Wednesday, February 11, 2009 .
Just finished listening to John Mayer's 'Where the light Is: Live in Los Angeles.' DVD.
For all you mayer fans out there, go check out the album: it's JM's latest, and greatest work to date in my opinion. Check out waiting on the world to change, Good love is on the way, and Gravity, if you have the time.
on listening to music:
How do i define to myself what a good song is?
when i can relate to and understand the lyrics, understand the 'drift' of the singer/songwriter.
when the musical arrangements, tempo, feel, melody and lyrics sound like, and compliment each other in absolutely creative ways.
when the artist who made it is someone who really makes music because it's his/her passion, and you can actually feel and understand that passion when they're up on stage, even when you're playing his gig on the record player.
Sometimes you just have to try to listen to a load of artists and songs before you get to a good piece of music. Call it eating a little bit of crap, but it's worth it. You might not know it, but the satisfaction of finding a good artist, immersing yourself in his/her pieces, translating the notes and lyrics into meaning- it's easily comparable to being in love.
Finding a great song really is like finding a great plate of char quay teow, or wonton mee after going through 10,000,000 seafood stalls and make-believe chicken rice sellers. i'm sure how you just wanna keep going on and on back to a stall savouring it's food and falling head over heels in love with it.
Maybe once in a blue moon, the chef mods his recepies, adds a little bit too much chilli, makes a mistake. But hey, like a song, you never know. a little variation, improvisation, might just transform a song into something other than a song.
Take certain covers for example- on new years day i just heard an awesome cover of 'With or without you' (U2) by the band at Acid Bar somerset. I know how it's been overplayed a million times in shops, radio stations and other joints for years. but hey, they way the band took it acoustically, the way the voice handled bono's lyrics, the way the crowd reacts. It transformed the song to something more like a bloody awesome emotion.
to all you music fans out there: don't give up finding out more about music and exploring different genres.
Dont be satisfied with click five or the bee gees.
It'll make your day, like it made my day i met Queen, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Michael Jackson. (=
