Geek Fire

Yes, geeky I am and have always been, but unconventionally; I'm OBSESSED with the Lord of the Rings films, but I never finished the books... and many more examples just like that.

So I've indulged in my geeklove (in German, geeklieb), and wrote a new tune inspired by Frodo. No, I am not kidding, and yes, I'm a bit embarrassed... It's called Getting By and I'm debating whether or not to add the rock cliche parenthetical ("Getting By (Frodo)")

I got my start in the computer geek world in 1986 when my parents got me my beloved Commodore 64. I won't tell the story here, but I was knee-deep in the BBS world at age 12.

Anyway, I find very interesting the kind of things that become popular in the geek niche world (Jonathan Coulton being a great example). I'm no code monkey, but I feel a kinship with them - maybe it's the discouragement of anything mainstream or from the conformed world.

On a related note, Coulton is such a great example of a new path to success for the indy musician: niche writing. The key is not to be too deliberate. But that's another post.

I discovered this Zoe Keating today. Very interesting stuff - she's an avant-cellist (self proclaimed), and huge in the geekdom (check out her Google performance with Radiolab) - why is yet another blog post.

Butlin's British Breed

I'm always interested in hearing / researching where odd musical influences come from in my favorite stuff. Lately, obsession comes in the form of the almighty Kinks. Long have I loved some of their tunes, but I guess the time was right in my brain for diving into full-on love.

I think what's especially appealing to me right now (at this time in my life) about Ray Davies's tunes, is the vaudevillian, light-hearted, talent-show-Tiny-Tim kind of thing in so many of these songs. Maybe it's that the arc of my musical listening has brought me far away from my original influences of overblown FM-radio 70s ungashtupt rock, back towards the folky, simple, stripped-down aspect of songwriting where this style comes from.

I was talking about it with Kari in the car today - the proletarian parents of these poor, lower-class, post-war British kids could only afford one vacation a year - to these summer seaside resorts like Blackpool (city) or Butlin's. Tales of these places are common in interviews and bios of famous Brit rockers. When they were kids, much of their primary musical influence came from the music played at these places - vaudevillian, showy nostalgia tunes that harken back to the 20's. Old Timey Music. And when they grew up to be budding young rockers, they gigged these places.

George Formby, the great Brit ukulele player, was a major influence on George Harrison. Queen - Seaside Rendezvous. Stones - Something Happened to Me Yesterday. Beatles - I Will. Ringo's entire Sentimental Journey album. Dire Straits - Les Boys. And, like half the Kinks' best songs. More Kinks insight later.

Yes, I said 'ungashtupt'.

5 New Albums That Blow Me Away

We music lovers went through a long-ass drought from the late-nineties through a couple years ago. Uggh, it was awful. Not as bad as late-eighties, but pretty nasty.

I get so energized and inspired when I continually am exposed to new music, easily found now, that is original, catchy, creative as hell, and doesn't sound like something that I won't listen to in a couple years. This stuff sounds classic to me. So stoked.

There are other albums than these five, but I'll save em for future posts. These are fueling me right now. [In no order]:

INFINITE ARMS by Band of Horses  -  I haven't been into a new album like this in a while. Every track is classic, passionately executed, and just freaking awesome.

FURR by Blitzen Trapper  -  Nary do I like a concept album, or even count lyrics as being just as worthwhile as the music, but in this case, I've made an exception. I realize it's not their latest (Destroyer of the Void), but I'm still processing that.

THE SUBURBS by Arcade Fire  -  Oh, the songwriting, the originality, and the production - so sweet. It's like Bowie and Talking Heads and raw eggs all mixed together.

FREE AT LAST by Josh Fix  -  Power Pop Goodness, kids. One-man-band mentality that appeals to me, with all the bells and whistles, but the songwriting is there, and that's what makes it.

VS4 by Jack Conte  -  He of Pomplamoose (purveyor of the VideoSong), but this is his one-man-band solo record, and it's all over the place stylistically, but SUPER-catchy and so well done. Loving it right now.

In fact, let's do a Conte standout-track vid here.  Sw'!

K I S S

When you're raised on steady diets of polarity in American folk and Beatles, like I was, as a musician it's hard to recognize the need for simplicity while the Siren's call of complexity beckons - especially when you reach a point where you can manifest what's in your head. To quote Tap: There's a fine line between stupid and clever.

I've been thinking about this for years now. Often, I find myself holding back from going off on a solo or adding extra thumps to a drum or bass part, and opting for what I think will better serve the song. I didn't just make this up - on guitar at least, I think I got it from Brian May, who once said that, when he's prepping his solos in the studio, he thinks first about "serving the song". Serving the song... that's fascinated me forever.

The same goes for songwriting - without going deeper, I equally love 2112 Rush, New York Lou Reed, Smile Beach Boys, and Ringo Ringo.

Here's an awesome example of simple-makes-better - Lou's Dirty Boulevard. Simple in rhythm, simple in tune, simple in arrangement, complex in lyric, and POWERFUL as hell. If you've ever lived in NYC, this song has extra meaning.

The Art of Chumus & Making Music

Today, I was telling a buddy who likes the way I make chumus, how I make it. It's complicated, and I wanted to tell him exactly how much of whatever ingredient or spice to put in, but I couldn't. It was impossible to convey, in conventional units of measure, how much to use. It's more art than science.

Now I'm watching my kids make up their own game and have a blast playing it. You can see them come alive, living the moment, totally engaged. It just dawned on me that that's the way making music should be approached. If you can tell someone exactly what it takes to create a perfect final product, you're done for. Forget passion, personal touch, unique artistry. There can be no exact instructions or recipes. No one told my kids how to make up a game - that would have killed the moment and their creativity. 

Anyway.

I'm a huge sucker for early 70's glam, e.g. Sweet, Mott the Hoople, Bowie, etc. Here's a long lost AWESOME tune. Kiss even did a kick-arse version of it (oh God, that video is fucking hilarious!) on the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack. Yes, I said that.