Ask 411 Music 03.16.09: Hated Genres, A Startling Writer Confession, and More!
Posted by Joshua George on 03.16.2009
What can't I stand to hear, and my personal take on the Chris Brown/Rhianna scandal.
Hey folks. Glad to see you've stopped in for another installment of Ask 411 Music. We have a few questions and some other shit to get to, so... heeeeeeeeeeere we go! Also, if you want to have your questions answered or your reader mail published in the column, all you have to do is SEND THEM IN NOW!
From Milo@pinfallrecall.com
Is there a genre that you overwhelmingly don't enjoy?
Where to begin. There is only one genre that I absolutely cannot stand. There's another one that I'm just really no into. First of all, let me go ahead and let everyone know that Bluegrass would be the genre that I cannot possibly stand. There's just something about a banjo and harmonicas and such that I honestly just can't handle. The one thing I don't really understand is where you can honestly go with that kind of music? There's really no market out there for it, so you can't be in it for the money. There's not much you can do to make it original because eventually you're just doing the same 12 bar blues, or the same chord progressions. At what point are you actually doing something worthwhile? Is this the one genre in the music world that the people actually perform just for the love of the music? Is this the one place where one can come just for the enjoyment of the art? Unfortunately, I don't really see much art in this "art".
The other genre that I can't seem to stand behind (not that I hate it because there are a few artists and songs that I don't mind), but Country is another genre that for some reason I just really can't get behind. I'm trying to figure out what there is to love about songs about crying in your beer, dogs dying, and trucks. For some reason I just can't seem to get it. I'd love to be able to say something different or explain what I love about it, but for some reason I just can't do it. That's about all I have to say about that!
You people are KILLING ME. You complain about question answers, but you won't send your own questions in. Just as soon as we started getting a lot of questions, all of a sudden we dropped to nothing. Let's fix that! All you have to do to get a question answered is SEND THEM IN NOW! Variety is great in this column, I think we can all agree, so do me a solid and SEND THEM IN NOW!
It's time for.... Joshua's Rant of the Week
What drive me crazy? Sampling. I completely understand that there are times and places where sampling can be worthwhile and really make a sound something new and fresh. For some reason people think that it's something to COUNT on though. Unfortunately musicians don't understand that a sample every now and then works well, but a sample that's basically your entire song is ridiculous. There are a lot of genres where this is more of an issue *cough*rap*cough* but it's elsewhere too. I'm having some problems in the punk area, and some of the rock genre has been doing it too. Are we honestly running out of ideas? Have we honestly come to a point where we can't think of anything new to write? I can't possibly believe that of all of the harmonies and melodies and sounds that haven't been put together yet that we have run out of ideas. Why do we have to use old songs to make new songs? Why can't we just do something new and worthwhile? Why can't we make a chord progression that actually gets in the listener's heads and sticks. Why can't we have a band that plays TRULY original music? We can't, because all of mainstream music is just some bullshit pop music that the 13 year old girls can scream over and the 12 year old boys can try to be. It's become a problem and it's one of the reasons that we will likely see the decline of music as we know it. Someone asked me a few weeks ago if rock music was dying. I answered with a very quick yes, but only in the mainstream. We're at a point now where rock bands can play 3 chords and be considered an amazing "artist". Please... let's go back to the days when Hendrix was jamming. Let's go back to the days when you could actually understand Ozzie... wait... that never existed, but you know what I mean. Real music. Please please please. AH!
I feel much better. That's the beauty of a "rant" is that I don't have to stick on one topic. As you can see, we really took a journey together. Now... if there's something in particular that really pisses you off in the music industry, SEND THEM IN NOW!
That's one of those questions that comes really difficult to answer. I think the primary reason is because you have to remember that Europe is actually usually ahead of us as far as music is concerned. The arts and music are something that is very revered overseas and so you'll find a lot of good music over there, but it's usually never music that would make it for even one second in the mainstream culture of the US. There are a few good artists out of Italy, and I'll make sure to include those in the listen to something new section. The problem is that most of the stuff that comes out of Italy is cultured music. That's not to say that there isn't some stupid shit that comes out of Italy, but most of the stuff that Italy is really known for is classical, or operatic. Let's be honest, a LOT of that music (the stuff that's any good anyway) is out of Italy. There are other operas and classical composers from France, Germany, et al. but Italy is really where it's at for that style of music. Other than that, there are some VERY interesting other things... which we'll see later. Anyway, the main answer is that since this music isn't really "popular" in the US, you won't be able to find much. Now if you were to check out some interesting websites I'm sure you can find THE music that you are looking for. Hopefully you love the battle of ninjas vs. PIRATEs because there are ways to keep this music at BAY.
If you want to have your questions answered, it's easy. The best way to do it is to SEND YOUR QUESTIONS IN NOW!
Who wants to hear something new???
Things You Should Hear
Let's see what I can come up with this time:
1. This is going to be awesome because you'll have realize that this is the kind of shit from Italy that the US actually likes. Here is Eiffel 65 - "Blue":
2. Another one thanks to Milo would be Neurosis - "A Sun That Never Sets":
3. My friend Cliff has asked me to start including some a cappella music, and this one happens to have me rapping. So here is The Leading Tones - "Numb/Encore":
4. Holding down my number 4 strong, and in light that we just passed Pi day (3.14)... Bo Burnham - "3.14 Apple Pi":
5. This is something I'm sure you've heard, but the video is fucking amazing. Finger Eleven - "Paralyzer":
6. Let me just say... this is the only way that Soulja Boy is worth anything. I'm not sure who the artist is but the song is "Crank Dat (Screamo Version):
If you'd like me to post your band or a band that you particularly love, all you have to do is Send me the YouTube link NOW! I'd like to start including some of your personal bands clips, or other bands that you think people should be hearing.
It's time for a.... Shocking Writer Confession
Ok. I've been bashing the shit out of The Beatles since the day I started this column. In fact, I've been a "beatle hater" since high school. I have to tell you that I watched Across the Universe and I absolutely love it. The fact that the music is modernized and the singers are so good helped me abso-fuckin-lutely love it. There's something about this that just struck my fancy for sure. First of all, the singers are INCREDIBLY talented. It seems like they are all trained singers and maybe even have perfect pitch. Also, the selling point for me... Eddie Izzard. Let's be honest, this guy is damn hilarious. His song in this movie is absolutely ridiculous and makes you feel like you're on some kind of drugs even if you're not. Watch it:
See what I mean? I loved this movie and so now I can say, I guess... through closed teeth that The Beatles aren't so bad. There, I said it... now to move on.
From Eric Whitesides,
What are the chances that Chris Brown's career will survive this scandal? Do you think his fans will kick him to the curb? Also how long do you think Rhianna's shelf-life will be? Do you think this is in "wrestling terms" a work or a shoot?
Eric, I'm really glad that you asked that question. This will allow me to voice my true opinion on this. Have you read the most recent news on the situation from our 411Mania Music Section? If you haven't, I suggest you check that link and then come back to me. Seriously?!?! Are you fucking kidding me? Let me take these questions in order though.
Do I think that Chris Brown's career will survive the scandal? Yes and No. I think his career will survive, but I think he will be playing/singing/dancing to a new demographic. Obviously him withdrawing his nominations from the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards is a key indicator of what's to come with his music. I think this also may have been a preventative measure to keep Nickelodeon from dropping him and having him get even more bad press. This will definitely change the direction that Chris Brown has to take with his music UNLESS he has a GREAT PR person, and he makes some kind of magical statement to his fans after this is all over.
Do I think his fans will kick him to the curb? Yes and No. Yes, I think there will be a large part of his previous fan base that will certainly kick him to the curb in the way that some of Michael Jackson's fan base kicked him to the curb after his bullshit. At the same time, there are always going to be the die hard fans that will stick with him and love his music. And I'm sure I'll take some heat for this, but what he's done in his personal life doesn't affect the music that he puts out. He's still talented, he's still a badass dancer, and he's still able to put out stuff that people will listen to. Will some people stop listening to him because of this? Sure. Will all of his fans drop him? No way.
How long do I think Rhianna's shelf-life is? Are we speaking about her music career? If we are, I'm gonna say that honestly, I'm not sure. I don't think it'll be too long, considering she doesn't do much different than a lot of the female R&B artists out there right now. She doesn't really do anything to stand out, but she's good at what she does. She'll last about as long as the other girls that are doing what she's doing. Eventually we'll move out of the "powerful female R&B singer" phase, and we'll move on to something else. Once that happens, she'll be off the map, and likely still with Chris Brown, because if she didn't leave him after this, she never will.
Do I think that this is a work or a shoot? I definitely think that this has been a work from the start. Say what you want, but there's something fishy here. One day, they're at a party together. They both miss potentially one of the biggest performances of their careers to make sure it goes public. Then a picture of Rhianna after the "incident" magically surfaces and she vehemently denies anyone ever taking a picture of her like that. Then the afidavit comes out and states that they were both fighting each other after a Rhianna read a text message from Chris's manager saying she wanted to hook up and threw the phone at his head while he was driving. Then they're staying in one of Diddy's houses together to get away from the public. Rhianna declares that she doesn't want to press charges... the state of CA presses charges for her. Then she says she will testify and Brown's attorneys are trying like hell to plea bargain. Now they're RECORDING A FUCKING DUET TOGETHER. Are you kidding me? This is an absolute work to the bone. Too much of this happened in the exact right order with the exact perfect timing. I can't possibly believe that it was a real issue. That's what I have to say about that.
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So who wants to get pimped? If you have a website that your band hosts, or something that you think the general public would enjoy checking out, please send me a link and a SHORT description and I may include it in the pimping section of next week's column!
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Also I'm a co-host and co-founder of a professional wrestling podcast. My friend and I have been running this show and our website for a little over three years now, and we'd love to have more listeners and since I get my own column now, I feel good about pimping it out. If you want to listen to the most recent show, you can usually find it (along with the most recent news which we get from a variety of other sites MOST NOTABLY the amazing 411Mania Wrestling News Section) at www.pinfallrecall.com. If you'd like to spend your days on our forums talking about how you think that HHH is ridiculous and boring sometimes, like all of us, you can do that on The Pinfall Recall Forums.
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the band for 'screamo' soulja boy is I Set My Friends on Fire, and they are absolutely TERRIBLE. Have no right touring with Fear Before right now.
Posted By: Guest#0200 (Guest) on March 16, 2009 at 12:17 AM
I sorta knew Rhianna sang the Umbrella song but I had no idea who Chris Brown was before this so I guess it was a work which (pardon the phrase) worked on me since I'm obviously more aware who they are now (not that I'll actually buy any of their crappy music though)
Posted By: Guest#6258 (Guest) on March 16, 2009 at 02:08 AM
few points-
1. Country songs about trucks and beer and love are targeted towards the southern audience, which is why yankees don't "get it". They don't know fried catfish and cornbread, and how mamma made it better. It's a totally different life style down here and country music speaks to it. Hell, every southerner(not necessarily some one living in the south, but a Southerner) has at least one pick-up truck for the various rough-neck necessities of southern living, be it carrying a load somewhere or just throwing a few people in the back and go off riding.
2. Totally agree with you on your rant. Just listening with half an ear, Theory and Hinder sound exactly the same. Thankfully the bane of the internet, nickelback is doing new things with their sound on their latest album.
3. Chris Brown's career will be fine. People will forget and move on. This is the same audience who embraced Tupac and Biggie who bragged about killing and shooting and dealing drugs. Of course their shelf-life is not going to be long at all just because that style of music doesn't hold on to any sort of longevity. I'd mention some other people from that genre who had a short shelf life, but I can't remember any, so point proven.
Posted By: supa sta (Guest) on March 17, 2009 at 01:57 PM
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