New Music

Maybe once a year I go through a phase where I seek out new music. I used to play the 'similar artists' game on Amazon.com and find tons of new (at least to me) bands through a few simple searches starting with a band I really liked already. Today's exploration has been limited to the past hour or two, but I felt that I found some cool 'new' stuff. If I had disposable income I would buy some albums.

On a whim I began reading old comic strips of Questionable Content, whose characters bond over (mainly) indie music. Over the years the comic has developed into it's own parallel universe, but the creator still works current music into the comic. In general I am way too mainstream to know the best indie bands. I really like the genre, and have done a little research, but I've never been up to date in the music scene. I follow this XKCD philosophy: the five year lag. So of course I listen to big bands like Of Montreal, The Flaming Lips, Ok Go, and Andrew Bird; all poster boys for indie music. In an old strip of QC there is mention of Deerhoof, who I had never heard of before.

I really like their music, it's quirky and unpredictable. The singer reminded me of Pizzicato Five, who I had briefly discovered years ago, mainly by the virtue of the fact that they are both Japanese. I went back and listened to more Pizzicato Five and although I liked it, I didn't think it was particularly creative. Maybe their songs are just a bit repetitive. But I like their style. [aside: indie music videos are always really cool. and a bit weird. case in point: Grizzly Bear]

I guess I was just thinking about other bands I had found like Pizzicato Five that I liked but never purchased any of their albums. I almost bought Fleet Foxes album on multiple occasions. I really like Grizzly Bear's vocal style. It's hypnotic. I feel like it's a bit of a throwback to the drug influenced, psychedelic songs of the 60s.

While I love the trend of using 'exotic' instruments I don't always agree with today's songwriting. In general I think the messages bands send through their music are superficial and uninspired. There's a lot of cool music out there today, but if I want to reliably find music that speaks to me I look back to songwriters like Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. It doesn't have to be spelled out like an essay, but the nonsensical lyrics of a lot of the contemporary music I listen to (which primarily falls under 'indie') only sound nice. I don't listen to any pop music like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, or Rihanna, but no one is moved by the actual lyrics. This kind of music only speaks on a level of entertainment.

It's impossible to say with any finality that some music is good and other music is horrible. Bad music exists, of course, no one would deny, but it's all relative and in the end it's purely subjective. It's not all about the theory, as I-V-vi-IV songs show us. Extended harmonies and unusual instrument combinations aren't required for creativity. Nothing is inherently wrong with repetition; indeed it's a useful tool for a cohesive song, hence why choruses are standard unifying sections in songs.

It all comes back to some broad and difficult questions: What is Music? For that matter, What is Art? And any true artist will have grappled with man's ultimate question: What is Life, and Why am I here?

Good music is more than pure entertainment. I don't deny being entertained by Tik Tok and Bringing Sexy Back. But I love when the radio is on at work and my dad points out a good song. Sure, not all old songs are great or inspired, yet it's true that "they don't make them like they used to."

I fully believe in the power of the arts and I want to devote my life to music. At the same time, I can't help but wonder if Art has lost a lot of it's power to inspire change simply because no one has the patience to seek out Art with meaning among the ratings / money driven music scene of a consumerist world. To be fair, so called 'high art' has gone off the deep end; it's no wonder the average person is turned off by such elitism.