Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. ~ Confucius

This quote was courtesy of @DrewTek, a studio rat with a serious colada addiction.  Seeing this flitter across Twitter, it got me thinking about the music in my life.  Everyone has different albums which define major periods of their life (hell they made a movie about it), from the days of rebellious youth (Nirvana – Nevermind) to quieter times of self reflection (Kruder and Dorfmeister – The K&D Sessions) to the always popular “party days” (Urbal Beats 2).  But then I started digging deeper, thinking about the music that has evoked strong emotions (some good, some bad) no matter when or how often I’d listened to it.

Emotionally, all of these albums/songs have hit me intensely, all for different reasons, but all equally powerful.

Johnny Cash’s “Hurt”

I’ve written about this song before.  It is one of the most perfect examples of an entire life captured with just a voice and a guitar.  Strangely enough, I first heard this song while eating at an Einstein Brothers, prompting me to give my girl a quizzical WTF look.  I had no idea who was singing, but was trying to imagine why Trent Reznor would let anyone re-record his work.

Then I saw the music video.  I was floored.  Now I understood why Reznor said, “…that song isn’t mine anymore…”.  A hard life earned, not given, flavored his music and lyrics.  Like only a few artists (Sinatra, Waits), Cash poured every ounce of himself into his voice, pulling you into the moment as if you lived it yourself.

“Hurt” was my gateway into Cash’s world.

Nick Cave & the Dirty Three “Dread the Passage of Jesus”

This was a hidden track on the album Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files.  It wasn’t your usual “let the last track keep playing” hidden track, but a real “if you don’t know how to get to it, you ain’t hearing it” track.  The liner notes make a vague reference to it with Nick Cave & the Dirty Three reminding you that zero is a number, which honestly sounded like the standard issue weird shit you get from Cave. 

I still vividly remember the night I found it.  Messing around with my boombox (yes I dated myself), I hit the back button one too many times while cycling through the album which made the track time suddenly read in the negatives.  Before I could do anything, violins started playing for a song I had never heard before.  I was genuinely surprised, since I had listen to the album countless times before and never discovered this song, followed by a deep fear in the pit of my stomach that wouldn’t be able to reproduce the accident. I sat in the dark, absolutely enraptured by the song, absorbing every single note not knowing if I’d ever hear it again.

Even now that I have it on MP3, whenever I listen to it I still get that mixture of surprise, fear and awe.

Tom Waits “Small Change”

The best way to describe this album is the mutterings of a Beat poet with a two-pack-a-day voice set to music.  From the incredible sadness of the first track “Tom Traubert’s Blues“ to the tongue in cheek humor of “The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)”, this album is pure lyrical poetry.  Waits’ world weary voice exposes the raw emotion in every word, refusing to hide behind any studio trickery.

It plucks at different parts of me whenever I listen to it, stinging me with its regret or making me laugh with its drunken antics.  If I ever want to dive deep into myself, this is one of the first albums I grab. 

The Crow Soundtrack

From the moment I saw this film it was ingrained in me.  A tragically beautiful performance by Brandon Lee set to a haunting score by Graeme Revell and drenched in the pain and anger of the comic’s author James O’Barr.  The sound
track for this film is one of the few that I feel compliment the movie without being an obvious cash grab like so many others.

The bittersweet twang of the guitar in “Big Empty”, the unbridled rage of “Ghostrider”, all ending in the cautiously hopeful “It Can’t Rain All The Time”, this blending of emotions encapsulates the core themes of the story.  If I start playing any of the songs in this album, I almost always find myself listening to the entire thing.

As hard as this music can be, I find it calming and cleansing.  When I was still buying music in physical form, I had the Crow in all it’s variations.  Every MP3 player I’ve ever had, has this and the score as permanent residents.  It’s like a comfortable sweater I can slip into on chilly nights.  With many of the songs falling into the Industrial category, it may sound like an odd analogy, but it works for me.

——————————————

All of these songs punch me in the gut with extreme nostalgia, but at the same time provides emotional shortcuts which are extremely useful in my writing.  If there’s a certain state of mind I need to get into, this music is a bullet train into my brain.

What music hits you powerfully every time you hear it?

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The theme continues as I dive into crooner films.  Listening to "The Sound of the Strip" I frequently heard songs sung by Bobby Darin.  I had a passing familiarity with the name, but really didn’t know anything about the man.  His songs were always filled with personality from ad-libs during the song to his little chats with the audience, not to mention a great set of pipes to belt out those notes.  Intrigued by this talent, I decided to check out his biopic film Beyond the Sea.

This film had a lot going against it right out the gate.  Kevin Spacey writing, directing, producing and starring in the film reeked of vanity project which many critics voiced.  The screenplay went through so many revisions and screen writers that the WGA had to arbitrate on the crediting.  Also, it came out mere months after two spectacular music biopics, Ray and De-Lovely.  In spite of all this, it did a great job of bringing Bobby Darin’s tale to a whole new audience.

One of the film’s saving graces (or major failings, depending on who you ask) was Spacey’s decision to record his own vocals.  I felt like he did an amazing job of not only sounding like Darin, but capturing the essence of his showmanship in the tunes.  The supporting cast is surprisingly star studded with John Goodman, Bob Hoskins and Kate Bosworth joining in on the fun.  As much as I didn’t want to, I found myself comparing it heavily with De-Lovely.  Both tales are about prolific, talented musicians who had very troubled lives.  In De-Lovely, Kevin Kline was Cole Porter, oozing the man with every look, gesture and song.  Kevin Spacey, on the other hand, looked like he was having a ball playing Darin, but fell short of becoming the man.  He was more a rabid fan in the throes of wish fulfillment than an actor bringing the character to life. 

I’m not knocking the performance completely, but I had a hard time believing it was Darin and forgetting it was Spacey on the screen.  That coupled with the method in which the movie unfolds made suspension of disbelief especially difficult.  Fantasy sequences, flashbacks intertwined with present time and references to it all being a movie didn’t gel well (as opposed to The Life and Death of Peter Sellers which pulled it off beautifully), instead jarring me out of the story and making me question what was happening on the screen.

Storytelling quirks aside, Spacey’s performance had a strength and charisma befitting the late singer.  He was every bit as brash, arrogant and unwavering as Darin was in his heyday.  There were several flashes of greatness in the film, teasing you with what it could have been in another director’s hands or if Spacey had done the role much earlier in life.  In the end no one really has the balls to make films like this anymore so I have to give Spacey the credit he deserves for being tenacious enough to chase this project for 17+ years.

With its numerous flaws and bad timing, it didn’t do well at the box office with the studios labeling it a flop.  It’s definitely not in my top selections for music pics or Spacey flicks, but I could see myself dipping back into this flawed little gem to enjoy its heartfelt music and flashes of greatness.

Has anyone else seen this battered underdog of a film?  Am I far off base or right on the money?

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A while back I mentioned a radio station that streamed old school Vegas style music and ever since I’ve been on a crooner kick.  To keep me company on the road, I picked up a bunch of Rat Pack albums for my iPod.  I can’t get enough of their Live In St. Louis album which was actually filmed and on the DVD Live and Swingin’ (which I can’t wait to get).

What continues to mesmerize me about these performers is the way they effortlessly compliment each other.  A smooth blending of voices, the playful antics of their onstage joking and ad-libbing which only come from countless shows together.  It’s not so much a bunch of A list performers belting out tunes, but good friends having a great time onstage and entertaining the hell out of the audience in the process.

Truly these men couldn’t have been anything other than performers.  Dean’s ease with the audience, making them laugh like old pals hanging out, Frank’s command presence, destined to be on the stage and Sammy’s well mannered interactions coupled with an unassuming yet amazing talent.  Every single one of them incredibly talented in their own right, but combined they reach levels that we’re still talking about now.

I’m having such a hard time finding anyone in the modern music scene that even comes close to this kind of synergy.  Collaborations, duets or songs “featuring” other artists rarely have this kind of melding of styles.  Usually it’s one artist doing their thing on another’s song with no effort to combine the styles, just showcase themselves in this mini cameo.  Revival acts try to cash in on nostalgia without bringing anything else to the table.  Actually, now that I think about it, other than the odd duet album I don’t remember any other combination of modern singers.  Seems the solo act reigns supreme these days.

Pretty soon I’m going to have listened to ALL of their stuff, so can anyone recommend new artists with the same feel?

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My musical tastes are varied to say the least.  On my iPod you’ll find KRS-One nestled next to Rammstein, Johnny Cash rubbing elbows with Cole Porter, and David Bowie hand in hand with Ruben Blades.  I prefer not to isolate myself like some folks do, refusing to go outside their comfort zone because of some misguided fear.  People like that remind me of children staring at a new piece of food and declaring loudly that "they don’t like it" without ever even trying it.  Music is one of those art forms that I can appreciate from its classical roots to its sugar pop present, open-mindedly enjoying all the different flavors.

Even so, there are some things that I miss.  Not so much out of nostalgia, but from a desire to experience an earlier purity that seems lost.  Today I spent most of the day listening to a streaming radio station called The Sound of the Strip, who according to their site "salutes the Rat Pack sounds of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and more."  I dig a lot of the old school crooners and lounge singers, world weary singers giving great performances with a microphone in one hand and a cocktail in the other.  Transported back to an era of standards, I got to enjoy the beauty of music in a way I haven’t in a long time.  Not only did I find myself going "OH! I love that song", but also spontaneously smiling while listening.  At the same time, it made me a little sad, not for a lost moment in history, but for the purity missing in music nowadays. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love modern music—huge techno head—but when it comes to someone singing I find many of the studio tricks being employed recently distracting and diluting of the musical experience.  The more I heard Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra, the more I wanted to strip the bullshit away from many newer acts, exposing the over-hyped frauds they are, held up only by the technology of their producers and not the talent of their vocal chords.

Here are some of the things I wish would be removed from music:

• Auto tuners – I can understand trying to make slight corrections on a less than perfect take, but when the entire performance is massaged, tweaked and shoved into the correct notes with no attempt at authenticity, that pisses me off.  If that little bit of technology weren’t available, I could almost guarantee many acts we see today wouldn’t exist.
• Pre-recorded vocals aka Lip Syncing – If you’re a drag queen, you can get away with it, but if your career is based on the sound of your voice then this is total bullshit.  Sadly, this isn’t even exclusive to the pop music realm with Luciano Pavarotti being a notable example.  It’s a case of bait and switch, you come for a live performance from an artist and instead you get the CD pumped over the sound system.  For that you could save the 40 bucks (or in some cases the 100+ bucks) for tickets and spend it on a better home stereo.

What I would like to see again:

• Artists using their voice as an instrument, not as a gateway to movie roles, fashion lines or magazine spreads.  Talent stems from your god given vocals, not the clothes you wear or the bling you floss. 
• Personality in a performance.  Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. sang standards, which meant the song was well known and done many times before, yet they were able to put their own stamp on it—through personality—making the performance truly unique.  Johnny Cash did it when he sung "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails.  The heart he poured into it turned an industrial song into his own personal ballad.

I haven’t seen any of examples of this lately and indie rock douchebags strumming on their acoustic guitar don’t count.  The only ones that come to mind are surprisingly from America’s Got Talent.

One is Barbara Padilla, who’s soulful singing gives me goose bumps every time.

The other is Lawrence Beaman, who gave his absolute ALL in that performance.  The man knew he only had one shot and gave it everything he could.

In both these cases you have raw TALENT, unobscured by studio trickery, naked for the world to genuinely appreciate.  I’m not asking for pop acts to disappear or modern music to take a step backward, but I would like the industry to remember its roots and possibly LEARN something from the amazing talents that fueled it not too long ago.

Am I being an old man, shaking his fist angrily at the kids on the lawn or are you too tired of studio creations devoid of actual ability?

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