creating a sound

I saw an advertisment online for something called ‘OMNI’ about two or three weeks ago.  Don’t even remember where I saw it to be honest.  I didn’t really pay too much attention at first but I was interested in the simplicity of the ad.  Even though the design of it was very basic, the way the 4-letter word was drawn up and laid out caught my attention.  Shortly after that point my curiosity caught up with my fingertips and I clicked it to learn more.  Turns out ‘OMNI’ is the title of a new album by a band that I’ve been listening to for years.  That equals out to be a pleasant surprise.

The name of the group is, ‘Minus The Bear’ and they very well could be the kings of feel good music at present.  Their style of music is a real step aside from most every other rock/alternative band that we hear right now.  With the seemingly playful approach to creating a soundscape mated to the iconic voice of their lead singer Jake Snider; the band puts themselves in a place that most of us don’t really know how to get to on our own.  That place where we have our youth and innocence given back to us.  A place where we dance in public and don’t care whose watching; even if we’re in your work clothes.  It’s that place that we try to get to when we need a break from the norm.

At least that’s what they tend to be for me.  Pretty lady Vanna loves them because they make her smile.  Billy says the music sounds like he’s on a cross country roadtrip.  Chris calls it, ‘that chill music by ’the Bear’.  Some like at the weird names they give their songs.  Others like the crazy sounds they incorporate into the melodies.  All these are reasons you should listen to it and see where the music takes you.

‘OMNI’ was released today and it’s the 4th full-length album by this Seattle based group.  After hearing it, it is seems to be an instant classic.  Or at the very least, a very strong contribution to the already impressive catalog of music that they’ve amassed over the years. With songs like the one below, ‘My Time’ or ‘Secret Company’ rocking the air of the new album, it’s easy to follow their lead.  But to be fair, the older songs do it too.  Songs like ‘Knights‘, ‘Double Vision Quest ‘.  The acoustics of ‘Guns & Ammo’  to the vibe of ‘El Torrente’ and ‘Pachuca Sunrise’; it’s easy to see this band is doing something distinctly there own.  Check out the video below, and listen.  It’s of the new single from the ‘OMNI’ album and it does well to get your head bobbing.  But if you’re hard core about it, get on youtube, search out and listen to each of the songs we talked about here.  If this band is new to you, and you love all types music.  You may be on the verge of finding something pretty exciting.  Enjoy.   

‘Ode to the ghetto’

Dating back to the very beginning of things, music has been one of the most powerful tools used to pass a story along, convey a series of thoughts or just to share some real emotion.  Instrumentation alone can be pretty epic when it’s applied right.  Just think of how the original score from your favorite movie gets you more on edge with suspense, or more in tune with the films hero/heroine.  Or think of how the music simply emphasizes the excitement of the action on screen.   It works right?  Yea, without any explanation or indication, we connect with the entire situation just from hearing the sounds that describe it best.  You’ve got to be honest, that in itself is pretty amazing.

What’s more amazing is that words are equally as potent to us.  Reading a special note written by your young niece or taking in a vote of confidence from your significant other; we’re empowered.  Then there’s the same depth but opposite effect as we’re angered by an offensive suggestion or when we’re met with words filled with blind disrespect.  In this regard, sticks and stones do break bones, but words can rip a person’s heart out.  With music we see the marriage of to two very powerful elements; the sound and the words that direct it all.  It’s the work of the artist(s) to put it all together in a way that we can get the full meaning of the piece.   That’s the basic truth of music and it’s that way for every type of music. Let me give you an example of this.

Gangsta Rap – It’s hardcore, it’s raunchy, it’s explicit, it’s offensive.  All of those things are correct, but the true artist in this genre is putting to lyric the facts of the world that they know and grew up being a part of.  I’m sure you’ve heard that explanation a million times before, sadly most critics blow it off.  But in actuality that statement is true.  Our surroundings in this world cultivate and influence all of us to be who we are.  You would have to agree with that.  And for these artists, that reflects in their music.  How is that any different from reggae being influenced by the island life and struggle of being in Jamaica?  Or the Opera being influenced by the high society and time period in which it thrived?  To put it plainly, country music is to country folk what gangsta rap is to the under privileged blacks of the inner city.  Please understand; not every one that claims to put out gangsta rap is an artist.  If you were asking me, honestly; I’d say that in general 70% of hip-hop nowadays is filled with lack luster ‘opportunists‘ that aren’t ashamed to exploit themselves or their people.  But that’s just me.  So why are we talking about this sort of hardcore rap here?  Because even in this type of music and in that type of environment, you can find the skill and overall dynamic of what we talked about above.  I think that’s amazing.  Below I’ve written out the lyrics to a song called ‘The American Dream’.  This single versed song serves as the intro for the album ‘Ode to the Ghetto’ by Guilty Simpson.  Guilty is different from most of mainstream rap artist these days.  He has a real substance in his ‘wordplay’ and that’s evidenced here.  Below are the complete lyrics to this song, read through it and note the lack of obscenities, the depth of the concept and the structure of the piece.  Think about what motivated him to write this poem.  It’s deep and impressive.  My question is that even though the genre may be questioned or disregarded; when an artist of this caliber presents their work to the world…how many deaf ears does it fall on?

The American Dream

by: Guilty Simpson

Talk with the dead, deep deep in my head

I’m off, I was bred where the hungry man begged

Taught, I was lead where the red man bled

and all the other things my educated friend said.

Lost in a life where the young fools stared

Never should have taught him that a gun shoots lead,

or that crack could get his brother and sister a new bed,

addicted to the game and thangs – screw FED’s.

Any day his name could change, ‘Who’s Ed?’

Go to the crib new furniture, new threads.

It’s bittersweet when you see those things,

to be a drug dealer’s The American Dream.

To get paid some, go to every extreme,

one black with leave another red for green.

You’re falling for their tricks while the man deceives ya,

until the day you finally bite the hand that beats ya.

.come on.

- end -

Oldie but goodie?

Running around, handling some work and other errands today; music is in the background.

Loud and clear ladies and gentlemen, that’s how we stay focused on this end. So in the middle of all that a great song came on. One from my past, one that I haven’t heard in a very long time. It’s called ‘Run to the Sun’ and it’s by N.E.R.D.

I won’t lie. When the song came on, focus was temporarily lost. I had to dance a little bit. The rhythm of the song moved all around me and it was fun just to sing along. It was like I was younger… and that brought about a thought. How long has it been since this song was first released? A little research and I found out that the year 2001 was when this song first went to the public. That’s like nine years ago – again, I can’t believe how fast time is flying. Perhaps the title for this post is more accurate than I thought.

If you don’t remember this song or are just interested in hearing it. Check it out, I’ve posted it below. If you know the words, sing along. If you like the sound, dance a little bit and smile while you do it. Just like you might have done when you were younger.

atmospheric masterpiece

If you’re into cool electronic melodies or atmospheric instrumentals and you haven’t yet heard of  Tycho, then you’re  in for a treat.  Now if you’ve heard of them but didn’t take the time to listen to the sound, well then in that case you may have sold yourself short.

Tycho is a sound created by Scott Hansen of California’s golden city, San Francisco.  For me, if this music is playing I’m either traveling or just focusing on whatever work is in front of me at the time.  Today it was more of the travel bug that persuaded me to hit play on the old iPod.  The newest song ‘Coastal Break’ is really good and super mellow.  ’Dusty Brown Remix’ is sweet too.  This is the type of music that can get you going in a great many directions I think.  Actually it almost feels as though all of the music in this catalog could be a soundtrack for ultra-modern living; or at least that’s what it felt like in my headphones while walking through downtown Toronto today.

Check Tycho out, as a matter of fact check out this video I saw on YouTube of their song ‘Daydream’.  The video was put together by a group called Meridian.  I don’t know what they do exactly, I just stumbled onto their video while writing this blog entry.   It’s a pretty cool concept and the execution/production ain’t half bad either.  Good job guys.

:Tangent:  Here’s an example of creativity working on two different playing fields, the visual and the audible.  It’s amazing how your feelings toward something can be amplified by treating multiple  senses at the same time.  Hearing a good sound and seeing it’s source as being equally attractive makes it harder to forget…isn’t there an old cliché about that?  I think it’s when something ‘looks as good as it tastes’.  Or how’s this, when you hear your name spoken softly from a pretty face…  Yea, that’s the same principle at work.    Give Tycho a spin, you might like it.

can you feel it

as you’ll see in this blog, there’s a category for music called ‘required listening’.  in it you’ll find musics from all around the world, from all kinds of people, with all types of sounds.   check it out, you might love it.

this is a musical master piece.  milton nascimento is a brazilian musician and has been making amazing music for some time.  i want to share this song with you because even though you may not be able to understand the words, you should be able to feel the emotion behind the art that he’s created here.  recently a friend said that this song is Milton describing what he loved most about the things that made up the place where he comes from.  the trees, the hills, the beaches, the world around his youth.

if you find translated lyrics post them and then we can all try to sing along.