I
scored really big this weekend. No, my eternal fascination with women
has not finally paid off. Sheesh, i don't think i've had a chance to
give my opinion of women in Austin yet. It ain't pretty- trust me.
No,
i'm talking about music.
To
most folk, this may seem like a really odd collection of sounds to buy
in the same weekend, but i'm the kind of guy who can buy some Bill Evans
(the greatest piano player of all time, in my humble opinion), Shostakovich
and Danny Tenaglia and I'll probably find some sort of common thread
that binds all of them; even if it's a thread that only i can understand.
I'd
love to sit here and talk about music tonight. Anyone who knows me knows
how important a role music plays in my life. Instead i should probably
call it a night. But before i do, i have to explain tonight's title.
See, i have this thing about music... if it has lyrics, i generally
dismiss it.
Why?
Well,
try and follow me on this. Words, in the form of lyrics, are an individuals
interpretation of events and thoughts, right? Those words might accurately
reflect those experiences or thoughts, or they might not.Chances aren't
really in favor of accuracy since words often fail to convey the depth
of a particular experience. Now, as a listener i take those words in
and apply my own interpretation and experiences to them. I may experience
something akin to what the composer set out to do, but chances aren't
likely that i will. But there's another reason as well. Two more actually.
The first is that most bands can't play worth a damn. They use lyrics
to cover up the fact that they have a sophomoric understanding of music
theory, composition, arranging and executing. Proof? Listen to any rock/pop
music. Same goes for the R&B stuff too that's so sampled and looped
that royalties have to be given to the artists they take their sounds
from. One exception i'll make here is rap. No, not because i interpret
those words as they were meant to be (?!?), but because in rap the rhythm
and sounds are secondary to the pentameter of the vocals, which actually
attempt to communicate in a way that makes the most of timing. It takes
some real damn skill to rap well, though bad rapping is apparently as
easy as falling off a cliff. In the world of popular music, i say rap
is the most innovative and refreshing thing to happen since the Sex
Pistols.
But
the second reason is that the vocabulary of music as a means unto itself
is capable of generating a larger vocabulary than a voice can. Listen
to Bill Evans, listen to some Pat Metheny Group, check out Hynrik Gorecki's
Symphony No. 3 -- The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs --(yes, i know it
has vocals, but they're in Polish and are done in a way that Dawn Upshaw's
voice becomes an instrument in and of itself) . But most of all, i challenge
anyone who is serious about music, or THINK that they're serious about
music, to look beyond the world of music as dictated by the confines
of words. There are worlds within worlds within worlds where the vocabulary
of sound can communicate infinately more to the human experiences than
yet ANOTHER stanza of, "I love you baby, yea, yea, yea..."
Yea,
yea, yea.
Oh,
but back to the title of tonights entry. She's very much an exception
to my rule because her voice is so damned thick and sexy. Of course,
i'm speaking of Tracy Thorn of Everything
But The Girl fame.
But
now... now time has shown me once again that it has me in it's merciless
grasp. I'll have to write more on this later.
Meanwhile,
my thoughts are of being somewhere other than Austin; even if for only
a few days. I need to take some vacation and i'm seriously pondering
going to Portland, Seattle or even Vancouver for a few days. I can afford
the air fare, but i'm not sure about the hotels, food and toys that
i'd have to buy.
On
the other hand, i'm pretty sure i cannot afford to stay around here
for too much longer. I'm going stir crazy.
good
night.