Listen to THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IzccDy94Zg
Greetings loved ones. Spring has sprung, summer is en route, and life is picking up speed. Adults and children alike are growing, warm weather animals are returning, and here I am, locked in a warehouse until 1:30pm, when I can head to the park and watch the butterflies meet between the leaves, ask the park bench grandmas if they're enjoying the day, convincing myself that being stuck inside 40 hours a week is somehow better than what Tilikum and Shamu had. Too soon for Sea World jokes? F*ck that place, it's definitely worse than having to be here. Why does knowing that not make me feel better? Don’t call me dramatic, but the negativity and my newly returned teenage angst might just make me one.
It takes time to understand that not all thoughts and feelings we perceive as negative are actually negative, or even real. Often times, what is felt as negative exists in reality as simply the truth. Well, the truth is what I try to tell 100% of the time here. Since this is the case, I’m going to keep that going by talking about a discovery that took me from not liking an artist to fully appreciating and enjoying them.
Let me ask you this: is there any music you don’t like?
I met a dude a few months ago at the bar where I play music on Saturdays. Just a guy who frequents the watering hole. Sometimes he strikes up conversations with me about daily life or music. Eventually we came to a point where he admitted to me that he quote, "hates The Beatles". I'm not gonna sit here and tell you The Beatles are the best band in the world, but I will argue fallacies: do you mean to tell me that out of 229 recorded tracks, not including live and studio variations, that you can't find one redeeming quality about a single track? I find that hard to believe. I don't find it hard to believe that you're full of shit.
That moment taught me a lot. It made me realize that I didn't want to be that kind of music appreciator. I wanted to stay open, I wanted to hear beyond what first meets my ears: try new songs by the same artists, try to understand messages that don't necessarily relate to me, feel what I haven't felt, do research and find reasons to appreciate music for what it is. Even if I personally don't like it, at least I can see why other people do.
However...sometimes, you just know yourself, and you know you really don't like what you're hearing. Got any songs in mind? Let me know why in the comments, and then, think about it again, and tell me something you decided you liked about it after revisiting it.
So now that I've worn out the psychological talk, I'm sure you want to know what this mysterious song I don't like is. Let me tell you a story...
I'm Her Daddy by Mario Biondi. The song starts like this:
How do you do Lucy?
You sure been hard to find
I heard you had a daughter
Six years old and I
Just can keep from cryin'
Six years and Lucy oh Lord have mercy
That's a long time
That's a long time...
Is she pretty?
Has she grown?
Does she sleep well in a room of her own?
Can I see her?
Does she know...
Yeah I'm her daddy
I'm her daddy...
...K. Let's talk about it. If you haven't listened just go to the bottom of this and come back or it's might not make sense. First of all, I don't want to sit here and bash another artists choices, especially about a band and a singer that I actually really like now, but listen...this song, is not good. There. I said it. Are you happy now? Let's talk about why.
The lyrics, the melody, and the instrumentation don't match. If you read the lyrics, you're clearly getting a heartbreaking story about a man who just found out that he's a father after 6 years of not knowing. It's a dramatic story that in the right context and musical structure, could be received appropriately. Now, is there a "right" context, is there a "right" structure? No. You get to have fun and decide that.
Now you’re probably wondering what I think, and how I stay open while still having a strong opinion.
Here's the thing: a song is a song, and there are many factors that make a song what it is: mixing and production, lyrics, singer, singers vocal approach, melodies, guitar bass drums etc. There's a lot about this track I enjoy. The sax solo is killer, the band is tight yet relaxed as hell. It's mixed well. It's a "good" track in those regards. For me, these lyrics are weird. I feel like I'm listening to a swanky old school Disney Villian be creepy and weird. I'm laughing as I'm saying that because it sounds ridiculous. But really, the music is just not meant to support this kind of message. The music is great, really. Very cool vibe. Not for this context...in MY humble opinion.
And staying open — Mario Biondi has an incredible voice. I was so turned off by the lyrics initially that I couldn't hear anything else. I've listened to it a handful of times now, and it's grown on me. However, I can't ignore those things I'm feeling. That's why I wanted to find out who Mario Biondi and the High Five Quintet are. Who's insanely rich voice is this and why am I not hearing it on the kind of track it deserves?!
So, what did I do? I went digging of course. I looked through Mario Biondi's catalog, and I was surprised at what I found!
Mario's voice was featured as the voice of The Hook-Hand Thug in the Italian dub of Disney's "Tangled." He is far more well known than I would have guessed. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but usually compilation albums like Rare Tunes have a couple handfuls of underground artists. Mario is world famous. I shouldn't be surprised especially since the song right before it was Spirit by Alex Ligertwood (Santana). It makes me want to look into the album even further.
Upon exploring his discography further, I wanted to click on whatever sounded good to me. I'm sure you know what I mean. I saw a song titled This Is What You Are. Okay Mario, tell me what I am.
My mind was immediately changed. Fun percussion, jumping bass, steady ride, and in comes Mario's voice...
Take me up and let me down
Hold me when I'm sad
Take my eyes to look around
Take my ears to listen to the stars
This is what u are
*cue horns*
Knock me down knock me out
Make me feel shy
But when you hold me in your arms
I can just forget the tears I've cried
This is what you are
*cue string section*
Now we're rockin'. Now we're in it. Before I was listening to the track from the outside of it, but now...now I'm in it. Fully immersed. It felt natural, seamless. The tune met my ears effortlessly.
I ran to the YouTube comments. I wanted to know what other folks were saying. Who cares what Rolling Stone says, I want to know what the people think!
13 Million views from folks all over the globe! Some share mistaking him for Barry White, others romanticize drinking a glass of whiskey with a lover and listening in a hidden speakeasy. Here's some of my favorite comments:
I guess I'm gonna have to dive into Handful of Soul! I love seeing folks from all over the world connect through mutual music taste; people from all different backgrounds and stories, sharing why the music is important to them. At a concert, music unites us. We all come to a place to appreciate and enjoy. In the modern world, we can also gather in the YouTube comments and get all kinds of sentimental and excited.
The internet is seemingly dividing us more and more every day, and yet, here — where music is all about love and appreciation, people seem more connected than ever. At least by my own internet standard.
That's the thing about being on socials. Everyone's experience of it is different because of the algorithm. Somehow, the algorithm led me to Rare Tunes, which brought me to Spirit, and then to I'm Her Daddy, which sent me to Mario and This is What You Are.
This Is What You Are hit me like your first sip of ice water after walking around the Zoo in the middle of August. I love these lyrics, I love the horns and strings, the band is super tight. I love how this melody hardly changes. Mario delivers it so well. The way the song is structured feels like a tune I'd hear in a movie like Chef (Jon Favreau), when shit hits the fan in the restaurant, but everyone's keeping their cool, and flowing seamlessly through the kitchen like a choreographed dance. It's the kind of music that makes you want to get up and do things. I'd say the same about tracks like What'd I Say by Ray Charles. When the groove comes in, your legs just get movin' and your mind feels sharp, or as the kids would say, locked in.
I almost missed something beautiful because I reacted too quickly…I went back, and I thought about it. I wanted to question my disdain for a piece of music that would have hit me completely differently if it was in another language. I wanted to understand why I felt the way I did. I have a better understanding now, and I truly feel that if we all made that kind of effort towards music, the industry would change drastically. Imagine if we made that kind of effort for each other: an effort to understand what's uncomfortable, an openness to trying flavors and combinations we would normally turn our noses at. Friends, I want to encourage you to become a professional listener:
1) Listen to everything
2) Listen to it at least twice
3) Ask yourself what you like and don't like about the music
4) Ask yourself why
5) Listen to it a third time
They say "don't judge a book by it's cover", but in the music world, you could walk into wherever they sell music, and pick out a CD, a tape, an 8 track or Vinyl, and decide, "this is the one", just because of the cover, and a lot of the time, you're right. Judge an album by its cover, it could help you find something you love, or hate, but either way, you've got something to talk about, and that's the whole damn point.
Stay tuned, professional listeners. —BD
Hey, if you wanna get these blogs straight to your email...
SUBSCRIBE ON SUBSTACK <— Click there!
Feel free to tip the scribbler and leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you. Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/berlyd
Listen to THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IzccDy94Zg
__________________________________________________________________
Quick ending credit notes for those who are really reading...Blog number 22 folks. It's pretty exciting. Next blog is my lucky number 23, and I'll talk more about my excitement and joy...as I always do. Have fun, be safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment