Archive for November, 2007
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 7)
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007The Sixties
In the field of popular music, the Sixties have come to be regarded as the pre-eminently brilliant decade of the twentieth century. Compared to our current age, one would surely have to admit that it had one or two things going for it. However, as regards musical sophistication and poetic elegance, in other words, on a purely aesthetic basis, the songwriters of the Sixties pale into insignificance next to those of the Twenties, Thirties and Forties, with one notable exception: Brian Wilson, the man who founded the Beach Boys. He alone can rightfully be linked to the Golden Age of Song. He is in the main line of the great American songwriters, such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, but only as a figure of decadence, as the art form’s last hurrah, as a final glimpse of its former grandeur.
Quite frankly: by the time Kennedy was shot, the art of song writing had been in decline for some time. Through the increasing scarcity of classically trained, highly skilled composers and the public’s consequent attenuation to increasingly impure expressions of the artistic form, dilettantes like the Beatles found themselves able to make an impact on the public domain. (more…)
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 6)
Saturday, November 17th, 2007Art is hard
The creative process is, of course, not miraculous. (Although it might seem so to Axl.) The conventions and creative limitations that constitute an art form can be easily explained. Anyone with intelligence, as well as the discipline to apply himself for a good number of years to intense study, can gain a solid grounding for their practical application. Of course, from lack of talent, you may yet fail to make a masterpiece, but you will have gained an understanding of the process (and can be secure in the knowledge that you fulfil the minimum requirements for a job in A’n’R.)
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 5)
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007Guns ‘n’ Roses
I am certain that Axl Rose did not study literature, although, in his case, even if he had, I remain unconvinced that he would have thought better of writing, in the opening line of ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’:
“She’s got a smile that, it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories.”
Axl is here singing about a girl whose smile reminds him not of his childhood, but of the memories of his childhood. As if that were not absurd enough, it also emerges that he is not entirely sure whether her smile reminds him of the memories of his childhood, since it only seems to remind him of the memories of his childhood. At this point, already in the first sentence, Axl is at least three levels removed from reality, which, with the knowledge of hindsight, is clearly where he felt he most belonged. (more…)
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 4)
Monday, November 12th, 2007In former ages artists understood that their work of art’s effectiveness was significantly enhanced if audiences were kept in the dark as to the process of its creation, not unlike magicians, who refuse to explain to the audience how they made the bunny disappear from the hat.
People who have no talent for music are rather quick to assign the term ‘genius’ to anyone who does, both from a pagan compulsion to idolatry and also as a means of assuaging a sense of inferiority: viewing a talent as a gift from God, and the artist, by extension, as a divine being, enables one to reflect: “With someone so blessed, I do not need to compete.” People who do not understand the creative process generally assume that it cannot be understood. They find it magical, and use terms like divine inspiration. (more…)
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 3)
Thursday, November 8th, 2007In the early days, when making a record, record companies relied on the concerted efforts of trained artists.
Regardless of whether you were hired as a musician, singer, songwriter, lyricist, arranger or recording engineer, you had in all likelihood studied your craft in university and were familiar with its conventions and rules: even composers of mere jingles and sync tunes had studied Bach and Mozart; lyricists had studied English literature. The orchestras involved in the recording of a Frank Sinatra record were as a rule made up of such virtuoso musicians that not more than three takes of any given song were usually required. Sinatra himself always felt that if he did not get it in three, there was little chance of him getting it at all that day. (more…)
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 2)
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007To say it again: RIDING HIGH is a mainstream album, RIDING HOOD a mainstream band: we are generally described as “Blondie for a new generation” or “sexually depraved Avril Lavigne”. (Check the ‘Ransom’ video.)
However, while we have a sound and songs to rival major label releases for universal appeal, only two people: Rhiannon and I, were involved in the writing, arranging, recording and mixing of RIDING HIGH. Apart from the initial outlay mentioned above, it cost us only time to produce it. Since we recorded it in our own studio (a laptop in a living room,) we own the recordings (a rare feat.) The album went from my laptop to a mastering studio, and from there, straight onto the web, released through our own label, WOLF WHISTLE RECORDS.
We are an independent, mainstream band.
Music business will increasingly be conducted in this way, but things used to be different…
The Democratization of the Music Industry (Part 1)
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007A year and a half ago, Rhiannon and I spent 600 pounds on an audio recording software package, and set out to record, on my laptop, the first fully independent, mainstream rock/pop album. This record, our band RIDINGHOOD’s debut album RIDING HIGH is now available online. (more…)