The first one I listened to was “Europop” by Eiffel 65. The first one I really dug into was “Blue” by Third Eye Blind. Looking back, I can draw a direct line from this album to much of the music I have a preference for today.
It is strange to trace my musical lineage. In elementary school my sister was obsessed with The Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and N’Sync. I hated all those groups. Maybe I felt that I had to hate them because my sister liked them. I doubt it, though, because I love my sister (I did back then too...we never fought terribly much). Something about these groups did not gel with me. As a result, I didn’t start listening to music until around the 5th or 6th grade. Weird, I know. Then I heard “Never Let You Go” off of the CD “Totally Hits 2”. The CD was a knock off of the “Now That’s What I Call Music” series (which by the way is on its 38th volume…god am I old). I loved the song, so I bought the album (“Blue”) along with Sugar Ray’s “14:59”.
“Blue” was captivating for me. I think the album cover is what did it first for me. Just look at it! It pulls you in. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the album as a whole was very dark and moody (“Semi-Charmed Life” it is not). Many of the songs dripped with a cosmic atmosphere of reverberant sound. The overall texture was thick and dense. Some of the songs flew by at break neck speed while others moved as persistently as a glacier. There were a wide variety of strange instrument timbres (zither, synthesized string sounds) and clever production techniques (reverb, echo delay, reversing tracks, EQ mixing). These would be the things that would define my preference in music for years to come.
After “Blue” I became really into alternative rock. Alternative music is upbeat and uptempo, but it does have a really atmospheric sound. Don’t believe me? Listen to the long, glittering drone to the opening of “Summer” by Sum 41. Or listen to the guitar solo in Green Day’s “When I Come Around”. Or even listen to the chorus of “Anthem” by Blink-182, which sounds like it could be in outer space. Is it no surprise that Tom DeLonge went on to form Angels and Airwaves?
What is the first thing you latch onto in a song? Is it the melody? They rhythm? The harmony? For me, it is timbre. I instantly gel with a song if it has a wide variety of tone colors. Again, I think this is because of “Blue”. The crazy psychedelic timbres and studio effects of The Mars Volta hooked me on a first listen. I also have a penchant for tunes that are chilled out and down tempo. Pink Floyd fits this bill perfectly. I also listen to a lot of music that many people consider depressing or sad. I am drawn to artists like Porcupine Tree and Radiohead who often have very introspective lyrics and hypnotic sounds that draw you in. I don’t even find most of their music sad, but other people do.
I don’t know if I chose the album “Blue” or the album chose me. On the one hand, I didn’t have a very strong concept of music before I listened to “Blue”. Maybe I arbitrarily picked it, and it came to later define my frame of musical understanding. It could have been pure chance.
Or was there a reason why I was so drawn to this album from my past experience? I had a strong affinity for astronomy when I was young. I remember marveling at the night time sky with my grandpa on many occasions. In those beautiful moments, I felt like the night time sky was so big it could swallow me whole. The front cover of “Blue” had a giant picture of the sun in outer space on it (see picture above). As I mentioned above, the music is very ambient and spacey in nature. Could have I been drawn to this album over my love of space?
I can’t find the quote for the life of me, but Brian Eno once remarked that he can trace everything he has done as an artist back to two thoughts he had as a child. It’s a very provocative idea: is all that we do in our life just a manifestation of one or two of our childhood experiences? My love of space and stars has almost entirely defined my musical listening preferences as well as how I compose music. Found one thought. Now I have to find one more…
Did you ever give TEB's self-titled debut album a chance? A copy has been in my car since I owned a car. It's the songs that are not hits that are the best.
ReplyDeleteI guess albums are timed for certain generations and age groups... Blue just did not cut it for me, not "alternative rock-y" enough for my tastes. It seems to resonate with you a bit more, which is awesome. I would never knock it. We each had our intimate moment with their music, but TEB rose to the forefront of my music-scape a few years before it did for you.
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ReplyDeleteYeah I did actually! I was a little late getting it though...I got it 3 or 4 years after I got "Blue" (so probably early high school for me). I remember that at the time I didn't take to it as quickly as I did with "Blue"...which is funny cause at the time I was really into alternative rock. I liked some of the songs, but I didn't like some of the other ones. I didn't listen to it for a while...then about 3 years ago I found it and I listened to it again. I have to be honest...it's probably a better album than "Blue". The songwriting is just so good! Of course, I still like "Blue" better though since it hit me at a critical point in my life. "The Background" is one of my favorites...such a beautiful song!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that funny how we started on completely opposite albums?