Impulse Buy

On an impulse yesterday I bought (What's The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis when I found it on special at JB-HiFi. I'm still not exactly sure why cos I've never really been an Oasis fan, which is why I didn't already have the album, though that's not to say I don't like them but beyond Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova I haven't really cared much for their music. However, after listening to the album a few times I can say that I quite like it. Don't know if I'm an Oasis fan yet but I enjoy the pop-rock mix they have come up with and they are great song-writers.

A Uni Assignment on The Beatles

Here's an essay I did for my music gen ed paper at uni. I was pretty pleased with it so I thought I'd post it here. The topic was 'How were the Beatles a turning point in Western music'.

During the early days of the 1960s the rock n roll craze of the previous decade was in rapid decline. After the loss of many of its biggest stars and the rise in popularity of the Motown label many people believed that the days of guitar based bands and fast paced, high intensity shows were numbered. However, a four piece rock band from Liverpool would soon change all this. This band, which came to be known as The Beatles, rose to fame by combining rock n roll with other genres of popular music, sharing the lead vocals to add more variety to their music, and performing almost exclusively songs they had written themselves. While these characteristics of their music would eventually cause a great change in popular music they began developing them as amateur musicians staying in Germany.

The formation of The Beatles’ trademark style occurred during residences at various clubs around the St. Pauli district of Hamburg in 1960. Due to the individual members’ different tastes they would listen to songs from many different genres including blues, Motown, and show tunes many of which would be taken, given a harder, faster feel, and used in the Beatles’ sets. Throughout their stints in Hamburg the Beatles’ technical and song writing abilities increased significantly through the usage of musical ideas gleaned from the wide variety of music they were listening to so that by the time they released their first album Please Please Me they sounded very different from other bands of that time. Throughout the album their many influences are often quite obvious. For example the first track, I Saw Her Standing There, is a rock n roll song very similar in style to an Elvis Presley or Gene Vincent track but John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison often harmonise in a Motown style during the chorus and on the flipside Love Me Do has a drum and bass beat inspired by country music with McCartney playing the bass note on the first beat and an octave higher on the third beat while drummer Ringo Starr makes good use of a tambourine.

Most bands of that time tended to present themselves as the backing group for a singer, who was the main draw card, for example Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, or Diana Ross and the Supremes. However, the Beatles had no lead singer since they were all vocally proficient. They would all share the job of lead vocals which was something unheard of then – Holly, Richard and Ross, for example, always sang the lead vocals for their respective groups. This allowed songs of different styles to be sung by the member whose voice was best suited to that style and gave more variety to their music. For example, Lennon and Harrison’s voices suit the cover of “You Really Got A Hold On Me” on the album With The Beatles but Starr’s deeper, huskier voice is much better suited to the next track “I Wanna Be Your Man” and McCartney’s softer voice is well fits well with the softer “P. S. I Love You” on Please Please Me.

Finally, perhaps the most significant difference in The Beatles was that they almost exclusively performed songs they had written themselves, rather than a mix of covers and original songs provided by their record label, which allowed them to showcase their style and individual members’ abilities. The wide range of music they had listened to in Hamburg had enabled them to pick up many musical techniques which made these songs popular and Lennon and McCartney had begun writing music together using these ideas even during that time. Even so the record companies they auditioned for were less than impressed with the quality of the music but after George Martin agreed to produce them he helped them polish the rough edges out of their original compositions and honed the Beatles’ skills as song writers. From their first album original songs are prolific. Please Please Me contained 6 covers, a fairly ordinary number then, but the band themselves wrote all the remaining 8 tracks which was very unusual and 2 years later, with the release of Rubber Soul they were exclusively recording their own material. 

These revolutionary ideas which The Beatles developed during their formative years in Hamburg and their early recording days at Abbey Road quickly began to influence other groups throughout England and America. Bands such as The Beach Boys, The Animals, and The Monkees were heavily influenced by the Beatles’ style and began writing their own songs as well. They were also a major influence on American folk band The Byrds who were increasingly drawn to rock n roll after seeing The Beatles perform. Later The Beatles would again change popular music again when they began creating more experimental albums such as Revolver and Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band but their earlier impact would arguably be greater. Today many bands write their own music and it is normal pop groups to share the lead vocals just like the Beatles began doing 50 years ago.

Random Pictures and Old Wallpapers

Just something a bit random ... 

My current wallpaper:

 Epic.


My previous wallpaper:

 





Guess who.

By the way, my wallpaper before that was:

Lol.

Something Different

OK I've been meaning to write this for ages but it never quite comes together so hopefully this time it will. I've been thinking about songs that have interested me. They're not necessarily my favourite songs of all time or even songs that I enjoyed, although I have really liked most of them, but they all have some quality which sticks out about them. 

Riders on the Storm - The Doors

60s rock bands like The Who, The Animals, and The Doors really intrigued me by their use of Hammond organs and this epic song is one of the better examples. My other favourite would be the much heavier Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who. Two contrasting songs that really show off the capabilities of this instrument. I really want to learn how to play one! 

Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

Starts like an ordinary punk song but then suddenly changes to something completely different. And unlike most songs which do this each part is almost a standalone song - albeit rather short. The Beatles did a similar thing in A Day In The Life as well as Muse in United States of Eurasia. 

Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

I don't care what anyone says about Californication or Desecration Smile this is the Chillis best song ever. I love the way it mixes jazz chords and an R&B beat with rock and the constantly modulating choral ending is epic. I play this on the piano all the time and it sounds just as good. 

Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

Interesting mix of alt and bluegrass. I would also list Nickel Creek but I can't think of a single one of their songs to put down - their all so interesting and different. 

Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead

The Created Void - Underoath 

Storms In Africa - Enya

Radio Ga Ga - Queen 

To name a few. Let me know some songs that had something about them that really interested you.

A Few Thoughts ...

We were studying Wagner in my music class the other day. The guy pretty much defines the term 'enigma' and with the amount of stuff that he wrote about himself, like about 5 volumes of autobiography and even more analyzing his own music, you wouldn't expect that but his writings are so full of self-contradictions and self-praise that they just become confusing. Oh and he was an early Nazi as well. I guess about the only thing that could redeem him (at least in my eyes) is the Ring Cycle. Absolutely stunning epic ahh ... opera cycle.

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Staying on Wagner for a bit I've been intrigued with his idea of leit-motifs to represent characters, themes, places, etc. although I don't think it will help me with writing songs. But maybe...

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I am currently trying to write 800 words on Liszt's 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody. I know that sounds easy considering it's massive fame but honestly it's not. For a start almost no one has ever written about them before because apparently they were too popular. Hmmm

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I've started to practice for an ABRSM grade 8 piano exam. I probably won't sit it for 2-3 years but at least I will be ready. Unlike my last exam when I was ready but unable to enter due to stupid ABRSM bureaucracy. So hopefully I will manage to pass sight reading this time :)

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I'm trying to post more regularly to keep my faithful readers, yeah all 2 of you, interested and up to date with my life. It's not going so well at the moment but I'm getting there. This will make for 2 posts this month and I'll try to post again. That'll be a new record. 3 post in a month. Yeah!!!

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Oh and by the way if you're interested in writing music as I am check out the Modesty Writer's Guild (link to the right). I know it sounds weird but trust me it's not. It's where Anberlin front man Stephen Christian writes about his latest ideas about life, music, God, and almost anything else song-worthy. Have a look.

Stuff I'm Listening To

Here are some albums that I've been listening to a lot recently and have been really inspiring me musically.

Blueprints for the Blackmarket - Anberlin

I really like these guys and I had heard all their stuff except for this. Then my mate got this album and told me I should listen to it cos it  was actually better than all their other albums. I didn't believe him but I borrowed it off him to have a listen to so I could decide for myself. I still haven't got around to giving it back yet.

It's an amazing album. Seriously, if you like Anberlin and haven't heard this you NEED to. It's not going to blow you away immediately with how good it is but the more you listen to it the better it gets. It pretty much sums up the rest of their music - there are the pop-rock radio singles like Autobahn and Naive Orleans, which go with later releases like Stationary Stationery and A Day Late, as well as the amazingly epic songs like Readyfuels, Glass To The Arson, and Cadence which foreshadow the likes of Paperthin Hymn, Godspeed, and Hello Alone. They've changed a lot since then but in many ways they are still the same.

Tales From New York - Simon & Garfunkle

I'm not sure exactly when or why I started liking Simon & Garfunkle. I'd heard a lot of their music but I didn't know who they were but not long after I'd discovered them for myself I found this 2CD greatest hits collection at a second hand book sale of all places. Since it was only $2 I bought it and since then it has become one of my favourite albums. 

I don't generally like compilations, they miss out too many tracks I love, but since you hardly hear S&G any more, except maybe for Mrs. Robinson or Bridge Over Troubled Water, it's actually quite good. It has all their major hits from The Sound Of Silence to My Little Town as well as some lesser known tracks and live recordings of Bye Bye Love and Song For The Asking. They are a stunning duo and have had amazing solo careers as well. I could go on all day about each individual song and how brilliant it is or how The Boxer is by far their greatest song or ... but there's no point. Just listen to this album and hear for yourself.

The Bends - Radiohead

As  I mentioned in the last post I've started liking Radiohead a lot recently. The main reason for that is this album. Having been told how awesome Radiohead were by a friend (named in the aforementioned post) I decided to listen to them, again grooveshark.com ftw, but due to their now voluminous back catalogue I was unsure where to start so I began with OK Computer, moved to Kid A, and then Pablo Honey. There were some really good songs, eg Creep and Paranoid Android, but nothing about their music really stood out to me.

Then I listened to The Bends and I'm not sure why but I loved it. I don't know what else to say except that this album is amazing. SERIOUSLY amazing. Don't ask me why cos I don't know. I need to listen to it a whole lot more to really get it but it is awesome. 

Inception OST - Hans Zimmer

From the moment I saw the trailer for this film I knew the soundtrack would be amazing. Then I saw the film and I knew it was amazing. And then I heard the album. And it blew my mind.

Honestly, if you thought the movie was mind-bending that's nothing compared to the music. Hans Zimmer, who I consider to be the greatest film composer around at the moment and possibly ever, has outdone himself here. I loved the Prince Of Egypt, The Last Samurai, and Pirates Of The Caribbean scores and was wowed by the Sherlock Holmes and The Dark Knight scores  but absolutly nothing prepared me for this.

There's nothing complex about this. Half Remembered Dream is built around 2 brilliant bass notes, Johnny Marr's guitar plays 2 chords in Dream is Collapsing which give an amazing ambience, and Mombasa is almost entirely African drums and a synth bass playing one note at 3 different octaves. As with Simon & Garfunkle I could go on and on about this. It is simply stunning and will go down as one of the greatest film standards of all time.

Viva La Vida (Prospekt's March Edition) - Coldplay

This album is probably one of the greatest musical collaborations of all time. I had been hoping for ages that Brian Eno would finally produce a Coldplay album. Musically he is so similar to Chris Martin that the two of them together would create something stunning. And they have.

I'm not going to rave on for ages about this album since when it came out 2 years ago you couldn't find a single music critic who wasn't impressed. The worst comment I heard about it was that their songs were making less and less sense but that's hardly new. The only thing I will say is that you have to get the Prospekt's March edition. Besides the fact that it eliminates the rather inappropriate album art on the original edition you also get another 6 original songs (and 2 new mixes) on the included Prospekt's March EP. They're leftover recordings from the sessions with Eno and they are well worth having.

 

Whoops

Oh my goodness!!! I seriously forgot how long it had been since the last time I posted! I've been pretty busy over these last few months but I'm finally back (and hopefully I won't take such a big hiatus next time - for my 2 followers who aren't myself :D ). I've learnt a lot about music recently, especially from the music gen ed paper I'm taking at uni, and I've been experimenting a lot as well. So I think this update needs to be in bullet points:

•  I've actually been getting some good chord progressions going recently. In the past any attempts to write music on my own would result in a Brian Eno-ish ambience with no particular direction but now I've been putting together some useful stuff.
• I bought the special edition of Viva La Vida by Coldplay off iTunes the other day. I know it's been out for a couple of years now and they have released another album (albeit a live album with no new songs) since but there has been so little decent music released this year and I've wanted to get it for a while so I finally decided to. And yeah. It's awesome. And musically inspiring as well.
• I've been listening to slightly more esoteric music lately (grooveshark.com is a brilliant place to find music you've always wanted to listen to but don't want to buy unless it's rubbish). I am now a fan of Radiohead (thanks Jesse), Hans Zimmer, and Pink Floyd but I still don't like Florence and the Machine. Bands need to hear more of include Gorillaz, Arctic Monkeys, and The Doors.
• You might have noticed I've included Lost? by Coldplay in the 'What I'm Playing' list. I'm trying to pick up the piano version, hence the ? since the normal version of Lost ends with !, but it's a lot harder than it sounds. Chris Martin isn't amazing on the piano but he's probably better than me :(
• I've almost finished my transcription of Uprising and I'll try to get it done and uploaded to scribd soon. Watch for the link.

I think that pretty much sums things up for now. I've got a lot of ideas for posts so keep an eye on this page over the next couple of weeks cos I'm going to try to get most of them up.