Bookends

Columbia Records 1972

Hear Music 2011, Album Art by Sven Geier

There are few instances, during the short history of rock music, of musicians who have established careers that span many decades.

Paul Simon has been writing music for more than half a century. His name belongs among the best American songwriters and composers with the likes of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Charles Ives, Bob Dylan and the duo of Lennon/McCartney.

The above pictured albums, Paul's first post Simon & Garfunkel effort and his most recent, are a beautiful musical representation of how we grow throughout our lifetime. Both albums contain a collection well crafted songs. The real treat, however, can be found when listening to the two albums one after the other.

It's as if an entire lifetime has been captured in song.

Change is inevitable and necessary. But there is still a certain essence, I believe, that we all posses and carry with us throughout our lifetime.

You can hear all of that in this music.

Animal! (Margot & The Nuclear So and So's)

Epic Records 2008

The most creative and artistic music being recorded is not happening in the studios of major record labels. And that's okay.

We are lucky to be living in a time when the creating and recording of music has become accessible to so many aspiring musicians. 

The question that has yet to be answered is whether or not this new system will produce a group of artists that take music to new and exciting heights. In the past, we were at the mercy of talent recruits to find the voices of our generation. That responsibility is now placed squarely on us to discover the music that will leave a lasting impression on generations to come.

Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

Deutsche Grammophon 1995

Sometimes music takes us out of our comfort zone. Dark, diminished sounds leave many listeners feeling uncomfortable. Complex rhythms keep our feet from tapping on the ground. Unfamiliar instruments may sound strange and altogether foreign. And with all these uneasy feelings, it's easy to quickly dismiss the music as something that you just don't like.

However, this is not a time to turn a deaf ear. Life throws unfamiliar situations at us all the time. The difference, is that in life, we are told to face the unknown and view it as an opportunity to grow, challenge ourselves and learn something new. And while you may want to view music a merely entertainment, it can also open up new avenues in our minds that would otherwise be closed off to us.

Think of the rewards you get from such things as exercise or eating a healthy diet. An hour of yoga each day or replacing your favorite fast food chain for a home cooked meal might not be an easy thing for you to do, but we do them in hopes of bettering ourselves. Music provides these same kind of opportunities, if we only let it.

Writer's Block (Peter Bjorn and John)

Wichita Recordings/V2 Records 2006

An old friend gave me this album during an evening of burning CDs from our collections to pass along to one another. Maybe not the most legal of activities, but for two broke college students who loved music, the thievery came out of necessity.

Listening to this, I can still remember the night rather clearly. Music has a way of doing that. It brings back memories that would otherwise be lost.

Think about how the right song enhances the images in a film. Music and images, be them real or in our mind's eye, were meant to go together. The music that you listen to creates one long running soundtrack and it will help you recall the high points in the film that is your life.

So you may as well try giving a friend's recommendation a try. Give it three or four tries and see if you can hear what they do. Explore new music, create memories and have a soundtrack worth listening to.

Time Out (The Dave Brubeck Quartet)

Columbia Records 1959, Album Art by S Neil Fujita

Jazz was never the same after Brubeck's exploration of uncommon time signatures on this landmark album. Yet, for all the musical complexities, it's one of the most listenable and enjoyable records ever recorded.

Brubeck didn't write songs with unusual time signatures because he was trying to make complicated music. He did it because he loved the unique rhythms they produced. It was an honest musical expression, that while initially unpopular with record companies, became a huge success and found an enormous audience.

Creating something that is honest and true to yourself is a worthy endeavor. This might sound like a simple cliche. But it's easy to slip into the expectations of others and find yourself following when you could be leading instead.

Start writing your own music and play it loud (or quiet if you must).

Gabriel Kahane vs. Spotify (or how I became The Musicologist, part 2)

You have Spotify. The world of music is at your fingertips. You are now free to explore every musical genre imaginable. You can discover new artists and archive favorite albums. Your music collection can be everything that you ever imagined it to be. There is, of course, only one small problem as you stare into a world of unrestricted musical bliss...

You have absolutely no clue what I want to listen to.

With every option available, suddenly, without explanation, you freeze and the simple task of picking music seems nearly impossible. Or maybe it's incredibly easy for you to pick an album, but halfway into the first song another album comes to mind and replaces what is currently playing. I admit it... This has been me. 

One Sunday morning, when I couldn't take it anymore, I turned on NPR instead of manically trying to find the perfect album to go with my triple berry scone and coffee. Sanity came my way in the way of Gabriel Kahane, a rock/classical musician who had his own perspective on Spotify. The thoughts he shared that morning were laid out in a well written post on his website. Here is an excerpt that pretty much sums it up...

"... what Spotify and illegally downloaded music have in common is that they both spiritually devalue music by making a surfeit of it too accessible. With the proliferation of sites/apps like Spotify comes the demise of curation as it applies to one’s music collection. What irritates me is not that people steal music, but that they steal so much of it that they don’t listen to any of it. If someone ripped my CD because they couldn’t afford it, I would feel cheated, but not as cheated as I do knowing that the value of a carefully curated collection of CDs, tapes, records, what-have-you—- has gone to zip thanks to the gluttony of 21st-century consumers who don’t know when to stop downloading and start listening."

This is a harsh perspective on an application that is being used by practically everyone. It is also completely accurate. I was as guilty as anyone. Since downloading Spotify, I had added countless albums to my "Library" but virtually all of them had gone unheard. And for those albums I did check out, they hardly got my full attention.

Kahane's words hit me hard. After a bit of contemplation, I came up with a solution that I hope will keep me from drowning in a sea of free music. I cleared my Spotify library, I cleared my iTunes library and I organized my vinyl collection. One by one I plan on going back through my current collection as I also add new music to the mix. Every album I listen to, cover to cover, I will post on here. 

As an ode to Kahane, I went to Luna Music, my local record store, and had them order a copy of his latest album, Where are the Arms. It came a day later and I made it my first addition to the recollection of my albums. After several listens I can say that it was worth every penny. His songs are well crafted stories much in the vein of my all-time favorite, Paul Simon. Stay in bed for an extra hour on a rainy Sunday morning and give this album a shot.

2nd Story Sound Records 2011, Album Art by Josh Goleman

Jazz Circa 1959 (or how I became The Musicologist, part 1)

The problem that faces us now is that music, as with all forms of art, is quickly becoming a medium of irrelevant fantasies.

I stole this from a documentary on filmmaker John Cassavetes. Someone in the film said something to this effect, except it was about moviemaking instead of music. But I thought it worked all the same.

The first film Cassavetes directed, Shadows, was an improvisational piece about racial perceptions during the Beat Era. The improvisational nature of the film mirrored that of the free jazz movement that was happening during the filming in 1959.

Incidentally, the year 1959 also produced many landmark jazz albums including Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, John Coltrane's Giant Steps, Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Bill Evans' Portrait of Jazz and Charles Mingus' Mingus Ah Um. 


While watching the film, I found myself imagining what it would have been like to be alive and deeply immersed in the jazz scene during this time. Looking back, the music had a cultural significance that doesn't seem to exist the same way today. I'm not passing judgement on whether or not music is better or worse. Rather, I'm questioning if we realize how important music is to our culture and how it has the power to make lasting and important changes in our world.

I started writing my thoughts down on paper. Sitting at my music stand I began to get excited about the thoughts that I was having. I truly love music and the magical way in which in touches our lives in so many different ways and I want to share my ideas with you.

I hope you find some of my thoughts and ideas useful. Thanks for reading.