So I was watching VH1 storytellers with John Mayer last night. I Love/Hate John Mayer. He was singing Your Body is a Wonderland, so I quickly changed the channel when he started singing. That is the John Mayer music that I hate, but thats a discussion for a whole other time. He was talking about how he wrote the song, and he compared the process to his first love. He said that when he was writing this song, he tried to compare it to nothing. He wanted the song to stand alone as a piece of art, rather than come at it from a familiar angle. He played the riff over and over for hours so that there was only the riff. It had shed all context except it's inception. It existed only in that creative moment, and held no relationship to any other music. He wrote the song about his first girlfriend, and he also approached the song like he approached that initial relationship. He had no other relationship to compare it to since it was his first, so there was only what they had together.
Now, I don't think that he had really purely shed all musical context, but I really like the idea, and hearing him describe the creative process adds to that part of John Mayer that I love.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Live Music
How can you change how a person hears a song that you are playing live? If you play a song by counting it off and playing it exactly the way that it is on the recording, then the person who is hearing it is still retaining their original perception of that song. When they hear it, they are relating it to all the other times that they heard the song in the past. This can be comfortable and familiar to the listener. It can also be boring and predictable at the same time. Different listeners are going to have different relationships with the same song.
There can, however, be simple and subtle ways to introduce the song in a way that make the song your own without changing the original song too much. One example of this is to use an introduction for the song that leads into the beginning of the song. This uses something that is unfamiliar, yet pleasing, to the listener, to set up a familiar song. If you do it correctly, it can make the listener hear the song in a new way because you added an intro that complimented the song. When the original song drops in or blends in, and the listener recognizes the song, it can create a moment in the listeners musical mind that is exciting. Another subtle way to change a song to make it more interesting is to try not to sing it exactly like the original singer on the recording. Use your own singing voice, and your own genuine emotion to present the song. This can backfire if the listener does not like your interpretation, but it can also make a listener take notice of a song that they may not of taken notice of before. Then, maybe the next time they hear the song on the radio, they will appreciate it more because they relate it to the experience of hearing you do it.
There are also ways to rework a song that are not subtle, but drastic, that can also make the listener take notice. There are lots of examples of this in reggae music. Lots of times, a reggae band will take a song that is rock, doowop, soul, etc... and change the feel of it to a reggae feel. This can be very effective in making the listener hear the song in a different way. Another example would be to blend two song together, or "mashup" two songs. This would be when you find two songs that have similar feels, melodies, or grooves, and essentially playing them at the same time. Maybe singing the verse of one song while playing the groove of another song. There are plenty of ways to do this. Wikipedia gives the following definitions for mashup. "A mashup, bootleg or blend[1] (also mash up and mash-up) is a song or composition created by blending two or more songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the music track of another.[2] To the extent that such works are 'transformative' of original content, they may find protection from copyright claims under the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law.[3]". There is even a video game called "DJ Hero" where you create your own mashup. In doing this, you can present the song in a whole new way, that creates a new context for the song. This can also be exciting for the listener, but it can also, in some listeners musical minds, not be effective at all. It is all subjective.
The most effective way to increase a listeners enjoyment is to have fun, try to make the other musicians have a good time, and make the audience have a good time.
There can, however, be simple and subtle ways to introduce the song in a way that make the song your own without changing the original song too much. One example of this is to use an introduction for the song that leads into the beginning of the song. This uses something that is unfamiliar, yet pleasing, to the listener, to set up a familiar song. If you do it correctly, it can make the listener hear the song in a new way because you added an intro that complimented the song. When the original song drops in or blends in, and the listener recognizes the song, it can create a moment in the listeners musical mind that is exciting. Another subtle way to change a song to make it more interesting is to try not to sing it exactly like the original singer on the recording. Use your own singing voice, and your own genuine emotion to present the song. This can backfire if the listener does not like your interpretation, but it can also make a listener take notice of a song that they may not of taken notice of before. Then, maybe the next time they hear the song on the radio, they will appreciate it more because they relate it to the experience of hearing you do it.
There are also ways to rework a song that are not subtle, but drastic, that can also make the listener take notice. There are lots of examples of this in reggae music. Lots of times, a reggae band will take a song that is rock, doowop, soul, etc... and change the feel of it to a reggae feel. This can be very effective in making the listener hear the song in a different way. Another example would be to blend two song together, or "mashup" two songs. This would be when you find two songs that have similar feels, melodies, or grooves, and essentially playing them at the same time. Maybe singing the verse of one song while playing the groove of another song. There are plenty of ways to do this. Wikipedia gives the following definitions for mashup. "A mashup, bootleg or blend[1] (also mash up and mash-up) is a song or composition created by blending two or more songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the music track of another.[2] To the extent that such works are 'transformative' of original content, they may find protection from copyright claims under the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law.[3]". There is even a video game called "DJ Hero" where you create your own mashup. In doing this, you can present the song in a whole new way, that creates a new context for the song. This can also be exciting for the listener, but it can also, in some listeners musical minds, not be effective at all. It is all subjective.
The most effective way to increase a listeners enjoyment is to have fun, try to make the other musicians have a good time, and make the audience have a good time.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I heard that!
How you perceive, appreciate, like, dislike music can have a lot to do with your initial exposure to that music. How you first heard it. Was it a friend that gave it to you? Did you hear it on the radio? Did you hear the band live? Did you seek it out? Was it requested to you by an internet radio station? It is the original context for your relationship with that song, and can have a great effect on how relate to that song in the future. This especially applies to times when you have never heard the type of music, and you cant immediately relate it to other music that you have heard in the past.
Sometimes, I will hear music that I really like that I found for myself. Then, when I show it to my friends that I listen to music with, their reaction can also have an effect on how I relate to the music. If they say that they like it, it validates my impression of the music. Sometimes I will show music to a friend and they say they don't like it. That makes me question why I liked it, my taste in music, and whether the song is actually good or not. Sometimes, a friend will say that they don't like the music, and it will make me not want to listen to it anymore.
Sometimes, I will hear music that I really like that I found for myself. Then, when I show it to my friends that I listen to music with, their reaction can also have an effect on how I relate to the music. If they say that they like it, it validates my impression of the music. Sometimes I will show music to a friend and they say they don't like it. That makes me question why I liked it, my taste in music, and whether the song is actually good or not. Sometimes, a friend will say that they don't like the music, and it will make me not want to listen to it anymore.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Why do we laugh at music?
Why do we laugh at music? Maybe it's just me. It's not because it's funny. Have you ever been on a roller coaster laughing the whole time? Sometimes I laugh at music like that. When it is so good that I am amazed that I am hearing it, I laugh. Sometimes it's a chuckle, sometimes it's hysterical.
I saw a show recently that made me laugh. It was the band Them Crooked Vultures. It is a group made up of people from different bands, all of which I worship. Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana. As the show started, it was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. The music was energetic, loud and well written. Nobody in the crowd had ever heard the music before since they had not yet released any of it yet. Josh Homme, the front man, even mentioned that he was having a great time playing music for people that they had never heard before. I laughed through the first two songs while jumping up and down, because I new I was in for a treat. By the third song, I just watched with my jaw on the floor as they continued to go above and beyond my expectations.
An interesting side note. I saw a DVD of Radiohead one time where the crowd that they were playing to had not heard the music before. When the band would play a song from an older album, they would cheer loudly before and after the song. There was little response to the songs that they played that were from the album that they hadn't released yet, since no one had heard it before. When they released that album, it ended up being the album that cemented their place as a musical powerhouse. I bet if you went to a Radiohead show today, the crowd would cheer more for the songs of that album more than their previously released stuff.
I saw a show recently that made me laugh. It was the band Them Crooked Vultures. It is a group made up of people from different bands, all of which I worship. Queens of the Stone Age, Led Zeppelin and Nirvana. As the show started, it was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. The music was energetic, loud and well written. Nobody in the crowd had ever heard the music before since they had not yet released any of it yet. Josh Homme, the front man, even mentioned that he was having a great time playing music for people that they had never heard before. I laughed through the first two songs while jumping up and down, because I new I was in for a treat. By the third song, I just watched with my jaw on the floor as they continued to go above and beyond my expectations.
An interesting side note. I saw a DVD of Radiohead one time where the crowd that they were playing to had not heard the music before. When the band would play a song from an older album, they would cheer loudly before and after the song. There was little response to the songs that they played that were from the album that they hadn't released yet, since no one had heard it before. When they released that album, it ended up being the album that cemented their place as a musical powerhouse. I bet if you went to a Radiohead show today, the crowd would cheer more for the songs of that album more than their previously released stuff.
The timeless song...
I'd like to talk about the idea of the Timeless Song. This song could have been the biggest hit of it's time. Played on the radio for years passed it's release date. Heard by each new generation, the song goes through many different contexts for all those who hear it through time. This is the timeless song. A song that is appreciated, understood and relevant forever. It's a great song that transcends its original context.
The Timeless Song could also be a song that was not even heard, or appreciated during its time of release. 100, 200, 5000 years later, the song is listened to. The person who listens to it is intrigued, curious and moved at the same time. The song, although foreign sounding, has some element of familiarity and appeal to that future listener.
Are there songs that you can identify that have these, or similar qualities? I can't. Not off the top of my head. Remind me to tell you about the Timeless Joke sometime. You know, the one that is funny to anyone, anywhere any time in the future or the past.
The Timeless Song is not defined by it's original context. It is able to hold strong and create a place for itself in any context.
What will people think of Madonna in 100, 200 years from now. What about Elvis. No one will remember them. Maybe only a dated picture remains. What then of the music? Removed from its original context, what will be the listeners perception or interpretation of the music. Like it? Dislike it? Understand it? Laugh at it?
I guess it's hard to predict what would be the Timeless Song, but maybe we can identify some from the past. What do you think
The Timeless Song could also be a song that was not even heard, or appreciated during its time of release. 100, 200, 5000 years later, the song is listened to. The person who listens to it is intrigued, curious and moved at the same time. The song, although foreign sounding, has some element of familiarity and appeal to that future listener.
Are there songs that you can identify that have these, or similar qualities? I can't. Not off the top of my head. Remind me to tell you about the Timeless Joke sometime. You know, the one that is funny to anyone, anywhere any time in the future or the past.
The Timeless Song is not defined by it's original context. It is able to hold strong and create a place for itself in any context.
What will people think of Madonna in 100, 200 years from now. What about Elvis. No one will remember them. Maybe only a dated picture remains. What then of the music? Removed from its original context, what will be the listeners perception or interpretation of the music. Like it? Dislike it? Understand it? Laugh at it?
I guess it's hard to predict what would be the Timeless Song, but maybe we can identify some from the past. What do you think
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sometimes, I intentionally lose my CD's...
Sometimes I will intentionally lose my CD's (when I actually bought CD's). I don't mean I would misplace them with the intent of never seeing them again, but rather than obsess over keeping track of them, I would take them everywhere, listen to them all the time, and if they got lost, I didn't really care. Here's why. If it was a CD that I really loved, and I listened to it all the time, it would eventually get put back on the shelf because it got played out. If I listened to it a lot and I lost it at the hieght of my desire to listen to it, the next time I heard it, be it next week or next decade, I would love it just as much, if not more than I had before. There would be more excitement because it would be like finding a long lost friend. It would immediately take me back to when I had it before, and I wouldn't have the memory of losing interest in it.
So I'm not saying lose your CD's, but if you lose one, look at it as an opportunity to find something new. The delayed gratification can be good for you.
This relates to the context of listening to music in that you can manipulate how you enjoy music in the future.
Now that digital music on the computer has almost overtaken CD's, I guess I can update this one. I have had several different itunes library's. Several of them have come with me as I've switched computers, but now Im left with none. It just didn't survive the move. The only thing I have is Them Crooked Vultures. I dont feel the same about losing an entire library as I do about losing a CD. I wish I had every song I ever had on my itunes library's. Then again, I wish I had every song that I ever owned on CD.
So I'm not saying lose your CD's, but if you lose one, look at it as an opportunity to find something new. The delayed gratification can be good for you.
This relates to the context of listening to music in that you can manipulate how you enjoy music in the future.
Now that digital music on the computer has almost overtaken CD's, I guess I can update this one. I have had several different itunes library's. Several of them have come with me as I've switched computers, but now Im left with none. It just didn't survive the move. The only thing I have is Them Crooked Vultures. I dont feel the same about losing an entire library as I do about losing a CD. I wish I had every song I ever had on my itunes library's. Then again, I wish I had every song that I ever owned on CD.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Where you from?
I always wondered what I, as an American, sounded like to someone from England. I mean, I know what they sound like to me, and it's different, but what do I sound like to them? I mean, I am speaking their freaking language. On the same token, when I hear someone speaking Spanish, they all sound the same to me. However, someone who speaks Spanish, and is from a Spanish speaking country, when they hear Spanish, they hear it for what country it comes from. Can't the context that you hear music in apply to your nationality and culture. This is probably the place that meaning applies most to music. When it is engrained in you culture, you derive great meaning and familiarity, where as if someone hears it who is from a different country, they are not going to get any of the same feelings that the music envokes in you. To them, it is music that is from your country, and to you, it is just music.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Cool as Ice...
Now here's another memory from my earlier childhood. It was around Second Grade. At 7 years old I had only heard about CD's, but did not know anyone who had a CD player. I was spending the night at my friends house. I remember I was on the top bunk of the bunkbed when his brother walked in. He had something that I had never seen before. It was a yellow portable tape deck. He called it a walkman, and he gave me the headphones. As I put them on, he handed me the case for the tape. On the cover was a rapper named Vanilla Ice. He was wearing shiny clothes, he had slicked back hair that I thought was cut like Vaughn from "Major League". The single that was playing was "Ice Ice Baby". It was the first time I had ever enjoyed music on that level. I loved it. It was one of the first times I had heard a music that I considered to be my own, and not someone else's. When I saw the video later, I was even more intrigued. He could dance, he looked cool and all my friends liked him. He got a great deal of exposure, even being mocked on a popular sletch comedy show In Living Color by a young Jim Carrey. After a while, the hype went away, and the song went away as well. After a few years, Ice's style, and that of other contemporary artists like MC Hammer, had become a joke. To this day, still have a neon colored Vanilla Ice shirt that I got from a thrift store. I wear it as a joke, and every time I wear it, I get plenty of comments and people often try to buy it from me.
Probably about 1998, about 8years after the song came out, I heard the song again. You know, that moment that defines that songs place your musical mind for perhaps the rest of your life. Until this point, I had fond memories about the song, even though I still considered him a joke. The song was horrible. The beat, the rapping, the DJ all turned me off. Since that day, I have negative feelings about the song altogether, except as a joke.
The relavence I find in this experience and the one from yesterday, is that that these are my enterpretations of these songs and artists. The context that I heard these songs in defines my perception of the music. That perception can and will change over time. These experiences can be, and probably are different from everyone else's perception of the song. Maybe it is also very similar to others experience and relationship with that music. I find profound relavence to the current music market as well as future markets in how the context that we hear music in defines our perception of that music. I will leave you with that.
later,
-S
Probably about 1998, about 8years after the song came out, I heard the song again. You know, that moment that defines that songs place your musical mind for perhaps the rest of your life. Until this point, I had fond memories about the song, even though I still considered him a joke. The song was horrible. The beat, the rapping, the DJ all turned me off. Since that day, I have negative feelings about the song altogether, except as a joke.
The relavence I find in this experience and the one from yesterday, is that that these are my enterpretations of these songs and artists. The context that I heard these songs in defines my perception of the music. That perception can and will change over time. These experiences can be, and probably are different from everyone else's perception of the song. Maybe it is also very similar to others experience and relationship with that music. I find profound relavence to the current music market as well as future markets in how the context that we hear music in defines our perception of that music. I will leave you with that.
later,
-S
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Got that new new Outkast, aint even came out yet!
So I guess I'll start by giving some examples from my own experience.
Around the time I was in High School, and early college, I and many of my peers were infatuated by a Outkast, an Atlanta based hip hop group. They broke on the scene with their debut album, and knocked it out of the park with their follow up release. As more albums came out, they became more and more popular. When a new single would come out, I would about it first. Then, speaking from experience, we would sit in our car, listening for the song all day. I was seldom dissapointed when I heard it. In college, I started to be able to download well before they were released. I would listen to them quite a bit. After a couple of weeks, the song would catch on with the general public, and I would hear more and more people singing the song, and playing the song. There would be a growing number of people playing the song that I thought were not very cool. This made me not want to be so enthusiastic about displaying that I really liked the song. After a couple of months, the song was on the radio every hour on the hour, blaring from passing cars. Eventually I started skipping the track on the album altogether. I would still be listening to the rest of the album religously.
Fastforward.
The track has been off the radio for quite some time. I have skipped the track every time it came on my CD player. For the most part, I, and most of the people around me had ignored the song, and then...THE MOMENT HAPPENS. The defining moment for this songs place in my musical mind perhaps for the rest of my life.
I heard the song again.
It could be anywhere. At home, at a party, in the car, at a friends house, at the lakehouse, on a mix tape...The songs plays and I decice then and there that the Outkast song that I loved and shortly therafter ignored, was actually s tremendously great song. A classic. After hearing it again, I stopped skipping it on the CD, and I embrace it just like I did when I first heard it.
Just a side note is that this did not necessarily with every Outkast song that became hugely popular, but who knows, maybe I'll come around on "Hey Ya".
I haven't listened to any music yet today, but the song I have in my head is Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. This song makes me think of High School when I started listening to a lot of classic rock. That was a turning point for the direction that I took in playing my own instrument. Not necessarily just that song, but others by Zeppelin and other contemporary artists. I also think of when Puff Daddy remixed the song. What was that all about? It was so bad that it made me like the original song so much more.
later
-S
Around the time I was in High School, and early college, I and many of my peers were infatuated by a Outkast, an Atlanta based hip hop group. They broke on the scene with their debut album, and knocked it out of the park with their follow up release. As more albums came out, they became more and more popular. When a new single would come out, I would about it first. Then, speaking from experience, we would sit in our car, listening for the song all day. I was seldom dissapointed when I heard it. In college, I started to be able to download well before they were released. I would listen to them quite a bit. After a couple of weeks, the song would catch on with the general public, and I would hear more and more people singing the song, and playing the song. There would be a growing number of people playing the song that I thought were not very cool. This made me not want to be so enthusiastic about displaying that I really liked the song. After a couple of months, the song was on the radio every hour on the hour, blaring from passing cars. Eventually I started skipping the track on the album altogether. I would still be listening to the rest of the album religously.
Fastforward.
The track has been off the radio for quite some time. I have skipped the track every time it came on my CD player. For the most part, I, and most of the people around me had ignored the song, and then...THE MOMENT HAPPENS. The defining moment for this songs place in my musical mind perhaps for the rest of my life.
I heard the song again.
It could be anywhere. At home, at a party, in the car, at a friends house, at the lakehouse, on a mix tape...The songs plays and I decice then and there that the Outkast song that I loved and shortly therafter ignored, was actually s tremendously great song. A classic. After hearing it again, I stopped skipping it on the CD, and I embrace it just like I did when I first heard it.
Just a side note is that this did not necessarily with every Outkast song that became hugely popular, but who knows, maybe I'll come around on "Hey Ya".
I haven't listened to any music yet today, but the song I have in my head is Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. This song makes me think of High School when I started listening to a lot of classic rock. That was a turning point for the direction that I took in playing my own instrument. Not necessarily just that song, but others by Zeppelin and other contemporary artists. I also think of when Puff Daddy remixed the song. What was that all about? It was so bad that it made me like the original song so much more.
later
-S
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A new way of hearing music
Hello all,
Think of your favorite song. When did you first hear it? Where were you? What were you listening to it on? The radio? CD Player? Record? The internet? What was going on in your life when you heard it? Were you studying for a test in college? Was it something that you listened to while you were sick in the hospital?
All of these things contribute to the context that you know the music in, and the relationship that you have with that music. For someone else, that same song might have a completely different context, leading them to have a different relationship with that music. Everyone perception of music is different, and it all has to do with the context that you listen or listened to the music in.
My name is Stephen, and I am a musician and music fan for life. This has been a recurring theme that has come up in many different ways as I contemplate our musical world. I am starting this as a forum to let these thoughts extend past my own mind, and for you to read, contemplate, and respond if you would like.
I am listening to House of Cards by Radiohead right now on an internet radio station. It makes me think of being in my best friend from college's room, and also riding in the passenger seat of my girlfriends car when we first started dating. These are both great thoughts. I enjoy the thoughts more than the actual music.
Later
-S
Think of your favorite song. When did you first hear it? Where were you? What were you listening to it on? The radio? CD Player? Record? The internet? What was going on in your life when you heard it? Were you studying for a test in college? Was it something that you listened to while you were sick in the hospital?
All of these things contribute to the context that you know the music in, and the relationship that you have with that music. For someone else, that same song might have a completely different context, leading them to have a different relationship with that music. Everyone perception of music is different, and it all has to do with the context that you listen or listened to the music in.
My name is Stephen, and I am a musician and music fan for life. This has been a recurring theme that has come up in many different ways as I contemplate our musical world. I am starting this as a forum to let these thoughts extend past my own mind, and for you to read, contemplate, and respond if you would like.
I am listening to House of Cards by Radiohead right now on an internet radio station. It makes me think of being in my best friend from college's room, and also riding in the passenger seat of my girlfriends car when we first started dating. These are both great thoughts. I enjoy the thoughts more than the actual music.
Later
-S
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