A question of philosophy

[Veracohr]

Has anyone ever been struck by a thought like this? We spend so much time, money and thought on such a range of issues dealing with music. We debate sample rates, bit depths, analog vs. digital, different DAWs, tubes vs. transistors, Fender vs. Gibson, Minimoog vs. Voyager. We spend thousands and millions of dollars on gear and people to work it. We have mixing consoles that cost more than houses. We spawn new technologies, like wax cylinders, vinyl records, magnetic tape, digital audio and file compression schemes for transmission of digital audio files. We have record labels that make all kinds of money, thousands of radio stations and the technology that drives them. We have federal groups to regulate the transmission of radio waves. We open thousands of clubs and concert halls. We (or maybe not we, but some people) dislike each other based on the kinds of music they listen to. On the same hand, we may consort with people we really don't like, because they listen to the same kinds of music we do. And what is this all for? It's for music. Think about all that we do and all that exists for the sole purpose of creating and allowing people to hear music. Is it not amazing that a certain combination of sounds at various frequencies, levels and phase relationships can touch us so much we have such a huge juggernaut of an industry dedicated to it? Somewhere back in our remote past some naked hairy person with no communication skills beyond danger signals hit two sticks together and was pleased, then hit them together four times in a row and was even more pleased. We take these things for granted, but do you ever wonder at the amazing place music has in our lives that we dedicate our whole lives to it?

[JDL]

Without music, I wouldn't be doing anything. Anyways, here's a little piece I wrote on another thread about music, pretty recently: We play music because we are all connected to it. It is intertwined with our souls. It speaks words we can't say with words. Well, first of all, music is a gift from God. It is a voice that no human can speak. It pierces all time and space, and it transpires through different realms, beyond our humanly realm. We can see, hear, touch, smell, feel, and think; but music surpasses that; as a mysterious wavoring of sounds colliding together. We speak with our toungues, but music speaks through our souls. Is this what your after? Boo ya! Carry on... -JDL

[whitefang]

I, for one, WOULD like to see the day when disliking someone due to their musical tastes comes to an end. And, YES! I will admit my guilt to this social anomoly. The example of the caveman hitting sticks together sounds a bit Disney("Toot and a Whistle and a Plunk and a Boom."), but may have some merit. Possibly man's attempt to emulate the song of the birds brought forth early flute type instruments. But, whatever the beginnings, music HAS become a force in ALL societies for a couple of millenia now. From wild west saloons that always had some guy plinking a pie-anna, or plucking a banjo, to todays dance clubs spewing forth all kinds of noise from sound systems of varying quality. We sell products through ads with catchy jingles. We make love to music. We work on our cars or other house projects with the radio going. We watch movies that contain musical tracks that both reflect the scene's mood, and suggests our mood for the scene. Even back in the "silent" era, usually a piano player would provide. But many people have long ago allowed their choices in music to dictate their personalities. Marylin Manson fans dress up halloween style in all manner of "gothic" clothing. A lot of country fans, even those born "up north", go around sporting cowboy hats and boots. I know a guy from Lansing Michigan that's even beginning to affect a twang! And most other people expect it. they attatch a certain type of personality to the type of music they listen to. Hard rockers are dope fiends. Punk fans are too. Country music lovers drink gallons of beer and like to whoop and holler. Rap listeners would probably steal your car, and slit your throat. Classical music listeners are either stuffy intellectuals, fags or both. It goes on and on. Truth is, I like the types of music I like for what I feel are some very good reasons. And the music I don't like for the same kind of reasons. I'm sure most of us do. Oh, I know there are some younger forum members who ARE young enough to feel it's their obligation NOT to like any music older than the oldest shirt in their closet. I, too, felt that way back at the time. Luckily, I outgrew it. But, I DO feel I need more work on my sensitivity to other's tastes. Oh, I might banter with a friend that way from time to time, but that's a case of each knowing where the other comes from. With the general public, more needs to be done. I mean, do you REALLY have to wear those gothic clothes to appreciate Manson? If you really DO like that stuff, fine. But, think about it. Did you dress like that BEFORE you ever played a Metallica CD? If not, why not? Same goes for you country dudes and punks. Some of you might not yet be aware, but you CAN like all THREE of those music "genres" at one time! So, how do you dress for THAT? "Music hath power to soothe the savage breast". True, so true. And THAT'S perhaps what's behind it all. Whitefang

[Mark Borland]

As you say there is a huge amount of people, organsatons money fashion taste and peripheral stuff that I feel sometimes gets in the way of the reason we all do it. Music touches us and people about us. That is the bottom line. I think sometimes with business and industry involved that basic concept is sometimes forgotten. Perhaps my idealism is a touch naieve but I live for the day wehn all styles and types of music are comercially accepted and every style and genre is given a fair crack of the whip on radio, TV and in the media. You might not like it all but then you might find more that you like. The day I stop making music that makes me feel is the day I stop making music.

[Tedster]

(Sings in loud obnoxious drunken voice) And now the time has come And so I face the final curtain (Sound of shoes, rocks, vegetables, china, being thrown).

[Rog]

The primal nature of rhythm and it's ability to make us do anything from tap our feet politely to mosh like a bastard never ceases to amaze me :thu:

[boosh]

Music is Sex Sex is Music You have to watch 'The Guru' He knows it.

[Mike Dawson]

[quote] [b]We (or maybe not we, but some people) dislike each other based on the kinds of music they listen to. On the same hand, we may consort with people we really don't like, because they listen to the same kinds of music we do.[/b] [/quote]I like your post, and I'm not disagreeing. But this certainly isn't a characteristic exclusive to music. We establish relationships with people based upon common interests, whether it's music, or movies, or books, or jobs, or education, or any of a million other factors. And if you really want to blow your mind, think about what other industries go through. What dancers put their bodies through to be able to shake their limbs. The multiple channels a high budget movie must be funneled through to have a camera capture people talking and moving their arms. The think about war. We actually take each others lives as the result of air leaving our lungs and activating our vocal chords. Too bad be can't put your naked hairy person on the radio with his two sticks (notice I didn't say the TV!)

[Dylan]

Hey Berklee Boi, are you currently going to Berklee? Do they still have Little Stevie's Pizza open :D ?

[The Thrashole]

One thing I've noticed lately is a lot of the younger people set their whole identity based on a genre. I have a lot of young kids that like to hang around when my band is practicing and they all remind me of what it was like to be a teen with no particular direction. A lot of these kids only fit in with a group of people because of the music they listen to. maybe we are all like this while going through our early years and it just becomes a part of us.

[Kendrix]

Yeah - And music is the most universally appreciated and widely available art form there is. Its everywhere - anytine you want it. However, there are some poeple that just dont "get" music. This really bothers me. How could someone not ever get lost in some melodic/harmonic/rythmic zone? Tone deaf folks- Its not their fault - but I pity them.

[Mike Dawson]

[quote] [b]Do they still have Little Stevie's Pizza open? [/b] [/quote]Hell yeah! My freshman year I lived in the main dorm right around the corner. A dollar seventy-five gets you a slice of pizza the size of your head. I probably ate there 5 nights a week. We got to know the pizza nazi guy that works there (we called him little Stevie, but he doesn't speak english so we're not sure what his real name is) well enough that if we stopped in at 2 am sometimes he'd let us jump past the long line of other drunk kids and give us a few free slices. At the end of the year I moved over to an apartment near Fenway Park and I don't think I've been back since. But I pass it alot, and they're definately still open and providing italian cuisine of quesionable quality to the young members of the Berklee community. It's pretty crazy to learn how many people have spent some time at Berklee (usually about a month in the 80's, as the school began it's decline in credibility). Where you here at one point, D man?

[Veracohr]

[quote]Originally posted by Kendrix: [b]However, there are some poeple that just dont "get" music. This really bothers me. How could someone not ever get lost in some melodic/harmonic/rythmic zone? [/b][/quote]There's not many, but you're right. My dad seems to have no interest in music at all. I suppose he likes a few things, old country pretty much, but he has not one single album, and if he turns on the radio while working in his shop I think it's just for background noise rather than to hear the music. Life without music? Don't want to consider that. No not no way.

[phaeton]

You know what veracohr? I Love You Man!!! :) [i]beats his sticks together with glee[/i]

[timrocker]

Yes, Veracohr, I have that thought a lot. I wonder how music can move so many people so deeply, so quickly. Conversely, I wonder how some other people can seem so indifferent to music. It's a big ole mystery to me. Ain't it grand?

[Brendan Orr]

For some reason, Don McLean's "American Pie" is going through my head at this moment. [url=http://www.don-mclean.com/lyrics/play.asp?p=19]Lyrics to "American Pie"[/url] [PDF format]. Personally, I think this song is sort of the anthem for music.

[whitefang]

Mark Borland, there WAS a time that it was done. When I was a kid, in the late '50's, early '60's, that AM radio, as maligned as it got in later years, would actually be quite a melting pot. Within an hour, you might hear a rock'nroll tune, followed by Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire", followed by some lame Percy Heath tune, followed by Lawrence Welk's "Calcutta", or "Baby Elephant Walk", followed by some R&B tune like "Charlie Brown", and on and on... Seems like now, radio has gotten MORE segregated in terms of audience appeal, except maybe for the "oldies" stations. And it makes me wonder if the FM revolution WASN'T such a good thing after all... Whitefang

[Hanshananigan]

[quote]Originally posted by thrashole369: [b]One thing I've noticed lately is a lot of the younger people set their whole identity based on a genre. I have a lot of young kids that like to hang around when my band is practicing and they all remind me of what it was like to be a teen with no particular direction. A lot of these kids only fit in with a group of people because of the music they listen to. maybe we are all like this while going through our early years and it just becomes a part of us.[/b][/quote]I can't quite get a handle on it. I'm a 32 yr old grad student in Richmond, VA. Where I grew up, we had one top 40 station and MTV for only my jr and sr years only. We ordered Husker Du and Dead Kennedys and Echo and the Bunnymen LPs, t-shirts and tapes from Burning Airlines catalogs (had to get money orders in pounds from the local podunk bank, who eyed us suspiciously), since the internet was available only to college kids who knew how to play dungeons & dragons online in the computer lab. In college in a largish east coast city, I remember there being country, college rock (U2, REM, Depeche Mode), top 40, and rap, and oh yeah, deadheads, at the onset of the post-new-wave grunge explosion. Now at any mall or college hangout, I see punks, dreads, hippies, mods, rednecks, preps, and others in the blink of an eye. Kids identify their group with a "look" and, to a lesser extent, a lifestyle that includes music. There seems to be more "groups" now then ever before, and they all seem to somewhat blend together, somewhat- at least in this small city. That is, I don't see the demarcation beween punk-goth-headbangers-preps that I once perceived. I was brought up believing Woodstock represented all in late 60s, but I'm getting the impression the Beach Boys sold quite a few records during that time to clean-shaven youngsters. And by golly, someone DID by Burt Bacharach in the 70s, while I thought everyone bought the Doors and, later, ELO. Anyway, I'm wondering if the number of "genre" choices has grown so much in the last 20-to-30 years that the concept of subculture is (almost) moot? It seems that any sort of mass-hysteria for the next Beatles or whatever will never happen again. But then again, are we moving to a place where kids are unified enough (in the States and UK), members of one big cosmic pudding with similar fears and reactions to lyrics and outlooks on life that will lead to another generational belch of (sort of) uniformity, brought together by the new "twist" or "disco" or "drop out?"