Ended Up Talking About Music
Funny story - a couple of days ago I was driving along at about 67kph in a 60kph area in the middle lane ... then a cop (without lights or sirens) overtakes me in the right hand lane XD
Got a project worth 50% due in a couple of weeks!
I've really got nothing to say.
Hmmm. Music. Rock music. I really like alternative/progressive/post-punk/indie/melodic (whatever you want to call it) rock bands like U2, Lifehouse, Opshop, Muse, and so on. That's about it though. People hear that and they think I'm into grunge and hard rock bands like Metallica and Aerosmith. I'm really not. They're ok, but they're not great. And I can't stand much of metal.
On the other hand I'm a lot more into house/trance/dance music. I love that. I always have! I remember the first time I really heard a dance track - I was about 10 and I was instantly hooked!
There's something about it - about using a whole lot of small repetitive phrases that are nothing but noise in themselves and combining them to make simple melodies, and then combining those simple melodies together to make greater, overarching, melodies that weave together to create a music that is constantly reinforcing itself with the individual repeating phrases, yet always building on itself, exploring new paths, fading away and starting in a new direction, carrying you along with it.
A good house track is like a good story. It starts with an introduction, adding new themes and statements; it moves on, passing the themes around, first emphasising one, then another, then tries a variation on one; it builds another layer on itself, adding a new level to the story; then it really begins to let itself go, exploring the heights of feeling - so that the song you are hearing and the thoughts and feelings it's evoking actually begin to become indistinguishable - almost as if the music is manifesting whatever state you're in at the time - whether it be happy, depressed, angry, thoughtful, or whatever; then it begins to resolve itself - repeating earlier themes, bringing individual threads to a close; but it doesn't stop there - as one track is unwinding, the next is starting to take shape, filling the space being left by the previous one.
You don't just listen to it. After listening to a good house music cd you feel like you've actually been on a journey. It's incredible.
Compare that to pop music. You get a 3 - 4 minute soundbyte of lyrics accompanied by a token musical piece has all the necessary riffs and progressions in all the right places to make it fit in with all the others just like it.
House music is one of the few genres of music left where the musicians can actually justify being called an 'artist'.
Needless to say, I'm teaching myself how to make house music.
Got a project worth 50% due in a couple of weeks!
I've really got nothing to say.
Hmmm. Music. Rock music. I really like alternative/progressive/post-punk/indie/melodic (whatever you want to call it) rock bands like U2, Lifehouse, Opshop, Muse, and so on. That's about it though. People hear that and they think I'm into grunge and hard rock bands like Metallica and Aerosmith. I'm really not. They're ok, but they're not great. And I can't stand much of metal.
On the other hand I'm a lot more into house/trance/dance music. I love that. I always have! I remember the first time I really heard a dance track - I was about 10 and I was instantly hooked!
There's something about it - about using a whole lot of small repetitive phrases that are nothing but noise in themselves and combining them to make simple melodies, and then combining those simple melodies together to make greater, overarching, melodies that weave together to create a music that is constantly reinforcing itself with the individual repeating phrases, yet always building on itself, exploring new paths, fading away and starting in a new direction, carrying you along with it.
A good house track is like a good story. It starts with an introduction, adding new themes and statements; it moves on, passing the themes around, first emphasising one, then another, then tries a variation on one; it builds another layer on itself, adding a new level to the story; then it really begins to let itself go, exploring the heights of feeling - so that the song you are hearing and the thoughts and feelings it's evoking actually begin to become indistinguishable - almost as if the music is manifesting whatever state you're in at the time - whether it be happy, depressed, angry, thoughtful, or whatever; then it begins to resolve itself - repeating earlier themes, bringing individual threads to a close; but it doesn't stop there - as one track is unwinding, the next is starting to take shape, filling the space being left by the previous one.
You don't just listen to it. After listening to a good house music cd you feel like you've actually been on a journey. It's incredible.
Compare that to pop music. You get a 3 - 4 minute soundbyte of lyrics accompanied by a token musical piece has all the necessary riffs and progressions in all the right places to make it fit in with all the others just like it.
House music is one of the few genres of music left where the musicians can actually justify being called an 'artist'.
Needless to say, I'm teaching myself how to make house music.
posted by David | 10:06 pm
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