the "I don't get it" thread

smurfco said:
Again it may be my own ignorance but I never get surprised by anything in the blues, even if it's enjoyable to listen to. But there are people who are "huge blues fans", I guess that's what I don't get, disciples of the blues etc. It all sounds so similar to me, I don't see how anyone can dig that deep into it (aside from the history of it) or really push boundaries with it. But maybe that's not what it's designed for.
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What I find fascinating about the blues is the way the lyrics of the golden age stuff establish a grammar and vernacular and image bank that has sustained and can continue to sustain decades of popular song. Also, the rigorous structures of the form are a great way to tease out how feel and groove and performance and arrangement can make a recording or song come to life. Most contemporary "real blues" stuff bores me silly, but that crud is easy enough to ignore.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
ugh, Slate.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. But buried in there you'll see just how small Wilco's towering pop culture achievement looked as it was happening.

They're a non-entity of a big time pop colossus. A big idea that disappoints us all. Barack Obama in rock band form.
 
Mark Wein said:
as someone who has recorded a blues album in the last few years I'll say that it's only as good as what you put into it. If you're only going to regurgitate the oldies or do some hacky blues rock beer commercial than it can be (IMO) a boring contrivance. If you use the form to do something different than it can be very cool.
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Yup.

It's kind of like telling the story of King Arthur or all the new Super Hero movies that are coming out. These stories have been told before, but there is plenty of room to put a fresh spin.
 
smurfco said:
Again it may be my own ignorance but I never get surprised by anything in the blues, even if it's enjoyable to listen to. But there are people who are "huge blues fans", I guess that's what I don't get, disciples of the blues etc. It all sounds so similar to me, I don't see how anyone can dig that deep into it (aside from the history of it) or really push boundaries with it. But maybe that's not what it's designed for.
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You're on to something with that last statement. To me, it seems like alot of blues now is there to show how fast or how loud some wanker can be on guitar.

If you haven't given Jimmy Reed a shot, you should. He doesn't get in a hurry and he's not trying to be the loudest asshole in the room.
 
Mark Wein said:
as someone who has recorded a blues album in the last few years I'll say that it's only as good as what you put into it. If you're only going to regurgitate the oldies or do some hacky blues rock beer commercial than it can be (IMO) a boring contrivance. If you use the form to do something different than it can be very cool.
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Quoted for TRUTH, but...

That goes for any style of music for me. It may take more training/skill to play jazz, but it can be just as contrived. You get players stuck sounding like legends, folks claiming to be jazz when they are pop-fusion at best, folks throwing guitars down stairwells and calling it music, etc.

But I'm not really trying to debate someone's form of expression, more that making music "good" and maybe interesting is a challenge no matter the form. Classical might show this the best as you could have two orchestras play the same piece of music in the same hall with the same charts, doing note-perfect version of what's on the page and one could be stellar while the other lifeless.

Not that my spewage wasn't inferred in Mark's post, but I thought this crap and had to share it.:thu:
 
tiger roach said:
Trust me, do not play Bitches Brew while tripping. It will damage your soul.

I like Bitches Brew a lot when I'm not tripping (which is almost always). I can understand why it may not be everyone's cup of tea though, and I'm not in the business of trying to talk people into liking it.
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(no sarcasm here)

what do you find enjoyable about the record?
 
I like Bitches Brew, but it's actually pretty cool slowed down a 1/3. No I'm not joking.

The music breathes, and it's easier to get into the grooves, which are there.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
A failed educational system.
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On a cold night, some will prefer the warmth of a shit filled gutter over the struggle to make fire. There is a security in the comfort zone of ignorance, and a risk to expand beyond. We see it constantly in our surroundings.
 
Tig said:
On a cold night, some will prefer the warmth of a shit filled gutter over the struggle to make fire. There is a security in the comfort zone of ignorance. We see it constantly in our surroundings.
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Sure. But that should be a cognizant choice, not one somebody is forced into because lowered standards failed to deliver the knowledge to succeed.
 
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Help!I'maRock! said:
Sure. But that should be a cognizant choice, not one somebody is forced into because lowered standards failed to deliver the knowledge to succeed.
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Ah, I missed your point, and agree.
As bad as the inner city education levels can be, imagine how poor it gets in some Indian reservation schools.
 
One thing that may turn some people off Bitches Brew it how the drums are recorded fairly distant sounding. Bringing them more up front would go a long way to making it less abstract sounding, letting groove oriented people get more out of it. When I first listened to it, it just sounded very random & jammy, which I can appreciate sometimes, but it's hardly what most people would consider accessible. The more I listened to it, the more I heard the structure, which is there, as much as the grooves are there, but it's long form, not verse chorus verse.
 
Fumbles said:
One thing that may turn some people off Bitches Brew it how the drums are recorded fairly distant sounding. Bringing them more up front would go a long way to making it less abstract sounding, letting groove oriented people get more out of it. When I first listened to it, it just sounded very random & jammy, which I can appreciate sometimes, but it's hardly what most people would consider accessible. The more I listened to it, the more I heard the structure, which is there, as much as the grooves are there, but it's long form, not verse chorus verse.
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yas queen
 
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