Posts tagged "themes"


New Theme: A Hit Before Your Mother Was Born

Posted by whitneymcn January 8, 2009
Posted to themes  a hit before 

Let’s all get up and dance to a song
That was a hit before your mother was born
Though she was born a long, long time ago

Popular music tends to have a pretty short memory, and a lot of incredible music gets forgotten. Let’s bring some of it back…as an arbitrary cut off point, no songs written since your mother was born are eligible.

To open up some options, we’ll say that the specific recording doesn’t necessarily have to predate your mother’s birth, but the song must. Extra points for posting mp3s of those old 78s you have lying around, of course, but a current performer drawing from the hits of past eras is fair game.

New Theme: Inchoate

Posted by pootytang November 13, 2008
Posted to themes  inchoate 

Pronunciation:
\in-ˈkō-ət, ˈin-kə-ˌwāt\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare to start work on, perhaps from in- + cohum part of a yoke to which the beam of a plow is fitted
Date:
1534
: being only partly in existence or operation : incipient ; especially : imperfectly formed or formulated : formless , incoherent <misty, inchoate suspicions that all is not well with the nation — J. M. Perry>
Often times a song will spring from a songwriter fully formed.  Comparable to giving birth to a child, or receiving the song on some private wavelength.  Songwriters speak of how these songs seem to come from outside of themselves, and once birthed, have a life of their own.
Other songs, however, life with the musician through many iterations before finally becoming the tune known to us.  Their beginnings may be radically dissimilar in tune, lyrics, arrangement, mood, perspective, etc.  Some such versions are true diamonds in the rough, and in many cases contain a raw essence that revision has dimished.  Such diamonds can be found on box sets, bonus tracks, or bootlegs, and they are often a fans greatest delight.

Trick or Treat

Posted by whitneymcn October 13, 2008
Posted to themes  trick or treat 

As we move into autumn, one’s thoughts naturally turn towards that happiest time of the year: halloween. We stay up late, wearing strange clothing and taking candy from strangers, only to wake the following morning with a sugar hangover and the dull realization that there are another 364 days before the orgy resumes.

What does this have to do with themusic? Fear not, gentle reader, we’ll leave you to find that endless loop of the Monster Mash through other sources, and offer a different sort of trick or treat: songs that have a hidden surprise inside.

Musical or lyrical references to other songs, works of literature, or art—the stuff of music geek annotation. The beautiful “wait, doesn’t that remind me of…” moments, or the discovery of something wonderful and new through a familiar song.

Trick or treat!

New Theme: Obsession

Posted by whitneymcn September 19, 2008
Posted to themes  obsession 

Okay, this is a bit of a punt, but pootytang’s accidental themusic post is far too great to delete, so I’m going to create a home for it.

I may be more prone to it than most, but every music geek hits an obsession now and then: whether it’s an artist, an album, or a single track, you hit something that just won’t get out of your head. The desire to hear and to share becomes so great that you can no longer even keep track of which blog you’re posting to. :)

But let’s be clear: this isn’t the stuff that you’re just excited to hear when it pops up on shuffle, or the casual runs through someone’s discography—obsession is the songs that you must post to relieve the pressure that’s building up inside your head.

New Theme: Sheep's Clothing

Posted by machinetext September 5, 2008
Posted to themes  sheep's clothing 

Expecting a song’s lyrical content to mirror the tone of its musical tune is completely reasonable - the shiny happy tune will be about puppies and ice cream, the slow dirge is about the hell that is other people. More interesting is when the style and content are seemingly at odds - you finally learn the lyrics to that bright jangly song are about addiction and suicide or the mournful goth sludge describes an ecstatic moment. Your expectations are upended and the song becomes more complex, seemingly contradictory, an emotional trojan horse disguised as a candied treat.

On Second Thought...

Posted by whitneymcn August 27, 2008
Posted to themes  on second thought 

Some songs or albums grab you immediately and won’t let go. I love moments like that, but they’re pretty rare for me. It usually takes a few listens for me to form a real opionion of (rather than an inarticulate feeling about) music and even then my first impression isn’t always a strong indicator for how I’ll feel after the first week or two of listening.

There are cases where my initial crush dissolves like cotton candy in a thunderstorm, and other times when I go back to an album that I couldn’t stand and can’t for the life of me figure out what I disliked about it.

What are your “on second thought…” tracks?

new theme: Hushed Astonishment

Posted by newspeedwayboogie August 15, 2008

“The moments of hushed astonishment or absorption when a pillow of air seems to lodge itself in your mouth and you suddenly notice that you haven’t taken a breath in a good half minute. The sort of experience where you get lost to yourself and given over to the marvel of all creation (indeed, to everything but yourself). “

-Lawrence Weschler

Sell Your Soul

Posted by jenrobinson August 5, 2008
Posted to themes  sell your soul 

Don Draper opined in the pilot episode of Mad Men:

Advertising is based on one thing: Happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car… It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams with reassurance that whatever you’re doing is okay. You are okay.


What in this world fills us up with that sense?  The sense that all is right and we are safe and successful and okay? Music. For better or for worse, it’s music that turns images of cars and mountain landscapes, sporting events and dance clubs into little worlds that draw us in and promise our happiness.

Give us your worst and your best. What music in advertising makes you cringe?  What makes you swoon?  Own up, I know you have both.

One Plus One

Posted by whitneymcn July 31, 2008
Posted to themes  one plus one 

One performer, one instrument.

Some songs need big orchestration. The depth of sound and the play between instruments is an essential part of their character. Others just don’t need anything but a performer and some room to breathe.

They often come out of the many generations of singer/songwriters and traditional performers, but there are surprises out there: songs that were written for or recorded with full bands but take on a new life when stripped down to the very basics. Live performances, early recordings, re-recordings, and covers offer a world of beautiful examples.

What are your stripped-down favorites?

Stylish Jackets

Posted by whitneymcn July 25, 2008
Posted to themes  stylish jackets 
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension—a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.

theMusic checklist:

  • Sound? Check. Sounds piled in every corner of theMusic’s luxurious offices.
  • Mind? Check. Insightful commentary aplenty offered.
  • Sight? Read on…

While purists may complain that the shrinking canvas offered to designers by CDs—to say nothing of the (shudder) disassociation of sight and sound that came with downloadable music—have reduced album cover design to a sad state, it’s not dead yet.

Covers that are classics of design*, covers that are perfect for the album inside, or covers that are perfect despite the album inside: just bring on the stylish jackets.


* Yeah, yeah, we’ve all got a copy of Sticky Fingers—you’ve got to try harder than that, guys.

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