Through my own personal genius (no, no, there's no need to write any comments of praise; you can just tell me in person), I have come up with an excellent example of the musical differences between then and now. I already posted a video of Don McClean's "American Pie," which obviously is a masterpiece of lyric and music syntehesis. Yet did you know that in 2000, a certain female artist by the name of Madonna attempted to do a respectable cover of this sacred song? As you can see, she failed quite miserably...
Now, you could always argue that since Madonna was more of an 80s artist, using her as an example of modern music is a bit of a copout. Yet Madonna attempted this cover as a way of gaining popularity with a modern audience that wanted this kind of music. By doing so, though, she destroyed the essence of the song; the music simply does not sync with the music. This is a great example of what happens when artists decide to change a song in order to give it more appeal to an audience that has become used to inferior music: they simply are forcefed even worse music.
Ooooooh, boy, we remember that little outburst, don't we? When Kanye West graced the musical world with his little tirade against Taylor Swift, the whole music industry collectively groaned and rolled their eyes. Yet given West's history of making unexpected stage appearances, the actual event itself wasn't a huge surprise. Wait, think about that. Could you see something like that happening fifty years ago? Thirty years ago? Fifteen years ago? I could be wrong, but it seems to me that a good portion of the modern music industry has become too consumed by commercialism to actually care about finding musically-skilled class acts.
Now, before I get a bunch of rap fans and Taylor Swift worshippers on my tail, let me explain that last paragraph. In my last blog I discussed the importance of the connection between music and lyrics. Well, I believe that a lot of musical artists today have simply forgotten about this crucial detail. Why? Record labels have become too focused on spitting out as many albums and merchandise as possible, putting the actual quality of the music on the wayside (if you want to see a full blog about it, I highly suggest Kate Schutte's excellent blog). More specifically, the industry has maimed the amount of diversity which an artist can employ within his or her songs.
Let's start with hip hop and rap music. I will admit right now that I am definitely not a big fan of either of these genres. I have legitimate reasons, though. To start, hip hop and rap music focus on sexual interests. Now, I have already expressed that music is intended to manifest emotions, and sexual desire qualifies as an emotion, so I can't really condemn these genres for that reason. However, not all of the songs contain lyrics that discuss this topic. Yet nearly all hip hop and rap music contain the same type of swinging, suave beat and playing style that implies that the audience is supposed to still dance seductively while listening to the song. Now, obviously not everybody dances like this when listening to the songs. Still, though, I would appreciate a sorrowful song about lost love a little more if they actually contained a tune that reflected that sorrow.
To me, that is one of the worst musical crimes of all-destroying the potential of good lyrics or a good concept because the industry demands that you sexualize it or make it overly upbeat and poppy (not to name anybodyHannahMontana). I also take issue when artists are popularized simply because of their good looks. I know this is just my opinion, but I'm sorry, the Jonas Brothers/Justin Bieber/Hanna Montana contingent is just painful to hear. The Jonas Brothers have good instrumental music, but the songs are consistently ruined whenever Joe Jonas decides to open his mouth and sing. Justin Bieber simply has an average voice that tends to sound overwhelmingly weak, and if it wasn't for his long hair that drives preteen girls bonkers, he'd simply be another rich kid in school. Hannah Montana...well, anyone who comes up with a name like Hannah Montana is waaaaay to preppy for me. I know that my musical tastes are a bit old-fashioned, seeing as I grew up listening to folk, Beatles, and seventies and eighties music, but still, I wish there was some actual quality in today's music.
For today's wonderful and exciting blog entry, I'll be including my very first Youtube video! (Cue triumphant fanfare: preferably something by John Phillip Sousa, but I'm not picky about my victory themes.) For this monumental occasion, I thought I would choose a very special song. In terms of symbolism and meaning, this composition is arguably the quintessential song. Now you, beloved reader, may be asking yourself at this very moment, What is this magnificent song which ParallelFifths has been so gracious to present us with? Well, I would answer you, but considering you have access to it approximately one centimeter below this sentence, I thought I wouldn't insult your intelligence and just let you press that magical little triangle that means "Play." So go ahead, press "Play." No, really, now. Why are you still reading this? Now!
That's right: "American Pie" by Don McLean. I'm not going to give a full explanation of the song, in part because there's no right interpretation, as McLean never gave an interpretation, and in part because it's simply waaaaaay too long of a song to discuss here. If you want to look at a really good interpretation (and I highly suggest you do), just look here. Yet even without reading a full-blown explanation, the significance of McLean's lyrics can still be felt.
"American Pie" is a reflection on nearly 15 years of music (about 1957 to 1971, when the song was released), and the progression from dance-styled rock music to the more pop rock music of the Beatles and the beginning of the psychedelic rock movement. In 8 1/2 minutes, McLean sums up a decade and a half. That's some pretty impressive stuff, no? On top of that, McLean supports his lyrics through the music itself. The more sentimental verses are the bookend verses, which he plays slower and with less guitar and more piano. The middle verses, on the other hand, are played very acoustically and rhythmically, reminiscent of the dance music which McLean yearns for throughout the song. McLean weaves subtle references throughout his song to simpler days, which he then reinforces through his musical choices. Pretty crafty, eh?
The thing about music is that most songs are exactly like "American Pie." All music has (or at least should have) some truth, some message which it is trying to convey. The lyrics and music both contribute to the success of the artist's message; if either of the two inadequately expresses the artist's theme, then the song flounders. Music contains vast potential in its ability to inform, enlighten, and affect; the trick is mesh the lyrics and music in the most cohesive way in order to perform best these three tasks. That can be some pretty tricky stuff.
Alright, we know that music has been around for a while. We know that music is a pretty popular form of entertainment. We also know that music was created all around the world independently. The big question is: Why? Why was music created? Why did every culture, from Ug and Ulga the Cavepeople to the Renaissance artists, feel the need to create music? I mean, I rather doubt that a caveman made a few noises and thought to himself, Wow! What an interesting sequence of arpeggios! I wonder how the expressive tone of the progression would be altered if I diminished the second interval? So why was music conceived in the first place? Truth be told, we can't really know for sure--after all, it was millions of years ago. However, anthropologists and archaeologists and a bunch of other fancy -ologists who know far more about these things than I do have some pretty good hunches. According to most of them, music--specifically, percussion--was used for hunting and communication withing tribes or bands of hunters and gatherers. Over time, music also began to be used to tell tales of daring hunts and successful escapades. Instead of simply grunting, Urg the Caveman could beat out a snappy rhythm as he told his tale of defeating a mighty rabbit. While this is a rather inane example of years of research and study (and to all you researchers reading this whom I just offended: please don't hurt me), it does point out the most important function of music: to communicate. The sole reason for the creation and survival of music for millions of years is this: music conveys human ideas, emotions, and thoughts in a way that simple words cannot. You can speak of vast grief and sorrow until your voice fades to a whisper and those listening are reduced to tears; you can scream to the heavens in anger and unleash bitter chains of wrathful words; you can shout in jubilation and laugh with uninhibited glee. Yet I guarantee that simple words could not convey those emotions quite the same as a simple, haunting melody, or a forceful, imposing motif, or an exuberant, dancing ditty. As the French author Victor Hugo reflected, "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent." Without music, life would be a true depravity. Music is intended to convey powerful emotions that cannot simply be expressed through words. Without it, we as humans would be rather miserable wretches indeed. Scary, no?
Until next time,
ParallelFifths
P.S. Don't worry; I'll make sure my next post is a little less of a sleeper.
Hello, world. If you stumbled upon this blog looking for something else, then congratulations! You just discovered the most fantastic, stunning, and super-mega-foxy-awesome-hot blog on this site! What, you may be asking yourself in your extreme excitement at this monumental discovery, is this blog all about? Well, new friend, this blog tackles one of the most timeless creations in the history of mankind: music. However, if you are looking for a blog from a hardcore dude with a fetish for screamo or a Justin Bieber fan page, you are certainly reading the wrong blog. Instead, I intend to analyze music through a philosophical lens, making observation on the emotional, mental, and physical effects of music on the human person. However, since that sounds extremely boring, and I would never want to bore you, the beloved reader, I plan on sprinkling in several Youtube videos or audio clips for both entertainment and discussion. Stay posted on my...posts!
