6.11.2002
I think people are only driven by two things. Love and fear. Which seem to be both sides of the same coin more often than not. There is a deeper, as yet unnamed underlying need that exhibits itself in those two things.
By doing construction work, I have been forced to listen to the requisite country music (after all, what else would contractors listen to? reggae?). A sad state of affairs, I must say. It has not changed a bit since the days way back when. It is interesting to note a few things, now that I have a broader musical vocabulary from which to spout my thoughts.
What surprises me the most is probably the production quality. For being so proud about "bein' simple folk' and that 'daddy didn't sell the farm', there is a lot of high tech doo-hickery going on. Compression, delay, reverb, chorus, all the basic elements of a good mastering are present.
Also, studio musicians. I feel truly sorry for these people. It is like they want in the best of ways to break out from their prescibed parts and do something different for a change. but they are forced by some weasely record exec to stick to the format. But they still try. I picture in my mind a reformed 80's shredder who could give vai or satriani a run for their money, who takes classical lessons and has a wonderful ear for jazz improvisation. He is working in nashville as a studio musician 'because it pays the bills' and he doesn't have to be out on the road away from his kids on some lamebrained country tour. He shows up at the studio at 8:00 on tuesday morning to lay down some solos for a hot new record and maybe do some liner music for a small market TV station. He listens to the song and immediately has ideas for what would make a good solo, but it isn't in the format, so he twangs up his Telecaster and makes a generic solo and moves on. he tries to make something cool, but is stuck because of the limitations, and so he countrifies a sinatra vocal riff, just to see if anybody notices. Nobody does.
last are the songs themselves. we have good studios, good musicians, but idiotic tunesmiths. The worst part is that a couple of times they may stumble onto a good lyric (much in the same way a room full of monkeys typing randomly would), but couldn't tell a good song if it sank it's teeth into their tightly denimed posterior. The accidental good (relatively speaking) song is relegated low rotation and a nonevent on the chart (the all important guage of success) because people aren't pushed to like it.
sad sad sad.
I listened to Type O negative today, just for something different. :)
oh well.
good'day
By doing construction work, I have been forced to listen to the requisite country music (after all, what else would contractors listen to? reggae?). A sad state of affairs, I must say. It has not changed a bit since the days way back when. It is interesting to note a few things, now that I have a broader musical vocabulary from which to spout my thoughts.
What surprises me the most is probably the production quality. For being so proud about "bein' simple folk' and that 'daddy didn't sell the farm', there is a lot of high tech doo-hickery going on. Compression, delay, reverb, chorus, all the basic elements of a good mastering are present.
Also, studio musicians. I feel truly sorry for these people. It is like they want in the best of ways to break out from their prescibed parts and do something different for a change. but they are forced by some weasely record exec to stick to the format. But they still try. I picture in my mind a reformed 80's shredder who could give vai or satriani a run for their money, who takes classical lessons and has a wonderful ear for jazz improvisation. He is working in nashville as a studio musician 'because it pays the bills' and he doesn't have to be out on the road away from his kids on some lamebrained country tour. He shows up at the studio at 8:00 on tuesday morning to lay down some solos for a hot new record and maybe do some liner music for a small market TV station. He listens to the song and immediately has ideas for what would make a good solo, but it isn't in the format, so he twangs up his Telecaster and makes a generic solo and moves on. he tries to make something cool, but is stuck because of the limitations, and so he countrifies a sinatra vocal riff, just to see if anybody notices. Nobody does.
last are the songs themselves. we have good studios, good musicians, but idiotic tunesmiths. The worst part is that a couple of times they may stumble onto a good lyric (much in the same way a room full of monkeys typing randomly would), but couldn't tell a good song if it sank it's teeth into their tightly denimed posterior. The accidental good (relatively speaking) song is relegated low rotation and a nonevent on the chart (the all important guage of success) because people aren't pushed to like it.
sad sad sad.
I listened to Type O negative today, just for something different. :)
oh well.
good'day
< 22:27 >< /j >
