I've been listening to my music a lot lately, much more than usual. There are several reasons for this: I'm spending lots of time in the car driving to games...there are things at work that are providing an incentive for me to just put my headphones on and work...bedtime restlessness...anyway, moving right along.
In any case, music is a big part of my consciousness lately. Last night, I even beat The Super Hotness on a music-related question (Three Dog Night vs. Blood, Sweat, and Tears). Considering we jokingly refer to her as the HMDB (Heidi Music Database), any time I can come out on top on a music-related trivia question, I'm happy. However, this also indicates how much music has been on my mind.
First, I had two different versions of San Antonio Rose pop up this morning: the Patsy Cline version, and the John Denver version. Both are excellent, but I think I just slightly prefer the sound of the Patsy Cline rendition a little bit more. I love John's version, but the classic country sound of Patsy's just sounds more...right for the song. I also find a slight irony (is that irony? Coincidence? Other?) that their two versions came up today, and they both were killed in private plane crashes (may God rest their souls). In any case, one of my favorite classic country songs, and two great versions of it.
A few weeks ago I talked about the upcoming Tron movie. That night I watched the original again, to get a feel for it again and to build a little positive tension for the sequel. One thing I noticed is that not only was the look of the movie truly revolutionary, with all the expensive CGI, the crazy costumes, and the innovative concepts, but the soundtrack was also revolutionary, very un-movie like for the time it was made. So much of the movie focuses on the computerized world, and the soundtrack reflects this very well, with most of it sounding as though the soundtrack itself was composed and performed by a computer. Wendy Carlos's effort is highly digitized, focusing on the synthesizers that were just coming into the mainstream, with some back-up by the London Symphony Orchestra (and of course, the obligatory tracks from a contemporary rock group; in this case, two tracks by Journey). Some of it is weird and nearly in accessible to casual listening, but it is very evocative, and several of the tracks call to mind the associated scene immediately. If you're interested in movie music, or sci-fi-oriented music, or esoteric early-electronic music, give it a listen.
I've also been focusing on what I have identified as MY rock sound. In trying to find the common thread of the sound, I've discovered a few aspects that play into what I like:
1. A somewhat-twangy vocal, with clear inspiration from early rock and country
2. The vocals can be distorted to give it more of a fuzzy, straight-off-of-AM-radio tinge, or have some reverb added for that concert-venue-echo sound.
3. A jumpy, picky, somewhat-staccato electric rhythm guitar riff is common
4. Up-tempo rhythm is preferable
5. What I would call a "non-dark" chord structure, with minimal minors and 7th and the like
6. Strong, straight bass-line is usually a feature
7. Unconventional-but-not-flashy rock drum riff
A few songs I have identified as epitomizing the sound that I prefer are:
Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) by The Hollies -- This one is what got me started on the whole thing. I heard it for the umpteenth time and realized I really loved the sound, so I started hunting down other tracks that sound really similar.
Lay Down Sally by Eric Clapton -- Clapton's record speaks for itself.
U.S. Male by the Lonesome Romeos (from the "Major League" soundtrack) -- No, this is not the same as Elvis did...this is different. Very hard to find, but good (I couldn't even find a 30-second sample to link to).
Honky Tonk Blues by Huey Lewis and the News (from "Sports") -- another one that's gotten somewhat lost over time, but a great version of a great original country classic.
The Ballad of John and Yoko by The Beatles -- This one always struck me because it's a bit out of character for John Lennon, but still carries his mark. I just think the sound is great.
Holiday Road by Lindsey Buckingham (from the "National Lampoon's Vacation" soundtrack) -- I know, I know...another soundtrack. But the excellent sound can't be denied.
Do any of my loyal readers out there have any others that sound similar to these, that I might add to my collection? Feel free to throw them out...
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