“The radio makes hideous sounds.”
They say Bob Dylan said that. And I can relate. Though some would accuse Dylan of hypocrisy because they don’t like his voice.
Finding a radio station playing music that is interesting is hard. And I do mean interesting. There’s lots of stuff on the radio that sounds okay – good even – from a sonic standpoint. Some of it’s pretty catchy, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s all become so predictable and people seem to want it that way. Nothing new about that either. And I’m not saying I could do any better – probably not – but, still, sometimes you hunger for something a little more . . . interesting.
There is even a predictability in the unpredictable. You kind of know where some off beat band is going to take the music because you know where they aren’t going to go. They’re just too hip to move in certain directions, which limits how they might surprise you.
When it comes to music, I like predictable too sometimes. I like a good pop song. And when someone does something retro effectively it can be great as well. But it’s all a bit done already and it wears thin fast.
I can just see record industry producers scratching their heads, saying, “Where do we go from here?” Is Justin Bieber the future of pop music? What if he is?
Thing is, when was the last time you were really pleasantly surprised by some music? When was the last time you heard something that sounded truly special in some way, like you just knew it was going to be a classic? Or unique, but not for the sake of being unique? Or just good because it was creative and well done and had something thoughtful to say without being overly pretentious or cryptic?
The music world is becoming like cable TV. A million channels and nothing’s on.
Psalm 33:3
Peace to you.
© LW Publishing 2010
His name is Bon Iver.
ReplyDeleteYeah. He's good. Very honest music, I think.
ReplyDeleteThe radio tires me. Our iPod was stolen. It was a sad, sad day for me.
ReplyDeleteYou must watch for a Sansa Fuze on woot.com. Much less money and just as good in every way.
ReplyDeleteJon Foreman is simply awesome. He's a christian artist that is honest and interesting in his lyrics without using all the christian cliches. He is a real artist. I remember feeling excited when I discovered Dave Matthews Band and Bela Fleck. There have been others, but it is kind of rare that I get real excited about a newer artist.
ReplyDeleteI must seek out this Jon Foreman, whom hath excitethed the K-Dogg.
ReplyDeleteeye, you must.
ReplyDeleteI agree Bon Iver and Jon Foreman are excellent. I think that I listened to the Jon Foreman stuff for about a month straight.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the best albums that I have come across in the last year are "Draw the Line" by David Gray and "Strict Joy" by The Swell Season.
When, and if, I listen to the radio - I usually listen to Ann Arbor's 107.1. It's the not greatest, but it's the best around here.
(You wont pick it up in Southgate, you'll have to listen to it online)