to this sports blog a friend of mine has set up recently.
Lastly, congrats to Luke Freedman on getting the last subheading which was from The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye." Who’s up to the next challenge? And here’s the latest music review. It’s of the New Pornographers Twin Cinema album.
As I was anticipating, sharing jazz with unfamiliar listeners was a blast. In Xi’an particularly, the audience went absolutely crazy. Probably the closest I’ll ever be to rock stardom and that’s okay. Despite my varied experience playing music, this is the first sort of tour I’ve gone on and what a first taste! Each facility we played at was different from the next and of course, the best of all was the Great Wall of China. Not only did we play on the 4,000 mile partition, we played during a windstorm of epic proportions. Apparently the ancestors didn’t approve of our modern sounds.
Musically, China is an interesting combination of Eastern and Western styles. This is true for just about everything there but I thought is was interesting hearing Pearl Jam in the hotel gift shop shortly after seeing a Chinese flute/pipe player perform live at a restaurant. Another example of this is the music shop in Shanghai where I purchased my liuqin or Chinese mandolin. One half of the store was filled with guitars and band instruments, the other with gongs, erhus (Chinese violin equivalent) and pipas (Chinese lute equivalent).
I’ve written a few times about the never-ending abyss that is Western music. Popular, classical, and all that fall in to this category make up a more vast set of sounds than we can imagine. But focusing on Western music is often like looking only at the Milky Way instead of the entire universe. There are so many other styles of music, built on entirely different sets of fundamental principles. This is a bit overwhelming and I don’t claim to ever become an expert on any other musical system. Still, it’s important to know what else is out there at the very least.
It would take more than two weeks abroad to really digest anything substantial about the Chinese musical tradition but still, I’m now very interested and hope to spend this summer picking up recordings and teaching myself the liuqin. Speaking of summer, after my month-long hiatus, I plan on writing here with consistency again. Also, I may do some contributions to this sports blog a friend of mine has set up recently.
Lastly, congrats to Luke Freedman on getting the last subheading which was from The Beatles' "Hello Goodbye." Who’s up to the next challenge? And here’s the latest music review. It’s of the New Pornographers Twin Cinema album.
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