Musicianship 2010 and beyond (ew)

Musicianship/Songwriting/Arranging

I've never followed one style of music. I grew up listening to rock and swing via my mom, and my father who hailed from North Carolina was a country man. As each new style of music makes its way into mainstream, I'll give it a listen. A few styles I haven't taken a fascination with are hardcore death metal/punk and rap/hip hop has been lame to me since the late 80s. That doesn't mean there aren't songs which I think are great, but on a whole for me there isn't much there.

I've always had a fancy for female vocalists, and if they write their own songs it's a major plus. Right now the two I'm hooked on are Shelby Lynne and Miranda Lambert. Lynne has one of the purest voices I've heard in years, and Lambert's latest album Revolution is great song after great song done by an artist really coming into her prime. This album rightfully won album of the year at the CMA awards. It's fabulous.

But, that's not what this post is about. It's about the art of music.

The 60s really started the revolution of "you don't have to be a great player to make a record", and that's a wonderful thing. Because Les Paul would rip the guitar from my hands, and cut them off saying "You think I invented this for that?". But, I'm told I can write a decent song. The 70s brought punk which meant you barely had to know three chords, and rap showed you just had to be able to steal someone else's riff and talk over it to have a hit. Literally you don't have to know anything about music to record anymore.

The majority of people nowadays won't go back into music's catalog and listen to anything recorded before they were born. So, the vast majority of people have no idea what great musicianship is all about. This past weekend I bought a bunch of used Roy Clark albums. Anyone who has seen Hee Haw knows the man can play any stringed instrument with the ease of spreading warm butter on bread. But, how many people nowadays even know who he is? Who even cares? I know I do. As I listen to the music, I'm not just impressed by the songs, but by the instrumentation that's taking place. These guys can play. I love hearing music where I get angry because the craft of the artist is so intense and perfect that no one else could ever duplicate it. Jimmy Page and Zeppelin are a prime example. No one can touch them for sheer musicianship. Then add on top Page's production value and artistry, and its almost incomprehensible how he did it. If it was black magic, I bow to the master.

The last band that I've heard where I was impressed by a musician was Rilo Kiley. Blake is a great original guitarist, but he's not even close to a master. He and the band put together great riffs and excellent songs.

The last band that had true master musicians (that I know of) was Nickel Creek. This trio know their instruments from the inside out. Unfortunately they don't know how to write a great memorable song. Chris Thile the mandolin player was part of Dolly Parton's bluegrass band and when he played you noticed. Fucking phenomenal is about all you can say about his playing. He stood out on Dolly's master songwriting craft (Dolly does not get the credit she deserves for being a master singer/songwriter)

Unfortunately the art of musicianship is rarely seen anymore. On the few occasions it pops its head up, no one cares. Honestly, how sad is it that being a great musician doesn't matter in music? Hell, being a musician in music doesn't matter anymore. There's literally computer techs making money on music.

Effects have taken the place of learning progressions and arranging. Overdubs have removed the skill of knowing what you're doing before hitting the record button. It's too easy to record nowadays, and it's made finding worth whlle music difficult.

While they are not my favorite bands, I enjoyed and appreciated the music of prog rock bands like ELP and YES. They knew how to play their instruments, and they knew how to write a good song.

The masses have literally been listening and purchasing crap for too many years. I turn up the volume loud nowadays in hopes that by the time I'm 70 I'll be completely deaf, because music keeps heading in a terrible direction.

If you're a young student of music. Learn your instrument. Impress everyone around you with your knowledge of your chosen instrument. Don't settle, be the best you can be. Make me jealous. I want to hate you for the talent you possess that I never will.