Let's take a pause for the moment right now and I want to take you back in time. How far you ask?!? We'll see and find out how dated you really are or not.
Now, I like to consider myself a connoisseur of old school and new school with everything; from television, to fads, to methods of day-to-day living, to just about most things. But this is a topic that I'm sure you're all know is a fancy of mine if you have read other posts here on my blog. And especially from the title of this post you should be aware of what that topic is about... MUSIC. Such a great topic and my personal favorite thing to talk about being a musician and all (duh). Lately I've been thinking of how technology nowadays although gives us a vast medium of music delivery devices and production of music, it also kind of in my opinion alienates the true art and passion of what it was. Digital anything is friggin' awesome don't get me wrong, but my allegiance belongs to good old analog.
This has to go to what I grew up with. Let me take you back to the mid-80's where the only thing that was digital was the watch you were wearing on your arm. My family were just now getting into cassettes as a new medium of listening to music but we mainly had old records of Wild Cherry, Cameo, Four Tops, you named it, we had it on vinyl. It was then that we jumped into cassettes and a new genre of music was emerging; rap. It was times where if you wanted to get recognized that you passed out mixed tapes and took it on the streets (see, viral campaigning was cool way back in the day even
). And then we (friends, family, and I) made mix tapes of what we heard on the radio and started dubbing our own stuff pretty much what I believe music should still be like, shareware. And if I continue with that concept this is going to end up being a rant on DRM and for yours sake I'll stop right there. But that right there was the last great renaissance for analog as far as recorded media. Sure nowadays they're some bands that want to put out vinyl exclusives to some of their albums (Pearl Jam's self titled album having to be my favorite of the bunch), but that's just about as tongue and cheek as someone from the ghetto wearing a Michael Jordon throwback jersey, very cheesy and almost forcing a lackluster approach mocking the great media.
But that's not to say that analog only existed in the delivery of music, that's the tip of the iceberg. I'm a big fan of the acoustic sound, the original analog transmission of music. Before drum beat machines, before synthesizers, before electric guitars, there were music that was *gasp* unplugged. In fact if I could I would be playing an acoustic bass right now out on Mill and Fifth in Tempe right about now finding someone else that plays guitar and jam into the night. It's just the sound and feel of playing to a close group of people without the aid of an amplifier; it seems that it gives the art a more intimate feel when you're playing and the audience appreciates it more. I know I do from both sides of the coin. Besides, that can incorporate other instruments into that intimate feel, such as violins, flutes, steel drums, and xylophones (yes, I think of these combinations to make it sound good to me, but what do I know as a starving artist). Let the orchestra run wild as it all jams into the night air with sweet, unadulterated sounds. That's what I say...
So that's my short ode to analog. I hope that this short (compared to all my other ramblings) synopsis of the great transmission doesn't die off or fizzle, but to live on in a way that is most appreciated by all musical enthusiasts. Rock on...
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
Now, I like to consider myself a connoisseur of old school and new school with everything; from television, to fads, to methods of day-to-day living, to just about most things. But this is a topic that I'm sure you're all know is a fancy of mine if you have read other posts here on my blog. And especially from the title of this post you should be aware of what that topic is about... MUSIC. Such a great topic and my personal favorite thing to talk about being a musician and all (duh). Lately I've been thinking of how technology nowadays although gives us a vast medium of music delivery devices and production of music, it also kind of in my opinion alienates the true art and passion of what it was. Digital anything is friggin' awesome don't get me wrong, but my allegiance belongs to good old analog.
This has to go to what I grew up with. Let me take you back to the mid-80's where the only thing that was digital was the watch you were wearing on your arm. My family were just now getting into cassettes as a new medium of listening to music but we mainly had old records of Wild Cherry, Cameo, Four Tops, you named it, we had it on vinyl. It was then that we jumped into cassettes and a new genre of music was emerging; rap. It was times where if you wanted to get recognized that you passed out mixed tapes and took it on the streets (see, viral campaigning was cool way back in the day even
). And then we (friends, family, and I) made mix tapes of what we heard on the radio and started dubbing our own stuff pretty much what I believe music should still be like, shareware. And if I continue with that concept this is going to end up being a rant on DRM and for yours sake I'll stop right there. But that right there was the last great renaissance for analog as far as recorded media. Sure nowadays they're some bands that want to put out vinyl exclusives to some of their albums (Pearl Jam's self titled album having to be my favorite of the bunch), but that's just about as tongue and cheek as someone from the ghetto wearing a Michael Jordon throwback jersey, very cheesy and almost forcing a lackluster approach mocking the great media.But that's not to say that analog only existed in the delivery of music, that's the tip of the iceberg. I'm a big fan of the acoustic sound, the original analog transmission of music. Before drum beat machines, before synthesizers, before electric guitars, there were music that was *gasp* unplugged. In fact if I could I would be playing an acoustic bass right now out on Mill and Fifth in Tempe right about now finding someone else that plays guitar and jam into the night. It's just the sound and feel of playing to a close group of people without the aid of an amplifier; it seems that it gives the art a more intimate feel when you're playing and the audience appreciates it more. I know I do from both sides of the coin. Besides, that can incorporate other instruments into that intimate feel, such as violins, flutes, steel drums, and xylophones (yes, I think of these combinations to make it sound good to me, but what do I know as a starving artist). Let the orchestra run wild as it all jams into the night air with sweet, unadulterated sounds. That's what I say...
So that's my short ode to analog. I hope that this short (compared to all my other ramblings) synopsis of the great transmission doesn't die off or fizzle, but to live on in a way that is most appreciated by all musical enthusiasts. Rock on...
BootLeG sampler.. signing out...
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