Ben Ryer’s Rock/Soul/Progressive Blog

If anyone’s interested in hearing anything else by Captain Beefheart, check out this video I just came across. For anyone who thought Zig Zag Wanderer was a bit odd, prepare to have your mind blown. This is Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band playing “Ice Cream for Crow.”

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqRHr5pEIFU&eurl=http://cgi.fark.com/cgi/fark/youtube.pl?IDLink=3240794

In reference to us talking about blogging before, I have to say that I can understand some of the problems people have had. People obviously don’t compulsively check one another’s blogs, and while many of us do check occasionally, I have a feeling it’s not the same kind of interactivity and feedback situation that Dr. C intended to create. I know that writing blogs has also been somewhat of a hassle for some people. Myself, I simply don’t think to get online and write most of the time. I do think a lot about music (pretty much constantly) but I often feel that spur-of-the-moment thoughts would be too random and erratic, unless that’s what we’re going for…

Another aspect of blogging, and this really applies to me personally, is that I happen to be much more interested in the structuring of the music than the cultural and societal aspects that we discuss. Basically, I’m a music nerd, I’ve taken music theory classes, I like to write music, and that’s really what draws my attention to a song. To tie in to today’s presentations, I could really care less how well the Backstreet Boys’ albums sold, or how popular they were among tweens, in my opinion, their “music” was crap. It was whiny, suggestive lyricism on top of heavily synthesized sounds. Of course, they didn’t write it themselves; they were clearly molded by the record company into an attractive, flashy package.

Now, I have no problem with suggestive lyrics, as long as they don’t sound blatently stupid (”am I sexual?!?!”) I also have no problem with synthesizers and computer-created sounds, those can work really well when used alongside brilliant writing (Pink Floyd, anyone?) My point is that this “pop” music of today is not what “pop” used to mean. Sure, I guess it’s still “popular,” but I also think that by this point in time, pop has become its own genre, separate from rock. Songwriting and instrument-playing aside, pop has changed.

I noticed that some people were talking about instrumentals, so I thought I’d share my thoughts. First of all, instrumentals have kind of been a totally regular thing for me (band geek since 5th grade, orchestra/jazz band in between). Obviously, the large amounts of classical music that I play and hear are, with very few exceptions, instrumentals. Even when going into the area of rock/soul/progressive, I still feel that instrumentals can be very powerful. “Jessica” by The Allman Brothers is truly an epic song, and it would be hard to argue against that. Look at The Who’s masterpiece “Tommy,” and listen to the “Overture” and “Underture” songs, and tell me that those don’t convey all of the feelings of the album. But, maybe that’s just me, I do admittedly have a bias toward instrumentation as opposed to vocalization.

Well, since we were all talking about our relationships with music the other day, I really feel I should put in my two cents. Music is a huge part of my life, probably much bigger than most people outside of the music major category (to which I belong.) I love the stuff that we listen to, and other things too, although I will admit that I may not be familiar with as many different groups as others may be. But the stuff that I do know, and that I do listen to, really speaks to me.

I’m really all over the place, musically. Music affects my mood, and my mood affects what I want to hear. I’ll listen to anything from Fleetwood Mac to DragonForce (though my metal knowledge is admittedly limited) depending on what I feel. Yesterday, I listened to Eric Clapton and They Might Be Giants; this morning, I listened to Finntroll (a Finnish folk-metal band, very strange) and Tchaikovsky’s “Rite of Spring.”

I play the guitar, bass, and drums, so I love playing and listening to rock. However, I have also played the clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor saxophone in classical and jazz ensembles for years, and I have a very deep appreciation for classical music. The aforementioned “Rite of Spring” is my favorite classical piece; it’s really very moving, and shifts between a heavy pulse and a frenzied whirl of notes. I highly recommend checking it out.

Anyway, sorry if that was a bit of a ramble, I’m just very passionate about the music I make and the music I listen to. It moves me.

As I think about this project we’re taking on, I wonder to myself, could this really happen? I don’t mean the project (I have more faith in us than that!) but the idea of a band continuing throughout such a long period of time. Versatility is very important for a band, in my opinion, and I wonder if any group could withstand the test of time enough to shift musically through six decades.

Some might say that bands, notably the Rolling Stones, have done this, but I don’t think the Stones ever varied quite as much as we’re planning to do. Moving from Elvis to…whatever the kids listen to today covers a broad spectrum, one that not many musicians can adequately cover. I’m just throwing these ideas out there, seeing if anyone has any ideas about this.

Hey, just an interesting bit of info for everyone, today is Steve Cropper’s 66th birthday. There’s a cool video of him with Booker T. & The MGs on YouTube playing “Green Onions,” I think it’s worth checking out.

 http://cgi.fark.com/cgi/fark/youtube.pl?IDLink=3149712

I had not read the book nor seen the movie before, but I must say that I find The Commitments to be a refreshing change of pace. Don’t get me wrong, I was really into the other readings that we did, learning about how bands got together and rose to fame (even if Cohn was a bit…harsh.) But reading a story, getting a first-hand look, really puts the idea of a band coming together into a new perspective. This is probably one of those books that I feel really flies by, and it certainly does entertain, while at the same time getting at the core of music that we so often discuss.

I think we can all agree that I was somewhat flustered, to say the least, at giving my half of the presentation on Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion.” Arguing that this particular song is “soul” is certainly no easy task, especially when I watched the music video and repeatedly said to Daniel something along the lines of “this is just rock in its absolute purest form.” I mean, Aerosmith is pretty much your quintessential rock band, and while I brought up concepts and ideas that may be prevalent in soul music, I think its safe to say that Daniel won our debate.

That being said, I realize that having a very difficult song to analyze in this way means that one has to think more and dig deeper, even if their argument doesn’t ultimately come out as strongly as they would like. Whether I proved my point or not, I feel that I really learned something about critical thinking, and also reaffirmed my stance that Aerosmith, while perhaps not always soulful, is totally awesome.

In regard to our last class, I want to say that I think that we really got onto something. The completely open discussion seems to work well with the relatively laid-back subject matter that we deal with. Rock, soul, and progressive are really about inspiring interesting thoughts and ideas (i.e. itch and explode, kudos to Daniel), and I think that a more loose atmosphere is definitely conducive to this kind of discussion. I know I’m not the biggest contributer to the class, but even I feel that I can start contributing more. I think the key is to think of this not so much as a class in school, but a structured discussion among peers.

After having listened to the presentation on White Rabbit, I started thinking about Jefferson Airplane as a whole, and how they are generally regarded as a particularly trippy and psychedelic band. Having listened to Surrealistic Pillow many times, it is my conclusion that Grace Slick was ultimately the driving force behind the band’s psychedelia.

“Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit,” easily the group’s two most recognizable songs, were both Grace Slick tunes. However, songs like ”Comin’ Back to Me” or “D.C.B.A.-25,” while also psychedelic in a way, definitely show a different kind of attitude. The other songs almost have more of a “standard” rock setup (guitars, bass, drums, vocals) as opposed to “White Rabbit’s” militaristic snare and prominent bass line. Basically, Grace Slick may not have necessarily made the band better, but she certainly made it different.