Muff's Modules & More

Dr. Sketch-n-Etch · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:49 pm Post subject:

The amount of "rock" I listen to now is pathetically small, and almost all from the era 1968 to 1976. Mostly I listen to ECM jazz, electronica, some avant garde electric jazz, or classical (mostly modern, some baroque, some French impressionism).

As I get older, I've realized that the fundamental elements of music for me are decent melodies laid over interesting harmonies, and interesting rhythms. The music I enjoy the most has memorable moments in it. I'm thinking of Allan Holdsworth's unbelievable guitar solo on "Shallow Sea" from I.O.U., or the lovely stabbed piano chords in the first 10 seconds of Steely Dan's "Midnight Cruiser" from Can't Buy a Thrill, or the amazing interplay of piano, oboe and tabla in Oregon's "Yellow Bell" from Out of the Woods, or the rhythmic intensity of Led Zeppelin's "Two Sticks" from LZ4. My whole inner life is built on a scaffolding of such moments, which I can call up from my memory banks and hear in my "mind's ear" at will (as I'm doing right now).

The pop music (including r&b and rap) and most of the rock I hear today on the radio (or on American Idol, which seems to be the birthplace of most of today's big music stars) is largely devoid of these moments. It requires musicians to make these moments, but today's popular music isn't about music; it's about the cult of personality. There's very little actual "music" in most of today's popular music.

ryandfl · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:40 pm Post subject:

Lots of rock is just silly. A couple times I've had months long breaks from nearly any rock at all and zero radio rock. Then I'll forget my phone / music player at home one day and flip through the radio and listen to some rock. "Ah this sounds pretty cool and a classic / modernish classic, here we go". Then the lyrics kick in. Holy crap. Most of it is pubescent, plenty of it barely makes any sense, and a lot just phoned in, like no one even tried. It's easy to kind of ignore the words and think of them as 'the vocal track' when I'm getting a stream of that stuff in my life.

I've got high expectations in that department from listening to a lot of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and the Band, though.

haricots · Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:03 pm Post subject:

Any modern 'rock' that I have liked seems to have died. Godspeed You! Black Emperor , Death From Above 1979 (I guess there is a comeback a comin'), etc. Is this even considered 'Rock"? So hard to tell anymore.

Loverboy 4ever! nanners

well2thebone · Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:29 am Post subject:

pretty sure theres some good rock music out there