On rare occasion I will look to see just how “mainstream” is doing – album sales, itunes top downloaded songs, billboard charts and so forth. Of the top ten most downloaded songs on itunes (as of today), I recognized five of the artist names. I went ahead and sampled each song in the top ten and wasn’t too surprised how similar most of them sounded. I was able to make out a few of the lyrics, such as; “Don’t stop, make it pop, DJ blow my speakers up, Tick tock, tonight Imma’ fight till we see the sunlight, tick tock on the clock but the party don’t stop” I also noticed this particular song happened to be titled, TiK ToK, neither word can be found in the dictionary. Another lyric repeated “In My Head” seven times during the thirty-second sample, I considered taking the time to search out the full lyric and give it a good honest read but I reluctantly chose not to. Is this kind of music making us dumber? Here is an interesting piece of information I stumbled upon this week.
CalTech grad student named Virgil Griffith has conducted an interesting (albeit somewhat unscientific) study relating music preferences with SAT scores. While SAT scores are criticized for not accurately determining intelligence, the results show that the “smartest” students’ favorite musician is Beethoven, with an average SAT score of 1371, and at the other end of the spectrum is Lil’ Wayne, with an average score of 889. Other bands at the top of the scale are Counting Crows, Radiohead, and Sufjan Stevens
I thought that was an interesting piece of information. It probably means absolutely nothing, however, it did get me thinking. Thinking about the kind of music I listen to, the kind of movies I watch, the kind of literature I read - I believe there is no question those three influences play and have played a vital role in my intelligence or lack of.
I recall one argument I had with an individual a few years ago about movies. This person said, “What is wrong with just wanting to be entertained and not having to think all the time, just good mindless entertainment.” There is nothing wrong with wanting that, right? I guess I just have a hard time understanding why someone would choose “not thinking,” verse “thinking”. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t always this way, there was a time when the majority preferred thought evoking film, music, and literature. The proof is in the pudding; look back at the Academy Award nominated films of the 70’s – The Last Picture Show, Ordinary People, Raging Bull, Dog Day Afternoon, The Conversation, Clock Work Orange, Patton, The French Connection, Five Easy Pieces, the list goes on and on. Music parallels that of film; money is the governing body that now controls our “mainstream” media. I often wonder though, with the great works of art still being created on a daily basis, why then, are the theatres and radio stations loaded with simplistic, predictable, and even elementary pieces of work? I don’t have the answer to any of these questions. Although, I do believe most people would prefer the more thought out works of art; those in which the driving force behind it’s production is not money, greed, or the ambition of fame. Those works that are simply created because they have to be, the artist responsible has a thirst for expression and the only answer to quenching this thirst is by telling their stories. The truth is this; most people do not know were to look, they just don’t realize what is out there, I have to believe that to be true.
The next artist on the list is far from elementary. He is a downright poet and if you’re looking for good mindless entertainment, steer very clear of Joe Pug.
Joe Pug - Nation of Heat EP
The Nation of Heat is a seven song EP. The album consists of Joe Pug only, his guitar and occasional harmonica. With each passing lyric from each of the seven tracks something is given; his words ascend out from the speakers and stick to you. You begin listening, giving more and more attention with each passing verb or adjective.
“Yea I’ve come to know the wish list of my father
I’ve come to know the shipwrecks where he wished
I’ve come to wish aloud among the over dressed crowd
Come to witness now the sinking of the ship
Throwing pennies from the sea top next to it”
Nation of Heat stands for something different than most albums, it’s not something you stick in for sheer entertainment, it’s not background music to a cocktail party, it is though a work of art, a very fine work of art. It deserves true listening, it deserves to be thought out and pondered over. When it comes to song writing I sort of like the old saying, “If you haven’t got something nice to nice, don’t say anything at all” perhaps we could change that to, “If you haven’t got something smart to say, don’t say anything at all.” In the seventh and final track, a shouting out of sorts as to how he feels about the state of things, Joe walks a fine line of expression verse obnoxious political opinion, he succeeds greatly, with lyrics like; “Blocking borders with smiles are immigrant sons, we measure loneliness in miles and misery in tons. There’s a straw-hatted man going away from the shore, he said it’s a shame they don’t let you have slaves here anymore. I’m the ugliest man that you’ll ever meet, I come from the Nation of Heat.”
Nation of Heat is the genesis of Joe Pug’s music. He has followed it up with a nice (free) five song EP of “B” sides that didn’t make the Nation of Heat cut. His full-length album was released earlier this month, titled, Messenger, ten songs, full-band, background vocals and is masterful. I was fortunate enough to catch Joe Pug live in concert not less than a week ago, he is one of those artists for me that I almost fear seeing live, simply because the idea of him not being great is too sad of thought. He wasn’t great, he was absolutely perfect – Joe Pug will be a household name among my generation of music lovers, he will be our Dylan, I know it may be sacrilege to say such a thing and make no mistake, I’m not saying he’s Dylan, I’m just saying in the years to come…he will be this generations Dylan.
WATCH JOE SING "NATION OF HEAT" LIVE
BE SURE AND CHECK HIM OUT AT HIS WEBSITE - LEARN ALL KINDS OF GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS GUY. HE STARTED OUT BY GIVING HIS MUSIC AWAY...AT HIS EXPENSE.
No comments:
Post a Comment