I love pop music. Britney’s new album, “Circus” is actually pretty darn good. All things considered. The songs are well written for her, which is 90% of it. Catchy hooks and edgy production!
There’s one interesting song called “If U Seek Amy.” I was listening intently to the lyrics trying to figure out who this “Amy” person was, or if it was a euphemism for something else… Well upon closer inspection (and a little googling, the answer was found. “If U Seek Amy” when sung, sounds an awful lot like “F. U. C. K. Me”! After the feeling of being completely duped, it sank in - how brilliant! As offensive as the actual phrase is, the song has no implications that it’s about anything other than a night out on the town. Brilliant! I wish I had thought of it.
In this day where we’re constantly seeking for the next novelty on the radio waves, songs like “I Kissed a Girl” and “U + Ur Hand” color us that addicting shade of blush. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s certainly what we want. “If U Seek Amy” is the next adventure in taboo and loopholes. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
I was just recently turned on to a service called Simplify Media. It’s a FREE plug-in for iTunes. Basically it’s this: You install it, and send a ‘friend request’ to someone and then you can see and listen to (not take) any song in their library! I’m connected to a couple friends on this thing and I love it. I can see their music and they can see mine. And it informs me what they’re listening to as well. I encourage all of you to install it and invite me. I’m username: LETTHEAD.
Simplify Media
It looks like this on my desktop… Look how many songs I have access to!!
P.S. It doesn’t slow your computer or internet down at ALL (except for a few minutes after you install it) and you don’t even have to have iTunes open for it to run. Sweet.
This morning in the car I had the desire to hear one very specific song. The Super Mario World Theme song. Yes, I have it on my iPod. Don’t judge me.
Pictured here is Koji Kondo, the mastermind behind all the Super Mario themes, among others. He’s a genius! To compose melodies that blend elements of pretty much all cultures and have it stand the test of time and age. Honestly, this music is incredible. It’s lasted how many years? And everyone knows it or will at least recognize it. AND it can be redone one of a thousand ways… Speaking of geniuses…
I was jogging yesterday and a song by John Reuben came on called “Thank You.” I’ve had this song on my iPod for years but for some reason, this time, I listened more intently to the lyrics. This line stood out:
“I really know there’s nothing new under the sun, but yet I want to do it like it’s never been done.”
It started my mind spinning… There are only 4 colors, 7 notes, 10 digits, 3 dimensions, 26 letters… What limitations! As creative people, we are challenged with finding new ways to create within these limitations. How can we “push the envelope” or “think outside the box” when our limits are are so defined? We struggle to find originality within ourselves and so often is the outcome tainted by our knowledge of the already-created. Sometimes I feel like originality is the art of camouflaging someone else’s idea; Taking what already exists and twisting it beyond recognition. Is this a form of originality?
Last night’s American Idol featured songs from the Lennon-McCartney songbook. These former Beatles are praised so highly for their contribution to music and songwriting. Of course, their songs have lasted decades and will probably continue to stand the test of time. That said, what is it that makes their compositions so steadfast? They were also confined to the “7 notes” limit. (7 notes and 5 semi-tones). That magic combination of wordplay and melodic surprise, conjuring emotion and provoking imagination.
So that’s the secret - using the knowledge of our limitations to our advantage. Knowing that we have 7 notes, one language and 3.5 minutes to make a smash hit… 4 colors and a square canvas to make a masterpiece… 10 digits and 26 letters to assign a unique license plate! In all aspects of our daily lives, we are called to be unique; to stand out. Our employers value it in us, and our employees rely on it. For some, it comes naturally. For many others, it’s a constant battle. Humans have been making music, painting, creating languages for thousands of years. Will we eventually arrive at a point where it’s all been done? Will there ever come a day where originality becomes synonymous with reinvention? I guess the next question is… is that such a bad thing?
I absolutely love my job (if you could even call it that!). I look forward to stepping into this studio and cranking up the equipment and just being creative. Whether it be all by myself or with a group of 20 people, the process of creating music gives me an indescribable rush.
I’m often amazed at how intimidated some people are by this place. Not just the complicated equipment, but by the prcoess of creating a song itself. Some people are under the impression that if they don’t have a band, or a chord chart, or an ability to play an instrument, they can’t record. Of course they can! In fact, most people come in here with nothing but a melody in their head. It’s my job to translate their vision into a recording. The process is a blast for all involved.
I bet there are a lot of people out there who never end up recording because they never feel like they’re “ready.” I hope some of them are reading this!
“Teaches us the art of forming concords, so as to compose delightful harmony, by a mathematical and proportional arrangement of acute, grave and mixed sounds. This art by a series of experiments, is reduced to a demonstrative science, with respect to tones and intervals of sound. It inquires into the nature of concords, discords, and enables us to find out the proportion between them by numbers.”
- from Lightfoot’s Manual of the Lodge (Texas), 1934
It’s a cold and gloomy January morning and I’m sitting alone in my office in the quiet. Only the gentle drone of the refrigerator in the kitchen, and the soothing blow of the heater coming from above. Why is this so calming?
Running a recording studio, it only makes sense that I listen to music all day long. Whether it be creating it, editing it, or simply admiring it, I’m constantly bombarding myself with a steady stream of noise. In the background while I’m checking my email, in the car on the way home - it’s everywhere. Lately, I’ve been seeking more ‘peaceful’ music to surround myself with when i’m not working. Things like tradtional Chinese instrumental pieces and Portuguese Fado. While I’ve discovered some hidden treasures in Earth’s musical history there, it hasn’t fulfilled my need to hear something genuinely tranquil. There are times where I’ll take an entire 30 minute trip home and not listen to more than 10 seconds of any song. You’d think that with an iPod full of every type of music you can think of, I’d be able to find something to listen to! What do I do when I find myself in this position? Turn it off.
Have you ever wonrdered what the universe sounds like? What does the Sun sound like? Does it make noise at all? We consider the universe as a grab bag of whirling dirvishes of sizes beyond our comprehension, pulsing to a cosmic rhythm. If we were to stand in front of a collapsing star, what would it sound like? Would it be deafening? Or eerily noiseless. I’ve always heard that sound doesn’t travel in space. Since sound is a mechanical energy, it needs a medium to travel. And since space is a vacuum, imagine how quiet it is. We have become accustomed to the low frequncy buzz of computers and cars, passing trains and low flying planes. We attempt to counteract this by investing in water features, wind chimes and zen-centric soundtracks; only to add to the unnecessary decibel blitz.
Silence can be more powerful and cleansing than any form of music. It’s a wonderful “reboot” for the parts of our brain devoted to auditory processing. It’s certainly something my soul has been longing for. To turn off the noise, to stop and just exist in complete silence. It’s amazing what you’ll hear.
In an effort to make it seem like I’ve had this blog for more than thirty minutes, I’d like to comment on something that’s been bothering me: Country Music.
Now, it’s not that I don’t like Country Music on the whole, it’s mainly the fact that the industry has become a homogeneous bowl of semi-talened pretty people and mediocre songwriting. To the untrained ear, or at least to the apathetic one, the songs are poignant masterpieces each with their own attitude or moral story in their own self-contained package.
Usually the artist is singing out how much the either love or miss something. Whether it’s a girl/boy (or body part thereof), a bar or a car. It’s usually a self-loathing or self-aggrandizing rant to an obnoxious melody with oddly rich harmonies. A steel guitar is a must, with a side of fiddle perhaps. Peppered with occasional homophobic imagery, the hyper-masculine and ultra-feminie roles are skewed even farther to their respective right. Give me a break!
Not to mention the unholy “twang” that Country singers possess. You don’t talk like that, so don’t sing like it. If there’s anything more annoying than a whiny high-pitched singer, it’s a whiny high-pitched singer singing about booze. We know you love booze. Drinking is fun. Alcohol is great. I’ll leave it to the Country singers to express more forms of this popular credo.
Call me old fashioned, but give me a heavy kick, some scantily clad gender ambiguous hottie prancing around to a computer generated melody. Throw in some back up dancers and a subject matter that is sure to confuse the masses into buying whatever product this artist chooses to endorse, THEN we’ll talk.
What happened to music with character? What happened to music that could stand on its own? The Pop Music industry somehow hits the proverbial nail on the head more often than not when releasing a single. Usually it’s so obnoxious - it’s catchy!
I look forward to the day when “Country Music” devolves into a “Time Machine”-like dilemma. Where the men are masculine beyond reason and the women are too feminine to function and the men come out at night to feed on the poor young Country stars. They’ll choke on their fiddles and their steel guitars. Maybe then I’ll actually enjoy watching CMT.
