Completely fired up to search (via the all-mighty Yahoo Music aka "Whole Song"), I began compiling the best mix of all time. But I noticed a paradox. Listening to the same songs over and over to make sure they are mix-worthy made me sick of the songs. You could argue that one cannot get sick of a good mix. I did not find this to be true. Its a perfectly good mix. So while my friends will truely experience musical perfection, I like any attractive DJ, will be kinda "over it." Like it was so March07. But, although anti-climactic, I will accept my award with grace and appreciation....smiling, but kinda forcing it, you know?
So, who judges the best mix of all time? Music folk and those aspiring to be just that. I, for one, am only aspiring. Although, I have my concerns about the music culture. They tend to wish it was still 1976 and prefer concrete surroundings and neglected parts of town. Although they are generally accepting of people and current with the trends, they don't typically close their mouth all the way and "can" fashion their hair rather asymmetrically to their body's shape. True music folk seem to carry on conversation easily amidst a thundering electric guitar solo which fascinates me. And they don't fake the headnods. They are genuine in their headnodding because, of course, they are good listeners. So its an interesting dichotomy...like they are "all ear and no eye." Surely, nobody would choose neglected parts of an inner city to...well...do anything assuming you can see. But you don't have to see to be a good person. You know, I think music people are so in tune with their audio-sensitive heart, that they get lost when about town...and then people take pictures of them...and once again being so disconnected from the eye, they choose one of the random street-scene pictures for their album cover.
Now, they tend to be like artists....finding their identity in being "different" (heaven forbid a song on the radio is actually good) and think that God "also" drew outside the lines. Like abstract is right. (exhale) Lets do a test. Look at your arm. Do you see shards of flesh skewed everywhere? No. You don't see anything like that. There is a very defined line where there is arm and where there is no longer arm. Sure, life is complex and art should reflect that. But abstract art is not complex..its just inaccurate. Its the artist's version of the "new normal." But that is part of being artsy...its living so far outside the box that reality becomes stupid and unmanagable. Its a copout. A "throwing in the towel." Music people are artsy and embrace this New Normal. A good example is excessive minutes of random percussion noise at the end of perfectly good Wilco songs. From perfectly created sound ending in nonsense camoflauged as The New Normal. And yes, putting something abstract on their album cover.
So am I willing to accept a New Normal? I think first we should have to look at what the original Normal is. And what is wrong with it. Does there need to be a New Normal?
Bradley, surely you can help create some dialogue on this.
Michael, thoughts on the New Normal? Granted, its a vague term, so I grant you full liberty to interpret as you will.
No, I'm not smoking anything. But I do think about it. And yes, to answer your question, I do fake like I'm smoking with what seems to be perfectly mimicked hand-mouth motions. I think I would be a good smoker. People would notice. They would say, "Now Jimmy, HE is a good smoker." I would just kinda chuckle. And then keep smoking.
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I've recently dabbled in the smoking scene thanks to some friendly (intoxicated?) peer-pressure. That's right...Michael is the new Marlboro man. I hear it's addicting but that's gotta be a rumor.
Jimmy, I really like your thoughts on well-formed art (the arm example). I think there's a lot of beauty in order and balance. When I experience most abstract art I feel like I'm 'supposed' to like it...but I'm not typically drawn to it.
first of all... i don't think smoking on 3 occasions over the course of 2 months qualifies ANYONE as the marlboro man; especially when i was smoking cloves on one of those nights.
and second of all... i'll consider myself an anomaly to jimmy's "music folk." or maybe i'm just part of some digital new wave. philip and i have talked about this before, but even as i consider myself to be relatively "with it" in the music world... i find myself having very little respect and appreciation for the those that came before me.
i don't like most of the music that came from the 70's. i have little to no interest in Zepplin or Floyd, and the idea of putting on greasy headphones in some dingy used record store repulses me. i am not part of this culture. and yet, thanks to the likes of iTunes and indie music bloggers, i'm just as educated and current as the next indie music fan out there. i like music that speaks to me... that i can relate to... that i can hear and say, "yes... you described that perfectly."
and more often than not... music from the previous decades fail to do this with me. keep in mind i said "most" and not "all." and i say this not out of superiority, but just as a reflection of the times and the way music fans are consuming their music these days. it's why Best Buy and iTunes are putting every mom and pop record shop out of business from coast to coast.
and honestly... i'm not going to miss them.
Great work.
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