Well hello, all.
So–I’ve been kicking around a few ideas for blog posts lately and absolutely none of them will effing cohere, so…today is a grab-bag! Just some brief things I’ve been paying attention to lately, some songs, some quotes, more songs…I would feel bad about not presenting a complete idea except this blog is subtitled “the intersection of all good things,” so I’m allowing myself to feel justified. 🙂
First up: heard a report on NPR the other day about pop songs that sound like other pop songs, that borrow from familiar tropes in older (or even not-so-old) songs that we recognize pretty easily. Great example is the new Fall Out Boy single, “Centuries,” which heavily features Suzanne Vega’s 1981 “Tom’s Diner.” Now, I have a weird relationship with “Tom’s Diner,” in that sometimes I hate it and sometimes I think it’s not obnoxious, but it is very interesting to see songs like this so blatantly sampled recently. (Pit Bull and Christina Aguilera did this with Aha’s “Take on Me” in their single “Feel this Moment,” but I’m not gonna post that one because I love “Take on Me” too much.
Here’s the Fall Out Boy/Vega juxtaposition:
But what this really reminded me of is the problem I’ve been having with a track off of Beck’s new album, Morning Phase. (Which, by the way, is amazing. Seriously. Get it). I fell in love with “Wave”, not the least because it is an incredibly evocative song, but because it’s an addictive listening experience; it reminds me of so many things I cannot place. I know it reminds me of at least 2 pieces of classical music, and at least 2 film scores, and a couple other things too. So with the help of a friend who’s better at this than I am, we came up with a couple candidates to try and ease our minds.
(Cause seriously, is there anything worse than when a sound or smell reminds you of something and you can’t remember what?)
Here’s the Beck:
Here’s the first piece it reminded me of (particularly in terms of mood and opening melody):
And here’s the second, which may seem more on-point than the Hindemith (not my realization! Totally had help on this one):
And also this soundtrack (particularly around the 3:00 mark):
So…anyone else hear something?? Want to help me work this shit out? Cause yes, it is still driving me crazy.
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Okay, Part 2!
I’ve been thinking a lot about minimalism in non-classical music.
Or…maybe not minimalism, but the kind of music that inspires in the listener the same reaction that minimalism inspires. I recently read an article from I Care if You Listen (a great blog, btw) on minimalism, called Minimalism is Boring (and that’s OK). The argument boils down to this quote, essentially:
minimalist music has helped me to live in the present. By nature, I tend to be rather future-oriented. I see the end goals of a project, I constantly anticipate pitfalls, and when I find spare moments to let my mind wander, it is almost always to an imagined future. But minimalism doesn’t allow for that. For a variety of reasons, minimalist music creates a temporality that denies the past and future in favor of what some have described as an “eternal present.” Memory and expectation are irrelevant; it is only the moment which is important.
I myself love minimalist music. I find it unchains my brain, allows for a longer “field of vision,” if that makes sense, unhooks me from temporal restraints. I don’t feel the press of time in the way I normally do.
That said: sometimes, I find myself wishing that minimalist music weren’t being played by traditionally classical instruments. Perhaps I’m too well-trained to expect a certain emotional response from, say, a resonant violin, a virtuosic pianist. And so I get very excited when non-classical musicians craft a sound that provokes the same “settling in” that minimalism provides me. Following are some of my favorite artists who do that.
First up, naturally, Sigur Ros:
The excellent Explosions in the Sky:
Arcade Fire, who I don’t normally love, did an insane soundtrack for Her:
I hope that gives folks a jumping-off point for investigating some less “goal-oriented” music…if anyone has suggestions or things I have to hear, please let me know! I always love exploring. 😉
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A brief non sequitur.
I re-read this David Foster Wallace quote about once a month. Thought I’d post it just in cause somebody else needed to read it too.
If you spend enough time reading or writing, you find a voice, but you also find certain tastes. You find certain writers who when they write, it makes your own brain voice like a tuning fork, and you just resonate with them. And when that happens, reading those writers–not all of whom are modern…I mean, if you are willing to make allowances for the way English has changed, you can go way, way back with this–becomes a source of unbelievable joy. It’s like eating candy for the soul. So probably the smart thing to say is that lucky people develop a relationship with a certain kind of art that becomes spiritual, almost religious, and doesn’t mean, you know, church stuff, but it means you’re just never the same.” –David Foster Wallace, Quack this Way, 2006
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And finally, this interesting (I hope) juxtaposition. (which may or may not tie this mess of a post back to the beginning). 🙂
First, Barbara Muller sings the traditional version of “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.” It’s gorgeous.
And then Led Zeppelin takes the same thing and just—-shreds it. It’s equally effing gorgeous.
Hope you all are weathering the snow and the wind with grace and good cheer. (HA!) As always–if you have any art, music, books I need to check out, let me know!
Cheers,
B
Ampersand 