2006-03-31
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Music lover?
Are you afraid of music? I�ve been thinking a lot about music lately, which will come as no surprise to those of you who know me. Actually, I think what started this entire cacophonous cognitive cascade (nice alliteration, eh?) was a post by one of my favorite bloggers, golfwidow. She wrote an entry called �What Would Be on Your Embarrassing Mix Tape?� (near the bottom) and I�ve been vowing to do something like it ever since. What struck me in particular is how some people will hide the fact that they used to like (and secretly still do) bands like The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Abba, Quiet Riot, Ambrosia, or whoever. It�s as if admitting that they like this music as a child and used to shamelessly sing along would have some feminizing effect on men and some social retardation effect on women. It�s not cool music, therefore you�re not cool. My daughter is DISGUSTED with the fact that she used to like Brittany Spears and N�SYNC. Why? Well, most likely because her friends are past that stage now and listening to the gloomy open-your-veins music that�s so popular in the neo-gothic high school crowd. Why neo? Because we did it first, baby, in the 80�s. Mostly after the dayglow-and-legwarmers phase, though some were slowly mutating it from the 70�s punk scene where it originated. So what�s the big deal? Why is it that even adults are like this? Are we such a shallow people that we�ll look down our nose on someone for their taste in music? Answer: Yes. This is yet another way that humans are just stupid animals. That is, we all still have the herd mentality, and musical genres have been the source of friendships, romantic involvements, parties, etc. If you like what I like, we�ll get along just fine. Don�t believe me? My ex and I, who used to work together, started dating because we were both ELP, Yes, and Black Sabbath freaks. I�m serious, that�s how the relationship started. She was living with me within a few weeks and we bought a house together 4 or 5 months later. She was also a Beatles fanatic. I don�t really give a shit about the Beatles, so we broke up. I made up that last part, that�s not why we broke up. I don�t think. I have about 1600 CDs in my collection, and I really do like it all. Some of it I really love and can�t get enough of, some of it I have to be in the mood for. I�ll pull out a CD that I haven�t listened to in 3 years and rediscover it. I�ll think to myself: �Wow. I forgot how great this cd/band/song is!� My taste in music runs from ABBA to Frank Zappa, and everywhere in between. Regardless of the genre, what I look for in music is something that makes me feel. Music affects me personally, and if it makes me tap my feet or hands (not hard, since I�m a drummer), holds my attention because of really talented musicians, has that one note or bridge that takes me to another place, or even has a catchy sing-along chorus that hooks me, there�s a good chance that I�ll like it. No, I don�t have any Britany Spears recordings. I may have a different take on music than some, since I play several instruments and write poetry/lyrics, but it also maybe that I just love music so much that I don�t see it as black and white as some. There is very much an absolute when it comes to music. You�ll hear people say that they don�t like Country, don�t like Hip Hop, don�t like Hard Rock, etc. It�s these absolutes that make it the black and white that I was referring to either. Now don�t get me wrong, I�m no all-loving music Buddha. In fact, there are plenty of genres that I�ve never been able to get into. In case you didn�t hate me enough already, here is my list of shitty music: 1. Reggae. Reggae sucks hind tit so hard that it turned the poor beast inside out. It all has the same beat, it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive it�s so repetitive that I feel like my ears are having a seizure, and there�s no redeeming quality to the lyrics. Many, many Bob Marleyfarians have tried to tell me that he�s the very best songwriter, blah, blah, blah. I don�t see it. The stoners:
�Yeah, but that song�s about African-Americans who fought in the civil war, man!� *holding breath, coughing* Me: �Ok, let me get this straight �buffalo soldier, dreadlock rasta� is a tribute/biting commentary to/about the ex-slave soldiers?� As far as the repetitive nature, I�ll pick 3 songs from his Exodus album: The Heathen: De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall! Rise up fallen fighters;
Rise and take your stance again.
'Tis he who fight and run away
Live to fight another day.
With de heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall! As a man sow, shall he reap
And I know that talk is cheap.
But the hotter the battle
A the sweeter Jah victory.
With de heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
---
/Guitar solo/
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
---
Rise up, fallen fighters:
Rise and take your stance again.
'Tis he who fight and run away
Live to fight another day.
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall! The last half of the title track: Exodus, all right! Movement of Jah people!
Exodus: movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Jah come to break downpression,
Rule equality,
Wipe away transgression,
Set the captives free. Exodus, all right, all right!
Movement of Jah people! Oh, yeah!
Exodus: movement of Jah people! Oh, now, now, now, now!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Uh-uh-uh-uh!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)! Movement of Jah people!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Move(ment of Jah people)!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people!
Movement of Jah people! And the last half of the ever popular, Jammin� Yeah, we're - we're jammin' (wotcha-wa),
Wotcha-wa-wa-wa, we're jammin' (wotcha-wa),
See, I wanna jam it wid you
We're jammin' (jammin', jammin', jammin')
I'm jammed: I hope you're jammin', too. Jam's about my pride and truth I cannot hide
To keep you satisfied.
True love that now exist is the love I can't resist,
So jam by my side. We're Jammin' (jammin', jammin', jammin'), yeah-eah-eah!
I wanna jam it wid you.
We're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin',
We're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin', we're jammin';
Hope you like jammin', too.
We're jammin', we're jammin' (jammin'),
We're jammin', we're jammin' (jammin').
I wanna (I wanna jam it wid you) - I wanna -
I wanna jam wid you now.
Jammin', jammin' (hope you like jammin' too).
Eh-eh! I hope you like jammin', I hope you like jammin',
'Cause (I wanna jam it wid you). I wanna ... wid you.
I like - I hope you - I hope you like jammin', too.
I wanna jam it;
I wanna jam it. Jesus fucking christ, it�s like jammin�, jammin�, jammin� a screwdriver in my ear. 2. I don�t like most �modern� country. Especially when there�s a guy singing. It�s the deliberate twang that they put into their voice. *shudder*. Again, it�s the repetition too.
3. A lot of the heavy music these days is more than I can handle. Why? Is it too heavy for my old and pussified ears? No. I don�t like it because�well�because it�s shit, pure and simple. It�s a speed contest for the musicians and a screaming contest for the �singers�. Does it have any redeeming value in lyrical quality? Honestly, I don�t really know. I can�t make out anything through the RAHHHHHHHRRRRGGHH RRAAHH RRAAHH RRAAHH. Maybe the singers all have some secret desire to be cheerleaders and couldn�t make the cut. That would piss me off too, I suppose.
4. Old punk. You know the whole Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten stuff? I never liked it. Many argue that its lack of production and minimalist arrangement made it good. I don�t see it. I like talent. Another reason I hate the White Stripes. Blech. Well that should get enough hate mail for now, so maybe I�ll revisit this topic later.
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