Listening Test No. 1 (An Experiment In Fear)

I started the “broadening of my horizons” with a list of new artists to watch for 2014 from Rolling Stone. I also added HAIM to the list based on a still photo I saw on their website which caught my attention. The criteria/data I’m using, I picked one “official” song based on their home pages and listened to the whole tune and noted how many views each artist had up to that point. I also made comparisons (couldn’t help it, hopefully a habit I will break). I tried to keep a positive outlook and these are just thoughts based on very little material and is by no means definitive. I started with Curtis Harding, Keep On Shining (12,225) Strong vocals, pretty solid tune, definitely 70’s soul throwback and I want to hear more. Kristina Train, Dark Black (794,682) Very Norah Jones, at least in this song, but I’d give her another listen. K Camp, Money Baby (9,134,883) Sounds like the majority of rap music I’ve heard (I’m no expert at all on rap/hip hop so pretty limited knowledge) if anything it sounds dated to my ears. White Lung, Drown With The Monster (69,369) Not much of a punk fan either but I hear the potential and the great thing about punk is even if you’re not that into it, it’s over in 2 minutes! (It’s not a put down). Kitten, Like A Stranger (75,000) Sounds like it should have been on the Top Gun Soundtrack but again I hear some potential there. Nonono, Hungry Eyes, (149,239) Very distracted by the video of the lead singer walking across the screen in slow-mo in short shorts which is why i tried to listen and not actually watch the videos. Kind of basic pop song, that I won’t remember (except for the slow-mo, of course).

I’ll unfairly lump Ben Foster (Venter, 22,658), Dayne S (All The Things 4023) and Fatina al Qadiri (D-Medley 65,628) because their music is mostly instrumental and I found Foster’s music the most to my taste and the other two artists more dance oriented then I’m oriented to but I enjoyed hearing all their tracks. Wild Cub, Thunder Clatter (166,791). I really liked this song, sounds like a lot of rock/pop music but it didn’t remind me of anyone in particular either, like the melody and the vocals. I’m going to play a couple more of their tracks and see where that leads. That leaves HAIM, If I Could Change Your Mind (4,138,466). Nice pop tune, I’m not sure what to make of them since in the video (yeah I saw it) they present themselves differently then I pictured them. I hate to say a female Hanson but that’s kind of where my head was at. I do want to hear more for them and to get a feel for what their about.

To sum up, this experiment showed a lot of problems ingesting new music are on my end. I draw comparisons too quickly and have reference points that are difficult to shake. More exploration is needed and this is just a first step in trying to change my perspective. If I had to pick whose album I would most likely pick up out of this group it would have to be Curtis Harding’s. Not a stretch for me, his music is in my comfort zone. Hopefully over time I will learn new things about what I’m hearing and new things about myself in the process. I’m already aware of my tendency to be easily distracted by hot girls in short shorts, that’s probably not going to change!  

Where Was I Again?

I just finished reading 100 Albums That Changed Music: And 500 Songs You Need To Hear. The easiest thing to find online is a list and it’s really easy to find a list of someone’s favorite records (even though people don’t buy them anymore) but this book is the work of some strong writers who make some compelling arguments. A lot of the usual suspects make the list Sgt. Pepper, Blonde On Blonde, Pet Sounds and there are some that surprise. Spice Girls, really? What of course is most interesting is how it’s all the 50’s-70’s until you get to number 88 on the list so basically nearly 90 percent happened before MTV launched. The list is intelligently put together and typical of most of the ones I’ve come across, which is quite a few so I don’t blame the book but I got a little depressed after I finished it. It;s great that the celebration of rock continues but it’s yet another reminder how rock and roll is about its past and not its future. The 100 Albums book was published in 2007 so according to the authors, in 37 years only about ten percent of the albums have had any influence on popular music.

Time and hindsight make it easier to have perspective and see what bands have benefited from great work but why don’t we see it in modern times? I don’t want to come up with a list of all the reasons because most of them are well discussed. I just can’t believe there hasn’t been something list worthy over such a long period of time is the music really that stale? I fully admit to being caught in the spirit of celebrating the past, I’m currently reading Mark Lewisohn’s tome on The Beatles called Tune In, and it is just part one of three. I read columns from music mags and on line posts and listen to new music on certain apps and YouTube, for example I just discovered HAIM. But I still feel disconnected with a lot of what I hear that’s new and end up going back to the tried and true albums that are like old friends at this point. Maybe I need to go on a fast and live only in the new and unfamiliar, like one of those cleanses that pop up on virtually every web page. It probably won’t get me a lot closer to newer bands and their output but it’s a step and the longest journey begins with the first step (no Journey either, have to go cold turkey to do this!) It’s an experiment that could pay dividends or I could post this go back to reading about The Beatles and tune out with the modern world all over again. This test will be trial and error, but it could be fun and beef up my limited listening habits or confirm what I already know and that is I spend too much time with the 100 and not enough time with the hundreds of new releases that are trying to get some attention.