(no subject)
I came across this article this morning and had to share it.
http://www.ilanamercer.com/ColdplaysContrapuntalIncompetence.htm
So, any body that has been around me when music is playing knows that I can be very open about my feelings towards music. If I hear a song that isn't really my thing, I might simply say I don't like the song. Or i might launch into a long explanation explaining exactly why I don't like it, complete with mockeries. Sorry Clarke, "cold as ice" makes me want to stick ice-picks in my eyes. Anna Faye, you can have your "how to save a life," as long as I can picture Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Ok, so I hope that everyone knows that usually I am just kidding and having fun--I believe that anyone is entitled to enjoy whatever music they want to, and my opinion doesn't matter at all. I think that music is to much of a blessing to really and trully spend our time putting it down constantly. Just listen, hold on to whatever grabs you, and if something isn't your taste, just move on to the next thing. True wrath can only be reserved for the likes of Panic at the Fallout Boy/Fallout at the Disco and the like.
Hence my dismay as I read the above article.
He begins by deriding both Coldplay and Evanescence: "Coldplay is what passes for music these days. Sadly, so does Evanescence, a band which is only slightly less incompetent than Coldplay. Considering the latter’s dizzying scale of incompetence, that’s not saying much. The market doesn’t adjudicate quality-both bands are as popular as they are unskilled." I really am not much on Coldplay, but I have to argue with the writer of this article. I do like Evanescence, and not only because I am engaged to someone who would leave me for Amy Lee.
The author begins by attacking simplicity. He seems to think that good Music can't be simple. I position I despise. "Most of the time, for interminable stretches, Coldplay plays only one or two chords. When they get going, the band musters three. It’s the equivalent of “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” maybe “Three Blind Mice,” although these nursery rhymes reveal better melodic progression. Indeed, some harmony might have helped Coldplay’s caterwauling, but consonance, like counterpoint, is nowhere apparent in their 'music.' " And? Whoever said music can't be simple? How can anyone possibly say that three chords, or two chords, or one, can't be real music? How many great rock and blues songs use only three? The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" uses only one. Coheed's "Willing Well" set has bunches. I fail to see how the simplicity or complexity of a song has any bearing on it's worth to the heart of a listener. I don't see the connection.
The author also seems to think that masculinity is a necessary factor in rock. " Rock is dead. Although I don’t much care for the country twang, country music is the closest to rock one gets. The riffs, the relative facility with the instruments, and the musicians’ manliness (the rapid queering of so-called rock outfits is eerie) resemble rock more than does Coldplay." WTF??? I'm all for country music. I am ashamed that this author would pair country music with his sexist leanings. Johnny Cash is turning in his grave, I know. "the rapid queering" of music? Hmm. Much as we may pick on hipsters these days for wearing their chic belts and chic pants, its their thing, and after all, we are deriding the bandwagoning of fashion, not the relevance of fashion to music. Last time I checked, music was made of freqencies, harmony, melody, lyrics, and so on--not cotton, wool, and polyester. Rock = Manliness? I can't believe this. What does gender have to do with rock? Whoever said a woman can't stand up and headbang herself to death? Who ever said a man can't sing a tender love song? Is this author saying that men and women should constrict themselves to assumed gender patterns? How anti-rock. Do whatever your heart moves you to do. That is rock.
How could this author be so sexist? I'm not suprised to see that he or she doesn't like Evanescence. He seems to think that female vocalists are unable to rock. Well, whatever. This guy is losing out on so much, all of the great music in which women play a part.
O hell. This just got much better. I just found out that the author of this article is in fact a woman, and a contributor to www.worldnetdaily.com. This treasure of a website will probably greet you with the smiling face of Ann Coulter somewhere. It is also where you can find the gems that tell you that soy is making kids gay:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53327 and
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53425 [where he actually tries to back up his statements] written by the wonderful Jim Rutz, chairman of Megashift Ministries and author of the book "The Meaning of Life" [this guy must know what he's talking about].
So, she doesn't like Evanescence because " Evanescence’s sound typifies the mush that is an ersatz rock song these days. Since the players can mostly only strum, and because they are contrapuntal cretins, all they’re able to produce is an amorphous blend-an ill-differentiated, sloppy sonic porridge. This structureless cacophony pleases the lazy ear because it is repetitive, and chock full of blurry, angst-ridden crescendos." Ok...i wonder if she has listened to Evanescence. Amy Lee a "contrapuntal cretin?" Perhaps the author has not heard the beautifully layered harmonies of Evanescence's song "the only one"...or perhaps the author simply doesn't know what counterpoint is in music. Angst-ridden crescendos? What does that mean? Ahh, whatever. Her loss.
No wait, Ilana Mercer [the author] has a solution for us! She invites us to " Contrast the bathos of Evanescence with the pathos of Kamelot." Ok, I'm all for over-the-top power metal schlock myself, but to deny Evanescence's credibility in the face of this is ludicrous. Ok, "For example, The Haunting, a song on The Black Halo, their new CD, sports a strong melody and fine arrangements, to say nothing of solid playing and stunning vocals- Kamelot’s idea of a backup singer is a (gorgeous) classically trained mezzo-soprano. Then again, their instrumentals make it clear the lads listen to their symphonies-from Mozart to Mahler." Even if "classical" training where a pre-requisite for making moving music--which I emphatically deny that it is--Ms. Mercer should be aware of the fact that Amy Lee is a classically trained vocalist [soprano, I think] and, in fact, is able to write and arrange a for-real song.
A few more of Ms. Mercer's Comments: "Not that lyrics matter much, but for inspiration, the band draws on imagery evoked by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. How delightful-and so tellingly Western (the less said the better, lest they take to singing of man’s greed and global warming). I also love all that Latin! Heroic, epic, and grand is far superior to the self-and inner-injury-obsessed themes that animate Coldplay and Evanescence’s warbled wanks."
Well....I am just stunned. Just disregard this sort of stuff. Let music speak to the soul. That's why God gave it to us--to reach the soul.
http://www.ilanamercer.com/ColdplaysContrapuntalIncompetence.htm
So, any body that has been around me when music is playing knows that I can be very open about my feelings towards music. If I hear a song that isn't really my thing, I might simply say I don't like the song. Or i might launch into a long explanation explaining exactly why I don't like it, complete with mockeries. Sorry Clarke, "cold as ice" makes me want to stick ice-picks in my eyes. Anna Faye, you can have your "how to save a life," as long as I can picture Trauma Center: Second Opinion. Ok, so I hope that everyone knows that usually I am just kidding and having fun--I believe that anyone is entitled to enjoy whatever music they want to, and my opinion doesn't matter at all. I think that music is to much of a blessing to really and trully spend our time putting it down constantly. Just listen, hold on to whatever grabs you, and if something isn't your taste, just move on to the next thing. True wrath can only be reserved for the likes of Panic at the Fallout Boy/Fallout at the Disco and the like.
Hence my dismay as I read the above article.
He begins by deriding both Coldplay and Evanescence: "Coldplay is what passes for music these days. Sadly, so does Evanescence, a band which is only slightly less incompetent than Coldplay. Considering the latter’s dizzying scale of incompetence, that’s not saying much. The market doesn’t adjudicate quality-both bands are as popular as they are unskilled." I really am not much on Coldplay, but I have to argue with the writer of this article. I do like Evanescence, and not only because I am engaged to someone who would leave me for Amy Lee.
The author begins by attacking simplicity. He seems to think that good Music can't be simple. I position I despise. "Most of the time, for interminable stretches, Coldplay plays only one or two chords. When they get going, the band musters three. It’s the equivalent of “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” maybe “Three Blind Mice,” although these nursery rhymes reveal better melodic progression. Indeed, some harmony might have helped Coldplay’s caterwauling, but consonance, like counterpoint, is nowhere apparent in their 'music.' " And? Whoever said music can't be simple? How can anyone possibly say that three chords, or two chords, or one, can't be real music? How many great rock and blues songs use only three? The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" uses only one. Coheed's "Willing Well" set has bunches. I fail to see how the simplicity or complexity of a song has any bearing on it's worth to the heart of a listener. I don't see the connection.
The author also seems to think that masculinity is a necessary factor in rock. " Rock is dead. Although I don’t much care for the country twang, country music is the closest to rock one gets. The riffs, the relative facility with the instruments, and the musicians’ manliness (the rapid queering of so-called rock outfits is eerie) resemble rock more than does Coldplay." WTF??? I'm all for country music. I am ashamed that this author would pair country music with his sexist leanings. Johnny Cash is turning in his grave, I know. "the rapid queering" of music? Hmm. Much as we may pick on hipsters these days for wearing their chic belts and chic pants, its their thing, and after all, we are deriding the bandwagoning of fashion, not the relevance of fashion to music. Last time I checked, music was made of freqencies, harmony, melody, lyrics, and so on--not cotton, wool, and polyester. Rock = Manliness? I can't believe this. What does gender have to do with rock? Whoever said a woman can't stand up and headbang herself to death? Who ever said a man can't sing a tender love song? Is this author saying that men and women should constrict themselves to assumed gender patterns? How anti-rock. Do whatever your heart moves you to do. That is rock.
How could this author be so sexist? I'm not suprised to see that he or she doesn't like Evanescence. He seems to think that female vocalists are unable to rock. Well, whatever. This guy is losing out on so much, all of the great music in which women play a part.
O hell. This just got much better. I just found out that the author of this article is in fact a woman, and a contributor to www.worldnetdaily.com. This treasure of a website will probably greet you with the smiling face of Ann Coulter somewhere. It is also where you can find the gems that tell you that soy is making kids gay:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53327 and
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53425 [where he actually tries to back up his statements] written by the wonderful Jim Rutz, chairman of Megashift Ministries and author of the book "The Meaning of Life" [this guy must know what he's talking about].
So, she doesn't like Evanescence because " Evanescence’s sound typifies the mush that is an ersatz rock song these days. Since the players can mostly only strum, and because they are contrapuntal cretins, all they’re able to produce is an amorphous blend-an ill-differentiated, sloppy sonic porridge. This structureless cacophony pleases the lazy ear because it is repetitive, and chock full of blurry, angst-ridden crescendos." Ok...i wonder if she has listened to Evanescence. Amy Lee a "contrapuntal cretin?" Perhaps the author has not heard the beautifully layered harmonies of Evanescence's song "the only one"...or perhaps the author simply doesn't know what counterpoint is in music. Angst-ridden crescendos? What does that mean? Ahh, whatever. Her loss.
No wait, Ilana Mercer [the author] has a solution for us! She invites us to " Contrast the bathos of Evanescence with the pathos of Kamelot." Ok, I'm all for over-the-top power metal schlock myself, but to deny Evanescence's credibility in the face of this is ludicrous. Ok, "For example, The Haunting, a song on The Black Halo, their new CD, sports a strong melody and fine arrangements, to say nothing of solid playing and stunning vocals- Kamelot’s idea of a backup singer is a (gorgeous) classically trained mezzo-soprano. Then again, their instrumentals make it clear the lads listen to their symphonies-from Mozart to Mahler." Even if "classical" training where a pre-requisite for making moving music--which I emphatically deny that it is--Ms. Mercer should be aware of the fact that Amy Lee is a classically trained vocalist [soprano, I think] and, in fact, is able to write and arrange a for-real song.
A few more of Ms. Mercer's Comments: "Not that lyrics matter much, but for inspiration, the band draws on imagery evoked by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust. How delightful-and so tellingly Western (the less said the better, lest they take to singing of man’s greed and global warming). I also love all that Latin! Heroic, epic, and grand is far superior to the self-and inner-injury-obsessed themes that animate Coldplay and Evanescence’s warbled wanks."
Well....I am just stunned. Just disregard this sort of stuff. Let music speak to the soul. That's why God gave it to us--to reach the soul.