Meh, why not?

Some Connections Between Miles and Bjork

2008-02-27T09:35:00.011+09:00

When I bought my tickets to see Bjork more than a month ago, I had to settle for a “side view”; the closest center seats were sold out, and I wasn`t going to take a risk buying center seats that could for all I know be at the far back of the arena. Although I had never been to the Nippon Budokan before, I had definitely heard about the many large tours that had passed through and the slew of albums named “Live at Budokan” or simply “at Budokan”. This was going to be vastly different from any club experience I had, so after mulling it over, I decided a side view was better than no view - the fact the person seated next to me was using binoculars not withstanding. But the side view turned out to be not such a bad choice after all. It provided a clear view of her band and the rest of the stage including the percussion and assorted electronics.

Not surprisingly though this perspective of the stage shifted a lot of my focus away from Bjork and directed it to the rest of her group. And with this redirected perspective, I had an epiphany. With so much of her focus in the past few years on gathering such a wide array of talented musicians and using their ideas to support her music, she`s beginning to come off like Miles Davis. For so much of his career, Miles would gather and work with some of the best jazz musicians such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, John Coltrane, Dave Holland, and Wayne Shorter, uniting them under his well-established and respected name. In fact, for many of Shorter`s original tunes, the recordings that are most celebrated are those with Miles Davis. With many of these musicians, Miles claimed in the '70s that he created the best rock band in existence. His statement not only reflects the talent of his group, but also the variety of new electric instruments his band was playing that were still taboo in jazz circles. In a similar vein, Bjork has gathered her own cast of talent including Matmos, Konono No.1, Timbaland, Rahzel, Mike Patton, and Mark Bell. In addition to a creative combination of musicians, Bjork always manages to assemble a surprising if not impressive orchestration ranging from the strings and beats of the Homogenic era to her current use of some cutting-edge electronic instruments including the Reactable, which isn't even in commercial production yet.

Another link between Bjork and Miles Davis is how they treat their own melodies in live performances. One thing I`m always astounded by when I listen to The Complete Concert 1964: My Funny Valentine & Four More is that the melodies of what should be instantly recognizable songs are carefully obscured by a very free interpretation of the melody`s original shape. The band provides an incredibly solid foundation, making something like “All Blues” unmistakable, but when the melody is the defining feature on “My Funny Valentine” or “Stella by Starlight” Miles twists it around to create something almost entirely different. Bjork`s band too was solid, providing her with the platform necessary to do something similar. On Friday, Bjork constantly pushed the tempo, staying ahead of the beat or not holding out a note and skipping a beat or two. This rendered her singing style more speech-like and turned lyrical melodies from Hyperballad into something she spoke almost directly to the audience seated in folding chairs on the floor in front of her. Lately I've been interested in how vocals are bent rhythmically or placed slightly off of the beat to create tension or the directness of speech. Basically I like it when singers emote by manipulating rhythms and tempos.

Though it doesn't really demonstrate the singing style I was talking about, this clip of All is Full of Love gives you an impression of what the show was like.

And here's that recording of All Blues I was talking about. With Miles playing the head solo, he's free to interpret the melody without risking unexpected harmonic clashes.

Thank You Jon Cage For Classifying This Under Music

2008-02-07T14:24:00.004+09:00

Everyone remotely familiar with Japanese culture has heard about the sensory overload that one can get on a daily basis, whether is be from seizure-inducing shows to TV screens that span the walls of buildings in Shibuya. Seeing photos and maybe even getting a glimpse of a video displaying these sights isn`t that hard, but they only demonstrate the immense overload of visual stimuli. What may not be so commonly known is that audio overload in Japan is just as prevelent if not more so. And even though I live in a city much smaller and therefore much quieter than Tokyo, I still can`t avoid in my own sleepy neighborhood the underlying cultural norms that allow a healthy dosage of sound to be acceptable.

I've been bugged by the level of sound that I encounter regularly in Japan since I had to put up with bike gangs at 3 A.M. and the resulting low speed chases by the local police. Needless to say, the police sirens had an adverse effect in reducing the sound level. A couple of weeks ago, I was recently reminded of this distaste when I went shoe shopping. In every store in Japan, the staff are trained to say the Japanese equivalent of "Welcome!" in a pretty lively voice. I'm pretty certain it's a way to show their energy and enthusiasm for the product they're selling. However, here the staff were saying their "Welcome!" and other greetings at a level no weaker than a shout. The fact that I was standing a couple of feet away from one of these shouting clerks didn't make him lower his volume. Giving one an aggravated look elicited an apology from one, but had no discernible other results. Surrounded by shoe salesmen yelling at the top of their lungs would've been utter torture had I not had in-ear headphones to cancel most of the noise.

If anyone knows about how candidates for public office in Japan campaign, you're well aware of the vans that they ride around in all day using a loudspeaker to ask for votes. Well, back in the spring, a candidate in one of the city elections placed his campaign headquarters on the first floor of my building. So my apartment building was the epicenter of loudspeaker announcements for one campaign and was definitely on the route of a few others. Not only that, but on the night before the election my candidate neighbor and his campaign staff had a rally in the parking lot, in which there was a lot of chanting and cheering.

It's not only the campaign vans make the rounds in Japan, but there are also garbage trucks making announcements for the TVs and other large items. Then there are food trucks using a loudspeaker to advertise yaki-imo (roasted sweet potato) and other Japanese snacks. But in some ways, it's actually entertaining. Hearing that half-sung yaki-imo announcement actually made my night a couple of weeks ago.

Another yaki-imo truck parked near my local train station. Note the loudspeaker on top.

Now I don't want to come across as someone who is so sensitive to noise that I can't sleep or focus unless I have perfect silence. The list of pointless announcements thanking you for riding the train, ensuring your safety on the train, or warning you when elevator doors are about to close really does go on. I hope to record at least a few of them. I think it's just that the Japanese have a greater tolerance for noise, or at least have a lower tendency to complain overtly about things. However for me, someone who is much more likely to complain and didn't grow up in Japan, the amount of useless noise is enough to merit this and many verbal rants.

Sample Checklist

2008-01-29T00:15:00.000+09:00

Realizing that I may be living in Japan only about two months longer, I should get moving on recording samples of all those little, sometimes annoying, always characteristic, sounds that I've been thinking about capturing with my minidisc. One problem is that my minidisc mic has gone missing. I could just use a set of old headphones with the result of diminished sound quality, but I really want to be a little more serious than just using old equipment. I'll probably end up trying out the headphones as a mic first and see how that goes seeing as it's not exactly easy or cheap to buy a new one.

Another problem however is a plain lack of organization. And to help, I have decided to make a checklist of sounds that I want.

Train Sounds

Rail crossing

Train approaching warning (from the platform)

Imminent departure (different tunes on different platforms)

Assorted recorded announcements on the limited express train

Assorted spoken announcements on the local train

School Sounds

School chime

Telephone hold jingle

Other Sounds

Trucks w/ announcements e.g. the appliance garbage truck or the yakiimo (grilled sweet potato) truck

I'll post what I get as soon as I get it. Hopefully, it won't be long before I can check most of them off of my list.

If only everything were modular...

2008-01-12T21:18:00.001+09:00

With a price tag of "only" ¥8000 and a one-drink minimum - bringing the grand total to ¥8500 - and 5 or so openers, it was pretty much a no-brainer to see Daft Punk at Makuhari Messe in Chiba two weeks ago. I'm not a big fan of dance music and even less interested in going to dance events, but with all the talk of the LED pyramid and the incredible set they played circulating since their 2006 Coachella set, I would definitely suffer through 3 hours on the train to see the show.

Before going to the show, I actually did get a chance to listen to Daft Punk's set at Coachella from 2006. Without the grandeur of the pyramid and the light show keeping me in a trance, what stood out to me was how the set was more or less completely modular - instead of playing songs straight through with possibly a few alterations, each and every song had been torn apart and reconstucted with their entire catalog functioning as a source from which they drew bits and pieces. Song structures changed, the effects on certain parts changed, the superimposition of melodies and harmonies upon one another changed. Every song, melody, and beat was recontextualized.

The show was exactly as I expected, except for running around the venue - really just a massive convention center - looking for a coatroom that I had heard they had the night before. But a band that I've had on my Shuffle for the last week reminded me of Daft Punk's style of arranging songs for live shows and that show two weeks ago.

When I saw the Wrens in July 2005 at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, I was completely surprised at what an incredible performance they put on. I had been a big fan of the band since I got The Meadowlands back in the fall of 2003, so I expected a rehashing of that album and a few other songs I wouldn't know with the average excitement and spontaneity that comes with the territory of playing live. Dodging these expectations the Wrens, like Daft Punk, completely recontextualized their songs. Instead of culling together pieces of different songs to create new arrangements, the Wrens simply created new instrumental parts practically to the point where all that the performed songs had in common with their album versions were key melodies, most of them being the vocals.

So what I love and respect about this approach to a live show is that the band put a hell of a lot of effort into putting together their show. It's not taking their albums on the road and playing songs from them straight down with no variation. Considering that it's pretty difficult for bands these days to make a lot of money off of selling albums and other recordings, I'm surprised that there aren't a lot more bands that make the music in their live shows so unique.

Looking back on these two live acts that completely alter the album version of their songs, it's probably for the best anyway that the Wrens and Daft Punk keep busy in this way. The Wrens haven't released an album since The Meadowlands in fall 2003, and their album before that, Secaucus, came out in 1996. Daft Punk's last studio record, Human After All is from early 2005 and their previous album Discovery was released in 2001. That means the Wrens are on a one studio album about every five years clip, and Daft Punk is on a slightly more productive one studio album every four years pace. In all, ignoring the Wrens' legal problems that kept them from releasing the Meadowlands any earlier, these are two bands who don't stick to the industry standard of a new album every two years. I would be ecstatic if a band that does release a new album every two years reimagines their songs for live shows like the Wrens and Daft Punk, but as things stand I'll take these two groups who make up for their sparsely released studio albums with an exciting live show over unimaginatively performed songs any day.

Another bit of Ethnomusicology

2007-12-22T11:36:00.004+09:00

It was a while ago, but back in October I went to a Taiko concert. Now since this was performed by community groups, it definitely wasn't the pinnacle of Taiko, but some of the performances were definitely impressive and some of the songs pretty challenging. That said, you could also tell me not to discount the concert just because it was amateurs performing - it's a look into the musical hobbies of people in Japan.

To get some foreign words out of the way, Taiko refers to music played in a drum ensemble of often 10-20 people. Drums can range from as small as a piccolo snare drum to the size of a Smart car. And the word Taiko can probably be used to label one of these drums, though there's probably specific terminology that I don't know about yet used to name each and every size drum.

What I really walked away from the concert with is the realization that significantly more than most music I've seen performed, Taiko is as much a visual spectacle as it is a musical one. Take for example how people who play the largest drums often take as long as two beats to wind up for a single strike. I liked how that gesture communicated a sense of power. Another visual spectacle that several groups used was the playing of a single drum by three people. In one situation, one person would play a pattern for a measure or two before moving to the side to let another person take his place and play the same pattern. In this fashion they would rotate between the three of them and after doing this for a while, increase the frequency at which they changed who actually played the drum.

Although this image is generally a bit blurry, you can still see how much the performers wind-up to strike some of the larger drums.

And here's a short video where you can see some of the grandeur that people portray during performances.

An Update Just for the Sake of Updating

2007-11-27T19:55:00.001+09:00

I haven't had too many pearls of wisdom that I wanted to share with the world lately, but there is one thing I definitely want to recommend.

I was listening to an old episode of This American Life a couple of weeks ago which encouraged listeners to remix a song that was central to one of the character's stories. Unfortunately for me though, I listened to the episode too late after it originally aired to participate in the remix contest. But simply hearing about this contest reminded me about how the Dismemberment Plan did more or less the same thing. They released individual tracks of about 10 of their songs to the masses via their website and had a little contest of their own. The best remixes that they received back from fans they used to put together an album called A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan. I can't say I know much about the album: I never heard any of the tracks on the album, and I don't know who profited from sales of the album though I hope the D-Plan shared some of the money with the remixers.

Anyway I've been messing around with a few of those Dismemberment Plan tracks lately. And it really is a fun and challenging project - kind of like putting together a puzzle while being able to change the end result of that puzzle to whatever it is you want it to be. I never actually thought much about the process of remixing until I delved into these projects. As long as you have a decently powerful computer (not too hard) and sequencing software, you can do it. I'm using Logic Express 7 for Mac, but any simple sequencing software will work. There are some pretty solid and reliable free applications on the Internet - Audacity will let you have as many tracks as are necessary for remixing those D-Plan songs, but you'll be lacking a lot of effects and other controls. Or you could go for something more substantial. The latest version of Logic Express, version 8, with it's clean, simple design is a great deal at $200. Or you could just go the cheap way and search for a torrent.

All that aside, everyone should be an amateur producer and remix a few songs for the hell of it. Being able to undertake a project like this really is one of marvels of the Internet and modern computers. I'm sure there's a lot more out there besides Dismemberment Plan songs to remix, so get going.

Can Never Say No to a Music Festival

2007-10-29T12:12:00.000+09:00

Two weekends ago I made my way down to Kiryu Music Fronts (Japanese site, sorry), the annual music festival in my town, where local performers get to fill all the towns clubs at the same time, and I get to go to any of those clubs for the low price of ¥1000 ($8.75). It's kind of like SXSW if it were held in a small Japanese city and lacked all the overwhelming hype and crowds of Austin in March. In actuality though, the clubs this year were pretty empty compared to last. First of all, the festival last year was a whole weekend long, from Friday night to Sunday night; this year was only a Sunday night. Also the whatever crowd made it out to the festival were more than likely spread thinner than last year after the organizers expanded the number of participating clubs from four to seven.

The event itself aside, watching these Japanese bands in succession hammered home a point about Japanese culture that I have noticed in numerous other situations. Japan really is an incredibly paternalistic society. The dominance of males in music in the U.S. is apparent by how few women there are in bands. Or if there are women in bands, they're only singing and never touch an instrument. Even considering these facts, Japan keeps its women musicians at still farther flung fringes of musical society.

The group I liked the most, Epopsan, had four members: one guitarist (male), one singer/dancer (female), one keyboardist/producer/singer named Ogiwara (male), and one keyboardist/singer (female) who by the way was visibly pregnant. First of all, their music was electronic pop: they used a lot of melodies and thick, clean textures, but wouldn't shy away from letting a beat or loop run on its own for half a minute. Most of the music was prepared ahead of time and it seemed that it was played from and controlled by a production unit. So naturally, the person who came across as having the most power was Ogiwara, who controlled the prepared loops. In terms of traditional musicianship, the guitarist (who stood in a back corner of the stage while the two women flanked their Ogiwara in a line of three across the front of the stage) commanded the most respect. The pregnant keyboardist seemed to only play token hooks and some atmospheric parts, so she came across as number three in the band member hierarchy. And the last woman who danced and sung came in at number four.

The vocals didn't figure into the equation very significantly. However, that's where it starts to get interesting. Not only were all three of the singers underwhelming, but the women sung with thin, girly, and adolescent voices. So that's what clinched their bottom spots in ranking the visible importance of each band member. Their use of thin and weak voices is consistent with how Japanese women speak when in public, especially of those who work in service industries. Besides reinforcing their overall subservient role in society, this shrill voice is simply irritating.

But even though the girls of Epopsan used thin, weak voices, at least they sang in tune. The group that played before them - I don't remember the name, and I won't ever regret forgetting - had a pair of women in their 20s fronting a rhythm section of men. They not only used adolescent voices, but they couldn't stay in tune. There were in fact times when I cringed at notes that were absurdly flat.

Although some people worry about the role that women play in popular music in the U.S., only singing and having no role in the rest of the band's work of playing instruments, recording, and lugging around instruments, the situation in Japan is much worse considering that singing, the one thing they are expected to do, they are expected to do in a way that strips them of the power they're given when they stand at the front of the stage. Though I must say I do respect the keyboardist for performing and even dancing a little while pregnant.

Here are some videos of Epopsan.

2007-10-13T19:39:00.000+09:00

Any literate person these days is sick of reading how we live in the iPod age or an iPod society or any of the other variations on the word iPod used as a sociological adjective. So forgive me for starting by stating just that. But the real truth of the matter is I'm not all that happy with some of the side-effects of how we listen to music now that everyone has an iPod. For one, there's just too much choice. And with all that music I had available on my iPod, I never really would listen to anything on repeat. I'd finish one album and then move on to the next, probably out of an obligation to hear as much of the music in my collection as I could. One of the reasons I use an old iPod shuffle when I go out is so I'm not overwhelmed by choice and can focus on a few records or songs for a week or two before moving on to something different.

Not only has this been a way to force myself to listen to all that music I download before I have a chance to forget about it, but it's brought the favorite song back into style. With no pressure to listen to every song I have in my collection, I'm more inclined to repeat songs. A couple of months ago, I was into "Who Do You Love" by Ted Leo. But the new favorite song that I'm celebrating now is "Coffee & TV" by Blur. Besides being a great pop song with an equally great video, I got into the song after Natasha dragged me onto an empty dance floor at my sister's wedding a couple of weeks ago while it was playing. Just a reminder of how context can make music an event so much more than just sound.

After I started using my iPod for a while, I started to feel nostalgic for the times when I only had two or three tapes to choose from when I wanted something to listen to. When I used to drive somewhere, the car I had only had a tape deck and AM/FM radio. So I was limited to only a few tapes that I copied from my broader music collection - at that time in CD format. Just like how in the They Might Be Giants documentary Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns, Frank Black said that for a while in his car, he only had one tape that he was practically forced to listen to every time he drove somewhere. And that tape just happened to be They Might Be Giants' first record. But being constantly worried about my own authenticity, I'm now worried how artificial it is to keep using the Shuffle when I could afford and genuinely crave an iPod Touch.

Figuring Out How to Actually Sell Music

2007-08-16T10:44:00.000+09:00

It was only since I started downloading music without paying that I realized I'm not willing to pay the same high price for every album. It's been an admittedly weak way to justify not paying for music, but the conclusion nonetheless is true. I download more music than I could have ever bought, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of everything I download, and there are numerous records I download that I would never pay more than $10 for. I also use downloading as a way to sample music more thoroughly and at my own convenience than if I were to stream a song or two. On the whole, downloading music without paying retail prices has allowed me and I'm sure countless others to be bigger and more dedicated music fans.

So when I learned that Amazon was investing in Amie Street, a music website that sells music at a dynamic price that changes based on measured demand, I knew that at least someone in the music industry was doing something right. Not to get ahead of ourselves, Amazon hasn't even started selling music online yet, even though it has made its intentions well-known and will probably start doing so in the next month or two. After hearing the story on KCRW's "On the Beat" podcast, I made my way over to Amie Street to get a better idea of what their system was like. At the moment, there really is a dearth of music someone can download. Only a very limited number of bands and musicians are listed so far, which will keep Amie Street from being a significant retailing presence until Amazon breathes some much needed life into it. But to give you an idea of pricing, The Barenaked Ladies, one of the few groups that a lot of people may know with more than albums available for sale on the site, have their most recent album for sale at $.98 per song. If you scroll down on the Barenaked Ladies Amie Street page, you'll see some other, cheaper CDs like their Christmas/holiday album, most of whose songs you can buy for only $.18 each.

I don't know how far this dynamically priced online music retailing will go, but as a concept it is definitely something worth pursuing. Check out the "On the Beat" story here for more details on this and how Google may get into online music retailing as well. Plus "On the Beat" is a fantastic way to keep up on the goings on in the music industry.

One for the Ethnomusicologists

2007-08-15T11:34:00.000+09:00

Every August, the city where I'm now living (Kiryu, Japan) has their annual Yagibushi Festival which has percussion and solo flute groups performing in these towers placed in the middle of the street. At some of these, people dance around the towers.

Motivated by a sample sharing site, called Freesound, that I came across a few weeks ago, I made a list of sounds and events I want to record. So I decided this year to take my minidisc recorder down to the festival and record some of the music for sharing and for posterity as well. Living in Japan made the idea especially exciting because there are absolutely a lot of interesting (and sometimes just plain stupid) sounds in the Japanese landscape.

This is my first recording out of what I hope soon enough will be many.

Kiryu Yagibushi

The `80s Couldn`t Have Been That Great

2007-08-14T09:23:00.000+09:00

For a while now, I`ve been well aware that a lot of music since around 2000 has been in the vein of the 1980s. The Post punk revival - one that`s been huge in indie circles and has also expanded well into the mainstream - is still popular, though I think it`s taken a downturn lately. And elements of `80s new wave has made its way into mainstream singles as well. Even outside of music, it shows up, but for everyone`s sake I`m not going to talk about VH1`s fake documentaries ("I Love the `80s!") or anything else on TV. After seeing a total of five groups at the Summersonic Festival at Makuhari in Chiba, Japan last Saturday (The Pipettes, The Long Blondes, Shitdisco, Interpol, and LCD Soundsystem) whose lifeblood was reviving past styles, I just started to get bored. It was especially redundant when you consider that three of those bands are playing 80s music - LCD Soundsystem belong to the `70s, and The Pipettes belong to the `60s. I really do like a lot of the bands, but I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more stylisticly original. And maybe I asked for it by spending too much of my time at the dance stage.

Now I don`t want to completely dismiss anyone who so much as makes a reference to a past era through his music. I`m not a staunch advocate against using samples, quoting songs, or making references to the past of any sort. I think creativity is as much molding someone else`s ideas as it is cultivating your own. But when so many groups sound like throwbacks from a different era entirely, something must be wrong. Something like people are unable or unwilling to experiment with new ideas, or how people are just craving life from a different era. I can`t put my finger on it just yet, but you can believe that this problem will definitely be bugging me for a while.

Who can steal music and who can't

2007-08-05T19:04:00.000+09:00

Isolated a bit from American pop culture by living in a small Japanese city, I only just found out about the big gossip surrounding Avril Lavigne and how she lifted the main hook from her single "Girlfriend" from the Rubinoos 1979 song "Boyfriend". And from listening to Sound Opinions to Sound Opinions this weekend, I learned that she pretty much copied the first 20 seconds of another of her songs from Peaches' "I'm the Kinda". But then later, I started to wonder what makes the kind of copying that Avril Lavigne is doing worse than the copying that great musicians do all the time.

This weekend, I got my hands on M.I.A.'s new record, "Kala", and in the first listen through noticed two songs that copied other bands' hits. First, there's "$20" where the lyrics in the chorus are exactly those from the Pixies' "Where is My Mind?". Here, the melody isn't so much as changed as it is melded into the atmosphere and style of the song. The second one took me a little longer to pinpoint, but the backing tracks for "Paper Planes" takes its chords and rhythm from part of The Clash's "Straight to Hell" with only small instrumental differences so it can all fit in with M.I.A.'s style. And these two examples are from only the first listen. There are probably a few more on "Kala" that I don`t know about.

When I first heard these songs, I thought these were clever references to and interpretations of songs I really liked. I had no reason to be angry or disappointed in the way people have been towards Avril over how she copied the Rubinoos. And I have a feeling no one else will be pissed-off at her for this.

M.I.A. plays music (let`s call it global hip-hop) that has its roots in sampling and borrowing ideas from past songs. Avril`s music can be best termed mall-punk, which has been diluted down from punk, which has it`s roots in 1960s rock. Not only that, but she plays music in a typical rock band context, reinforcing her connection to rock's earlier traditions. Unfortunately for all of us, that makes it possible for people to make rockist interpretations (creativity has to be 100% original or you shouldn't take credit for it) of songwriting.

But the most noticable difference between M.I.A. and Avril Lavigne is how upfront M.I.A is when she uses other people`s creative ideas. "Where is My Mind" and "Straight to Hell" are both well-known songs from well-known bands. Most people who listen to her music will recognize these songs referenced on "Kala". Avril on the other hand tried to take ideas stealthily from lesser-known bands. On top of that, she denies having ever heard of the Rubinoos. And the reason that she`s circling the wagons like this is because of the restrictions placed on her by her chosen genre`s roots and traditions. Again the rockist attitude in all of us says that she`s a fraud if she admits to using other musician`s creative ideas. M.I.A., safe in a hip-hop based genre, can however flaunt whatever outside creative ideas she wants.

I think it was one of my old bandmates who would mention every now and again a quote along the lines of, "Good songwriters copy songs. Great songwriters steal songs." So by that logic, Avril should be considered by all to be an outstanding musician, but somehow she's not. I don`t disagree at all with that saying, but this whole incident shows how great songwriters are great because they contribute new ideas to old songs. The only thing Avril brings to her female counterpart to the Rubinoos' "Boyfriend" is a slick pop production. On the other hand, M.I.A. significantly flattens the melody of "Where is My Mind" so that it fits with her vocal style in "$20", which puts a greater focus on rapping than Black Francis` ever did. Here M.I.A. puts the Pixies in an entirely new context and breathes greater life into an already popular song. The modern pop production that Avril used in "Girlfriend" adds only marginally at best to the creative elements already present in the Rubinoos` "Boyfriend".

The one thing the world can thank Avril Lavigne for is how she introduced a new generation, myself included, to the Rubinoos. The one thing I truly resent about this situation though is how when I introduce music to people, I don`t get paid. When Avril (and let`s not forget her songwriting team and everyone else who profits from her music - they should be villified too) does it, she gets paid obscene amounts of money.

Production is king

2007-07-25T22:17:00.000+09:00

This has been on my mind since I heard Jon Brion interviewed on Sound Opinions last year, but a lot of musicians really do use production - or at least a more complex texture - as a replacement to more traditional songwriting techniques i.e. melody, harmony, etc. He used Zeppelin's "Kashmir" as one example, saying that if you take it out of its original recorded context, it loses so much of its meaning that its practically a different song. In contrast, he played on the piano the first few bars of Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" to show how it doesn't rely nearly as much on its timbre to define its character.

I first noticed this in 2002 when I saw Alejandro Escovedo play at my school. This first half of his set was clever, well-arranged songs that were downtempo and mostly acoustic. Then for the second half, he decided to pull out his electric guitar and distortion pedal. All the intelligent songwriting went out the window as the number of chords in each song dwindled to about 2 or 3 per. All subtlety disappeared, presumably because he could hide behind the thicker texture and higher energy level.

To me, it all became a lot more solidified when I was doing some research on timbre in pop music during my senior year of college. Reading through some of Alban Zak III's writings on changes in songwriting as a result of the broader use of the recording studio as a tool to more fully develop the timbre of a finished product. The final product then becomes reliant on careful production and is a series of ideal moments ready for listeners to hear in that exact context over and over. Until someone decides to cover the song (remixes of all kinds are immune), everyone expects to hear every melodic or rhythmic gesture in a specific timbre. Then in a song like Kashmir, the exact sound is possibly even more important than the melody or rhythm itself.

Enough theories for now. More actual examples next time.

Internet music hasn't died just yet

2007-07-15T14:28:00.000+09:00

Today was supposed to be the day that new, stricter royalty rates for Internet radio would be enforced. The Copyright Royalty Board initially expected small Internet broadcasters to pay the same royalty rates that satellite radio broadcasters pay. Instead, a set of rules exempting smaller broadcasters from paying the new rates immediately were approved. Larger broadcasters like AOL and Yahoo are still expected to pay the new rates in full starting this week.

Wired has the full story, but here are some prominent notes:

Those organizations with numerous stations - often it's one stream per genre- have their monthly flat fee per stream capped at $50,000/year.

Small net broadcasters may be able to pay royalty fees according to the old structure until 2010, but could be slapped with fees and interest.

It's good news for now, but nothing seems certain. According to the article, the CRB can decide to enforce the stricter rules almost at anytime if it wants.

Sonic Youth makes some new friends

2007-07-08T23:29:00.000+09:00

To be really blunt about it, any band or musician who's not looking for new ways to distribute and sell their music is a complete fool. Going with a traditional, non-independent record company, though it's been seen as the ultimate break to get a contract, has never really been all that safe. And that's especially true today as record stores and the entire mechanism of selling physical copies of music have been suffering at the hand of diminishing CD sales.

So when Thurston Moore announced that it was going to distribute a Sonic Youth singles/hits compilation through Starbucks' Hear Music label, a few purists were apparently shocked and disgusted that a band that has always represented unbridled artistry in music could partner with such a blatant symbol of commercialism. Though I haven't seen any complaints myself, Billboard seemed eager to mention that there were plenty.

It seems like such a betrayal because unlike the Universal Music Group or so many large record companies, Starbucks is incredibly visible. In most cases,when people
buy music from a major label, they don't see themselves as buying the label's product. They just know they are buying the CD in their hands and rarely if ever notice the fine print saying who recorded, distributed, and owns the rights to the music. That's a sharp contrast to when people buy something from Starbucks where it's practically impossible to ignore the company colors, logos, and name all over the shop and its products. So it appears much more capitalistic when Sonic Youth plans to distribute its music through Starbucks.

Then there's the undeniable fact that the traditional paths that musicians use to promote their music are drying up. Terrestrial radio has been homogenous and unwilling to take any risks for at least the last ten years. The record store, especially the smaller, independent ones aren't faring very well financially. And due to the higher royalty rates Internet radio stations will have to pay starting today, it may become even more difficult to hear look for and hear new music.

Starbucks' Hear Music label has been wildly successful compared to the abovementioned sectors of the music industry, becoming part of a lifestyle brand under the Starbucks name. I can't say that I am a supporter of the idea of a Starbucks lifestyle brand, but It appears to be an effective way to introduce and distribute music to people that would be interested in discovering something new. In that case, it's hard to say that it's a bad thing from a purely musical standpoint.

Hello World

2007-07-02T20:05:00.001+09:00

So last Saturday marked the end of my isolation from the outside world. My time without home Internet service, TV, radio, etc. has come to an end and now I am awash in information pouring in from the outside world. This is like breaking the Yom Kippur or Ramadan fasts - neither of which I have ever observed, but I have been known to take part in the feasts that follow. Within the first couple of hours after being connected, I managed to download 7 or so albums just because I could. I mean, I wanted them, but it was more about being able to get whatever I wanted.

I have to admit that the time removed from information's mainstream was refreshing. Before my disconnection, I was more or less addicted to information, especially free information. Despite being out of the loop entirely when it came to music and news, it was a relief to not be driven by the need to know exactly what was new and earth-shattering. In all, it was nice while it lasted.

Now that I'm back, I've got some pent-up words that may be shared eventually. And of course I have the 10 albums I downloaded to comment on.

The French Pop Update

2006-12-19T12:43:00.000+09:00

A couple of days ago, I decided to give Charlotte Gainsbourg’s new record 5:55 a listen. Her being the daughter of French pop royalty Serge Gainsbourg sparked my curiosity, and the inclusion of Air, Nigel Godrich, and numerous others as songwriters and producers motivated me to devote my all too abundant free time to a couple of listens. And after those listens, I’ve realized I downloaded an album that’s not bad, but certainly not good. As a whole, it comes off as a perfect cliché of what one would expect from a project involving a French actress and Air.

Let’s start with what’s glaringly obvious. Ms. Gainsbourg’s voice is breathy and light in a way that leaves a lot to be desired in terms of personality. It seems to take countless cues from not only the women her father recruited to sing with him, but also Air. Personally, one thing I look for in vocals because it can portray this quality so strongly is the character of a singer or band if of course it’s done well. Listening to this record, I find no personality whatsoever except for someone trying especially hard to do as her fellow French colleagues and predecessors have already done a few times before.

The production and also much of the backing tracks seem to use Air’s Talkie Walkie as a starting point from which all ideas emanate. Although it is in fact Air’s Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel who penned the music for the album, I would expect them to differentiate one project from another especially when it carries someone else’s name. I will give them some credit though: when the songs pick up some steam and move away from slow ambient pop, the songwriting does begin to show some marked differences. In most songs, however, the piano sits in the forefront becoming the primary supporting instrument for Charlotte Gainsbourg’s vocals using so many variations on the arpeggios we heard in Talkie Walkie. Check out “Little Monsters” and between the piano and the synthesized strings and beats, you’ll begin to wonder which record you’re actually listening to. You may even mistake the beats in the intro for those at the beginning of “Universal Traveler.” Production can also be compared in the same way. Ambience in 5:55’s title track practically mirrors what someone can find in “Venus” except that strings offer a slight timbral alternative to the synthesizers we’re used to.

As a fan of French music, I’m certainly not disappointed by 5:55, but as someone that demands a certain level of originality as well as personality from music, I have no reason to come back to the album after a few cursory listens.

What New Directions Will Your Life Take Now?

2006-12-12T12:58:00.000+09:00

With such high levels of excitement in anticipation of the new record by the Shins “Wincing the Night Away,” it’s difficult to imagine that a sizeable number of people will be impressed with this, their third album. The success of “Chutes Too Narrow” and of course the role the band’s music played in “Garden State” will only invite very acute criticism. Basically, I just want to join the club and let loose a disappointment or two.

As a whole, I really do like “Wincing the Night Away,” but the record is supersaturated with the Shins’ newfound ego and sometimes misguided ambition. You don’t have to wait long to notice it: the first track “Sleeping Lessons” is one of its better examples. It’s more or less a three-minute build of textures centered on a rather simple keyboard line that is transposed as the chords change (conservatively) and a vocal part typical of James Mercer. It serves as a solid example of what I see as the indie overture where the first track of an album displays much of the timbral material as well as the character of the music to follow. Another such indie overture is Wilco’s “I am Trying to Break Your Heart” on “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.”

On the other end of the spectrum, their brazenness contributes a confusing instrumental section to “Sea Legs” whose use of electric piano and synthesizer reminds me of “Head Hunters” era Herbie Hancock more than anything else. Add to that the use of synthesized drums and strings throughout the song, and an overwhelming mess of sonic ideas presents itself. In general I am not opposed to new idea, approaches, and influences, but when traversing new ground you must be aware of what past ideas new personal timbres and styles reference. Or maybe I’m over thinking it, and this section is merely an appeal to the jammy community.

With only the exception of this arrogance, “Wincing the Night Away” is a strong effort from a band with seemingly insurmountable expectations. Their penchant for inventive, lyrical melodies remains in “Phantom Limb” and throughout the record, and that for me really is enough to make this a worthwhile album.

Another recent find

2006-11-18T21:44:00.000+09:00

One thing that really keeps me listening to music through periods of boredom is the random surprise you’ll get from a record you never expected to be good or never expected to even listen to at all. When I heard the Dresden Doll’s single “Coin-Operated Boy” early last year, I was slightly turned off by its cabaret kitschiness. At the moment, this aversion towards cabaret is a bit difficult to explain, but needless to say it pushed the name Dresden Dolls to the back of my mind for a good year and a half.

Unexpectedly, a couple of weeks ago I began listening to them once again. This time it was because my girlfriend downloaded their last album “Yes Virginia.” As you can already gather, I was surprised and excited by the album. The first track, “Sex Changes” put aside most of the kitsch that characterized their past single. Filling that resulting vacuum was the kind of raw passion and energy that one usually associates with punk coming primarily from the urgency of the drum part but also that of the piano. This use of a punk mentality with instrument unconventional for the genre leads me to compare the group to Mates of State who achieve a very similar effect from bass, drums, and organ most of the time.

The cabaret flavor tends to remain slightly in some of the piano parts, but it has a stronger presence in the affectations in the vocals. Paired oftentimes with dark and comical imagery in the vocals, the Weimar-era cabaret influences tend to accentuate lyrics. To my ear, this background for the group no longer pushes me aside, but rather directs me attention towards the vocals and the absurdly dark stories that they tell in songs like “Dirty Business.”

However, there are some songs that disrupt this formula: the second track, “Backstabber,” unfortunately begins to sound like a mediocre Ben Folds replication. If it weren’t for the dramatic vocals that are at times characteristic of the Dresden Dolls, the song would be entirely hopeless. Another instance of this is “First Orgasm,” which feels like a joke whose punch line is coming soon, but as each moment passes you begin to lose hope that the song really is in fact going anywhere at all.

As a whole, the album’s unconventionally punk approach by far outweighs the moments of mediocrity and boredom – at least they do at this moment. You may have to ask me how I still feel about the album in a month, but this is one of the few pleasant musical surprises I’ve had in the past few months.

Is it art or just simply crap?

2006-10-05T19:42:00.000+09:00

Several years ago around the time she released “Vespertine”, Bjork mentioned in interviews how she had become bored with how new digital electronic devices work so precisely without wavering. Using the example of a CD player, she explained how it produces the exact same sound each time whereas vinyl is riddled with slight imperfections. When a CD however is scratched and damaged, she continued, the sound it can produce is wild and unpredictable.

I was recently reminded of these comments when my girlfriend Natasha took a Casio digital guitar that she found in the trash, and I tried playing it. Perhaps the strings weren’t tight enough because they wouldn’t always respond. While trying to play some fairly simple songs, I would have to ignore how sometimes notes just wouldn’t sound and just continue playing. Like the damaged CD in Bjork’s example, this digital guitar produced music that was unpredictable, or at the very least somewhat difficult to predict.

Taking this very idea of faulty machinery to yet another level, I want to pose this question: Can the music created with the use of faulty electronics be considered chance or aleatoric music much like that of John Cage? This would of course take the idea of a prepared piano to the electronic world, but one with similar results nonetheless.

But then I had some other ideas too. For example, is it also aleatoric music if you have a faulty (i.e. un/under-skilled or a drunken) musician playing a piece? Or does this border on trying to legitimize shitty music?

Here's some music theory for you (apologies in advance)

2006-09-08T02:21:00.000+09:00

It’s been a while since I have truly loved what can be classified only as an indie rock song without any of categorical flourishes that make it possible to straddle numerous stylistic boundaries. I’m talking about what can undeniably be placed solely into the realm of indie rock. However, all that has changed. I can now put off the complete immersion into minimalist music and its more contemporary offshoots for maybe a couple of weeks; we’ll see. No matter. For now I have on repeat “The Funeral” by Band of Horses.

My surrender to the bandwagon of horse/wolf/assorted animal bands happened just the other day. Checking out some free downloads I had spotted on the Internet, I fell in love instantly how this song does everything right – that is follow conventions to a T, then throw in a few moderate twists. Actually, fall in love depicts pretty accurately what I thought of the supporting falsetto vocals. Simple and slow vocal movement with the occasional anticipation or suspension hanging over a pulsing distortion that is often typical of bands such as Built to Spill pulled me in instantaneously.

After a few more listens, which was of course inevitable, I noticed a few of the subtle twists that for me make a good song an outstanding one. For starters, the IV-I-V-vi chord progression that carries most of the song is actually 5 measures long considering you count in cut time. This lack of symmetry keeps the listener from letting his attention stray from the music for too long. Keeping in mind that anyone can get used to a 5 measure-long pattern with enough listens, Band of Horses changes the pattern length in the bridge to six measures. These quirks in the length of cycles the chord progression passes through not to mention the length of melodic phrases and rests adds currency to how gripping and enduring this song is to the listener.

One other twist that makes a significant difference is how the IV-I-V-vi chord progression that characterizes so much of the song changes oh so subtly in the end to IV-I-V-I. With this seemingly small adjustment, all tonal ambiguity disappears. Having a progression mostly in a major tonality end with a deceptive cadence to vi each and every time creates tension between the tonalities and also ambiguity as to which is the strongest and dominates the song. As that sixth scale tone in the vi chord lowers to the fifth scale tone, the progression makes a sudden transformation to one that signals a release and ultimately closure. Though I actually miss that ambiguity after a couple of passes through the new chord progression, I appreciate immensely how it brings the song to a close.

Looking at the band’s use of inversions and chord voicings also confirms how the “The Funeral” at times uses very simple ideas, but at others adds subtle, unexpected twists to them. Beginning the song is a set of arpeggios outlining the IV-I-V-vi chord progression that characterizes most of the song. What stands out is how each arpeggio is the first, third, and fifth scale tone of each chord. With such an overly simple collection of arpeggios, one may begin to imagine that the band simply does not know anything of inversions at all. This impression however is quashed by the use of inversions in the final chord progression of the song where it changes over to IV-I-V-I. Where the use of a deceptive cadence once added interest to a fairly simply progression, now a heavy emphasis on the third and fifth in the bass of the harmonies has the same general effect. As a songwriting strategy, this move allows the band to create a sense of resolution without oversimplifying its music.

Basically, it’s these little quirks that allow the song to occupy what I imagine is a coveted space between formulaic songs and snobbish arrogance. Being able to be characterized as classic and clever simultaneously makes “The Funeral” work on numerous levels and allows it to remain interesting after having it on repeat for entire days straight.

•

The inevitable death of the Album?

2006-09-08T01:56:00.000+09:00

I've noticed this for a while, and maybe a lot of other people have to, but when I check other people's playlists on last.fm they seem to just have their music players on random. Actually, I also notice sometimes that they have them on repeat as well, but what's missing here is playing through an album. Now there are a couple of factors at play here that explain why people are straying from the album format. First of all, having a music player on random is essentially a personal radio station. And/or maybe this is part of a general movement away from the album format and back to the single format.

I can attest to how nice it is to surrender all decision making responsibilities to the algorithms of a software program. Plus there are the little surprises you get from having a song you haven't heard for a while come up. But what is lost when people ignore the album is the sense of continuity that is sometimes (not often enough if you ask me) at the heart of a record. You are basically eschewing the band's choice of songs and song order and handing the power to a cold digital process by which your playlist is chosen.

On the topic of a general return to the dominance of the single, we don't have the mp3 player to fault but instead the downloading software, especially those that specialize in individual songs. That basically exempts the vast majority of bittorrent downloads. Whether you get your music from a free p2p program or through a pay by the download one, you can cut through the flab of worthless, forgettable songs that occasionally characterize the space between singles on countless albums (most of which are of course single-focused for the sake of radio airplay to begin with). This is why I was absolutely baffled when Christina Aguilera released a double album recently. It will inevitably have more throwaway songs and be a waste of money for her and her label since so many more people can buy only the singles at a tiny fraction of the album's cost. I could care less about what kind of money Christina Aguilera and her backers make, but what I'm truly worried about is that this practice of downloading only fragments of an album might spill over into more album friendly (frequently indie)genres and begin to trivialize those types of albums as well.

With both factors at play, the album format might not have (as much of) a prominent role in how people listen to music in the coming years.

Are you with me or what?

2006-07-26T23:45:00.000+09:00

So who here is tired and bored of Pitchfork? I've been reading it regularly, probably about once a day give or take the occasional disruption in access to the internet for the last 3 1/2 years. I guess the basic jist of it has remained fairly solid - good reviews, news, etc. of independent music and anything else in music that's noteworthy, but Pitchfork has increasingly taken on this persona of trying to be your absurdly sarcastic and literate friend. Let's take the example of yesterday's review of the new Basement Jaxx single "Hush Boy". The first sentence is solid: great! an amusing analogy about how there was bound to be a day we wouldn't like the first single to a Basement Jaxx record. Then astonishingly they carry out the analogy, which is actually about a relationship, breakup, and a freaky related dream, for an entire two paragraphs.

I only read the whole thing out of astonishment and also so I could see what kind of wreckage would result from all this. Trust me, I was not disappointed. The punchline included a dream where your girlfriend breaks open like a shell only to reveal "the head of Dikembe Mutombo who yelps, 'if you want me for your girlfriend!'" Really, who even know who the hell Dikembe Mutombo is? I do only because I grew up around Philadelphia where Mutombo played when I was young and still a fan of the Sixers, but what person today reading Pitchfork without that same connection would know who he is? Nonetheless, the analogy is fucking ridiculous. I agree with the review, but when did music criticism become a half-baked exercise in creative writing?

But Pitchfork wasn't always like this. I remember checking out a review of the Jeff Buckley album "Grace" from 1996 when Pitchfork was still in its infancy and didn't have the digital clout that it has today. After reading it, I was surprised to find out how short the review actually was - maybe only 1 or 2 paragraphs. That's how much text they devote to a single track review nowadays; and remember, "Grace" was a seriously respected album back when it came out 10 years ago probably meriting some serious commentary.

Although my frustration with Pitchfork goes well beyond this, reading the Basement Jaxx review made it oh so clear.

2006-06-15T18:40:00.000+09:00

I thought it was a good idea more than four years ago, but I finally got to it when it became automated and required no work whatsoever. Audiodiary, spring from the womb!

The numbers for last week:

...and the totals: