Mixed Feelings Music

This being a music blog, I need to mention the death of Davy Jones, band member of the Monkees. I grew up listening to the Monkees. I've always had a soft spot for them. Needless to say, it was sad news. RIP, Jones. Read more here.

So... changing the topic...

I find that I frequently come across songs/artists I can't decide whether I like or not. This phenomena comes in three ways: I will begin listening to the song on the radio and 1) want to like it but can't, 2) want to switch it off but find myself singing along instead, or 3) will listen to it half singing along, half making fun of it. Here are my examples:

I want to like it... but I can't!

My prime example is Adele. I'm just sick of her. I like "Rumor Has It" and "Set Fire to the Rain," but her first two radio hits ("Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You"), I've just had about enough of it. Yes the music is good, but I can't stomach it for very much longer! Maybe if there were more like her, maybe then I'd like her better (variations on the same theme... honestly, I love the music, I've just had enough from one person). For example, Amy Winehouse! Very similar to Adele in style, but sings about more than just her Ex. "Rehab," her most famous song, was incredible. I wish she hadn't left us so soon... and I don't mean her death, I mean her presence on the radio. "Rehab came and went and nothing else was ever really played, except for "You Know I'm No Good" every once in a while... maybe, on the local alternative stations. Right now though, listening to soul-inspired pop from one person complaining about a breakup every single song... I'm tired of it. Stop, please. Sing something positive already. Maybe all those Grammys will cheer her up.

Coldplay kind of goes in this category for me. I don't know why... I think they also belong in the last category (half make fun of, half sing along to). Their music is hit-and-miss. Speaking of breakup songs: 'The Scientist' = Perfection. Oh well, David Tenant likes them, so I guess I should like them, too.

Gladly would I have his Time Lord babies.

That wasn't much, I know. But don't worry, the other two make up for it.

This song is so stupid... I'm going to sing along with it... ironically...

Oh, Ke$ha Ke$ha Ke$ha... you're disgusting.

Her music is degrading, it's auto-tuned, it's Lady Gaga rough drafts. Scratch that, it's what Lady Gaga created, went "Oh God, what have I done?!" and thrown out and hoped no one saw (speaking of which, I used to hate Lady Gaga... I don't know what happened between then and now, but she is my hero).

And I'm not the first to compare her to Lady Gaga, I know, but it works. I've seen her often compared to Lady Gaga with variations on the theme of her being like Lady Gaga, but not actually talented. And nasty. And not nasty like the fun kind of nasty. Just... nasty. She can't spell, she can't sing, she pukes glitter... and I can't help but sing along every freaking time.

I think it's because she's talented in some ways, but not others. She's funny, she's fun (best example: her music video for 'Blow.' Hilarious)! She knows how to put on a party. I can see her being an actress more than a 'singer.' Maybe a director? Something that's not singing... then again, I listen to her music, so who am I to judge?

Other songs I enjoy in shame:

"Like a G6" by Far East Movement

"Cooler Than Me" by Mike Posner

"Whip My Hair" by Willow Smith

"Give Me Everything" by Pitbull (just for the record, I really truly hate Pitbull... it's just this one song that gets me)

This song is stupid... oh, but that part's good...


This is where I feel the most conflicted. Best example from this category: The Fray. I've been hearing them a lot right now on the radio (since they're touring and will be in my city soon). They're like a God band, but not really. They have sappy messages, but the music is okay. I almost feel like I want to tear up when I hear "How to Save a Life," but I don't. And that kind of drives me crazy! What's holding them back from being good?

Katy Perry's the same way for me. "I Kissed a Girl" was a huge guilty pleasure for me when it came out, which displayed her incredible ability to piss off both the gay rights activists AND anti-gay groups. Oh wait, I feel another Doctor Who actor making their way into this blog...

However, come "California Gurls," where she demonstrated that she spells just as well as Ke$ha, she's pretty much lost my interest (since when is it cool to misspell?!).

And how 'bout them Kings of Leon? They make great music... it's just that their crappy songs are the ones that get on the radio. No really, listen to this:

Other songs that are only inches away from good:
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something
"Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars (great music video. Nonono, not the monkey one!! The Spock one.)
"Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5
"Just a Kiss" by Lady Antebellum

Tell me about your Mixed Feelings Music!!

Songs That Sound Alike

As Dr. Groene (one of my music therapy profs) would say, "There are only so many notes to choose from." Not only that, but particular rules on how music is structured. So it's no wonder that there are plenty of songs with similarities (great parodies to illustrate this point: Pacelbel Rant and Four Chord Song). But for some reason, some songs just make me want to sing other songs. Maybe because of the similar sounds, similar melodies, similar to identical chord progressions... it gets frustrating trying to sing along to "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand and then finding myself singing, "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard... arrrrgh!"

By the way, I'm not talking about sampling. "Sampling" is a politically correct term for "shameful robbery from a great song and used in a terrible, awful, wretched song." Not that I'm bitter about that...

Here is a list of songs that I always get mixed up, so your singalong times will also be destroyed forever. You're welcome. 

Songs I sing while listening to the other song:

1) "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand = "Milkshake" by Kelis (blasphemy, I know)

2) "Puttin' on the Ritz" = "Istanbul Not Constantinople" (best version blend is Fred Astaire and They Might Be Giants)

3) "Thunder Kiss '65" by White Zombie = "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin

4) There's another song I hear frequently on one of the local radio stations. I can't remember it because I'm always too busy singing Madonna's "Like a Virgin" over it. Anyone know the song I'm talking about? The part where she should be singing, "I've made it through the wilderness..." etc. is whistled.

I hear the first song and it makes me want to listen to the second song:

1) The Strokes = The Strokes (seriously, all their songs sound alike to me. All awesome... just all the same song)

2) "London Bridge" by Fergie = "Hollaback Girl" Gwen Stefani

3) "I Wannt Go" by Britney Spears = "They're Taking the Hobbits to Isengard" (which gets me really excited until Britney starts singing... and I realize I've been fooled again)

4) "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men = "Home" by Edward and the Magnetic Zeros

Just for fun, I will also list some popular sample songs that I can't stand that I sing/scream the original over, in case you didn't know the origin:

1) "S.O.S." by Rihanna = "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell

2) "5 o'clock" by T-Pain = "Who'd have Known" by Lily Allen

3) "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock = "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon

4) "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco = "Float On" by Modest Mouse (I... might have cried the first time I heard this... bitter, bitter, tears were wept...)

That's it for me! Obviously the examples are countless, these are just the ones I constantly think of whenever I hear these songs. What are some songs you always sing with other songs?

Music < Love?

In case you're wondering, my music history book was laced with chloroform. That's why I haven't posted in so long. (Actually what happened is that I got faced with talking about Mozart. I'm trying my best to do him and his revolutionary brothers of the Classical era justice.) Anyway...

So what I'd like to talk about instead is a major conflict in my relationship with my husband: tastes in music. See, I like good music... (kidding, love!). This was a conflict right from the start for us. A person's musical tastes, for me, reflects who the person is. I was actually okay with that when considering what kind of music he liked. If that's true, he's patriotic, hard-working, spiritual, and love to kick it back with friends with a beer (all true!).

Here's my problem though: that means I'm complicated, high-strung, artistic, and often incomprehensible. Artistic I could get on board with... the others, not so much.

So could a country boy ever love a hipster?

The answer came to me when we were talking on Skype while I was organizing some papers for school. We had just started dating and I asked him how he felt about our new status. He stuttered for a while... "um, I don't think I can really describe it..." there was a pause and some clicking. A link popped up to a video. "I think this ought to describe how I'm feeling..." he said.

Well yeah my heart melted!

While our main music genres were dissimilar, we found middle ground in folk, rock and roll, and musicals. Although even then we had differences: he liked Jan and Dean, I liked the Monkees. He liked Fiddler on the Roof, I liked the Music Man. The only one we would both proclaim equal adoration for was John Denver. But hey! We found music for us.

I actually thought I found our middle ground in one song; the perfect blend of country and alternative:

Yeah... he didn't like it. </3 Oh well, at least we have Modest Mouse.

It's funny thinking about it now because, well, it still holds true. If he chooses a radio station, it's going to be the country station. If I choose, I choose my iPod because... /insert hipster joke here/. But what's funny is that when we first started dating, we couldn't STAND each other's music. Now, I'll gladly sing along to a few Toby Keith's and he'll rock out to Franz Ferdinand. My concerns about us never finding music to listen to together weren't completely unfounded, but I've found that no matter how music I love my music, I love my man more (feel free to puke at that).

Tell me about what kind of music you listen to with your significant other! Do you like the same kind of music? Can you not stand each other's music? Somewhere in between?

Our Friend the Frilly Baroque

Welcome to our first lesson in "How to Listen to Classical Music!" We will begin by looking at the Baroque period.


The History

The Baroque period was started mostly by the Italians around 1600s and its marked end time is around 1750, the time of J.S. Bach. When it first hit the scene it was deemed as frivolous and extravagant. The word 'Baroque' actually was originally given to the style from critics, from the Portuguese word 'barroco,' meaning 'misshapen pearl.' Its use of dissonance and key changes offended respectable men and made little old ladies faint.

This elaborate style was not only seen in music, but in the theater. The introduction of opera blended the two media more than ever before, and playwrights, such as Ben Jonson (who?), Jean Racine (never heard of him), Jean Baptiste Moliere (didn't write that one play...), and William Shakespeare (oh yeah, I know him!) also reflected the flamboyant style of the times in their plays. It was all about expressing emotion never seen before. But ye be warned! It was believed that it was okay to arouse certain emotions, but not others. Ones that were okay were called the affections. These were sadness, joy, anger, love, fear, excitement, and wonder. If you tried anything else, you'd upset the humors and get sick and have to be bled. So DON'T DO IT!!

Music during the baroque have very distinct intentions. It was either for theater, church, or the royal courts. In the theater setting, operas and oratorios entertained large audiences. In church, they were meant to keep you focused on the service. In the royal courts, it was to do whatever the royal court called for. Any self-respecting royal had a band of merry musicians to play for whatever reason and whatever time that were treated like walking talking stereos that wrote music just for you. Just an example: this is where Handel's Water Music came from: it was for the king while he was bobbing along on his boat.

Man, wish I hadn't left my quartet back at the castle...

What's it like?

It's... well, a bit bland to the modern ear. While it was revolutionary at its time and it CAN be exciting, generally speaking it doesn't surprise many to find out that they were worried about over-provoking emotions. And a lot of it was about being fancy for the sake of being fancy. Just like the architecture of the period, it's full of frills and fluff, in the form of trills and appoggiaturas, just for the sake of showing off the soloist's skills. To me, I view Baroque the same way I view those bowls of fruit paintings. Yes, it is very detailed! Very skilled! I couldn't draw a bowl of fruit like that... um, I don't know what else to tell you.

Nice lookin' grapes there.

Another problem with Baroque music today is that a lot of times the intention was that the musician would jazz up the piece themselves with whatever ornaments (trills, appoggiaturas, turns, etc) they thought would sound good. This was especially true for those playing the bass, or the" basso continuo" (which is Italian for 'play these eight notes over and over again.'). It was written as straightforward as possible, and it was the job of the musician to make it not so boring. The problem is that no one does that (thanks to Beethoven... we'll get there), so it sounds, well, boring. Sorry, Pachelbel Rant guy. It's your own fault.

So... when should I listen to it?

Pretend you're royalty and use it just like those saucy folks in tights and Pompadours: play it in the background at cocktail parties (Vivaldi), while reading your favorite book (Handel), or when you're contemplating the wonders of Creation (Bach). If you're looking for something a bit more engaging, try an opera, like Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, or an oratorio, like Handel's Messiah.

Listening to Classical Music 101

People often associate those who listen to classical music as being "smart." (And, by the way, I am generalizing the term "classical music." More on that later.) These are my explanation to that belief:

1) People like stuff that's repetitive and has words they can sing along to. That isn't too common in classical music. Outside the occasional Beethoven tune, whose tunes are just as catchy as any Lady Gaga song. Don't pretend you don't sing "Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah" every time you hear 'Ode to Joy' (or is that Batman I'm thinking of...?) Then again, there are so many lyricized (that is now a word!!) versions of it you probably DO sing along.

2) It's not something taught in most schools. Sure we're taught to read music (and even then it's a limited understanding), but not much about the music itself. That's what I assume anyway. I live in a music bubble who assumes only an elite few really know the difference between Bach and Brahms. Correct me if I'm wrong.

3) Damn Baby Mozart. Listen, I've got news for you: it's bull honkey. As someone with a degree in music therapy (yes there is such a thing and it's awesome), I can tell you your kids will get just as smart listening to Coldplay as Mozart. Seriously. Music has been shown to increase learning skills over various school subjects, but there is absolutely nothing magical about Mozart. Except for his flute (get it? 'Magic Flute'? hahaha... never mind.).

So now you're probably thinking, "well then, I guess I don't have to listen to classical music after all to be smart! Hooray!" Yes, true, but think of it this way: wouldn't you like to make everyone think that you're super smart? You could be that dude that's walking down the street, jamming out to Berlioz, chicks all, "oooh, he listens to classical music. That's so smart and sexy. I want to smooch him." After all, nerd is the new jock, so you better jump on this band wagon, baby. So to help you out, I'll be creating a guide to...

Listening to Classical Music 101!!

This will be a beginner's guide to classical music. It'll help you find the right music for the right setting. So whether you want to deeply analyze a symphony or just want something to play in the background while you read, you'll be able to find it quicker and better appreciate it.

The Beginning of the Blog

I'm willing to confess I have an addiction: Facebook. I will confess something else: I talk about certain topics a little too frequently on Facebook that I'm sure many people would wish to avoid having their main page littered with, especially if they're not interested in that topic.

So, in lieu of that, I am beginning this blog as a means to discuss my heart out on topics of my liking. Mainly music, but I might go on to blabber on about things like Doctor Who, World of Warcraft, or perhaps my cat. Who knows? We'll see.

Cheers, music lovers!

-Victoria