Saturday, June 04, 2005

Where does music need to go?

It all started in the caves. Our ancestors used logs, sticks, rocks, leaves, hair, or bone to make sounds. The sounds were a form of communication. They could be used to show welcoming or love or happiness or despair. Once we gained the use of tools, we could make much more complicated instruments. Since then, the ability to produce music has progressed. From the caves to computers, have we forgotten the fundamentals of where music came from? It used to take a person and her or his thoughts and abilities to create beautiful sounds. Now, computers can create sounds for us. It is so easy. So simple. You don't have to think. Just touch a button and click the mouse. Magic. You don't have to work. Computers can change your voice. Computers can change the sounds. When the future generations look into the past, will they think --> "How did they live with music created by computers?" Or will they think --> "Computers were the start of the best music ever." Can you imagine a future where nsync will be worshiped for their ability to make music? Music that wasn't really theirs. Music they never wrote or created. I sincerely hope not. And I would like to know what people think are the greatest musicians ever. Bands, musicians, orchestras, or choruses. Many people know what good music is and they need a place to talk about this. Let's start:

(There's More Below the Fold)

What I like to hear is music that took work and effort. What I like to hear is special to me.

Music I like to hear:

Alice in Chains (through their lyrics, they gave voice to people who weren't always happy; they created sounds that reached the soul)

Beethoven (for his strict attention to detail and his creativity and how he could create emotion from the sounds of many different instruments)

Bob Dylan (though musically simple, his songs were well created and now award winning)

Dave Matthews Band (for their attention to detail and love of their fans)

Jimi Hendrix (though full of drugs, his songs were breaking barriers and pushing the envelope at a time when disco was popular; his untimely death kept him from completely reshaping the music world forever, and kept him from preventing the horrible music catastrophe we have today)

Bob Marley (for his love of his country and his ability to take a new form of music and make it his own)

Metallica (for their abilities; plus I love the way Hetfield and Hammett can do harmonies together at lightning speed)

Pink Floyd (they challenged how we listened to music and how we could hold on to the beliefs that we had for our music)

Soundgarden (their sound was unique, even for their time, and they had what no one else had at their time: vocals, guitar, drums, and bass; they all were good at what they did and could weave sounds together to make a swirl of music)

Tool (though years occur between releases, every song is full of ability; their more recent creations have featured a desire to make songs that utilize different time signatures such as 9/8, 5/4, or 7/4; how many times can you remember hearing songs in these time signatures?)

I would love to hear any other types of musicians. True musicians. One thing you can note: every band or person I mentioned created their own music. I know my selection is mainstream and has been heard by most people. If you have any favorite musicians that are underground or out of sight, list them. They need as much support as they can get. Every musician's dream is that someone will listen to them and like them for what they create.

3 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I like that you have Hendrix, Alice In Chains, Metallica. I listen to ROCK. Some of my faves are Alkaline Trio, Thursday, Thrice, Brand New, Black Label Society just to name a few.

9:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You certainly have a great place to discuss music topics. I like your sense of history of rock and how it contributes to what we are hearing today. Like many of the artists you mention. To your point about computers. At first it was a means to create a new sound never heard before. Now it seems those putting out the music of the day have wandered to the other side of the spectrum. Now it seems to be applied to make his or her music sound like what everyone else is doing to be certain of some commercial viability, thus removing any semblance of creativity from the process. I wonder how many of these musicians feel they are genuine producers because they have this computer. Have we removed the real human producer from the mix?

7:14 AM  
Blogger LeifEriksson said...

quahogian made me think of something dreadful: what if the future of music is without human interaction? What if it's just a computer that receives input on what is popular, creates songs, and then spits them out to cd for release to the public? A terrible future that would be.

10:55 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Free Message Forum from Bravenet.com Free Message Forums from Bravenet.com
Free Photo Albums from Bravenet.com Free Photo Albums from Bravenet.com