Modern Music

Hey people!

So I've decided to pay a bit more attention to that crazy new music Kids listen to.

Hey, don't look at me like that! I need something to talk about that isn't related to animation or deep philosophy. Even old movies don't speak to anyone these days(Do you know how many people HAVEN'T seen Casablanca?!).

So yes, knowing more about our modern music culture might be a good idea. Granted, I know some music theory and I'll be picking nits often but whatever. On to the study.


So I decided to listen to the first artist I found on this MTV blog I was looking at and ran into Rihanna.
Not bad eh? Dolled up and photoshopped all to hell, but whatever. The music is what matters so on to that!

I decided to look up her apparent break-through hit "Pon De Replay"


Now actually, I kind of like this. I can't say I'd go out of my way to buy it, but I can see why it caught on. It has a nice bounce to it and some catchy lyrics("let the bass from the speakers run through your sneakers" is a pretty fun line). Nothing pretentious about it, just fun and jumpy music you could dance to. I'd probably keep it on for a few seconds if I were browsing though stations on the radio and I imagine that's why it's successful.

So then I moved on to see a more recent to song to see how she progressed since her 2005 hit. I landed on the song "Don't Stop the Music"



Yawn. As generic a song as the title given to it. It's fair dancing music but the weak lyrics are hard to ignore. It's more shallow than the song above and there's just no fun to this. Oh, and by the way, "feel me" and "ceiling" don't rhyme.

Aren't artists supposed to improve their craft over time? Isn't that what we all strive for?

I'd lost interest by this point but another song had started so I gave it a listen. The song called "S.O.S."(ironic...)

The hell? This is Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" with shitty lyrics! And Soft Cell wasn't even the first to preform "Tainted Love". It was sung first by Gloria Jones in 1964. Give it a listen:



Sow see... that's how you sing a song. With inflection and sincerity. To give another example, here's a Frank Sinatra clip.



Now see I find these vastly more entertaining to listen to than most new artists. There's an honesty about them... some heart.

That's what would bother me most about this Rihanna and many other artists of our age: Very little honesty in their performances. It all feels so... superficial

I always wonder... who will we point to and say "That music defined our generation".

Don't get me wrong, I like some modern music... There are exceptions! In fact I'm always trying to introduce my Mom-who is a super picky music major- to some modern stuff. There are advancements made even in our remix-heavy society. I'm not all "Kids suck because they don't know the Beatles"... I'm more "Kids suck because the Beatles are often the extent of their classic music knowledge".

They made a huge impact for sure, but they aren't the be-all and end-all of our music history. I love most of their work, but I'll admit Beatles tunes are quite simple(and while their voices fit their music... whether they were singers or not... that's debatable). Sometimes, even with classic singers who knew how to do it up right, I've gotta rock the Beethoven every now and then.



I DO NOT EXPECT YOU TO LISTEN TO ALL OF THIS

I totally understand if you can't get into it. It's much less accessible than any of the shorter things I've posted. If you can though, please close your eyes and give it a short listen. Take note of how the theme is played with in various ways. A classically composed piece takes on an entirely different form than the shorter pop songs. While pop songs tend to convey just one emotion, symphonies explore a broad spectrum in just one piece. These are the roots or modern music as we know it today. Anyway, that's why these pieces are as welcome on my play list as ABBA's "Dancing Queen".

I'm sure I seem overly pretentious in my music tastes, but really I listen to all sorts. I mean, you're talking to a man who likes this:



and tries to say he knows good music!

I realize it's far from fantastic artistically, but it's catchy as all get out. I like it in some form. I can't call it bad.



Music in it's purest form is a collection of sounds that evokes a feeling. The general populace hears the same songs played and there's a sort of unity we gain from doing so. Even if I don't like all of the stuff being played, I want to get in on this feeling and feel a bit more attached to my own generation... and it's as simple as turning on the radio.

Who knows? I may find even more music that I like=)




AND YES there will be art next post okay?