Any/ all further postings will be on my new site- michaelbeinhorn.com (which has more interesting things on it than mere essays).

A Primer On Feel

I am posting this article here (as well as on my website), due to its apparent popularity.

Music is every bit as visceral as it is engaging for the mind (if it is not moreso). It is a total, fulfilling experience and even though it doesn’t engage other senses (in the way motion pictures and other multi-media forms of entertainment do), it provides the capability for one’s imagination to fill in whatever sensory gaps may exist.

One of the ways that music can be experienced viscerally is emotionally. One other way that music can be explored viscerally is via its pulse and rhythm.

Rhythm and pulse are fundamental building blocks in many forms of music, however, in popular music, they are unique. This is in part, due to the inherently repetitive nature of popular music. Although, classical music can be similarly repetitive, it primarily features the repetition of specific themes. Popular music is more often characterized by short segments of music which repeat and then modulate into new segments (which may similarly repeat).

Additionally, popular music is derived from unique genetics. Although it shares a tuning system and a theoretical foundation with Western classical music, modern popular music is essentially derived from several different folk music forms; the primary form being African.

African music was brought to this country via the slave trade (as it was to several other countries such as Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, also eventually defining the core of their indigenous musics) and gradually acclimatized itself to its new environs. Over time, it mutated into diverse music forms from field calls to prison raps/hollers to gospel and, to blues. Blues became the pivotal music form which went on to influence early R&B, soul and rock n’ roll.

Every form of modern popular music carries in its DNA, a derivation of African music.

One of the most interesting things about African music (and many other forms of ethnic and folk music) is its general (almost nonliteral, nonlinear) adherence to timing. Perhaps because most ethnic music is not based around a system of notation (and is instead, passed from teacher to disciple in an oral tradition), the concept of timing appears more subjective to the individual musicians than in a piece of classical music (where strict attention is literally paid to timing, and uniformity of performance).

This somewhat general and perhaps subjective adherence to timing (or ‘looseness’) in various ethnic music forms has a curious effect on the performance of a given piece of music. Instead of there being a specific down beat where everyone lands simultaneously, there is a loose (yet general) idea of where down beats are relative to each player (and to each instrument sound).

When one listens closely to a piece of ethnic music, there are miniscule timing differentials perceptible in the performance of each instrument relative to the others. These timing differentials maintain a constant proximity with one another and in so doing, are not apparent to the ear as mistakes. They are occasionally experienced as light flams.

When instruments are played together in this way, a remarkable and unique sensation of movement which is generated. All the instruments are perceived as working together, but they are neither dependent upon one another, nor are they particularly independent. They can be said to be performing together interdependently.

Amidst the instruments playing interdependently, a simultaneous feeling of accord and of tension is generated. The instruments create an invisible latticework amongst themselves which is as magical as it is brimming over with ancient power.

At the same time, it appears as if this creation of human beings is so fragile that, if one person should loose their place for even a faction of and instant, the entire center would collapse.

The fruit of this creation is the work of men and as such, it is imperfect. An, it is for this reason that it cannot be broken or destroyed no matter how many times the players make mistakes or fall out of time with one another.

In it’s imperfection, it is utterly pristine, utterly perfect. It is a tribute to the Gods in the way only humans can offer up such obeisance. The Gods may have imbued humans with the power to worship in such fashion, but could a being as perfect as a God create something so beautiful in all its flaws?

It would be interesting to imagine a piece of ethnic music being performed in a setting where all the performers are classically trained, being lead by a conductor and reading their music from charts. It is doubtful that the essence would remain- instead, something would be lost….

Interdependent playing imbues music with excitement, with motion, with depth, with spirit, with sex. It makes music interesting to listen to, it breathes life into it and takes it beyond form into the formless.

Some people refer to this as ‘the space between the notes’ when they reference an individual musician’s style of performance. This pertains to the specific phrasing which defines each musician as being special or unique.

Others refer to it as ‘pocket’, ‘groove’ or ‘feel’.

Feel can be experienced through hearing one musician play his instrument with the appropriate tension, but it is mainly experienced by hearing a group of musicians interact in this way. This interaction is a place where listeners can have the awareness of musicians communicating with one another through their instruments.

Which brings us to more modern forms of feel-based music.

One obvious example of this performance style would be Led Zeppelin. Zeppelin have their roots in both blues, rock n’ roll and R&B, all styles of music with a direct lineage to African music.

Blues and R&B are structured so that the instruments playing in the bass/baritone range (bass, drums) are pushing ahead of the beat, while instruments in the tenor/alto/soprano range (guitars, vocals, etc) are generally laying back behind the beat. One obvious precedent for this is found in big band and swing music- where the lower register instruments are all pushing ahead, while the solo/upper range instruments are laying far back.

In this way, the low end instruments become like an anchor; they ground the music, give it roots and foundation.

For a long time, there has been a misconception that bass and drums are generally meant to lay back (especially in rock music). This is probably because people’s awareness naturally goes to instruments playing in the tenor-soprano ranges first and are instantly aware that those instruments are indeed, laying back.

It is relatively easy to see where instrument down beats land if one loads a song into a DAW and looks at the resulting waveform. However, by referring to Led Zeppelin (and several other artists), I will provide some examples which present interdependent playing very clearly.

‘Rock And Roll’ from Led Zeppelin 4 is a perfect example of feel-based, interdependent playing.

The song wears its roots on its sleeve. The changes are simple and blues based. The continuous barrage of 8th notes is an homage to the proto-R&B/rock n’ roll of Chuck Berry. Of course, the band have given the song a proper 1970′s update replete with over driven guitars and wailing vocals.

However, it is in the rhythm section where the song truly distinguishes itself. The song has a raw sensuality to it, a sway, a swagger. It has a palpable sense of excitement which belies its deceptive simplicity.

What is causing this to happen?

Because of his legacy (as well as his brilliance), many people will look to John Bonham’s drumming as the answer, but they will only be partially correct. This excitement is actually being generated by the interaction between the bass, the drums and the guitar.

The drums are surging against the beat and are generally hitting a fraction early from (or ahead of) the nearest perceived down beat. The exception to this is the hihat (or ride cymbal) which is generally sitting in the same time differential as the guitar. The guitar is sitting slightly behind the drums and creating the impression that the bass and drums are laying back.

And then, there’s the bass guitar. This is the unsung instrument of all bands, the one which creates the glue between all the other instruments and defines exactly how the feel sits amongst them.

It is indisputable that without a great drummer, a band is generally not good, but without a great bass guitarist, a band is simply not interesting.

The better a bass player is, the better he makes the rest of his band mates appear. If ever a bassist existed who could make his fellow band mates look good (at the considerable expense of going himself unnoticed in the process), that bassist would have to be John Paul Jones.

I would invite you to play ‘Rock And Roll’, listening first to the rhythm guitar, bass and drums. Next, try listening to only the bass and drums- ignore the racket they are supporting. Finally, play the track and try listening for only the bass guitar.

What a revelation that was. Wow. Listen to his choice of notes, how steady he is. Listen to his tone. Most of all, listen to how far ahead of the rest of the band he is.

It’s true. John Paul Jones is pushing the band along. If the drums are the backbone of a band, the bass guitar is the kinetic force which moves everything forward. Hear how the bass guitar is straining ahead of all the other instruments, (even the drums, almost to the point of lightly flamming with them). When he is at the point where he can’t move any further ahead without obviously flamming with everyone else, he has to articulate his phrasing in order to compensate for this.

(Of course, none of this should be surprising since John Paul Jones was a fan of James Jamerson, the house bassist at Motown. Jamerson was one of the most influential bassists of all time, his melodic sense was pure brilliance and naturally, he always played far ahead of the rest of his band).

If you can, try and imagine ‘Rock And Roll’ with the bass playing precise 8th notes on every down beat- no push or pull. Imagine if Zeppelin had cut this track to a click. Imagine if they were making a record today and the producer insisted on gridding and editing the bass (and the drums).

Impossible. No way.

Another (and even more extreme) example of this style of playing is found on ‘Helter Skelter’ by The Beatles. I will request that you listen to this song and if possible, wear headphones. The bass is in the left channel, the drums are in the right. Listen to how the bass and drums interact on this song.

What is significant about this piece of music is not merely that the bass is being played ahead (or how loud it is in the mix), but how far ahead it’s being played. It is almost as if someone decided the drum track was too slow and wanted to pick the tempo up.

Obviously, there are other examples of this, far too numerous to require mentioning. Once you hear and develop a context for this tension, this interdependence, you will be able to hear it everywhere.

You will also be able to detect where it is absent and how lifeless a piece of music can become when it doesn’t have that essence, that sexuality. That feel. You’ll find out for yourself.

Having instruments work together interdependently has many other benefits. The perceived tempo of a song can be made to appear faster- sometimes by a few BPM. Also, the down beats of a song suddenly have a very broad footprint, which means the vocalist has a lot of room to phrase.

Listen to a Frank Sinatra record. The orchestra plays with feel and finesse- so much space, you could drive a Mack truck through it and still have room for a bike path. This space is what gives Sinatra the freedom and ease to emulate a trombone player in his phrasing. Now, imagine if someone tried to edit one of his tracks……

Virtually every rock record done with stellar vocal phrasing was cut by people who were talented musicians and played with feel. This is no accident.

Keep listening, keep exploring- you’ll feel it. And then, you’ll get it.

I am accompanying this post with some audio which can be accessed on my website- michaelbeinhorn.net. Therein, I provided the examples I’ve given, plus a couple of others, including a partial board mix from Led Zeppelin 2 of ‘Ramble On’. This mix consists of the drums playing solo for a few bars, after which, the bass guitar is dropped in. I invite you to listen to the bass relative to the drums, how far ahead it is and how you can actually hear it flamming in places.

My New Web Site

I am now posting blogs at michaelbeinhorn.net.

Good Isn’t Actually Great/The Feeling Is Everything

After I published a recent blog (parenthetically entitled ‘My Manifesto’), I received a lot of comments regarding one particular assertion I’d made.

The assertion I made was this; no one has made a truly great piece of popular music in years.

Many people were infuriated by this statement. From some of their responses, I got the sense that what I’d written was being taken as a personal affront (or perhaps, a suggestion of lacking taste).

After all, the world has literally been drowning in new music over the past 10 years. How can it possibly be that absolutely none of it is brilliant?

In addition (chimed in many of these irate respondents), there is a tremendous variety of music being made outside of the mainstream (a lot of it indie or underground) which is terrific. Right?

Recently, I had lunch with a friend who I (and many others) consider to be a luminary in the music world. We hadn’t seen one another for a few years and got caught up. As is often the case, the conversation turned to our collective occupation/infatuation and it’s current doldrums.

As is also often the case, I felt compelled to state my feelings about the condition our condition is in. My surface agenda in doing this was to discuss new approaches to music production/facilitation.

My hidden agenda in addressing these issues was to construct a short cut to the creme filling inside (aka, a solution). I believed (in all my naivete) that as two highly intelligent gentlemen, my friend and I could find a common ground and potentially solve a few of the world’s problems over a staggeringly expensive hamburger (oh, how I love LA).

As we spoke, my friend made it clear he felt similarly- that there are indeed issues beleaguering the world of popular music.

However, he seemed to feel the issues were mainly those which plague the recording industry (and pertain to how few records are being purchased by the public sector).

It turned out that he did not agree with much else I was saying. He found the notion that popular music is in trouble (or in any type of a decline at all) to be absurd and laughable. In fact, he categorically disagreed with every statement I made regarding contemporary popular music (and how it is lacking feeling or emotional resonance).

Instead, my friend asserted that there is an ample quantity of great music being made these days- as there has always been. His feeling was that music sales are dropping because music is readily available for free on the internet. It was his opinion that any perceptible decline in music could be ascribed to cyclical changes in musical sales, quality and styles (all of which have occurred similarly, in times {and governed by conditions relevant to those times} bygone).

He further suggested that my assertions were not unlike those of all the disgruntled, disenfranchised individuals (in other words, ‘grumpy old men’) down through time immemorial (who disgustedly refer to the music of successive newer generations as ‘noise’).

From his perspective, the issue I was addressing was more indicative of an ‘age-gap’, as opposed to being of a ‘quality-gap’.

I like this man a great deal- moreover, I admire and respect him immensely. His life achievements are as noteworthy as some of them are downright historic. Additionally, he’s one of the smartest people I’ve met in our collective field (as well as being an absolute gentleman).

None of this had any bearing on our conversation (or on our points of disagreement).

Here, I will reiterate my original statement, which is; no great records/music have/has been made in the last few years. For argument’s sake, I’ll say it’s been within the past 5 years- it could be more like 7, even 10.

Now please note; I’m not speaking about ‘good’ records. I am speaking of ‘great’ records; superlative records. Timeless records.

There are plenty of good records being made now- even a few mainstream records are ‘good’. There’s good music everywhere- you may have to dig a little, but you’ll find some.

However, good isn’t actually great.

In order to qualify that statement, I will define exactly what I mean when I use the term ‘great’ in the context of popular music. To do this, I will now provide a miniscule assortment of examples which absolutely define what is ‘great’.

‘The White Album’ is great. ‘Are You Experienced’ is great. ‘Exile On Main Street’ is great. ‘Astral Weeks’, ‘Harvest’, ‘Led Zeppelin 4′, ‘Highway 61 Revisited, ‘Electric Mud”, ‘Disraeli Gears’, ‘Five Leaves Left’, ‘Another Green World’, ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, ‘Raw Power’, ‘Never Mind The Bollocks…’, ‘Desperado’, ‘London Calling’, ‘Innervisions’, ‘Computer World’, ‘Bitches Brew’, ‘For Your Pleasure’, ‘Tejas’, ‘Back In Black’, ‘Aja’, ‘Let’s Take It To The Stage’, ‘Poppa’s Got A Brand New Bag’, ‘Got My Mojo Workin”, ‘Evil’, ‘What’d I say’, ‘Liege And Lief’, ‘Nevermind’, ‘Substance’, ‘Vol 4′, ‘Rumours’, etc…

This is all undeniably great music. You don’t even have to like any of it, but its importance is indisputable.

These are records that changed people’s lives, lit a fire in their souls and under their asses. These are records (amongst others) which literally changed civilization because they managed to alter the way people saw their own world. In so doing, these records also changed how people think.

They mutated (and became a functional aspect of) our collective cultural and societal DNA.

I now present an obvious and natural rebuttal to my original statement (and one which I’ve been confronted with repeatedly- the lyrics are occasionally different but the melody is always the same).

That rebuttal goes a little something like this here; ‘of course those records are great, timeless, earth-shattering. Life-changing. They are classic, brilliant- even amazing. No one will ever be able to top them, therefore, a comparison between these recordings and those made currently is simply unfair’.

Unfair? Is it really?

What’s unfair about making a direct (if arbitrary) comparison between any given contemporary ‘hit” song and something truly classic (oh, how I despise using that term in this context, especially given its current connotation)?

What’s unfair about comparing ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ by The Rolling Stones to ‘Tik Tok’ by Ke$ha? (Besides the fact that Mick Jagger is name checked in the Ke$ha song).

How about comparing a Beatles song to a Coldplay song? ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA to ‘Paparazzi’ by Lady Gaga?

What’s unfair about any of that? Isn’t it all popular music?

Here is what I feel is unfair. It’s unfair that, when there are no fewer incredibly talented, creative people in this world right now (as opposed to any other time in history), none of these talented people are making music which can step to any of these older records. Or even, knock them out of their precarious perches.

And why is this so? Why aren’t very, very talented people making amazing records?

One reason is because the very talented people aren’t being required to do so.

No one knows what a great record feels like anymore (let alone how it sounds), hence how can they demand one?

We live in a society which is a thousand times more apathetic (and probably more psychotic) than was any previous society. People are completely sheltered and yet confronted with their own imminent mortality every single day. Everyone suffers from some degree of ADD and PTSD. We have all been conditioned, desensitized, brutally pummeled and beaten down through years of systematic, socialized and institutionalized abuse.

We’ve been repeatedly subjected to years of commercialized, fast-food culture, video games, bad grammar, bad music and bad movies. People like Puff Daddy/P. Diddy are our new role models. Everyone wants/feels entitled to receiving a million dollars (or yearns to devise a formula to make a million dollars).

We have dealt with death, destruction, the unimaginable and unthinkable on a daily basis via the news (as well as total and constant information overload via the internet) until the communal nervous system has become worn down and shot to fragments.

One might think, that in a society whose denizens suffer as those in this society, quality entertainment would be what saves the day. During The Great Depression, two of the most profitable (and cathartic) businesses were music and film. The movies and popular song filled downtrodden people’s lives with hope- helped them hang on through another day, just so they could make it to the next one.

Not so now. Mediocrity has become the standard, not the exception. We’ve been gradually led down an illusory primrose path of cognitive dissonance where up is down and right is wrong.

We have become brainwashed to accept and finally, to believe that something good is actually something great.

Now, in the interest of equanimity, I’ll open the floor to my friend from the lunch meeting.

Perhaps, (as he suggested) my statement about music no longer being great is merely the familiar echo of every crotchety, grumpy, old-fart generation that ever existed. Perhaps, my point is nothing more than a redux of the eternal complaint which discharges from the collective gaping, stinking maw of every preceding older generation.

This is the perennial complaint which pertains to how abrasive the music and culture of every successive newer generation appears to be.

Perhaps, my point of view and my feelings are sullied by a subconscious bitterness toward these newer artists for any number of reasons which I, myself, am not even aware of.

Perhaps, the true crux of my issue is not what’s wrong in the world, but what’s wrong inside me. Perhaps age is my real problem, as opposed to any ability I might possess to discern expression, or even talent.

Perhaps, I feel threatened by the presence of virile black men grunting, moaning and groaning about wielding their unquenchable libidos over a primal beat.

Perhaps, I feel out of place listening to heavily auto-tuned white boys, snottily whining and whingeing over what appears to be a musical rendition of ‘Sounds From The Junkyard’.

Or, perhaps I feel uncomfortable listening to fragile, wispy, waify, indie-queens singing sans sensitivity about hyper-sensitive meaningless nothings.

Perhaps. Then again, if I’m so thoroughly blinded by ageist subjectivity and resentment, why is it that I hear other people registering the exact same comments as me?

And why is it, that when I hear people other than myself making the exact same comments as I am (about how dull and devoid of emotion popular music is), many of them happen to be half my age and younger? The same younger generation this new popular music has been tailor-made to fit?

And why is it, that (similar to the friend with whom I had an aforementioned lunchtime deliberation) most of the people who appear to be defending the current state of popular music, are in their 40′s, 50′s and 60′s? And, why are all of these people in their 40′s, 50′s and 60′s -who so valiantly defend the current state of popular music, people who work in (and around) the music industry?

Weird, isn’t it?

I don’t recall kids complaining about popular music when I was 17. I also don’t remember kids being dispassionate or detached about the music they listened to when I was younger.

In fact, I don’t recall kids doing much of anything regarding music, apart from single mindedly arranging their lives around it and devouring it rabidly.

I do recall heated arguments (one of which nearly came to blows) between friends as to whether Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page was the better guitarist.

I do recall seeing large mobs of kids heading toward the 72nd St subway station (in Forest Hills, Queens) so they could catch the E train to Madison Square Garden and see Led Zeppelin when they toured Physical Grafitti.

I do recall many occasions when I would sit with a circle of my friends around a stereo listening to record after record for hours at a time. Doing nothing else. In utter silence.

I do recall laying in the grass, staring up at the night sky and listening to a beat up, gurgly cassette tape of ‘Master Of Reality’ by Black Sabbath through a tinny earphone, plugged into a beat up, gurgly cassette machine. Listening over and over until the tape jammed.

I do recall sitting on the floor of my parents’ living room every Wednesday evening, long after everyone else had fallen asleep. There I was, as still as could be, frozen amidst a massive, labyrinthine tangle of wires arranged just right. I would perform this ritual in order to catch the faintest wisps of the obscure progressive rock I thrived on (which was broadcast from the New Jersey college radio stations WFMU and WFDU).

I remember the day that my mom brought home ‘Sergeant Pepper’. The amazing, beautiful noise which poured out of the beat up stereo speakers and enveloped me was beyond the comprehension of an ingenuous child of 7. I was enthralled, beguiled and my life permanently altered.

All of these recollections will remain emblazoned in my memory until I draw my last breath. All these experiences were sensory, sensual and rich- they augmented, enhanced and reframed my existence. They were life changing and the sensations which accompanied them would recur for me repeatedly as the years went on. Those sensations were (and are) always stirred up when I would listen to a piece of music which harkened me back to another time in my life.

When I was younger, everyone I knew had the exact same experience of what music was and what it did to a person.

How does this parallel the way young people currently experience music or life? Is there any parallel at all?

Perhaps my desire is to see the entire world return to a familiar, more innocent time. Or, perhaps my desire is for other people to experience something amazing in their present that I experienced in my past.

Popular music is wallpaper now. It’s less of a participatory experience than it ever was before. It’s not even a spectator sport- instead, it’s more of a secondary, supplemental experience; a kind of cultural Hamburger-Helper.

Music would be more like a drug, if it could actually alter someone’s perception (as it used to). Instead, video games, celebrity and drama are our new drugs.

Popular music exists now merely as an accompaniment to something of higher priority in a person’s life- a movie, a video, a car ride, a conversation, a change of clothes, brushing your teeth.

The popular music of now demands nothing from a listener. Even at it’s most intrusive, invasive and abrasive, it is the perfect soundtrack for an ADD generation. Music can only contend as background noise to enhance another activity or can be completely tuned out and ignored at will.

The excitement of popular music is only marginally stimulating when compared to the massive adrenalin highs derived from quaffing corn syrup and caffeine-infused beverages (while killing endless multitudes of nameless computer generated soldiers, street thugs or monsters in some nameless video game).

I don’t recall music ever being this disposable before. Is this a cycle we’re going through (as my friend suggested), or is it an aberration that no one prepared for?

It’s significant that much of the older music which I’ve previously referenced is not perceived as being nostalgic by recent generations. This is in very dramatic contrast to how music from 20-30 years previous to my generation was perceived by my generation- sappy, drippy, sentimental, nostalgic (and only to be revisited as some kind of fad)

To many children of this present generation, music from 20-50 years ago is still seen as relevant- certainly listenable, durable and definitely not nostalgic. Why do you suppose that is?

Why do younger generations still listen to Led Zeppelin or The Beatles? Can it simply be (as my friend from the lunch meeting might suggest) because music is so readily available on the internet?

Or could it instead, be because nearly 60 years on, no one has been able to surpass these artists? No one has yet come along to make these artists as irrelevant (or ‘of their time’) as Doo Wop music had been made irrelevant (and ‘of its time’) to those of us growing up in the 1970′s?

Many people born since the 1970′s have heard artists like Led Zeppelin and while they can see the relative value in this music, they also can’t have the same experience that we (who grew up with it) had.

Why? Because Led Zeppelin is ultimately a product of its times- hence, it is also music for its time.

No matter how remarkable their records are, Led Zeppelin (and the other artists I’m referencing) actually have little or no relevance to this modern generation. That is because this music doesn’t truly speak to the generation of now- it speaks to the generation of then. Other generations. My generation.

As sacrilegious as this may sound, the most valuable thing about Led Zeppelin (or any of this older music), isn’t necessarily the music (especially as it pertains to current generations). It isn’t even what the music represents or how reverential we become upon hearing it.

It is instead the vitality- the emotion one gets from hearing it. The soul. The feeling.

This soul, this feeling is what takes Led Zeppelin (and any other great artist) out of the context of simply being another great band which spoke the language of a different generation at a different time and creates a continuum regarding how they can still affect people in the present time.

This is the essence, the true essence of what makes a great record.

Again, I ask- who has made (or heard) a record of this like in many years? If it exists, please let everyone in the world hear it, because, no matter how obscure it is- we all desperately need to experience new music which swims in and exudes feeling.

The feeling in/from music is far more important than the music itself because the music is merely the vehicle used to transmit the feeling. The feeling is everything.

Being able to commune with the feeling of Led Zeppelin (or any of the other artists referenced) is a far greater, more meaningful (and ephemeral) thing than simply listening to it.

How does one commune with music (as opposed to just listening to it)?

It’s entirely personal. This is for certain- once you become aware of being able to commune with the feeling of music (as opposed to merely listening to it), you will be forever changed. When you begin to commune with music, you can alter time and space- all of reality.

There are good records being made all the time. But are they emotionally compelling? Moving? Do they have the intrinsic power to mobilize and bring people together or, (with the possible exception of exhorting others to get tipsy in the club) do they lack this power?

Does the music of now have the transformative power that has always been requisite to and implicit in all popular music of the past? Does it have the feeling?

Over time, we, as a society, have clearly lost our trajectory regarding what defines something as being great (as opposed to merely being good). Ultimately, what makes music great is it’s feeling, the emotion it transmits; it’s power to heal, to transform, to inspire.

Since that feeling is absent from daily life in contemporary society, how can it possibly exist in the popular music made in that same society?

There are definitely new records which are good, well done- even clever. Today, I was listening to a some recent music and I heard the Cee-Lo Green track ‘Fuck You’.

As it began playing, I actually stopped daydreaming for a moment. I began paying attention.

This song is fun, entertaining, vulgar, clever. Cee-Lo has a wonderful voice- he’s a marvelous singer and everything about the way it interacts with the track is terrific. There are background vocals. It’s got a decent groove. The sentiment it embodies is universal- anyone can relate to it.

By all rights, I should have fallen in love with this song.

The problem is, I didn’t fall in love with it. Once you get past the production and how good Cee-Lo’s voice sounds, all that’s left is the joke. And the joke really lasts for less than a minute- no matter how well the little production flourishes help to drag it out.

After that’s gone, there isn’t a lot happening. The joke goes away, the smile gradually fades from one’s face and one is left with a relatively empty experience. It’s a one-trick pony.

Compare this to something of wonderment and insane brilliance, such as- ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, by Bob Dylan. This song keeps you enthralled, enrapt by the power of the singer’s delivery, on the edge of your seat, waiting, waiting for each succeeding line just to feel the sting of his blistering sentiment (even after having heard the song dozens of times).

You can feel how sure of himself Dylan is and, at the same time, he almost sounds as if he is surprising himself by each successive line he spits out with so much contempt.

Each new moment in the song is the first moment of all creation. That is true artistic genius.

What raw, visceral energy. What blinding brilliance. What power. Who is able to do this now?

And then, there’s the music- the track.

Actually, who cares about the track? Sure, it’s great, well done, Al Kooper snuck in to play organ on it, the arrangement is great and the whole thing sounds like a scratchy ’60′s song. What difference does any of that make? Sure, it’s got balls- it’s exciting- even stirring. Yippee.

The most important thing about the song is the part of it that keeps you hooked and stays with you.

And just what is that? Is it the memory of Dylan’s voice in all its scratchy, sardonic and abrasive brilliance? Is it his harmonica playing in the breaks between his vocals? Is it the overall greatness of the song, is it the lyrics, is it Al Kooper’s (essentially jammed, but) brilliant B3 track?

No- it’s none of those things. What stays with you while you hear the song (and what stays with you long, long after the song is done) is the sensation of it. The visceral emotion. The feeling.

The feeling is what makes music live forever. The feeling is what sticks in your brain and your body on every subsequent listen and for the rest of your life. The feeling is what makes you live forever.

The feeling is everything.

Once you find it, you’ll start to look for the feeling in everything. It’s in music, in your soul, in your life. It’s in the very molecules which surround you and make up your world.

When you find the feeling, it will always be there for you. It will always remind you of what is ultimately true for you and what is not. It will teach you about the greatness in the world (and in yourself).

Finding the feeling will ultimately and totally obliterate the delusion that good is actually great.

What I’m Doing About It (My Manifesto) Pt 3

If it can be acknowledged that there is a problem, it can also be acknowledged there is a solution. My solution is to start by helping novice artists- mentoring them, sharing what I know with them.

I am doing this so these new artists will have the same opportunities to learn (and consequently, to grow) that I had when I was younger and thirsty for knowledge.

I become accountable whenever I hold back or selfishly retain information which might be beneficial to someone else who needs it (as i
is every other person in my position when they do likewise).

As record producers, creatives, etc, we all expect to be paid (or similarly compensated) every time we open our mouths, or venture an opinion about anything.

It’s essential to be compensated for work but that has nothing to do with the point I’m making.

What I am saying is, the greatest insights are often shared by others who possess tremendous wisdom. Many of the finest musicians, artists, engineers, record producers, etc of all time got their beginnings because someone else with great knowledge and experience was there at a formative moment to pass the torch along to them.

While this sharing of knowledge is never done for free, there is an essential nature to the transaction and that essence can neither be bought nor sold. Those who perform this service pay their expertise forward, knowing the importance of the process in the creative and evolutionary flow of any art form.

The sharing of skills and expertise with future generations of artists is one component piece in a great continuum which must be respected and constantly tended. If there is a break in this continuum, the art form withers and dies.

Like those coming of age rituals and rites of passage which are cornerstones of societies around the world, the passage of shared wisdom from mentor to apprentice is a ritual priceless beyond words.

It is unfathomable (and unconscionable) that no one is willing to do this for younger artists and technicians now.
The foundational aspect of sharing wisdom boils down to one thing- being of service.

Being of service means giving freely. Sometimes, this means giving things away. Giving away things which we often hold onto tightly because we believe they are prized possessions (but which we don’t actually own).

For free.
Here, I pose another question. What happens if people start simply sharing information with others? What if that information is incredibly valuable (and on which a dollar amount could probably be placed), but it can also help change people’s lives?

What happens if we start worrying less about ourselves and start thinking more about how we can be of service?

If you share what you know with someone who needs it, will your world fall apart? Will you lose that which you fought so hard to gain?

Or, will someone else’s world become better? Will the entire world become a little brighter, richer and more promising because you have put something back into it?

And, as a consequence of improving the world through your contribution, doesn’t the wisdom you share benefit you as well?

With this in mind, the logical choice- the ethical choice, is to be of service. I feel that if even a few of us who have knowledge regarding recording, songwriting, performing, etc make a commitment to share this knowledge with those who need our expertise, we can provide an unprecedented degree of illumination (and pave the road for a new era of expression and artistic brilliance).

If we are interested in the future of music as a dominant force in the emotional/ intellectual/ spiritual existence of human beings, we need to create that future by turning our focus toward a solution in the present.

There need to be new ideas (not necessarily regarding new businesses or new ways to make money) regarding new creative outlets for genuinely talented people. When creative people start thinking creatively and express their true selves, they inspire the world. When the world is inspired, amazing things begin to happen.

My commitment is to map out a system for artists to have individuals working with them who are able to provide the input and tools they require on a basis that is workable and fair. The emphasis will be on investing artists with self-reliance, as opposed to dependence.

I am not approaching this specifically as a record producer. I am prepared to do something which will be more beneficial and less costly. I will be posting contact details on this blog shortly.

Real record production is expensive, time consuming and is now only affordable by artists with tremendous recording budgets.

A real record producer incorporates a diversity of skills into his work; arrangement, orchestration, artist development, song writing, musician, sound engineering, programming, cheerleading, psychology (amongst many others).

For those with neither the means (nor the experience) of working with a record producer, the idea of hiring someone who refers to himself as such, is ludicrous. This is because virtually no one who works under this guise can provide the degree of assistance a new artist requires (especially considering the meager amount of time and money that is allotted to most new artists).

The term “record producer” is antiquated nomenclature which has lost its luster over time. It has instead, become a generic occupational vagary, the provenance of ruttish young men who employ the term self-referentially in order to win the favors of young ladies at various and sundry nightclubs or bars.

For these (and other reasons), I propose to do away with the concept of record producers entirely (as the term relates to those artists who don’t require such a figurehead). It is clear that not only is the concept archaic, it is an egocentric title which does injustice to both creative collaboration and the assistance which new artists truly require.

These days, new artists receive help from hardly anyone. They develop and grow in a self-created vacuum. They filter what they are exposed to in order to find an outlet, but have little historical perspective regarding their milieu.

They have profound insights regarding some aspects of what they do and are utterly clueless regarding many others. In complete contrast to their recent ancestors, they can often barely navigate their own instruments.

Artists such as these don’t require a record producer. Instead, they need someone to mentor them: someone to facilitate them.

Much of what I have assimilated over the course of my career wouldn’t have come my way without the insights and ministrations of those mentors who were available for me when I needed them.

It has become abundantly clear to me that whatever I know (or have learned) was never meant for me alone.

The knowledge I possess was freely presented to me with the implicit understanding that I would be its caretaker and, at the appropriate time, pass it on to others.

This is how knowledge maintains it’s essence, it’s value and it’s meaning- by being shared freely with others who would seek it. Life is a continuum and knowledge is a stepping stone in that continuum.

Contrary to popular belief, change doesn’t happen on it’s own. There is no miracle, no political solution, no religious faith which can bring things to fruition without effort.

Things may fall into your lap over time, but you will always expedite (and quantify) the process if you’re willing to shake the tree out of which they drop.

In other words, if you want change, you have to start it yourself.

Would it be wonderful to see a total cultural revolution occur because enough people decided to rise up against the mediocrity which presently holds us in it’s clammy embrace? Yes, it would.

When the time comes for that to transpire, I’ll be throwing figurative Molotov cocktails with the rest of the insurgents. For now, I’ll settle for helping people make better art.

I’ve said my piece. I’m making a commitment to do my part.

Now, what are you going to do?

What I’m Doing About It (My Manifesto) Pt 2

First Issue- What is the problem?

Contemporary popular music is one vast cultural problem among many (but it’s a problem of great magnitude due to the scope of its influence). It is a precise indicator of what ails society (if one looks for the correct symptoms).

Personal expression has ceased to be the provenance of the individual and has been transfigured into a commodity which is bought and sold by clothing manufacturers or computer companies. This is exemplified by how virtually impossible it is to find a contemporary musical artist who is doing something of emotional weight or resonance (but it’s far easier to lust over an iPod, an iPad or the new “Call Of Duty” video game).

The newest generations of artists have the age-old fire of expression burning inside them which they desperately need to vent and expose. However, unlike creative people who flourished at other periods in history, these artists don’t have the tools with which to effect this venting.

They don’t know how to look for these tools, let alone, what to look for.

It’s not for lack of trying (or wanting) which has denied new generations their implements and their entree. There simply is no one who is skilled and willing enough to pass the torch on to them.

The fact that popular music has become a disposable, artificial wasteland is only the tip of the cultural iceberg. On the underside of this iceberg is the fall out from the musical freefall (and the long range effects it has on other art forms, education, business, etc).

The degeneration of popular music also underscores the essence of society from a completely different perspective. Our social order does absolutely nothing to reinforce or support any kind of originality or personal expression.

And, this lack of support regarding personal expression falls heaviest on young people. In the present social order, young people are considered less as functioning contributors and more as members of a demographic.

Of course, young people in this society are often raised to believe that they are entitled to greatness, as opposed to having to earn it. However, they require having this put in the proper context so they can experience the payoff they would obtain through earning (as opposed to simply getting).

Young people can only receive this awareness from those who raise and teach them. For that reason alone, children require parents, teachers and mentors. These capacities are commodities which grow scarcer.

Second Issue- What roles have we all played in allowing this debacle to occur?

Events that occur on a large scale are usually a result of the action (or inaction) of many individuals operating in any sort of collusion. As individuals, this means that (in some small way), we have played a role in precipitating the events that involve (or occur around) us.

If I am willing to accept accountability (and personal responsibility) for what happens in my life, how might I also be accountable for what has happened around me?

As I suggested earlier, in order to effect change, to be proactive, one must be willing to acknowledge their role in allowing (or forcing) a situation to degenerate (and thereby, their power in helping the situation to regenerate).

Here, I use myself as an example.

I played a part (however small) in the degeneration of popular music. In the past ten years, I made some poor choices that were based (in part) on bad judgment and an ardent desire for transient, illusory things.

Over that time, I disrespected my own abilities. I gradually turned away from the world and away from being creative. Instead of working, I turned inward.

By forsaking the gifts I possessed and instead, becoming embittered, I deprived the world of my voice in a narcissistic and egocentric manner.

By essentially inviting the world to pass me by (and taking my abilities for granted), I created a small void for others less vigilant to fill.

In my own way, I feel this is my accountability for what has happened in the current debacle. And, as I accept personal responsibility for my actions, I also affirm my power to correct them.

Now, perhaps you can apply similar criteria to your own action or inaction. Take a look at yourself and see how you might have some kind of responsibility or accountability (and therefore, power) in this situation.

Third Issue- What can/ will I do about it?

This very moment is the time to take a stand. It’s time to be seen and to be heard.

I am willing to address these issues, whether or not anyone else is. I’m committing myself to help new artists. Since I feel strongly that there will be no new talent of great substance without assistance from somewhere (or someone), I’m prepared to put my money where my mouth is.

I will do this because I love music. I love art, I love everything about the outward (and inward) expression of human beings.

People have a remarkable capability to generate, communicate and transfer their deepest emotions to others through various means that they’ve essentially fabricated out of thin air.

How magnificent we are: how amazing that we can perform such magic, such alchemy- create such music, such art.

At its beginning, music may primarily have been a mode of communication, perhaps even a means of survival. Then, human beings turned it into an art form.

And suddenly, the art form has soured and gone bad. That’s correct- it’s wrong, the magic has been completely excised.

From communication, to art form, to garbage.

And it is because of this transformation that music has ceased to communicate anything of necessity or value to anyone. I would venture that this is the first time in history such a travesty has befallen humankind.

What kind of a world is this wherein video games are more exciting (and better entertainment value) than music? What kind of world is this wherein an art form which has enabled great civilizations to survive and flourish down through milennia is usurped by transience, valuelessness and flash?

What do you feel? Do you disagree with any of these points? Do you feel as if there is an equitable balance between the insipid, loud, knee-jerk, machined pop music that the world is currently awash in, and music which pours directly out from the soul of an artist (finally coming to rest inside your very being)?

Do you feel that you have in no way contributed to this state of affairs (and therefore, you have neither the power nor the inclination to change anything)?

Do you like things as they are? Are you comfortable, first with music, then culture and finally, your civilization collapsing around you like a house of cards?

Or do you not only agree with this assessment, you feel that I’m missing a boat load of adjectives to describe the problem?

Where do you stand?

What I’m Doing About It (My Manifesto) Pt 1

The individual posts in this blog are unique from one another. They also double as component pieces which underscore a central, all-encompassing theme.

I’m utilizing this blog as a means to present some of the issues facing popular music as I see them (from as many different perspectives as I can envision). I am stating herein, that there is a problem and this is my way of looking for answers.

The blog is also meant to be a manifesto and this specific post is it’s forward.
Here is an initial premise regarding the degeneration (and the importance) of popular music:

I have borne witness to the spectacle of an entity so beautiful and powerful (and which I love passionately deep to the core of my soul) being corrupted by the twin demons of apathy and avarice into something completely, utterly grotesque and lacking any meaning.

Popular music has become distorted, ugly, infused with weakness and infirmity (an infirmity which masquerades as force and strength via sheer bombast and bluster). It has gone from being diverse and miraculous to being homogeneous, predictable and utterly lacking in personality.

Popular music is an indicator, a signifier of where society exists. Today’s music is cold, disassociated, inexpressive, loud. Poor society. Poor music.

Here, I will pose a few questions. Is popular music nothing more than a signifier of something else (in this case, the society in which it’s created) or can it also be a catalyst?

Is it possible (assuming one has issues with popular music), by altering the intent behind how popular music is made, to effect change on the quality of music?

And further, if music can truly be an instrument for change (assuming one has issues with the society in which this popular music is made), could these changes made to the quality of popular music, in turn, also effect changes on society itself?

In other words, if we do the work to save popular music, can popular music somehow save us?

I don’t know the answer to any of these questions with absolute certainty. (That said, music has been immensely catalyzing and is inextricably intertwined with multiple cultures down through milennia.)

This notwithstanding, every molecule in my body simultaneously screams yes to each of the questions I posed. I feel impelled to respond and that response is to make a commitment.

My commitment, is my choice to effect change. I choose to be a catalyst, so that music, in its turn, may also be permitted to be a catalyst once again.

In making this declaration, I am hopeful that other people will also make the same choice.

However, it is not my intent to editorialize about these issues in order to try and manipulate anyone.

People try to manipulate others when they have big ideas but are lacking the courage (or the talent) to implement them. This type of person prefers to first incite a riot, then sit back and watch the fireworks. Which is always much safer than being a participant.

I’ve read enough editorials/ blogs which are bursting with someone else’s subtextual agenda, rather than their goals and their passion. These people speak boldly about what others need to do- not what they themselves are committed to doing in order to effect change.

That’s not revolutionary or forward thinking. Instead, it’s cowardice. Personally, I feel that anyone who is not prepared to do absolutely anything to improve an environment has no business writing (or publicly commenting) about the state of that environment.

My intent here is not to manipulate, but to motivate. And, if I intend to motivate others through my words, I intend to likewise motivate myself.

I’m not writing to simply offer my opinions, but to share my intent.

I’m writing to see if there are others who are similarly inclined and want to do something about the mess we have all found ourselves in.
I restate the premise that popular music is in an abysmal state. If it is not dying, then it is grievously wounded.

Further, no artist has made a truly great record in many years. As a result, we are floating listlessly in the midst of a cultural and artistic vacuum.

How does all of that make you feel? Please take a moment and consider the question carefully.

Like those ingenuous individuals who feel that we are facing an economic recovery, there are those who feel we are seeing a similar correction occur in popular music. They speak as if these “corrections” are naturally occurring phenomena which spontaneously spew forth like manna from the beneficent heart of some unnamed, unseen Demiurge when we poor, oppressed creatures are at our darkest hour.

Some of these people suggest that the internet- the Great Leveler, the Great Equalizer- will be our Savior. They offer that, as a melting pot for new ideas and creative cross-pollination, the internet has the power to open new channels for people to create (as well as acquire) music.

In this scenario, the world will soon be awash in a blinding brilliance that will pour into our consciousness from every corner of the known world. This, of course, will happen without the ministration or actions of human beings.

Behind this point of view lies the implication that the world is of an arbitrary and chaotic nature. It is as if to say that occurrences within the domain of man are actually controlled by mighty forces existing outside of that domain and that man has no power (or rights) in his own world.

Dig deeper and this mentality becomes reminiscent of elder civilizations which lived in fear of their gods’ wrath. To societies like these, a thunderstorm meant that a very large invisible man was angry with them. Likewise, the appearance of the sun meant another very large invisible man (or woman) was showering them with love and adoration.

Applying the same logic to this situation, a correction will magically occur in music when some anonymous deity arbitrarily decides that we’ve suffered enough with Justin Bieber and rebalances the cultural scales (accompanied by an enormous clap of thunder).

This kind of thinking is nothing more than a pie in the sky (and manipulation by another name).

There is no savior, no omniscient power which will descend from on high (or from out of our computers) to save us from our own mistakes. There will be no magical “corrections”.

The internet is nothing but a vast and empty vessel- a tool which can be wielded only through the diverse designs of human beings. Unto itself, the internet is nothing more than a hammer without a master.

In addressing this perspective, I say that it is the errors and folly of people which have devastated the priceless treasure of music (as they have devastated other priceless treasures). Therefore, if people’s mistakes have ruined music, the only reparations can be found through people’s well directed and well intentioned labor.

This is about hard choices and tough love. This is about what happens when we leave the irresponsibility of childhood behind and accept the terms and conditions of adulthood.

As children, we accept no responsibility for our actions and therefore, we truly have no power. In adulthood, by accepting responsibility for our actions, we attain the power to act accordingly.

As adults, we not only have the power to build anything, we have the power to fix anything that we break. With the attainment of that power, we can no longer look to others to solve our problems.

And now, the time has come to grow up, be proactive and fix things ourselves.

By choosing to be proactive in order to fix something broken, it is reasonable to suggest we are also subconsciously recognizing the degree of our own complicity in how that thing became broken. By recognizing our contribution (no matter how miniscule the contribution may be) to the state of all things, we are likewise declaring our adulthood and accepting responsibility.

Proactive behavior can be seen, therefore, as a dual acknowledgement of how badly we can screw things up and how much power we have to fix them.

But, if the time has come to be proactive, why is absolutely no one accepting any degree of accountability or personal responsibility for how wrong (and how broken) things have become?

Why isn’t anyone attempting to find practical solutions which can have positive long range effects for artists (and everyone else)?

One obvious solution would be to stop making awful music.

Usually, when a product is perceived in the public eye to be of an inferior quality, those who manufacture it feel compelled to fix the problem by improving the product. Although this would appear to be common sense, such quaint ideas have been completely ignored by those who navigate the music business.

Instead, these captains of our industry continue to churn out their substandard, highly derivative product, not under the aegis of quality but in the interest of total saturation.

What once was birthed from the loving labor of gifted craftsmen is now fabricated on assembly-lines by unskilled workers and marginal technicians. As a result, instead of receiving the sustenance that only music can offer, the world is bombarded with a steady stream of garbage lacking in substance, purpose or sustenance.

What once nourished us, is now indeed, destroying us. Contemporary popular music is now the auditory and cultural equivalent of fast food.

And, for those in the periphery, (record producers, managers, lawyers, etc) the writing is on the wall.

We watch transfixed in horror as our former income streams evaporate at light speed. Not so coincidentally, there is a growing number of “music business professionals” trying to reinvent their businesses (and rebuild their cash flow).

Terror has inflamed us. It gnaws at us and we begin to act like wild animals, even while we conceal our true nature behind a glittering veneer of respectability.

Is there any other reason why the Grammy Awards seem to get more overblown each year as record sales dwindle precariously?

That rabid, panic driven compulsion to generate as much luchre as one can is nothing more than grist for the mediocrity mill. Fear can always be counted on to drive people to become obtuse, insignificant and average.

Fear is a parasite- a virus born of and compounded by fear. It breeds and replicates itself.

And fear, born of irresponsibility and poor decision-making has inevitably set off a lethal domino effect (which has thereby, caused the most sane amongst us to behave with complete disregard for rationale).

This dreadful cycle has already nourished itself sufficiently. It is now a self-sustaining continuum gaining strength and speed from moment to moment as it spirals out of control

There is no other way to put it. It’s all gone completely wrong.

Hence, this manifesto. I will next define my position by presenting some issues in question and then, some premises for the resolution of these issues.