Saturday, November 16, 2013

Things that make me feel sad about music


I am a bit of a music collector. I am a music nerd. I can appreciate music and criticize it. I often feel as if I don't know enough and I need to know more. I need to hear more. As much as I love this art form, there are some things about it that make me feel a little bit sad. It seems that some people just don't appreciate this art form the way they should, or that they aren't as open minded as I hope they'd be, Or, that music is sometimes just generally misused. I thought I would create another list.

1. RECORDS BEING MADE INTO BAGS, WALL ART ETC. 
I listen to records (well now I do), but I know of people that have record players and do appreciate the sound. In most cases, records are a collectors item and it feels criminal to destroy it for a DIY project. I guess I could be okay with a few Donald Duck records covered in scratches being used for something though...

2. COVERS
Sometimes you get that odd cover of a classic tune that is just awesome, really awesome. Like when The Kills covered 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac or when Kate Miller-Heidke turned 'Psycho Killer' operatic. I really dislike it when "hip" artists cover tunes though, because I just know that the younger generation is going to forget who sang it first and won't know how awesome the song actually was. For example 'One Way or Another' originally by Blondie, covered by One Direction. My 12 yr old cousin does not know who Blondie is.

3. KNOWN VIA REFERENCE
I am guilty of this with some of the bands from the seventies and sixties, but it really bothers me when people don't know a song or a band except for the fact that it was referenced somewhere. People who don't actually know what Mick Jagger looks like or anything about his music except that his name came up in a few pop songs (these people where about nine plus years older than me ). 

4. USED IN ADVERTISEMENTS
It makes me sad to know that cheery tunes written by The Beatles and The Beach Boys will be forever remembered as "That tune used in the (insert product here) ad on telly". To think that all those years ago someone sat down with their guitar (or piano) and came up with this hit (that actually was a hit for a while) and for it now to be forever branded as the "ice cream song" or the "electrical store song" just doesn't seem right. Why can't they just write their own jingles?

5. WRONG ERA, WRONG GENRE
I've noticed there is this divide with people when it comes to music. A lot of the young people I have met don't want to listen to anything old, and then there are a few older people which have not kept up to date with anything past a certain decade. Some people don't like anything from a certain genre and other people don't listen to anything unless it has made it onto the music TV show that can decide whats good and whats not for you (they cut out an awful lot of music including stuff in the top hundred on some of these shows). I understand that we are all different and we all like different things, but sometimes I think some people can almost be snobby about it. 

6. NOT AVAILABLE 
I find myself falling into these little niches of society that are interested in very specific music. Be it the bands first LP, an unreleased album, a soundtrack song from a nineties band that existed solely for the soundtrack... It can be extremely difficult to find it on itunes or in a music shop, Or maybe it just isn't available in your country... It really bothers me and I guess I could just download it but...

7. ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS
You probably already know my feelings about this. If not, I've written these posts: Reading Illegally and Tips for Borrowing and Buying Books . These are both posts about books, but much of it is definitely still relevant. 

8. DIDN'T DO SO GREAT
I think it sucks when an album that was musically brilliant only made it as far as youtube or the corner of one indie store simply because the musician behind it had trouble with their label, didn't have a label or was involved in some kind of scandal that detracted attention from their musical career. Courtney Love's 'America's Sweetheart' for example would have done so much better if it wasn't for her drug overdose.


I just love music and I think it's such a shame to see some great works of art being mistreated or going unappreciated. I listen to music when I drive, when I go to bed, when I wake up, when I get ready to go out, when I clean, when I read... Maybe one day I will write a post about all the things I enjoy about listening to and playing music, but I know there are going to be way more than 8 points!

Your Favourite Cynical Blogger,
Natalie

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