Late night ramblings.
So, I mentioned in here that I really enjoy writing, right? Well, over the course of the summer, I've been doing this thing where anytime I'm up late at night for whatever reason, whether it be insomnia or that I'm just returning home at 2:30, I take out my laptop and write for a little bit. Thursday night at about 3, I wrote an interesting one that I think could work as a journal entry. It's not the most entertaining, and it's not one of the funny ones, but I like it. WARNING: it was 4 Microsoft Word Pages long, so yeah, it's a long'n. So yeah, here we go:
A interesting topic was brought up the other day in a conversation I was having: the evolution of personal music tastes. This was the day after I had just bought Bad Religion’s New Maps of Hell, and I had a realization that with the exception of Bad Religion and Against Me, I really have basically grown out of punk rock.
Two years ago, that would have seemed impossible to me. All I ever listened to was Bad Religion, NOFX, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, the Descendents, and bands like that. Now, it’s bands like Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Xiu Xiu, the Mountain Goats, Pedro the Lion, and stuff like that. Actually, I’d say that my musical taste is the most diverse it’s ever been. One second I’m listening to Boredoms’ screeching avant-garde noise rock, the next I’m listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins’ catchy brand of blues. The day after that, I’m listening to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, and then switched CD’s to hear the brilliance of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois! My musical tastes are all over the place, and I have to think that a lot of that had to do with me getting rid of punk rock for the most part.
When I listened to punk rock, I hated just about anything that wasn’t loud, fast, and angry. Anything that veered from that formula was crap to me. I had no sense of sophistication and musicianship. I didn’t know what lyrics could have actual depth, or that music could be an art form. I thought that the art of music was it’s ability to piss people off, not it’s ability to create some kind of statement. I thought that complete creativity was a band occasionally doing an acoustic song. Yeah, I thought that was artsy. I laugh at myself now, but at the time, I would have sworn by that.
As one day would have it, I heard a great song on the radio. R.E.M.’s “Man on the Moon”, from the brilliant Automatic For the People. I don’t know why, but the song really resonated with me. On a whim, I downloaded and burnt the CD. I was completely transformed. Here was an album that wasn’t loud or obnoxious, it wasn’t simple and shallow, but I still loved it. The songwriting was crisp, creating actual moods and giving the instruments a real reason to be there, other than to support some guy with a bad haircut screaming about the police. Songs like “Try Not the Breathe” and “Monty Had a Raw Deal” blew me away. It was artsy, it was deep, and it was poppy. And I loved it.
From there, my musical tastes flourished. I bought every R.E.M. album I could find, which I should point out that I still love all of them 3 years later, then moved on to stuff like the Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth, and Neutral Milk Hotel. I even started to realize that Husker Du were much better as a power pop band than a hardcore band. After that, I discovered Sufjan Stevens, Elliot Smith, Iron and Wine, Pedro the Lion, and Nada Surf. Indie folk and indie pop lead to post-rock bands like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican, and Saxon Shore. And from there? Well, just about everything possible followed. Jazz, blues, reggae, traditional folk, rock ‘n roll, big band music, avant-garde, and whatever else was out there.
Looking back at it, I can’t even listen to most punk rock anymore, and even when I do, I tend to get embarrassed by a lot of it. Granted, I still like Bad Religion, Against Me!, Ted Leo (although I consider him more close to indie rock), and the occasional Alkaline Trio song, but as a whole punk rock now comes off to me as shallow and, well, stupid.
Sure, it’s a good genre to have around when you’re a teenager who wants something different than the mainstream, but don’t want anything too deep or challenging. It’s great to have a good Black Flag album to listen to on the way to a soccer game to get yourself worked up. But at the end of the day, there’s not much more to it than that.
For the sake of this musing, I actually sat down and tried to listen to a lot of the old punk rock that I used to listen to. I checked out the play list of hardcore from my iPod, which has a good 45 songs on it, I checked out a Minor Threat CD, 2 Descendents albums, and even a Screeching Weasel album or two. And the truth is that I just don’t like it anymore.
Complete Discography got ejected from my CD player after about 10 songs because they all sounded exactly alike to me. Every song followed the basic formula of “repetitive riff played 3 or 4 times, then vocals kick in, then chorus kicks in with singer screaming the same phrase for 5 seconds, then repeat.” After 10 songs of this, I was tired of it. There was no point to any of it; it just seemed like a bunch of people who didn’t know how to play their instruments getting together. Only this band is highly praised, and sadly, at one point I was one of those people who praised it.
Up next I checked out the Descendents’ Milo Goes to College, which for the longest time, I considered one of my top 5 favorite albums. But alas, I have grown, and Milo has not. Musically it stands as an incredibly sloppy set of traditional sounding punk rock. Sure, some of the melodies are kind of catchy, but nothing as groundbreaking or unique as I once told people they were. Lyrically, I have to admit that I was embarrassed to listen to some of this stuff. Lyrics to songs like “Parents”, “Statue of Liberty”, “I’m Not a Loser”, and “Marriage” came off as incredibly childish. “Parents! They treat me like a toy/They don’t even know I’m a boy!” sounds like it was written by a 12 year old. In fact, I think I may have said similar things when I was a 12-year-old dumb ass. My biggest disappointment came from “Bikeage”. At one point, I was in love with this song. I thought it was so deep and emotional. Now? “Running out of time again/Where did you go wrong this time?” cliché city, my friends. Again, for a 15 year old, this stuff is great, but I fail to see how someone older than that can really take this seriously.
Then, I decided to check out another Descendents album, Cool To Be You, which I once stated showed tons of musical progression and maturity. Once again, 15 year old Jake is wrong. Essentially, it’s the same subject matter as Milo. Musically, it’s basically the same record, but a little catchier and with better production. No real musical growth, as the songs don’t become anymore complex or unique. Personally, I love “Mass Nerder” in an ironic way, since I find it hilarious to hear a 30-year-old guy bitching about being a nerd in high school.
Screeching Weasel didn’t fair much better. After 7 songs, I switched discs to the Headphones’ self-titled debut album, and then melted down into my chair with a relaxed smile on my face. Ah, much better on so many levels.
Don’t get me wrong, I can still enjoy punk rock occasionally as background music, especially when I’m driving around with friends or even as a nostalgic thing. But in any other way than that, I just can’t really stomach it. And I wish I could say I was jus bored with it, like people sometimes get with music. Unfortunately, it’s not the case. Normally when I got a few months without listening to a band, I am elated to listen to them again. In fact, I hadn’t listened to R.E.M. since May, and just yesterday I decided to pop in Fables of the Reconstruction, and my response was basically “holy shit, I forgot how much I love this CD.” With the punk stuff, I didn’t get that at all, even with me trying to like it.
Maybe the main reason is because, as I grew more aware of music and what it could be, I found other genres that do the same things punk rock does without being sloppy and immature. In the mood for some left-wing political ramblings? Well, I just put on some Phil Ochs or Sonic Youth. Or maybe some angry aggressive music when I’m jogging? Well, Scratch Acid and Sleep have that covered. Or maybe I want something nice and emotional to hit me right where it counts? Thelonious Monk and Pedro the Lion do that just right. Hell, maybe I want something fun to listen to when I’m just chilling out with friends. Whelp, guess what? Led Zeppelin and Kyuss can do that for you, and not sacrafice musicianship.
Am I glad I had punk rock as a young teenager? Of course, I let out a lot of that pent up angst that every teenager feels through it. Am I embarrassed about liking it when I was younger? Nope, I know people who listen to worse crap now. Seriously, I know people that like System of a Down and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. But, we all need to mature sometime, and I feel like moving on from punk rock has made me grow a lot as a music fan. As I type this, I’m listening to Alex de Grassi, an instrumental jazz guitarist. 2 years ago, I wouldn’t even have considered that. And frankly, I enjoy having the varied tastes, and even that tiny bit of sophistication that makes me seem like a pretentious elitist. I am totally not trupunx anymore.
A interesting topic was brought up the other day in a conversation I was having: the evolution of personal music tastes. This was the day after I had just bought Bad Religion’s New Maps of Hell, and I had a realization that with the exception of Bad Religion and Against Me, I really have basically grown out of punk rock.
Two years ago, that would have seemed impossible to me. All I ever listened to was Bad Religion, NOFX, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, the Descendents, and bands like that. Now, it’s bands like Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Xiu Xiu, the Mountain Goats, Pedro the Lion, and stuff like that. Actually, I’d say that my musical taste is the most diverse it’s ever been. One second I’m listening to Boredoms’ screeching avant-garde noise rock, the next I’m listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins’ catchy brand of blues. The day after that, I’m listening to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, and then switched CD’s to hear the brilliance of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois! My musical tastes are all over the place, and I have to think that a lot of that had to do with me getting rid of punk rock for the most part.
When I listened to punk rock, I hated just about anything that wasn’t loud, fast, and angry. Anything that veered from that formula was crap to me. I had no sense of sophistication and musicianship. I didn’t know what lyrics could have actual depth, or that music could be an art form. I thought that the art of music was it’s ability to piss people off, not it’s ability to create some kind of statement. I thought that complete creativity was a band occasionally doing an acoustic song. Yeah, I thought that was artsy. I laugh at myself now, but at the time, I would have sworn by that.
As one day would have it, I heard a great song on the radio. R.E.M.’s “Man on the Moon”, from the brilliant Automatic For the People. I don’t know why, but the song really resonated with me. On a whim, I downloaded and burnt the CD. I was completely transformed. Here was an album that wasn’t loud or obnoxious, it wasn’t simple and shallow, but I still loved it. The songwriting was crisp, creating actual moods and giving the instruments a real reason to be there, other than to support some guy with a bad haircut screaming about the police. Songs like “Try Not the Breathe” and “Monty Had a Raw Deal” blew me away. It was artsy, it was deep, and it was poppy. And I loved it.
From there, my musical tastes flourished. I bought every R.E.M. album I could find, which I should point out that I still love all of them 3 years later, then moved on to stuff like the Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth, and Neutral Milk Hotel. I even started to realize that Husker Du were much better as a power pop band than a hardcore band. After that, I discovered Sufjan Stevens, Elliot Smith, Iron and Wine, Pedro the Lion, and Nada Surf. Indie folk and indie pop lead to post-rock bands like Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican, and Saxon Shore. And from there? Well, just about everything possible followed. Jazz, blues, reggae, traditional folk, rock ‘n roll, big band music, avant-garde, and whatever else was out there.
Looking back at it, I can’t even listen to most punk rock anymore, and even when I do, I tend to get embarrassed by a lot of it. Granted, I still like Bad Religion, Against Me!, Ted Leo (although I consider him more close to indie rock), and the occasional Alkaline Trio song, but as a whole punk rock now comes off to me as shallow and, well, stupid.
Sure, it’s a good genre to have around when you’re a teenager who wants something different than the mainstream, but don’t want anything too deep or challenging. It’s great to have a good Black Flag album to listen to on the way to a soccer game to get yourself worked up. But at the end of the day, there’s not much more to it than that.
For the sake of this musing, I actually sat down and tried to listen to a lot of the old punk rock that I used to listen to. I checked out the play list of hardcore from my iPod, which has a good 45 songs on it, I checked out a Minor Threat CD, 2 Descendents albums, and even a Screeching Weasel album or two. And the truth is that I just don’t like it anymore.
Complete Discography got ejected from my CD player after about 10 songs because they all sounded exactly alike to me. Every song followed the basic formula of “repetitive riff played 3 or 4 times, then vocals kick in, then chorus kicks in with singer screaming the same phrase for 5 seconds, then repeat.” After 10 songs of this, I was tired of it. There was no point to any of it; it just seemed like a bunch of people who didn’t know how to play their instruments getting together. Only this band is highly praised, and sadly, at one point I was one of those people who praised it.
Up next I checked out the Descendents’ Milo Goes to College, which for the longest time, I considered one of my top 5 favorite albums. But alas, I have grown, and Milo has not. Musically it stands as an incredibly sloppy set of traditional sounding punk rock. Sure, some of the melodies are kind of catchy, but nothing as groundbreaking or unique as I once told people they were. Lyrically, I have to admit that I was embarrassed to listen to some of this stuff. Lyrics to songs like “Parents”, “Statue of Liberty”, “I’m Not a Loser”, and “Marriage” came off as incredibly childish. “Parents! They treat me like a toy/They don’t even know I’m a boy!” sounds like it was written by a 12 year old. In fact, I think I may have said similar things when I was a 12-year-old dumb ass. My biggest disappointment came from “Bikeage”. At one point, I was in love with this song. I thought it was so deep and emotional. Now? “Running out of time again/Where did you go wrong this time?” cliché city, my friends. Again, for a 15 year old, this stuff is great, but I fail to see how someone older than that can really take this seriously.
Then, I decided to check out another Descendents album, Cool To Be You, which I once stated showed tons of musical progression and maturity. Once again, 15 year old Jake is wrong. Essentially, it’s the same subject matter as Milo. Musically, it’s basically the same record, but a little catchier and with better production. No real musical growth, as the songs don’t become anymore complex or unique. Personally, I love “Mass Nerder” in an ironic way, since I find it hilarious to hear a 30-year-old guy bitching about being a nerd in high school.
Screeching Weasel didn’t fair much better. After 7 songs, I switched discs to the Headphones’ self-titled debut album, and then melted down into my chair with a relaxed smile on my face. Ah, much better on so many levels.
Don’t get me wrong, I can still enjoy punk rock occasionally as background music, especially when I’m driving around with friends or even as a nostalgic thing. But in any other way than that, I just can’t really stomach it. And I wish I could say I was jus bored with it, like people sometimes get with music. Unfortunately, it’s not the case. Normally when I got a few months without listening to a band, I am elated to listen to them again. In fact, I hadn’t listened to R.E.M. since May, and just yesterday I decided to pop in Fables of the Reconstruction, and my response was basically “holy shit, I forgot how much I love this CD.” With the punk stuff, I didn’t get that at all, even with me trying to like it.
Maybe the main reason is because, as I grew more aware of music and what it could be, I found other genres that do the same things punk rock does without being sloppy and immature. In the mood for some left-wing political ramblings? Well, I just put on some Phil Ochs or Sonic Youth. Or maybe some angry aggressive music when I’m jogging? Well, Scratch Acid and Sleep have that covered. Or maybe I want something nice and emotional to hit me right where it counts? Thelonious Monk and Pedro the Lion do that just right. Hell, maybe I want something fun to listen to when I’m just chilling out with friends. Whelp, guess what? Led Zeppelin and Kyuss can do that for you, and not sacrafice musicianship.
Am I glad I had punk rock as a young teenager? Of course, I let out a lot of that pent up angst that every teenager feels through it. Am I embarrassed about liking it when I was younger? Nope, I know people who listen to worse crap now. Seriously, I know people that like System of a Down and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. But, we all need to mature sometime, and I feel like moving on from punk rock has made me grow a lot as a music fan. As I type this, I’m listening to Alex de Grassi, an instrumental jazz guitarist. 2 years ago, I wouldn’t even have considered that. And frankly, I enjoy having the varied tastes, and even that tiny bit of sophistication that makes me seem like a pretentious elitist. I am totally not trupunx anymore.