“Movie making is a trick. Songwriting is a trick. If a song is done really well, the trick works. If not, people can see through it right away.” – David Byrne

Sometimes I feel like the more I learn about the craft of music, the more difficult it becomes to enjoy listening to it.  I’ve been feeling more than ever the difference between the enjoyment of music and the appreciation of music.  The latter is what’s taught at academic music institutions – teaching you how to break down, analyze, and reduce music to its essential components to help you decide whether a piece of music is good or not.  The former is the immediate feeling of a song washing over you – the visceral reaction that makes you smile, or cry, or move your body.

Therein lies the reason why I chose to pursue music in the first place.  I wanted to channel and pass that feeling along; I wanted to make people feel the way that I feel when I listen to great music.  I’m sure a small part of me wanted to figure out its underlying principles – the real techniques and knowledge required to compose and perform – but that’s not the reason why I chose to study music.

When I listen to music now, after years of study, I can’t help but try and figure out all of the mechanizations going on behind the scenes – what Byrne refers to as, “the trick.”  Whenever I hear a song, I try to strip away each element, slowly unraveling the yarn until I can say, “a-ha, so this is what you’re doing here.”  I can’t help it.  It’s every record-store-owner clichè: “yeah, I’ve heard that band.  All they’re really doing is combining [music x] and [music y].”  And in that instant, the illusion is shattered.  The trick has been revealed, the code has been broken, and the music can be dismissed.  It’s a total drag to feel that way, especially in the company of other music fans.  I often wish I could just turn off the analytical music-student part of my brain and just hear the music, rather than mentally deconstructing it.  I sometimes practice “un-learning.”

So, I then ask myself, what’s the value of music education?  Much of the time it seems like the purpose of music study is to learn as much as possible about the construction of music, at the cost of actually enjoying it.  When I extend that idea to other art forms, I think of the proverbial film student who can’t stomach a Quentin Tarantino movie because of it’s obvious references and plot elements snatched from movies past.  See, I really like Quentin Tarantino movies.  If I were a film student, would my enjoyment be any different?  And which experience would I chose to inhabit, that of the film scholar or that of the film lover?  It seems like knowing so thoroughly the behind-the-scenes methodology is to sacrifice your enjoyment of the art as a visceral, moving experience.  I choose to be a fan.

But still, there are ways in which education can actually enhance your enjoyment of music.  You can be immensely rewarded when you encounter the rare piece that’s stunningly constructed.  At that point, the analysis dissolves, and in that moment of hearing the song, you’re thinking of nothing else but how incredible it sounds, and how incredible you feel.  Totally awestruck.  There will always be moments like this, however rare.  No matter how many songs I hear, and no matter how much I learn about music-making, someone will make something that blows me away.  And the analysis can wait.

As inevitable as stampeding buffalo.

Marley Carroll is now on Facebook.

Watch in horror and amusement as he struggles against the unrelenting tide of Internet social networks!  And become a fan.

[link]

Two of my favorite bands popped up in the NYT’s RSS feed today.

The Radiohead article talks up the band’s prowess in navigating the current and future music markets, and the Yo La Tengo article is an interview with Georgia and Ira about their influences (and influencing other bands).  Nice.

Fever Ray. Photo: Johan Renck

Fever Ray is Karin Dreijer Andersson. She is also one-half of Swedish electronic group The Knife, a group that captured my attention (and affection) after releasing their song “Heartbeats” in 2003 [video].

The fascinating thing about Fever Ray is her ability to make such evocative music from such a limited palette. On their own, the sounds she uses are cold, stark and untreated – the electronics are laid bare, rather than hidden behind a wall of processing. It’s a much different approach than, say, Boards of Canada (see last post), who use warm samples and subtle layers to create a living, breathing organism. Somehow, she makes it all work, and it’s a nice reminder that, ultimately, it’s all about the songs.

Fever Ray – I’m Not Done

(*shudders*)

Hunk Clothing on Walnut St in Asheville.  Loopy / glitchy DJ set, free local beer, cool clothes, discounts.  Map!

]]> http://marleycarroll.com/blog/music/event-marley-carroll-at-hunk.html/feed 0 http://marleycarroll.com/blog/music/event-marley-carroll-at-the-hookah-bar-08-15.html http://marleycarroll.com/blog/music/event-marley-carroll-at-the-hookah-bar-08-15.html#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:08:46 +0000 marley http://marleycarroll.com/blog/?p=335

Not pictured : Marley Carroll

Solo DJ set this Saturday, August 15th at the Hookah Bar on N French Broad in Asheville. 

Expect to see some newer live looping, glitching and remix techniques for the “listening room” crowd.  $5 cover, 10ish.

Eric Lindley.

Eric Lindley is a singer, writer and friend based out of Los Angeles.  He does many art-things, one of which is making beautifully hushed lo-fi songwriter material that recalls Smog, Elliott Smith and Red House Painters.

His first full-length, “Nightcat!”, came out on Sounds Super in 2007.  My favorite track from that album, “Shooting Range,” seems to follow me everywhere.

Eric Lindley – Shooting Range [mp3]

Clark.

Chris Clark records for Warp Records, the paragon of modern IDM and glitch music.  I’ve been following him since 2003, when he released “Empty the Bones of You,” and since then his style has gotten progressively idiosyncratic, to the point where his signature sound can’t be mistaken for anyone else.  It’s so ingrained, in fact, that if you don’t really like this music (as I do), it can be tough to get on board.

Finding your own voice can be challenging, especially in electronic music, where so much content is recycled.  Some artists take their signature sound through little evolutionary steps but stay instantly recognizable (Boards of Canada), while some artists become album-hopping chameleons, taking on different personae from work to work (Squarepusher, Luke Vibert).

Clark’s new album, Totems Flare, came out last week. Click for album sampler + more.

Clark – Future Daniel

As far as I know, the phenomenon started with a handful of videos by a YouTube user known as StSanders [his account is suspended due to copyright claims] – the oldest video I’ve been able to track down is his Santana Shreds video :

Santana Shreds

Even in its early stages, the hallmarks that have come to define these kinds of videos are there : the horrible guitar playing, the faint crowd clapping (always politely clapping, for some reason), intentionally ridiculous sample use (check out the timbale solo at :34), and the idea that the only person being heard should be the one on camera.  When you see the drummer, you only hear drums.  I love it.  Here are a few more, chronologically sorted and ending with the most recent.  You’ll get the idea.

On the heels of StSanders is thisnextsongiscalled. Here’s his take on Slipknot.

Slipknot Shreds

Up next, a classical crossover.

Yo-Yo Ma Shreds : Obama Inauguration

Rounding out the selection is Creed, already honored by two previous Shreds videos created by spiritswitchboard.  His most recent masterpiece is a candidate for funniest-yet Shreds video.  Careful, foul language ahead.

Creed Shreds

Nine Inch Nails Shreds [link below]

For some reason, thisnextsongiscalled decided to disable embedding for my absolute favorite Shreds video : a dead-on parody of NIN’s “March of the Pigs.” The skill and detail of that particular video is tremendous : from the drum sound to the room tone to all of the little nuanced background noises that really push it over the top. Just fucking awesome.

Next time : The G.I. Joe overdubs. Out.

Tickets and More Info…

The Tired Sounds Of... (2001)

Being introduced to Stars of the Lid was one of the best things about CalArts. It was like this little secret gift, something no one else knew about, something to keep really close to the vest. It’s not as though they’re unknown (they’re probably the most well-known drone group out there), but the experience of the band is something intensely personal.

I had the pleasure of seeing them in Los Angeles in April of 2008 at the Echoplex.  I don’t remember much about it.  Kind of like a dream right before waking up – I could feel it slipping as I was leaving.  This music isn’t so much about remembering, it’s about experiencing.  Anyway…

Stars of the Lid – Austin Texas Mental Hospital, Part 1

]]> http://marleycarroll.com/blog/music/music-stars-of-the-lid.html/feed 0 http://marleycarroll.com/blog/music/video-dirt-off-your-shoulder.html http://marleycarroll.com/blog/music/video-dirt-off-your-shoulder.html#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:08:19 +0000 marley http://marleycarroll.com/blog/?p=13 Part of my work with Mr. Invisible.

Mr. Invisible on MySpace

1981

vs

2005

Nice synopsis of the loudness wars in this 2007 RS article.