First of all - 2 in a row! Putting Blogger on my bookmark bar was the best idea I've had in a while.
Second - this is not going to be about Christmas. Sorry for those of you whose dreams I just crushed (although it's freaking October. Enjoy the current season, why don't ya?)
Third, and most importantly - I want to share my love with the world.
I was listening to recordings of different settings of Ubi Caritas for my EE, when I came across a Youtube comment on one of them. The person had mistook the version I was listening to (by Durufle) for the one performed at the royal wedding (by Mealor). It had never occurred to me that the difference wouldn't be obvious. In my mind and to my ear, the two pieces are profoundly different. It's moments like these that make me wonder, though. I have no idea what and how people hear different things. If people don't like choral music (or any genre, for that matter) that's fine. I just don't think it's fair to judge music unless you truly know how to listen to it. I don't really like country, but working in a saloon-themed bar at the fair gave me new memories to go with it and a new appreciation for the music (as it was the only thing to listen to). That fair experience also made me hate a lot of pop music, as the Stratosphere ride blasted it at ungodly volumes less than 100 feet away from my kitchen. I was never a fan of rap (no pitches) until listening to Christian rap artist Agape at the Lutheran National Youth Gathering in New Orleans this past summer. This, combined with my many percussionist friends, led me to develop a new appreciation for rap. The often intricate rhythms, flowing lyrics, and intense vocal control needed are insane. Likewise, I feel there must be a key to open one's mind to choral and classical music. I don't know what that is, but I'll make it my quest to find it.
At the same time, I realize that I may be a...special case. I don't usually like loud things and high-intensity/stress environments. It physically hurts and drains me. I draw my energy from calm, quiet, and often secluded places (thus classifying me by some definitions as an introvert). I've always been sensitive to noise and volume. I developed perfect pitch somehow (maybe I was born with it, maybe not). I love birds for many reasons, and listen to the noises and calls they make. I like listening to what people have to say much more than I enjoy reading it - hearing the words they speak helps me to better understand what they're saying. I guess I'm just in tune with sound. With my senses of sight, taste, and smell dulled by the wonders of the gene pool, it makes sense that my sense of hearing would be better. But I don't always like it. I can't share it in a way that can help others hear what I hear. I wish I could.
This long ramble leads me to some questions:
1. What is your strongest sense?
2. How do you hear? (answer in any way you like)
3. What is your favorite/least favorite genre of music, and why?
4. Where do you get your energy? (I want to talk about this one later, so give me good stuff to use)
Hopefully this whole blogging thing takes deeper root in my already crowded mind. If I don't blog for a while, remind me to. My grade could use the boost, I'm sure.
First of all, me gusta este blog-post.
ReplyDelete1. I want to say hearing but I think that scent plays a definite role in my life. Not only does it tie in with taste (tied for second with hearing) but it is also very nostalgic for me. I think some scents that some people find offensive are pleasing, like chlorine. It also can affect my attitude toward a place, especially if it smells like garbage.
2. I don't know how I hear in comparison to other people. It's not as clearly documented as eyesight. I end up hearing the voices/noises/music in my head rather than what people are actually saying, I suppose is WHAT I hear.
4. I get my energy off of being relaxed and having effective, if brief, time to sleep. I like to be able to not think about school or college for just a couple hours on a weekend, although too much indulgence will leave me in a senior slump.
And my answer to number 3 is so long the computer is forcing me to put it in fragments so here goes...
3. Here it is:
ReplyDeleteI can't decide. Jazz is cool, but freeform is not catchy and big band is too cheesy. Fusion jazz is kind of cool (or Kind of Blue*) but you never really hear it on any radio station.
Classical (including baroque, romantic, and contemporary concert) is impressive at times but not fun for leisurely listening.
Oldies rock'n'roll (like Elvis) I don't overly like, because just like all pop, the lyrical themes aren't very interesting and are usually pretty lame (flirting with Peggy Sue, going to the hop, saying "tutti frutti").
Classic country is kind of fun despite its corniness, and Johnny Cash was pretty edgy for his time. But modern country keeps getting worse as it tries to be "wholesome" pop for future dirtball mid-westerners. I mean, it's either rural or disdainful suburbanite singers acting sadder than they really are or more party-loving than ought be legal. They also seem very white-centric (although this may just be a stereotype). To their credit, they do know what the masses want.
I disdain crooners because, even though the lyrics can be original and the voice is pleasing, they are still pretty cheesy as far as real life goes. They should stick with Christmas songs as far as I'm concerned. As for golden-voiced female singers (for lack of a better term), they are less obnoxious than melodramatic; seriously, where does Adele get off, singing sad songs when she's encountering more success than ever before?
Teen pop is even dumber, as is dance-pop and pop-rap. I mean, at least country has rock influences (a personal preference) and people who actually put thought into their lyrics. Modern pop is debased and Auto-tuned. We're looking at you, LMFAO (and you know it).
Rap itself is almost better (but not gangsta rap), because as you said the lyrics and delivery are fascinating. As long as the lyrics are fairly clean I don't mind it but I can't usually understand them anyway without reading the lyrics. I prefer underground acts over the guest-star-strewn mainstream. Also, old-school hip-hop is kind of fun, because even for its corniness nowadays it's still funny and catchy.
Funk is kind of fun because of the level of energy in the groove and the lyrics, although, not to be racist, it seems even more "African-American" than rap music.
World music is kind of interesting, although its peace-loving spirit can be kind of cheesy, and I dislike it when it is abused for commercial gain.
Classic rock: now that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish.
ReplyDelete1960's stuff is kind of fun because you get the Beatles' expertly crafted lysergic pop, the Beach Boys trying to be the Beatles, the Who making funny and intense rock japes, and later Jimi Hendrix reinventing the electric guitar. On that note, I should mention I like the idea and sound of the blues, especially acoustic-guitar driven blues. Real emotion comes out in the blues, even if no words can describe it.
The 70's is where stuff got kind of mellow and cheesy, the 80's were way too mainstream (no more Journey, please!) but each had its own charm. The 90's was the birth of alternative and the death of good pop, and the 00's emphasized the fact that popular and alternative music had effectively gone their separate ways, and that any crossover attempt was truly a surrender to the dark side that is pop (except you, Gnarls Barkley).
Let's see here, what subgenres do we have? We've got jam bands (Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers), country rock (Eagles), proto-metal (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath), proto-punk (The Stooges), punk (Ramones, Sex Pistols), new-wave (Talking Heads, Devo), hard rock (AC/DC), acid rock (Led Zeppelin), progressive rock (Rush, Yes), experimental rock (Pink Floyd), techno (Kraftwerk), and the Rolling Stones.
And that's just the 1970's.
The 80's wrought post-punk (The Replacements, REM), synthpop (Depeche Mode, New Order), hardcore (Black Flag), and hair metal (Bon Jovi, Van Halen). Of course, this is when independent rock (indie rock) started becoming a thing, but it was usually called college rock.
The 1990's is when music got interesting, with "alternative" being the buzzword. We had grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam), pop-punk (Green Day, Blink-182), industrial (NIN, Marilyn Manson), neo-jam bands (Phish, Dave Matthews Band), the rise of modern electronica (Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers), Britpop (Oasis, Blur), funk-punk (RHCP, Jane's Addiction), nu-metal (Korn, Limp Bizkit), ska-punk (Reel Big Fish), and of course shoegazer (My Bloody Valentine).
Then we come to the 2000's, with various odd subgenres like post-grunge (Nickelback, Breaking Benjamin), emo-as-pop-rock (Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco), neo-folk (Bright Eyes, Bon Iver), or even Britpop-punk (Arctic Monkeys). Most of these fell under indie rock, overall one of my favorite genres, but one that requires explanation.
Indie rock itself is too general of a subgenre, because it simply implies that the band is under an independent label. Not all independent labels are indie rock labels, and not all independent bands are "indie". My favorite indie group is Guided by Voices, which sound like the Who crossed with the Beatles recorded by a cell phone in a tin can. Other indie groups are more punk oriented (Fugazi), some more poppy (Best Coast, fun.), some more bluesy (The White Stripes, The Black Keys), and some just plain weird (Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, Dirty Projectors).
Metal is usually too heavy for me, too obnoxious, but because of too much Rock Band it has become ingrained in my musical vocabulary as of late. I don't mind older metal and more user-friendly modern metal, but it depends upon the song. Any genre of metal that ends with the word "core" is generally too ridiculous to even care about, and I don't even want to hear someone stand up for "screamo" (is that even a word?).
Overall, I'm pretty open-minded about music. Except for dubstep. And disco.
:P