Thursday, February 17, 2011
What sounds are we attracted to in music????
This is a question that has conjured much thought and yet there is no real definitive answer. I guess we could all give a summary of the sounds we find most attractive in music. Whether it's sweet singing highs, swarming mids, heart stopping lows, all of these together or none at all, I think we each have a certain scope of what we find enjoyable. I had an interesting conversation with a friend today who listens to very different music than I do. Now, I tend to love very textured music on the "heavier" end of the listening spectrum, I guess some would even consider certain artists extreme or barely listenable. She, on the other hand, listens to music with a much lighter sonic footprint and finds the music I like very overwhelming and almost a daunting task to get into. This may seem mundane to some and I'm sure most people are fine with the notion of people liking what they like and leaving it there. But I think there is a lot more at work on a conscious, subconscious, mental and physical level that plays a part in how we interpret and enjoy music and sound in general. Just for context here is my best attempt at a cross section of the music I listen to: Pink Floyd, Isis, Tim Hecker, Scorn(Mick Harris), Sonic Youth, Bjork, De La Soul, Deadguy, Mogwai, Mike Patton, Failure, James Plotkin, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr.
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Well that's just like... your opinion, man.
ReplyDeleteBeingthat I have such similar tastes to yourself - Mr. Bottlejohn... However, I think it's actually interesting that I listen to both ends of the spectrum that you mention here - I really love minimalistic, tasteful stuff with a 'much lighter sonic footprint' - I also love the heavy, dark textured stuff - the extreme vocals - to me - are a real enhancement to the overall vibe/mood in many cases.
ReplyDeleteKeep your pants on.
I think it's important to listen to both ends of the spectrum, it allows for a certain amount of balance. I know, from experience, spending too much time just listening to one kind of music or dynamic styling can really desensitize your ability to critically listen. The same goes for writing music, if everything is heavy all the time it loses its point of reference.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your last two points, Baird. It's true of listening and writing poetry, too. By the way--great writing/great blog!
ReplyDeleteI listen to a lot of vocal music; only rarely do I listen to purely instrumental music. And when I do, I don't listen to scream (I am guessing--probably incorrectly--that lippster refers to scream when he writes "extreme vocals," which is sonically more instrumental than in much other music, yes?. As for sound--I like twang the most (hence all the Americana I listen to), heavy driving drums and fast guitars next most (almost all punk), then,probably the sound of the cello (Bach). But I like loud (why I'm getting deafer and deafer). way loud.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Eileen, I'm hoping to establish somewhat of a unique context for approaching band and album reviews/critiques as well. There are so many people out there who blog and write your average run of the mill reviews, I would just get lost in the mire. So I figured I would start someplace different and see where it takes me.
ReplyDeleteLoud is great, I always prefer to physically "feel" the music as well while listening . Twang is such a great musical word too, in fact when I did that Huck Finn interpretation, "twang" was a major part of what I wanted in my guitar sound. Heavy driving drums is probably a present factor in most of what I listen to, I love heavy groove. I definitely need to look into some older punk, mind helping?
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