AND WE’RE BACK
After a brief recess of like 8 months (oops) I’m back, and I will try to be a bit more regular. Except its not gonna happen, but I LOVE MUSIC and its amazing and so I will be writing my near-worthless opinions on any music I feel like as much as possible, as well as other life-related commentary, and it will be fun.
First of all, a general commentary: Thanks to my new friend, I have discovered musical theater – the musical portion of it, anyway. And, despite the fact that I’m still acquiring the taste of some of the stories and etcs, the music is incredibly powerful and beautiful. The combination of acting and singing allows the singers/actors to put an incredible amount of emotion into their voices, a feat that is severely lacking in virtually all contemporary “standardized” music genres, and particularly in the guitar-bass-drum rock bands that seem to sprout like E. coli, and oftentimes have about as much musical talent.
I know musical theater is not a very appealing genera to most people who like the other type of music that I have written about here, but I encourage you to branch out a bit, give it a chance. Check out this for starters – and don’t listen to the lyrics if you want; watch her movement, the emotion in her face, and the emotion she puts into the music. Watch it jump and dance and personify in your brain, and really give it a chance:
On another note, ya know what song is really cool? Eli, The Barrow Boy by The Decemberists. Incredible song, especially the chorus:
“Would I could afford to buy my love a fine robe
Made of gold and silk Arabian thread
But she is dead and gone and lying in a pine grove
And I must push my barrow all the day
And I must push my barrow all the day”
One of the incredible things about The Deceberists is their amazing ability to maintain a raw sound with “unconventional” lyrics while still pushing power and emotion. Thankyou, Colin Meloy, for those lyrics by the way, you have no idea (actually I bet you probably do) how refreshing it is to hear words like “barrow” or “corduroy” in a song, and not only that, but to be taken on a lyrical journey from point A to point B complete with character development and conflict, as opposed one person complaining about their problems (almost every other song out there), is so awesome. And obviously not just in this song (though it is a good example) but pretty much every song The Decemberists have recorded. Of course, this is what they are known for, so I’m just stating the obvious, but every time I rediscover one of their songs, it hits me all over again. Good good stuff.
Look up The Decemberists if you don’t know them. I prescribe frequent dosage of at least their albums “The Crane Wife” and “Castaways and Cutouts”. Listen and Love! And check out Odelisque on C&C, it has the COOLEST TRANSITION ever, and is also a major acquired taste but definitely worth a listen.
peace for now.
Music Saturation Project 