I am continually torn by musicians of today. On one hand I’m in awe of their talent (songwriting, musicianship, originality, creativity, confidence, etc…) yet on the other hand I see a lot of bands/solo artists that completely suck! Sure it’s subjective but I mean… THESE PEOPLE REALLY SUCK! What are they doing on HDTV Music Shows? One of the channels has a hour-long show called “City Sessions” where they go to a large metropolitan city (there’s even some in Texas…well, just Austin) and record new artists in the community. These musicians/songwriters are given the ultimate stage-an interview and the opportunity to play three or four songs. I’ve seen about 5 of these shows AND THEY ALL SUCK! The music is anything but inspiring, well, actually it is inspiring because it validates the songs I’ve written and recorded. Maybe my songs aren’t that bad?
I hate to sound like a music snob but I guess it’s time to admit it. Or perhaps I’m being completely accurate about this opinion of music today. It seems you have to weed through so much crap that the primo 10% of music out there that my ears really want to hear doesn’t reach its destination. With 500,000 bands out there on myspace and another 1,000 mp3 blog websites which reviews all these bands, who can weed through it all? There was a time in my life when all my friends used to exchange bands they’ve found to “rock” but those times are gone. It was cool because it also had a social aspect to it, friends would sit around and listen to new music together. It was somewhat difficult however, when things would get personal but at the same time I wouldn’t have half my collection if it weren’t for my friends.
There are some bands/solo artists I have found recently to be worthy of attention:
Andrew Byrd
Gravenhurst
M Ward
Sufjan Stevens
Phosphorescent
Great Lake Swimmers
So with all that said and the fact that I’ve been writing and recording songs by myself and with friends, the question of its validity continually comes to the surface. It’s hard to be objective and there’s nothing more annoying than someone confident yet sucking. I guess the only option is to continue writing and recording and keeping it to myself. What is amazing is how I need to have a project/goal in mind in order to write music. I haven’t written a lick since Laura’s B-Day CD. I seem to need some sort of direction before doing anything. Also, it’s probably some form burn-out that I’m going through.
I hate to sound like a music snob but I guess it’s time to admit it. Or perhaps I’m being completely accurate about this opinion of music today. It seems you have to weed through so much crap that the primo 10% of music out there that my ears really want to hear doesn’t reach its destination. With 500,000 bands out there on myspace and another 1,000 mp3 blog websites which reviews all these bands, who can weed through it all? There was a time in my life when all my friends used to exchange bands they’ve found to “rock” but those times are gone. It was cool because it also had a social aspect to it, friends would sit around and listen to new music together. It was somewhat difficult however, when things would get personal but at the same time I wouldn’t have half my collection if it weren’t for my friends.
There are some bands/solo artists I have found recently to be worthy of attention:
Andrew Byrd
Gravenhurst
M Ward
Sufjan Stevens
Phosphorescent
Great Lake Swimmers
So with all that said and the fact that I’ve been writing and recording songs by myself and with friends, the question of its validity continually comes to the surface. It’s hard to be objective and there’s nothing more annoying than someone confident yet sucking. I guess the only option is to continue writing and recording and keeping it to myself. What is amazing is how I need to have a project/goal in mind in order to write music. I haven’t written a lick since Laura’s B-Day CD. I seem to need some sort of direction before doing anything. Also, it’s probably some form burn-out that I’m going through.
While listening to a couple of "Indiepop" bands, I came across a couple of interesting observations...the charm that a vocal duet brings can be dependent on a variety of things-of them, melody, pitch, harmony, and coordination are a few of the more basic aspects, but one that continues to be constantly dismissed by musicians and critics alike is the chemistry between the two respective vocalists. Indiepop has been a recent style where this vocal technique has flourished abundantly, with all of the genre’s subtleties and charms most often steered toward the most melodic components at work. Much like the forms of soul, R&B, and doo-wop that ushered in the style as a more full-fledged form in the ’50s, artists continue to show no hesitation toward simultaneously sharing vocal cues. The conventional instrumental focus found in the majority of Indiepop makes these vocal presentations a commonplace source for hooks, with even minimalist instrumental structures reaping benefits from doubly effective vocal deliveries. Now, I've never been known for any good harmonies on my end, my focus is usually the melody and how the music fits around it. But I'm still discovering this notion of dual vocals providing a mood of sorts. One song of ours that comes to mind is a song called "Trash Truck", there the dual vocals were recorded at two different times with two different people not working together (intentionally) but rather coincidentally coming up with a harmony style I wasn't expecting to hear. It was gratifying to hear these types of unplanned anomalies occur on one of our songs and I must admit very well sounding. Now I don't know how far to take the notion of chemistry between two singers in this example I'm citing but I do hear it more and more where two people are in unison as far as their attempt to capture a mood, emotion, etc...
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