OK...first of all I'm stinkin' old, so while that doesn't really excuse or explain what I'm about to say, (it worked for Grandma Moses for years and she was still brilliant and talent and people actually cared what she had to paint and say) I also realize that I am the salmon swimming upstream of public sentiment, probably only to reach head of the stream and get eaten by a big bear. I'm not a Justin Timberlake fan...right now, at least...even though he is probably the hottest pop male artist in the world. Curiously...and this probably makes perfect sense for someone who is as culturally clueless as present company...I actually liked him in NSYNC...they had tight harmonies, the dancing was kinda goofy, but impressive, (especially while singing) and they had a very entertaining stage show...their appearance on SNL when "Baby Bye, Bye, Bye" was at the top of the charts is still one of my all-time favorites. I'm sure that JT's stuff would have been a big hit at the rate-a-record portion of American Bandstand back in the day, because..."it has a good beat and you can dance to it"...and there certainly is nothing wrong with that. I just can't help wishing somebody was making songs that mattered these days...like Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence", "I Am a Rock" or "Bridge Over Troubled Water". songs like The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", Sujan's "John Wayne Gacy", Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind", Don Henley's "Heart of the Matter", The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and you have plenty you can add to that list. Now this is not to say that there are not some wonderful songwriters out there including Glen Hanspard who just burst into the public eye with the movie "Once". Bono is still writing some good things as well as Chris Martin occasionally, but it seems that the next Dylan, Simon, Lennon, or Peter Gabriel has yet to bubble to the surface...My daughters have this wonderful keen eye and ear for singer/songwriters and bands that very few people have heard of, and maybe it will come from one of those...I sure hope so...the power of music to elate, sedate, motivate and elevate is widely documented, and personally experienced by most of us. The stages at the Austin City Limits music festival here in Austin in a few weeks will be full of pretenders, but interestingly enough it will also have it's share of legitimate hopefuls and legends. And then also, maybe the Ricky and Randy Jacksons' or Dave Maddens' or Grace Pettis' or David Condos' or Jess Cates' who toil quietly and with little fanfare writing songs in their living rooms are the next musical hope to speak to us eloquently and powerfully through notes and chords and voices calling and urging us to feel deeply and love fearlessly. Who knows...it might even be JT.
Pling...Pling...
dg
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
I don't get JT...
Labels:
Justin Timberlake,
music,
Songwriting
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5 comments:
I heard a thing on NPR not long ago talking about Sammy Kahn and some of the other great songwriters of the 40s and 50s when the rhymes were intricate and the melodies memorable. One of the people made the comment that the rise of pop music made the song matter more than the words: artists went for the "feel" of the song rather than the marriage of words and music.
The songwriters you mentioned and a few others made me want to beg to differ, even though I got the point. When we have our morning jolt of pop culture, watching VH-1 or MTV, I keep looking at Ginger and saying, "Where's the melody? What are they going to hum in twenty years?"
Thank God for songwriters and not for hitmakers.
Peace,
Milton
PS -- Check out James Morrison. His song, "Undiscovered" knocks me out. You can find the video on Youtube.
Yeah, one of the realities I struggle with in this arena is that I know that it is not all about lyric...walking through a store several weeks ago the Muzak system was playing the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations"...I caught myself unconcously singing along, then I began to notice that, with very few exceptions, everyone I encountered in this big ole store was humming, mouthing, or down right singing out loud as they shopped and went about their business...I'm assuming they were as unconcious of what was happening as I was. There is this wedding of great lyric and melody that inexpicably links us to times, places, events, emotions, and passions, and that always amazes me. And then sometimes it only has to be "Good Vibrations" or "A Boy Named Sue" or "Achey Brakey Heart". Go figure.
By the way I should have listed "21 Times", which for me is another one of those remarkable pieces of music and lyric...You, my friend, have been a part of creating some of these memorable pieces of art as well.
I'll check out James Morrison...
dg
concerning your ACL comment -- I hope that Crowded House falls into the "legitimate hopefuls and legends" and not "pretenders." ;-)
I agree with you on your music observations, but I'm optimistic that good music is still out there. I have to dig a lot further to find it. I definitely won't find it on the radio here in Houston.
Eric
eric@houstonist.com
A while back I was making fun of NSYNC at work and realized that I was ridiculing something I had never heard for more than a few seconds. I decided to go over to the desk of a younger co-worker (I knew she liked them) and ask to borrow a CD of their stuff. She was so excited to share it with me that I actually looking forward to listening to their work.
After I popped in the CD and heard a few tracks, I came to the conclusion that I didn't hate their music, but it wasn't for me. I came away with a lot more respect for what they were doing, the talent, and the production values involved, but also realized I was not the target audience. Maybe that's what you're experiencing with JT.
I think the man is funny (especially after seeing him in the @!&< in a Box video from SNL), but also am not a big fan of his music. My musical tastes would probably leave most people wondering about my sanity, but then they aren't the target audience, right?
Music had gone through a lot in the last 50 years. These days, hit making just for its own sake is kinda boring. I'd rather hear something composed in a way that defies convention and strives for something new... even if it's difficult to listen to. Don't get me wrong, I love more conventional music too and adore the talent involved in being able to pen a good pop song.
I dunno. I guess I'm just weird... and I'm ok with that.
Thanks...I too have learned to appreciate all kinds of music that wouldn't necessarily be the kind I play in the car or while I'm relaxing, but you are right...it almost always ends up being an appreciation of talent and gift...and while that gets played out in numerous ways...talent and gift is to be respected and honored...
dg
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