Is it live, or is it Memorex?
Jun. 15th, 2007 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatIs there any way to NOT have a comment unscreened when you reply to it? Yeah, I know it only takes a click to screen it again, but I'm a lazy American, dammit! {g}
Speaking of annoying things, I don't know how I bruised my right big toe, but it hurts, and the Band-Aids (or, more accurately, Curad brand adhesive bandages) that I've tried putting on wouldn't stay.
Today at work, I was asked about what kind of music I listen to, and I basically had to say that it was stuff nobody there had heard of. I mentioned They Might Be Giants, but when asked to describe them, I really couldn't come up with much besides the trite "weird" (which really doesn't say much, and I don't think they're THAT weird anyway) and "nerd rock" (a term the Johns themselves don't like, but then, it WAS more of a negative thing back when they were growing up). It's just kind of weird, because most of the people I talk to through the Internet have at least a passing familiarity with TMBG and some of the other bands I listen to. It's kind of weird when the realization that most of the world is on a totally different musical wavelength hits home. Granted, some of what I listen to is totally obscure, but even most of the better-known bands I like aren't really part of the mainstream consciousness.
And moving on to another music-related topic (and my original intention for today's post, before all that other stuff came up), I've been thinking somewhat about the age-old question of whether live or studio music is better. For me, this is kind of divided into two different issues, to wit: 1) whether attending a concert or listening to an album is preferable, and 2) which way the actual songs sound better. Regarding the first point, concert attendance is almost always exciting, and an interesting communal experience. It's also sometimes an uncomfortable one, but if the band is good enough, that can make up for the discomfort. Listening to an album, on the other hand, can be a deeply personal thing. I know some records make me think of when I first them, or other experiences that I associate with listening to them. So it's kind of a toss-up. In terms of the actual songs, I'd say studio recordings are usually better, for obvious reasons. They're more polished, and allow for more instruments, more takes, and more production. One major exception is that studio recordings can sometimes be TOO polished, and come off sounding sterile. Live performances can sometimes bring some much-needed energy and liveliness to a song. It also really depends on the artists involved. When some musicians play live, it sounds like they're trying their best to duplicate their studio recordings with a stripped-down setup, while it's the complete opposite for others. And still other artists sound pretty much exactly the same both ways, which shows a lot of talent on their parts, but makes their live albums rather uninteresting. I think TMBG actually strikes a happy medium in this respect in that there are quite a few songs that they play totally differently live from how they sound on the albums, but they're good both ways.
Speaking of annoying things, I don't know how I bruised my right big toe, but it hurts, and the Band-Aids (or, more accurately, Curad brand adhesive bandages) that I've tried putting on wouldn't stay.
Today at work, I was asked about what kind of music I listen to, and I basically had to say that it was stuff nobody there had heard of. I mentioned They Might Be Giants, but when asked to describe them, I really couldn't come up with much besides the trite "weird" (which really doesn't say much, and I don't think they're THAT weird anyway) and "nerd rock" (a term the Johns themselves don't like, but then, it WAS more of a negative thing back when they were growing up). It's just kind of weird, because most of the people I talk to through the Internet have at least a passing familiarity with TMBG and some of the other bands I listen to. It's kind of weird when the realization that most of the world is on a totally different musical wavelength hits home. Granted, some of what I listen to is totally obscure, but even most of the better-known bands I like aren't really part of the mainstream consciousness.
And moving on to another music-related topic (and my original intention for today's post, before all that other stuff came up), I've been thinking somewhat about the age-old question of whether live or studio music is better. For me, this is kind of divided into two different issues, to wit: 1) whether attending a concert or listening to an album is preferable, and 2) which way the actual songs sound better. Regarding the first point, concert attendance is almost always exciting, and an interesting communal experience. It's also sometimes an uncomfortable one, but if the band is good enough, that can make up for the discomfort. Listening to an album, on the other hand, can be a deeply personal thing. I know some records make me think of when I first them, or other experiences that I associate with listening to them. So it's kind of a toss-up. In terms of the actual songs, I'd say studio recordings are usually better, for obvious reasons. They're more polished, and allow for more instruments, more takes, and more production. One major exception is that studio recordings can sometimes be TOO polished, and come off sounding sterile. Live performances can sometimes bring some much-needed energy and liveliness to a song. It also really depends on the artists involved. When some musicians play live, it sounds like they're trying their best to duplicate their studio recordings with a stripped-down setup, while it's the complete opposite for others. And still other artists sound pretty much exactly the same both ways, which shows a lot of talent on their parts, but makes their live albums rather uninteresting. I think TMBG actually strikes a happy medium in this respect in that there are quite a few songs that they play totally differently live from how they sound on the albums, but they're good both ways.
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no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 07:37 pm (UTC)I figured out the answer to one of the songs I thought I knew but didn't know what it was called just now-- well, three hours ago actually, but I was downstairs doing downstairs things all that time-- but the screening process wouldn't let me reply to your reply to my answer, so I'm going to go find the original post now.
"Weird music" isn't very descriptive at all, but it's probably how I would first attempt to categorize TMBG too.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 12:01 pm (UTC)Yeah, that's about how I feel. I'm not usually a big fan of live albums, unless the band does something really different with the songs. On the other hand, I don't like it when a live show sounds too...pre-recorded, I guess.
"Weird music" isn't very descriptive at all, but it's probably how I would first attempt to categorize TMBG too.
Yeah, but at least on their album tracks, they're usually not all that weird in terms of song structure (although they sometimes tend to get more experimental with B-sides and unreleased songs). It's more the lyrics that are weird, and sometimes the instrumentation and arrangements.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 03:16 pm (UTC)Then you dig into some of my obscure psychedelic junk and you get music that's weird BECAUSE of the song structure. But come to think of it, maybe a person CAN like "weird music," because they just like anything if it is out of the ordinary, whatever kind of out of the ordinary it is. I'm rather a fan of it, I guess! But it still doesn't help describe music to people who haven't heard it before!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 12:07 pm (UTC)Last week, two people on my shift mentioned that they didn't like country music, and I was glad no one asked me what I thought of it. It would have been difficult to explain that I do like a fair amount of country music, but not most of the interchangeable family-and-nation-lovin' dudes in cowboy hats. It's a lot easier when you have blanket opinions on entire genres of music, isn't it? {g}