Feed Me Good Tunes: Tidbits for Hip Kids

I just listened to a really fine post on Feed Me Good Tunes which is authored by jt and Silent K. This particular one was by jt, and it was pretty good.

Here's the setlist with some reactions:

BUSTER RIDES AGAIN, by Medeski, Martin and Wood
I have been trying to listen to more Medeski, Martin & Wood lately. I have a negative association with them and have not been able to properly get into their music. Thankfully I'm getting past that. This is a really decent track.

BLOW UP, by Chicago Underground Orchestra
The Chicago Underground Orchestra was like a steam roller smoothing out my afternoon. It helped create mellow vibes that allowed me to stay focused and on point with my various tasks, all the while nodding my head with that whole "yes...yes...keep on jammin there, Duders..."

ANOTHER PERFECT DAY, by Jazzanova
Nothing bad about Jazzanova. They pop up on various DJ compilations here and there. Thier stuff is all good.

BLIND MAN, by The Lester Abrams Carnival
A fairly interesting choice: Musically sound, but I was not prepared for vocals. But hey, I should be prepared for anything.

SPANISH HARLEM INCIDENT, by Chris Whitley
Sparse, in a good way. All I can hear is voice, guitar and what sounds like drumsticks hitting a folding chair.

Good stuff overall. That's why I really like this MP3 Blog thing. Great exposure to great stuff. I salute you Feed Me Good Tunes!

And while we're on Feed Me Good Tunes:

Grimace Federation - 7 Avec 2, Jah Division - Heart and Soul Dub are deep and wonderful. DJ Krush - Flipshot sounds like the kind of thing that cool late 80's early 90's rappers would rap over. Good instrumental track.

Worst Post Ever

I sent around emails to alert people about my latest mix, The Future. Some folks listened to it and liked it, some didn't like it, and some didn't listen to it at all. I spent three days putting the "liner notes" on the mix together. The reactions to the liner notes were all negative. One reader described it as boring. Another described it as being too long. Most people avoided it in general.

Let me wax philosphical if I may...

Most humans, Americans in particular, have a tendency to try to categorize things. Here's an example. Lets say that you go to a museum in order to take in art with a friend or lover. Instead of looking at the object and taking in its beauty, your partner may ask you questions like, "Who painted this?" "When is this from?" Your partner may make the statement, "This reminds me of..." and refer to another work of art. Kind of like when you see a trailer for a movie on TV, which says if you liked X and Y, then you're gonna love Z. People like to categorize things. This need for organization, compartmentalization and classification can often interfere with a natural sense of wonder, or a sense of, "Wow! Just look at that! It's so nice." It would be far too much to ask of an American to say nothing at all.

The same is true when I play new music for people. The first question is usually, "Who is this?" Followed by, "Where did you hear about them?" And sometimes I get, "What language is that? Do you understand what they're saying? How can you listen to it if you don't understand it?"

So I tried to be thorough and answer the first two questions in the liner notes. It was an effort to preempt the quesions that invariably flow out of the listener.

I guess my conclusion is that people don't really want to know more information about the music, they just want to make conversation, or perhaps they just like to hear themselves speak.

posted by mennu
(Who is presently listening to Stereolab sing in French as they are remixed by Theivery Corporation who reside in Washington, D.C.)