Geeky Music

In which meandthestereo rambles on about the musical loves of geeks and debates his own geeklyhood:

I can’t normally tell other people this (they laugh, undoubtedly), but I can tell you, internet (can’t I?), that I am indelibly in love with geeky music.

I can only speak for myself, but in doing so, I tend to label myself as being ‘geeky’, but that’s only a small fraction of who I am as a whole. Take a look:

Is ‘meandthestereo’ a Geek?

Reasons for:

• Plays video games (RPGs such as Final Fantasy or Platformers like Katamari Damacy and Mister Mosquito)
• Reads comic books (Batman, Spider-Man, Invincible)
• Is an electrical engineer (soldering is fun, look at me solder!)
• Is outstandingly good at the Yo-yo (YES.)

Reasons against:

• Has a wife (It’s true.)
• Plays lots of sports (like tennis, basketball, football)
• Plays an instrument (many, actually, like piano, guitar, bass, harmonica, etc, etc…)
• Has a job (…in engineering)

So, as you can see, it’s like 50/50, which is a good thing! I love knowing that I’m sometimes extremely geeky! But I also embrace my not geeky self, and enjoy being a nice mixture of things.

Anyways, so what do I enjoy about geeky music? Onward!!!

Video Game Soundtracks

A really bad game soundtrack can make a good video game bad, too (anybody else mute the Street Fighter IV music?); however, some games have amazing music that some people, like myself, enjoy listening to even if we’re not playing the game. Video game music composers have become an essential part of the gaming industry, and if a studio wants to give extra life to its video game experience, and some longevity to its product, you’ll notice a great score along with an official soundtrack you can purchase. I suggest you check out these:

• Eternal Sonata: A game that may have been produced SCORE first, I’ve heard good things about the gameplay and the soundtrack is amazing.
• Any Final Fantasy games: Nobuo Uematsu is an amazing composer, so pick up anything he does (though my favs are FF7 & FF8 )
• Katamari Damacy: This remains one of the quirkiest and funnest games around; the soundtrack is equally exciting
• Eternal Darkness: Remember the Gamecube? Pick up this soundtrack and listen in surround sound to be fully freaked out.
• Rez: If you ever want to start your own rave, this soundtrack alone will do.
• Nintendo Symphony: You will probably have to do some searching to find this stuff, but hearing Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. tracks played by a symphony is a lot of fun.

Movie and Series Soundtracks

Movie and series soundtracks are also important to their respective experiences. Imagine Star Wars without its iconic score, or The Breakfast Club without Simple Minds. Let’s take a look at some fun soundtracks I enjoy:

• The Karate Kid: “You’re the best…arooouuunnd!”
• The FLCL OST: FLCL is one of my favorite anime, and using Japanese band, The Pillows’, music for the series was a perfect choice.
• Star Wars: My parents had some vinyl Star Wars soundtracks, and I think it was the first time I really focused on the music for a movie. The scores are done by John Williams, and you don’t want to miss anything he’s done.
• Any films by Wes Anderson: My fave is the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, but the Life Aquatic one is good, too. Mark Mothersbaugh is a constant composer of tracks for Anderson films, and he adds to the unique atmosphere that Wes Anderson creates.
• Any films by Hayao Miyazaki: What you’ll most remember about Miyazaki’s films are the dramatic scenes and the beautiful unfolding story. Listening to the score in places where you can’t watch his films leaves you remembering and longing for those scenes. My favorite is Spirited Away, but pick up anything you can find.
• There Will Be Blood: Jonny Greenwood (from Radiohead!) composed the score for this dark film. Pick it up. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Other Forms of Geeky Music

• Pick up some comic books: Alan Moore likes to use lyrics and poetic form in his writing; see if you recognize the songs in Watchmen or try to sing the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen songs aloud!
• Study up on music: Hmm…let’s see, we have J-pop, Nerdcore, Geek Rock, Math Rock, Mathcore and Space Rock. With Weezer, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd, and MC Hawking all in the mix, you’ll have plenty to geek out to at work!
• Play some music: There are lots of websites with scores for almost any video game track you’d want to play on piano. Or, traverse over to a guitar tab site and find out how to play the Simpsons theme on the guitar.

This is what I enjoy. Of course, the scope of geekiness is so huge, that I’m sure I only know of a very small portion of it. If you’ve got something else that simply MUST be known, add it in the comments and I’ll be sure to check it out!

 

 

A Primer on Post-Rock:

What it is and the dynamics of their most notable bands.

by Renato

Post-rock is a relatively new genre; one that I like to listen to frequently.  Surfacing in the 80’s and 90’s out of the indie scene, many of the early post rock bands actually sound nothing alike and the genre is so general that many different bands fall into its incredibly vague category. 

These days, what characterizes a post-rock band is more of how they use their instruments.  The instruments, all generally used in rock music, are used to create melodies and harmonies typically not found in rock music.  One great example is in vocals:  In a traditional rock band, you will have a singer; this singer will have their own lyrics, and use pitch and melody to get their lyrics out to be recognized by the audience.  In a post-rock band, lyrics are sometimes non-existent; a singer is sometimes replaced by the whole band, who use their voice as an extra instrument to the song. The “words” that are sung are so low that they are indistinguishable, sometimes to the point that they [the lyrics] are actually just babble. 

Album Reviews – Regina Spektor’s “Far”

by meandthestereo

Artist: Regina Spektor
Album: Far
Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: June 23rd, 2009
Decision: 3/5 Mediocre…Right Away
Favorite Tunes: “Blue Lips”

1. The Background

 After three years, Regina Spektor is back! Did you miss her? When I heard this album was coming out, I was extremely interested. And, of course, it’s going to do well. So much sells these days just because of the name that’s on the plastic. Let’s take a look and see if this album is worth all the hype:

Has ‘Pop’ Music damaged music?: Revisited!

by Neto

I was really taken aback by the previous two articles on this site about Pop music. When meandthestereo suggested this article, I thought I was going to have to be Pop music’s sole defender. But since everyone else has been so lenient on pop music, I get to play devil’s advocate and point out the many legitimate problems with the Pop music genre and the effect it has had on the music industry as a whole.

In the previous paragraph, I used the term “music industry” on purpose. While I look up to the ideal of music being judged solely on its merits and being a creative process completely free from the constraints of capitalism, we cannot ignore that music as an industry affects what we get to listen to and, on a long enough timeline, affects the kind of music put out. You can’t deny that many people who went into punk bands may not have done so had someone not put the music of The Ramones or The Sex Pistols on vinyl and sold it to aspiring musicians everywhere. In my opinion, this is where most of the problems with Pop music come from. In a perfect capitalist world, the top musical talent should float to the top, but if you believe in capitalism, I have some land in Florida I’d like to sell you.

Album Reviews – Street Sweeper Social Club

For this album review, meandthestereo did something a little different and handed off the album to two of our columnists. Check out Belle’s (from the East Coast) and Renato’s (from Austin, TX) differing takes on this album!

Artist: Street Sweeper Social Club
Album: Street Sweeper Social Club
Label: Warner
Release Date: June 16th, 2009
Decision: 3/5 Mediocre…You’ll enjoy it, but go download the singles first!
Favorite Tunes: “100 Little Curses”

1. The Background

Belle says,

Street Sweeper Social Club is Tom Morello and Boots Riley.  There is a great video on youtube of both of them describing the origins of the band. Boots Riley says that these songs are, “anthems for the revolution.”  Morello says that they both, “go to a lot of rallies.”  Both musicians agree that they are tired of boring, peaceful protest songs.  Also, they were wanting to create choruses that people can latch onto easily.

They are “outspoken policial activists” (via wikipedia) to put it mildly.  Morello formed the organization “Axis of Justice” to bring people together for social justice. I thought the organization’s website was very informative; what better way to directly address issues of social justice.  You can hear Boots Riley’s perspective on different issues during an episode of Politically Incorrect on Youtube. So, upon investigation via the internet, Morello and Riley are actually very articulately bringing together social justice and catchy music.

and Renato adds,

As has been said by Belle, Boots Riley and Tom Morello are the primary members of Street Sweeper Social Club.  Boots Riley, member of The Coup and outspoken political activist (but who isn’t this day and age?) teamed up with Morello to form a side project that just about sounds like Rage Against the  Machine.

On Mr. Jackson…

by meandthestereo

I was shocked. I was stunned.

I sat speechless in my friend’s car as NPR confirmed the news that he had died. And I was genuinely sad.

North Korea’s War Music

by meandthestereo

Since North Korea recently threatened to erase the memory of the United States from all future globes sold by UltimateGlobes.com (which really does have some amazing globes), I thought it would be interesting to take a look into what the North Korean military might be marching forward to as they attempt to do their worst.

Editor’s Note: This is also of great interest to me, because, if they do decide to bomb my country, perhaps knowing what music will warn me of their approach would somehow give me some extra evac time. Who knows?

A 2nd Response: Has Pop Music Damaged the Purpose of Music?

by Belle

Has Pop music negatively influenced the course of music in general?  I hope not, because I love Pop music.  I think I got my definition of using the term Pop music from a Michael Stipe interview that I have a vague memory of in the back of my mind.  I can’t find the interview (I just searched a bit), but I could’ve sworn that Michael Stipe said something about R.E.M. creating Pop songs, and R.E.M. being my all-time favorite band, it has given me positive connotations with the term.

I think Pop music is able to translate its message, whatever that may be, easily to many, many people.  You’re allowed to interpret.  You’re even allowed to sing the words wrong, guessing at unintelligible syllables and creating your own sentences that go along with the catchy melody, and then interpret this patchwork song with any meaning you really chose.  Maybe you think it’s about the songwriter’s own breakup, or maybe you personally identify with it.  Maybe, as Better Than Ezra lyricizes about in one song, a Pop song identifies with a particular memory or time period of your life.

Hey guys, I’m a columnist to this blag!

Just want to let folks know that I am a columnist to the blog now. Please pay no attention to my crappy username, i’m pretty sure I was under the influence when picking it a couple of years ago.

Anyway,

Name: Renato
Occupation: Employed, that’s all you need to know.
Musical tastes: Punk Rock, Metal, Reggae, Classical, jazz, Pop, country. Progressive-pop-punk-with-modern/classical-influences-on-metal-with-a-reggae-upstroke
What I’m doing when not listening to music: playing with my thousands of dogs or watching movies.

Alright folks. I’ll see you later.

Cheerio

Topic: Has ‘Pop’ Music damaged the purpose of music?

by: Renato

The definition of music varies according to cultural and social context.  Music ranges from what are considered organized compositions through improvised styles of music to aleatoric (based on chance) forms. So, where in all of this does “Pop” music fall?  Short for “Popular”, pop music hasn’t been a genre for long, and it has always fallen under the “Rock” genre.  The Beatles first crossed the rock/pop line with hits like All You Need Is Love, Hey Jude, and Yesterday.  A lot of these songs were intentionally “poppy” in a sense that they were geared toward an audience that liked these songs: young people.  Paul McCartney knew this and continued to write songs of this nature (if you notice the poppy Beatles songs are mostly written by Paul, while the weirder songs are mostly written by John).

Looking further back, the Pop line was crossed in Elvis’ days when he was swinging his hips for the ladies whilst singing Jailhouse Rock.  But, we’ll stick to the Beatles since they made a slightly bigger impact on music (Elvis purists, we can discuss who made a bigger impact later).  In their later years, when they were experimenting, the Beatles discovered such skills as harmonization, guitar feedback, classical inspiration, artificial double tracking, close miking of acoustic instruments, sampling, direct injection, synchronization, and backward tapes.  Many of these same skills would then be adopted by popular musicians today. Although the reason why artists today should be criticized for techniques like sampling is because the way they use it is more of a lazy way. They sample an entire song and just put in their own lyrics, completely ripping off the original musician.

One more thing on the history of Pop Music: