Take A Bow (Or Today's Vocabulary Lesson)

Jeff left a comment on my post about Biggie Smalls that brings up a point about music. It's a form of communication, just like speech. It has different languages, usually differentiated as genres. Jeff stated that he's not a fan of rap. I didn't connect with the genre either until recently as my musical taste continues to morph and envelop more of the world's music.

Take Sigur Ros. Only the second band that I've seen the lead guitarist create a reverb drone with a bow from an orchestral instrument, they speak a different musical language than, say, Eminem. They really even differ from their progressive avant-garde influences, yet they follow from them, linguistically. I'm not an expert on the group, so maybe Jeff could chime in with a comment giving some more about them.

But, for me, even though very different in language, my interest in both hip-hop and avant-garde aural landscapes can be traced back, in part, to Bob Green's The Grassy Knoll. His music is trip-hop/instrumental rock using orchestral and rock instruments along with electronic sampling. Crazy amazing stuff. But you have to understand the language spoken.

Have you ever heard something that just sounded like noise? Of course. Ok. Have you ever heard the same thing some time later and you could understand it then? That's because you learned a new language. Mind expanding (didja catch Jimi in there?).

Here's a listing of all the pieces from Green's first 3 albums. I can't get Realplayer to work for me, but they are worth a listen if it works for you.

Peace.

Jimmy Page 10/22/08