Though Almost Famous holds court as my favorite movie, it's not because I can identify with the movie's rock writer hero, however much I'd like to identify with a rock writer who has Lester Bangs as a mentor (I'm far better suited to be a Band-Aid). In college I liked to think of myself as an amateur new-music connoisseur, mostly because I was - dork alert - the entertainment chair of the activities programming board.* As it turns out, I wasn't a music connoisseur of any level. I liked music, and was aware of genres, themes, trends, and even a little history, but I lacked the passion to really pursue music knowledge beyond reading Rolling Stone and listening to music I immediately liked.
Turns out, the music I like best is singer-songwriter fare, folk, indie pop (epecially the Britpop), and music that would fall under the umbrella of alt rock. Yes, I am white. This doesn't mean I don't like or appreciate other forms of music, except for screamo. In my younger years I had a deep affection for jam bands, but I think this was a result of my proclivity for summer concerts and sitting in the lawn and not really needing to pay attention to the music. Now I need more structure (sorry jazz), more story. To explain it a different way, right now my Pandora Radio stations are the Mountain Goats, Brandon Patton, Vampire Weekend, Antje Duvekot, Alexi Murdoch, R.E.M., and the Frattelis. Actually, looking at this list, it makes me seem way cooler than I am. Rest assured that I'm not cool when it comes to music; you can come over and I'll show you the CDs I own, including Mariah Carey and Jewel. I would actually really like to learn more about good rap, but I'd desperately need someone to hold my hand and guide me. I realize that if I succeed in this venture I will look like Michael Bolton driving into work in the beggining of Office Space, but so be it.
The music I listen to often becomes so precious to me that I go for very long periods of time without caring about or seeking new music. It's kind of like saying, "I don't need anymore friends, thanks." Ellis Paul will get me through life just fine. To combat this, today I decided to visit NPR's Song of the Day and added about a month's worth of songs of the day to my NPR playlist. As a result, I'm happy to report that I've added Wussy to my "possibly to buy from iTunes" list. Their first album came out three years ago, but they are new to me, so congratulate me.
So if you've learned nothing from these Tuesday triflings, which is likely, then I'll leave you with this: I am not the person to ask about music, new, old, or otherwise. For my part, I promise not to bring it up in real-life conversation unless I have a good and specific reason, because it's impossible to talk about music and not sound like an a-hole.
*The secret is that this position was better than a backstage pass. The ways in which I enjoyed this position I'll leave up to your imagination.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
In an effort to "learn more about good rap," I suggest you start with "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z (with Alicia Keyes). I'd say I'll gladly hold your hand, as long as Jay-Z is holding my other hand, but I'm sure that Beyonce, even though she seems like a really sweet girl, would have a problem with that.
I've been rocking out to this a little bit. It needs to be put on my iPod so I can walk around with one hand in the air for the big city.
Dear Tara,
As someone who’s written wonderful words about the great music coming from singer songwriter Ellis Paul – first I’d like to tell you thank you. I’ve been Ellis Paul's friend and manager since 1992 and his music, words and friendship are jewels in my life. Upon examining the state of the music industry, Ellis and I have realized that far and away the most important connections that we have are not at all on the business side of the equation – it’s the people that love Ellis’ music. They’re more important than the biggest retailer or the most powerful radio station - so we’re starting a campaign to empower the people. Ellis’ new album “The Day After Everything Changed” was completely funded by his fans and is one of the finest he’s ever recorded. Many of Ellis' fans and folks passionate about great songwriting don’t even know that it’s been released. So if you’d like to help support a truly independent artist – here’s how. The lead single track on TDAEC is “Annalee”, and if you go to www.ellispaul.com/free you can download “Annalee” for free. Unlike so many other free song offers – you don’t have to give us your email, sign up or register for anything at all. It’s free for the taking. The small favor we would ask? Please share it with any and all of your friends that would enjoy Ellis’ music. This would help our efforts and help spread the music. This truly is a campaign about the power of the people in the support of independent music and artists.
Please stay in touch.
And thank you.
Ralph Jaccodine, Manager
Post a Comment