What are you doing today?

[jaylach]

At the time I graduated in 1972 I was the first student to have enough music credits to have it as a major.

Thinking on this I had three years of concert and symphonic music along with two years of music theory (whatever that is supposed to mean) and music appreciation. To be honest I never understood the music appreciation thing. Actually I got a low grade in that as we were supposed to enforce what the teacher liked and that just isn't me. I mean he claimed that Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) was a fake and it was a 'REAL' flutist that did his music. The man totally detested rock.

LOL! To put it mildly we might say that we didn't get along. Still, as much as it hurt him, he really didn't have a choice but to pass me in all cases as he could never prove me wrong. If I hadn't decided to join the Navy I had a full scholarship to the Baldwin Wallace music conservatory in Ohio waiting for me.

People like what I had as a 'music teacher' should not be allowed. Music is a form of art and any that try to control what is put out are totally wrong. You may love some music and hate other forms. That is normal and OK as long as you understand that the music you hate is still music and respect the love put in even if you don't like.

 

[GaryE]

My Grade 7 music teacher made us all angry. He insisted on playing us West-African music, when all we wanted was rock. But he planted a seed. I believe we find it easier to explore vaguely unfamiliar music if we have heard it when young, and research backs that belief up. I ended up really enjoying African highlife 15 years later when I rediscovered it, and I wonder if any of the artists I came to admire were the ones that poor hippy tried to get us to enjoy. A good music teacher lays it out and lets you absorb.

We have some music teachers here - @WhistlingBadger as a pro, but others who have got me listening to opera (not working out, except the early vocal stuff from smaller ensembles is to my tastes), and to a few early seventies bands I'd overlooked. I'm always on the prowl for new bands I like.

The first thing I do when I go to the fishroom, after I hang my coat up is pick the music. There's a new genre I've defined. It includes baroque, rap, funk, classical piano, punk, hip-hop, roots reggae, dub, rock, jump, electronic, hot jazz, blues, and garage music (fittingly). I call it "music recorded so it gets through the bubble and hum of filters". As a genre, it should be really big.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

It's a balance teachers have to strike between giving the kids what they like, and exposing them to new stuff they might not like but should know about anyway. It isn't always a graceful stride. I find that it helps a lot to validate what the kids like, even if it isn't my thing. I don't know how many times I've said something to the effect of "I don't personally like Eminem's music, but I've listened to him and man, that guy can put words together." Or "I don't personally listen to pop music, but yeah, Taylor Swift is a really good songwriter."

You know why the kids love Taylor Swift? Because she gets them; she writes about things kids care about. I try to do that with whatever style we're studying: Sing songs about things that kids (especially boys, as they're a harder target to hit) care about. Then, even if they don't like it, they can identify with it, which is just as good, maybe better.

 

[GaryE]

I'm constantly amazed, as a word lover, how many people listen to songs without registering the lyrics. When you get politicians using songs that are savage against their policies, it always makes me wonder. To me, song lyrics are essential to the whole package, but I've come to the realization that I'm not typical.

I love roots reggae, and the Rastafarian messages are something I've deliberately tuned out, as non essential (to me). They may have mattered to the more sincere songwriters, but for me, I make a choice on music sometimes, if the musical side is really good. If I find it mediocre, then why waste time on it? But I hear it first and decide.

Maybe a lot of people do that subconsciously.

The English language has lost its importance in music, and a lot of the most successful stuff is Asian, or in Spanish. I need the lyrics, and relate more to Spanish language music which I can largely catch, but I can't get my teeth into K or J pop. It's interesting how many kids can.

The whole picture matters - rhythms, lyrics, edges (or not). I don't enjoy Taylor Swift or Beyonce - they don't stick. They seem empty to me. But I'm 67 years old and from another set of circumstances, so as long as the music isn't a rigid formula, I'll give it a try. So far this morning, I've listened to recent stuff from Kneecap, who use a lot of Irish, and Bad Bunny in Spanish.

 

[gimme30]

@jaylach A fellow squid! I'd give you a big Semper Fi but you know how the jarheads can be...

Re: lyrics, they're not as important to me as they used to be. Most are nonsense anyway, strung together in order to rhyme but nobody would speak, let alone think, that way in real life. If you're crying about your dog running off with your girl in your pickup truck, well, I don't really care how you put it. But if you've got something to say...thinking SOAD here....you'd better come up with something coherent.
I recently listened to Lacuna Coil do a set of songs I'm very familiar with, in their native Italian, and actually preferred it to the English versions. I've also been listening to a lot of Russian music lately and I can't even begin to discern what they might be singing about. But I recognize their passion, and their craftsmanship. A true master never fails to blow me away, in any language.

If I were stuck on an island alone all I'd need is Alter Bridge, and a supply of pineapples.
Well, and maybe Salma Hayek.

Back on topic, you know what I'll be doing today? Not a damn thing! I hurt myself at work yesterday and am now in a boot, on crutches, living in a house with 3 flights of stairs.
(insert string of moderator-unfriendly cuss words here)
Where's Salma when I need her?

 

[GaryE]

@jaylach .

Back on topic, you know what I'll be doing today? Not a damn thing! I hurt myself at work yesterday and am now in a boot, on crutches, living in a house with 3 flights of stairs.
(insert string of moderator-unfriendly cuss words here)
Where's Salma when I need her?

Salma? Always one more flight of stairs from a person in a boot, singing away... that's how it works.

 

[anewbie]

Today - Friday the 9th I am wishing it was Thursday the 8th. That is my task for today.

 

[MattW]

Watching the very busy FA cup weekend and already seen some great results. Wrexham winning on pens to Forest, and Wigan winning one of the many Lancashire derbies against Preston. Especially looking forward to watching the Silkmen taking on the holders palace tomorrow. Hoping for some giant killings tomorrow. Magic of the cup