“Serious listening”, now there’s a phrase. This is when I’m able to devote all of my energy
to the act of listening. Elements - a
comfortable position and either headphones or the stereo very loud. During such sessions I can pick out lyrics
(and occasionally understand them) and hear details I might not necessarily
catch. My body relaxes , tension
subsides and I feel as though I’ve dissolved into the atmosphere along with
the music. At this point, I’m usually
oblivious to everything around me; if “M” needs me for anything, she knows she’ll
have to come to wherever I’m located and disturb my state.
It’s one of the strange aspects of my own existence. Unlike many people in the world, I need noise
to relax. Silence is a state to be
avoided at all costs; to me it means death and I know I’m going to dead for a
long time. Noise provides evidence of
human existence, especially at night.
Music, is a form of harmonious, rhythmic or expressive noise and is for
me the most desired evidence of human existence. If the music is really good, I find myself
wanting to join in and add to it; this is why I think I tap, stomp, clap or singing
along to favourite pieces of music.
But there is an incredibly fine line between noise and
music. We don’t all regard the same
harmonies, rhythms or expressions as music.
What I might consider music, you might think of as noise and vice
versa. Personally, I find it extremely
difficult to listen to arias and most falsetto singing; it doesn’t appeal to me and as such I regard it as
noise. I’d rather hear a combination of sounds
that has come from man made instruments that can be manipulated in innumerable ways and which a musician has personalised through
combinations of their own playing style, lyrics, the sound of their actual voice and any other naturally occurring
sounds. This is
probably why I’d rather not hear
arias and falsettos; they’re striving to produce a homogeneous sound,
a form of aural commodity. Yes, there
are tenors, sopranos, etc, but they’re all instructed to sing the
same songs in exactly the same manner, the only real difference being the sound of their voice. But individuality is generally not prized here, it is the expectation that the musicians involved faithfully reproduces something that has been set out almost like following a dress pattern. This is where the commodity analogy comes in.
Take your humble cardboard box as an example. They come in different shapes, sizes, materials, patterns, lids, colours,
etc but ultimately my opinion about any one box will be shaped by whether it is
able to do what it is supposed to do and not whether it has a distinctive personality.
In other words, music is a man made
noise that, in my view, requires the individual who created it to put a distinctive
stamp on it that appeals to me.
I have no idea from where the preceding paragraphs emanated. They just flowed off the keyboard as I
wrote. The weekend’s listening focused
on some Australian acts that have never really hit any form of mass popularity.
(146) Magic Dirt –
Snow White
This was the last Magic Dirt album to have been released on
an Australian major label. The sound is
a little more scuffled up that its predecessor Tough Love and is all the better
for it. They’ve since stayed true to this vision but
have dropped from the scene following the death of their bassist Dean Turner. Adalita’s solo success will probably ensure
that it will be a while longer before they return, if at all.
(147) The Mess Hall –
For The Birds
It’s amazing how sometimes bands from different parts of the
world can arrive at the same point simultaneously. The Mess Hall are a Sydney based two piece
drum and guitar combo who formed in 2001, the same year as The Black Keys. (Of course bands were probably inspired by
The White Stripes.) This is about their
5th or 6th and
most recent album and it sees them consolidating their sound.
(148 ) Died Pretty – Free Dirt (extended
version)
Easily one of the finest bands to emerge from Sydney during
the 1980’s, Died Pretty became a firm favourite with Melbourne punters. With their sense of melody marrying the epic
guitar heroics of Brett Myers, a deep keyboard sound and the distinctive vocals
from the charismatic Ron Peno, it wasn’t all that difficult to see why. Free Dirt was their first album and has been
expanded by Aztec records to include period singles and EPs some demos and 6
live tracks. The only problem I’ve had
with the album is its track listing. The
original vinyl Side 1 comprised 4 epic numbers only one of which is less than 5
and a half minutes. It includes some of
the highlights of the live set from their gigs during this time especially Just
Skin and Next To Night. (An example of
the former is included in the live tracks.)
Side 2 comprises shorter, more commercial type numbers which can be
heard as a letdown. I always played the
vinyl in reverse order and imported the tracks the same way onto my iPod. Among the highlights of the bonus material,
are the Stoneage Cinderella single, a demo version of Dylan’s From A Buick 6
and a live version of their classic single Everybody Moves.
No comments:
Post a Comment