Good?

Most people think that the definition of 'good' music is based solely on opinion. They call what they like 'good, and what they dislike 'bad' without further thought. The way 'good' and 'bad' are used then inevitably lead most people to believe in this opinionated system. I won't blatantly say that this logic is purely and utterly incorrect, but I'm going to disprove the best I can.

Music is defined by various qualities- if the music has even one of the following, they have some merit. Obviously, some traits outweigh others. Traits that are misused in the context of 'good' and 'bad' are also described here:

True Traits:

Diversity- The Diversity in music covers the range of human emotion, rhythm, and technicalities.
Technical- The Technical shows pure prowess in the art of playing the instrument.
Lyrical- The Lyrical displays the power to convey through word; related to the Emotional.
Emotional- The Emotional allows for the music to be accessible and powerful.
Structural- The Structural shows the musician(s) prowess in creating the song.
Stylistic- The Stylistic is the musician/band's capability to create a new, unique 'sound'.
Melodic- The Melodic is the sensibility the musician developed much like the lyrical and tech.

False Traits:

Aural Appeasement- Aural Appeasement determines whether or not you 'like' the sound, and does not contribute to the merit of the song or band.
Messiness- The sloppiness of the music played can be a genuine trait for disliking music, but often times it is done purposefully for Emotion or Style.

I think music can be defined as good or bad.

Cohesion / No Cohesion

I used to listen to Owls and various other Kinsella projects (joan of arc, Make Believe) with a smirk on my face. What is the prolific and ADD-ridden Tim Kinsella trying to do with his music? He dances with extreme awkwardness on stage, yells out seemingly random phrases throughout songs, and 'sings' strangely, accompanied with screams and fast, random syllabic placements- all within some signature style he managed to create. He also shifts from band to band at a dizzying rate. I was aware of the fact that this... 'style' was intentional. Still, I wondered if they (The Kinsellas) were getting away with more than they deserved- in terms of lyricism, instrumentation, and awkward-as-fuck vocals.

I concluded that in some cases, the Kinsellas (and mainly Tim) do deserve the credit. In Owls, their signature rhythms and strange flow accompanied with Tim Kinsella's semi-random/philosophical lyrics constantly pull you in different directions (credit: Stuart S.), due to their spontaneous and seemingly improvised song structures. In terms of instrumentation, the textured spider-godhand also known as Victor Villareal's guitar playing is superb and actually unique, which is a breath of fresh air. In other cases, however, Tim reuses various lines from previous songs, using the exact same 'melody' and phrasing, generating a different version of the same song over and over again. This is how the genius gets away with too much.

Alot of music doesn't require an acquired taste. The Kinsella stuff does. Some of it is genuinely bad, but the good is full of merit. Like a strange cheese, it takes courage and tolerance to get into it.

Some Phase...

I've recently listened to some bands with female vocals. I have to say, women have more power than they often times think they do. The voices that come out of their mouths and the music that comes out of their instruments generate so much feeling, which creates a possibly more wrenching (in a different way) feeling(s) than a males music... not only over me, but I'm sure plenty others feel it as well.

I'm wondering, why don't female songwriters exist near me? It's a shame...

ps. Talent makes everyone exponentially more attractive.

Gihm?

He's done it once again!

Never Meant

I've recently lost a very talented musician (drummer) that I grew up playing with. Fortunately, I now have two others. It's a sad thing, but as of now, my ex-drummer's belligerency and lack of intelligence is preventing me from wanting to play with him. Explanations just aren't comprehensible to him, and I'm not going to waste my time trying to explain the simplest things. It's a break up, in a sense. Completely necessary, but still sad at the same time. Maybe it was just never meant. Even though its not a love affair, all the other saddening parts of a break up are here.

But... I'll just move on.

OWEN- Never Meant

Lets just forget, everything said. Everything we did.
Best friends, better halves
Goodbyes, and the other night, we realized,
We were falling out of love
there were some things, that were said, that weren't meant
they never did
the last thing i want to be is overly dramatic
I just think its best
Cause you cant miss what you forget
So lets just pretend
Everything and anything
Between you and me
Was never meant

And the winner is...

Radiohead. There is absolutely no band that reaches their level, maybe except for the greats. Currently, the only example I can think of is The Beatles.

Even though Radiohead isn't my favorite band, I acknowledge the fact that they are without a doubt years ahead of the bands I enjoy listening to more.

My logic for this judgement consists of 6 sectors: perseverance, technical ability, songwriting ability, musical diversity, emotion, and ability to influence and connect to others.

1. Perseverance
Radiohead has been a band since high school, free from a single lineup change. The most amazing part about this is the fact that they've been a band for approximately 17 years. Not only have they stayed together, they've evolved through various stylistic and mental changes together, and at the same time managed to pull through, allowing them to evolve into the ultimate band.

2. Technical Ability
Some people rag on others for being unable to be able to play well and write well. Unfortunately, they cannot troll no more when it comes to Radiohead. Every member is fully versatile in playing their main instrument and is capable of playing other (and writing) instruments (and instrument parts) as well. Although none of the members in Radiohead besides Johnny Greenwood understand music theory and notation, they manage to generate some of the most complex textured music out there.

3. Songwriting Ability
This is where Radiohead truly shines. Their songs have always been both emotionally intense while maintaining their technical edge, allowing them to both evolve as a songwriter(s) and as musicians. Along with all that, they're able to make the strangest darkest music into the catchiest at times. Creepy. And powerful.

4. Musical Diversity
Alot of bands are terrific and manage to create an astounding sound with little diversity, but from observation it seems like these bands can only make it to a certain stage in the music world. Radiohead does otherwise. They manage to sound like Radiohead at all times, yet have such a vast musical range that it blows my mind to even try to comprehend how they do it. I'm not a genius. How could I possibly figure out the minds of 5 geniuses? If you listen you will understand.

5. Emotion
Again, in addition with their technicality and songwriting ability, the troll's last attempt at ragging on Radiohead is on their lack of emotion. What? Did someone say lack of emotion? I forgot to tell you that this troll doesn't (and couldn't possibly) exist. Radiohead is too good. This is the very reason that they are able to reach out to others, past their own bubble of self-emotion and mental imagery.

6. Ability to influence and connect to others.
Along with every other faction that makes them such a masterful band, they're also able to generate true and powerful messages for all of their listeners, lyrics, music and all. The emotions that they evoke bring us closer to them. Their technicality draws all the musicians close. And their diversity makes it so we can never stop listening.

That's my take on it.

JE T'AIME THE VALLEY OOHHH!!!!!!!!

I can't explain in words the power and anguish Xiu Xiu can convey in three minutes. It blows my mind. I put the song on my playlist so you could get a taste of the most vicious vocals and lyrics you have ever heard. The instrumentation just amplifies the effect.

Actually, This

Instead of reading my bitch log, I'm assuming it'd be much better to watch some awesome, emotional stuff on youtube. Here's a video for your heart.



You can see one of them cry at the end. You'll understand.

Multimedia

Hey I've been slacking on the media portion of blogging, so I'm going to try and make up for it with this post:





This guy is pretty strange, but it fits the genre (post rock). He always wears a mask and transposes multi-instrumental songs into a single breathtaking guitar piece. If you listen to the original after his version, you will be amazed by his skill.

Pershing

The new album, Pershing, by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin was leaked on the internet a few days ago. Being an avid fan, I swiftly downloaded it. To my dismay, it did not come anywhere close to their first album, Broom. Various disappointments included a renovation of one of their (previously) great new songs, 'Modern Mystery'. Instead of the emotion filled explosions brought by their Daytrotter Session, they toned it down, overproduced it, and utterly downgraded it. It had the potential to be one of the better songs on the album, but NO! That's not how the world works. The world works in some despicable, grinding motion that turns perfectly good music into something much worse. Maybe even slimy. But wait a second, maybe that's just Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

JambaSwirl (9:27:18 PM): WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED

notemojoe (9:30:55 PM): just fuck

notemojoe (9:30:58 PM): is all that can be said