Do you LISTEN to music?

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 5:36pm #1

I met a well know engineer last week who floored me by saying he hadn't heard of The Kooks! (they played in Dublin Castle I think it was last week)

I'm constantly surprised by the fact that most guys in music don't actually listen to it.

I remember reading about Mick Jagger saying the Stones were best when their competition was strong, and listening was an important of finding out what the 'competition' was doing.

Do you guys actually listen to new music much ?

See below a good vid from Mick Glossop too.

http://www.recordproduction.com/mick-glossop-video.html

judas101 · 13-05-2008 6:41pm

yes.

Kooks are trash tho.

The new NIN stuff is great.

Neurojazz · 13-05-2008 6:46pm

I just listen to white noise nowadays - contains all the frequencies all the time! - real value as it's like hearing all music possible in one go! :P

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 7:17pm

Good point Paul,

I have music shoved down my face all the time, clubs, party's, radio, guitar lessons, festivals, gigs etc.. and I love music.

But you are right I don't listen to music in private, my friends are always amazed by how much I work with music but don't actually listen to it!:eek:

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 7:26pm

And if not, why not!!?

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 7:36pm

Well when I do listen to music, no matter what type of music it is, I listen to the production value of the music, not really the artist. So yes I listen to music , but in a different kind of a way. I really do not know why I don't like listening to music on my own, I think only a psychologist could explain that one. Its very strange. But I am a man about town and I know who is in the charts and who is in the Dublin underground, so I would know who is who and what not. I love Kylie Minogue music, more for its production than for what she is on about. I prefer Thin Lizzy guitar or Cash for lyrics.I hate people falling in love with bands that will be dumped for the next big thing as soon as it comes along. These people are called 'musos' or something like that.I see my friends do it all the time. Too many bands come and go like a pi$$ in the wind..'The National' is an example, they are playing this week in the Olympia and all the muso's are going to get drunk and sing along with the frontmans strange oddity, say what a gig it was and go and trash a party somewhere and screw around but the music loyalty is like GONE these days.

cornbb · 13-05-2008 8:03pm

Good question! I listen to a lot of music, I can't see how it would be a good idea for anyone involved in any aspect of making music not to... I'd like to think of myself as what Dav calls a "loyal listener". I'd be inclined to get hooked on a particular artist/genre for months and then move to the "next genre over" if you know what I mean, but I always regularly come back to the good stuff. I don't listen to much chart/radio music (although I know enough to know I don't like the Kooks :pac:) but there is definitely lots of good new stuff out there, and I've found myself admiring the fine production values on a recent Britney track!

I think engineers' or producers' ears could do with some perspective now and then, for this reason I think its important to know what others are doing. Not even to get a competitive edge or anything, I just think its important to know the rules before you break them, if you know what I mean...

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 8:06pm

cornbb wrote: »

Good question! I listen to a lot of music, I can't see how it would be a good idea for anyone involved in any aspect of making music not to... I'd like to think of myself as what Dav calls a "loyal listener". I'd be inclined to get hooked on a particular artist/genre for months and then move to the "next genre over" if you know what I mean, but I always regularly come back to the good stuff.

I agree with everything you just said

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 8:07pm

cornbb wrote: »

I think engineers' or producers' ears could do with some perspective now and then, for this reason I think its important to know what others are doing. Not even to get a competitive edge or anything, I just think its important to know the rules before you break them, if you know what I mean...

Exactly !

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 8:13pm

Yes but a huge amount of your production skills will come from reference but having the right recording equipment can make a difference with todays pristine shi% chart topping waffle. Rory gallagher would think that the music production value has gone way to high and that bands rely too much on the studio for that 'I know that you know, I'm not from the roster' or whatever your man from the KOOOKS is on about sound quality. I love Richard ashcrofts musical productions but he is one of the few who carries his production to the T and can ACTUALLY add to what a good studio and producer can do. Listen to his album 'alone with everybody'. That album inspired the pants of my face man. The production is insane.

jtsuited · 13-05-2008 8:20pm

i listen to a lot of music.

sei046 · 13-05-2008 8:55pm

Yes i listen to a good bit alright but every once in a while i just am completely uninspired by anything In my collection and then something new comes along and Im like WOW! then after that i can go back to my older stuff for a while. Thats how my collection builds up. Im starting to get into death cab for cutie, oceansize are great, i love the production on Scott mathews' stuff.

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:14pm

sei046 wrote: »

Yes i listen to a good bit alright but every once in a while i just am completely uninspired by anything In my collection and then something new comes along and Im like WOW! then after that i can go back to my older stuff for a while. Thats how my collection builds up. Im starting to get into death cab for cutie, oceansize are great, i love the production on Scott mathews' stuff.

I loved that Death Cab for Cutie single, 'I will possess your heart' to me that's proper POP!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 9:16pm

Its nice to hear something like that. I would have never been drawn to them but something about them just hit me...It was very refreshing

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:18pm

http://www.recordproduction.com/scott-mathews.html

Same guy?

sei046 · 13-05-2008 9:22pm

Nope. He is a singer songwriter. Serious tunes with a really nice sounding album. He is from Manchester

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:26pm

Ah yes... bit of a Jeff Buckley vibe? Sounds good ok, had a quick listen on IChoons...

sei046 · 13-05-2008 9:29pm

Kind of has that buckley thing going. Went to see him in london and caught him in the village in dub. The village gig wasnt the best but he was unbelievable in London.

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:30pm

Cool!

ogy · 13-05-2008 9:33pm

Too many bands come and go like a pi$$ in the wind..

i don't think this is as bad a thing as your making out.

if you listen to something and you like it then cool, if you move on from it, or the band dissapears, it doesn't cheapen the fact that it meaned something to you at some point, and doesn't mean that you shouldn't creatively draw from it at some point. Its not like supporting a football team, the band don't have to stay relevant or keep it up or whatever, good for them if they do but if they don't so what. look at oasis, what a load of rubbish they've been churning out for years, but i'd still hold the songs from definitely maybe up with some of the best/most important rock and roll ever. since i first listened to that album i've probably listened to easily a couple of thousand more songs and artists and my musical tastes have grown and developed significantly, but theres no shame in admitting it still appeals to some part of me. especially with distance, you tend to get perspective, and a better ability to suss out what was important and what wasn't.

theres always briliant music out there, and loads of it! anyone who says "its not like it used to be" or whatever is full of it, there just not looking in the right places.

its important to listen to loads of music with both your fan hat and your engineer hat on i think.

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:38pm

ogy wrote: »

i don't think this is as bad a thing as your making out.

if you listen to something and you like it then cool, if you move on from it, or the band dissapears, it doesn't cheapen the fact that it meaned something to you at some point, and doesn't mean that you shouldn't creatively draw from it at some point. Its not like supporting a football team, the band don't have to stay relevant or keep it up or whatever, good for them if they do but if they don't so what. look at oasis, what a load of rubbish they've been churning out for years, but i'd still hold the songs from definitely maybe up with some of the best/most important rock and roll ever. since i first listened to that album i've probably listened to easily a couple of thousand more songs and artists and my musical tastes have grown and developed significantly, but theres no shame in admitting it still appeals to some part of me. especially with distance, you tend to get perspective, and a better ability to suss out what was important and what wasn't.

theres always briliant music out there, and loads of it! anyone who says "its not like it used to be" or whatever is full of it, there just not looking in the right places.

its important to listen to loads of music with both your fan hat and your engineer hat on i think.

Very well put Ogy. The Las only released one album! I agree there's lots of good stuff about....... I preferred Blur meself though!!

ogy · 13-05-2008 9:41pm

I preferred Blur meself though!!

Funny you should say that, at the time of was one of the only 14 year olds who was just like "can you not like both?:)"

I bought parklife and definitely maybe with my confirmation money!:)

In retrospect blur are down as one of my all time favourite bands with at least 3/4 cracking albums, and oasis are one album wonders who let the white stuff get the better of them:)

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:47pm

ogy wrote: »

Funny you should say that, at the time of was one of the only 14 year olds who was just like "can you not like both?:)"

I bought parklife and definitely maybe with my confirmation money!:)

In retrospect blur are down as one of my all time favourite bands with at least 3/4 cracking albums, and oasis are one album wonders who let the white stuff get the better of them:)

I always though Blur were interesting. I saw them in the Olympia when I worked in Musicmaker. Damon bought a couple of keyboards there. There were 9 on stage inc brass and backing vocals and they covered their whole career song wise, they were terriffic! It was then I appreciated how good they were as songwriters and performers.

I tried to sell my Gibson bass to Alex but even though he played one on that tour he hated them!!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 9:47pm

I think your bang on with the perspective thing. When you step out of your box musically and get some distance from your usual listening you really can appreciate what you like about the different bands in the first place. Like I still love metallica. If i force myself to put on S&M I still get the exact same feeling I did when i first heard it.

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 9:53pm

sei046 wrote: »

I think your bang on with the perspective thing. When you step out of your box musically and get some distance from your usual listening you really can appreciate what you like about the different bands in the first place. Like I still love metallica. If i force myself to put on S&M I still get the exact same feeling I did when i first heard it.

I was the same with Country. When I started in studios that was all that was being recorded.

At the beginning it was totally alien to me - I was into New Wave!!

After a while I started to enjoy some of the music, George Jones, Vince Gill, early Eagles and da bould Dolly Parton - now SHE"S Rock 'n' Roll!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 9:59pm

Ah yeah defo. I had to really get into proper american country before i could begin to understand the irish stuff. I dont have to like it! Just understand it.

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 10:01pm

The doors released how many albums? Most bands from that era released so much material, they were proper bands. The were in it for the music. Many bands like Blur and Oasis were great bands but many bands today are making music for success as opposed to poetry and revolution. Lets get this straight, the music you hear I hear, its not like a social demon like myself has never been to see Oasis in the point when Liam never showed up!. I cant stand Blur, thats my opinion. Oasis have 'Wonderwall' total classic.

We all know how much Oasis were inspired by Lennon, so they started a 90's trend of Beatlism. Fair play to them and the production and songs are great and your right, just learn from it and move forward, have a listen from time to time. I certainly dont mind moving forward. Music can be what ever you want it to be, LCD and all? I am very much an open minded guy with or without that era.

I am 27 so I am not from that era of 'The Doors' etc but I haven't heard an album released by virtually any band that has there sound. Now a days a huge amount of music sounds all to common. We use a Les Paul and real expensive gear and we got guitar lessons and formed a band an shazzam here is our 2 albums, maybe one is good and worth analyzing, the rest are ok. Its happening all over Dublin.

I listened to the new Killers stuff and what? Its crappy. They sound bored on that record.You say

''theres always briliant music out there, and loads of it! anyone who says "its not like it used to be" or whatever is full of it, there just not looking in the right places.''

Maybe they have looked and felt disappointed in their deep emotional minds. Maybe they love it ? Who is anyone to say where one should be looking??

You give me an image of a beer drinking biker (no offense bikers!) ''Hey man music is not what it used to be!!''....

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 10:01pm

sei046 wrote: »

Ah yeah defo. I had to really get into proper american country before i could begin to understand the irish stuff. I dont have to like it! Just understand it.

There's no understanding Country + Irish!! Only quizzical observations!!!!!

frobisher · 13-05-2008 10:02pm

I think when you get a little older you listen to less music and you don't subscribe to the varoius musical tribes in the same way as when you were young. Some people think this means that the society as a whole isn't listening to music, it's not true though. The kids are still living it as much as many of us were.

I've purposefully made more space in my life for music listening these days. I think you benefit ALOT from as a muso. I'm about to get a dedicated PC to hook up to my hifi so I can put playlists together and make it handier to listen to more music. That said, it is very rare that I get anywhere enar the pleasure of listening to music that i do from making it.

sei046 · 13-05-2008 10:09pm

I think of country as a more advanced binary describing something more complex

1 4 5 5 1 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 2(m) 5 5 1

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 10:16pm

100% OFF TOPIC@
My girlfriend didn't dump me!! Great!! I love you all!! (long story, got drunk on my 27th on Sat and was bold Dav)

A friend of mine is the ultimate MUSO and he loves musical tribes and thats cool. The problem is that he seems to record his own music exactly like his heroes 'Radio head'...

So I try not to be anyone but myself and God its dang hard. I can safely say I never had an 'Oasis'...

Description: an 'Oasis'... stupid haircut that everyone had in the 90's

'Love but don't worship, practice but don't preach'

Pope Nagle

ogy · 13-05-2008 10:18pm

You give me an image of a beer drinking biker (no offense bikers!) ''Hey man music is not what it used to be!!''....

dav nagle=hells angel?!:)

nah, tbh i held such opinions for a long time. when i was young i totally subscribed to the NME kid indie buzz (NME what it was then not now:)) i loved oasis/blur/supergrass/etc. plus loads of other bands who in retrospect i realise were total rubbish:)
then when i was about 16 i learned some hendrix tunes. from that age until i was about 20 i went through all the greats, hendrix/the doors/led zeppelin/neil young/deep purple/CSNY, all the classic rock and folk from the 60s and 70s. I honestly believed for a long time that there was nothing good made after the year 1975, that music had lost its way a long time ago. Then bizarrely i spent a year listening to nothing but hip hop, which led to more electronic styles, meanwhile exploring kinda 'one-offs' like tom waits and stuff. And eventually i realised that its all good man!:) Its all part of this wonderful thing we call music:cool:

You should listen to anything that tickles you whatever genre/style whatever its in and push yourself to explore these avenues as much as time/enthusiasm allows.

And i maintain that for all the boring damien rice ripoff/boring guitar rock/unimaginative derivative rubbish creators in ireland, there are some classic songwriters, brilliantly original bands, electronic wizards and all round pioneers of music to be found. and thats in ireland alone.
Good music is and always has been a constant!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 10:19pm

Aw man but if she dumped you imagine the tunes you would write!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 10:20pm

CSNY.... Crime Scene New York?!

ogy · 13-05-2008 10:21pm

I think of country as a more advanced binary describing something more complex

1 4 5 5 1 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 2(m) 5 5 1

absolutely genius statement:)

Declan Nerney and his ilk clearly possess a higer understanding than the rest of us:)

PaulBrewer · 13-05-2008 10:22pm

dav nagle wrote: »

So I try not to be anyone but myself
/QUOTE]

Don't worry Dav, I don't think you have any other options!!

ogy · 13-05-2008 10:22pm

CSNY = Crosby Stills Nash and Young:)

go get your hands on deja vu, now! quick!:)

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 10:23pm

Yes ogy music is an amazing drug all by itself!

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 10:25pm

sei046 wrote: »

Aw man but if she dumped you imagine the tunes you would write!

Man all but one of my songs are about the last girl that dumped me and what I learnt from the experience, you are on the penny there! +1. At one stage I taught my relationships were just a scientific study to see how much I could hurt myself!!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 10:27pm

There is nothing like messing your life up for the sake of a few tunes on your album

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 10:29pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

dav nagle wrote: »

So I try not to be anyone but myself
/QUOTE]

Don't worry Dav, I don't think you have any other options!!

Where would I be if I listened to boy george ?

ogy · 13-05-2008 10:30pm

There is nothing like messing your life up for the sake of a few tunes on your album

poor oul amy winehouse has made a career out of it!

frobisher · 13-05-2008 10:30pm

sei046 wrote: »

I think of country as a more advanced binary describing something more complex

1 4 5 5 1 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 2(m) 5 5 1

Huh?!!

dav nagle · 13-05-2008 10:32pm

sei046 wrote: »

There is nothing like messing your life up for the sake of a few tunes on your album

LOL!

'hey! hey! your good, your very good!''

Yeah but the last 2 time I got dumped I wrote some good stuff, but sure hey I want to settle down from learning these emotional lessons, have a few kids !

sei046 · 13-05-2008 10:33pm

frobisher wrote: »

Huh?!!

In joke!

ogy · 13-05-2008 10:36pm

typical country chord sequence = secret of the universe:)

frobisher · 13-05-2008 10:40pm

sei046 wrote: »

In joke!

Doesn't binary only mean just 2 digits eg 0 & 1, or have I got that wrong?

Share the nerd speak!

sei046 · 13-05-2008 10:50pm

Yup your right. But in country you talk in nashville numbers. So a chord sequence might be 1 4 5 1 in the key of G.

So thats G C D G.

Its just a commom language and makes charting songs very easy.

frobisher · 13-05-2008 10:57pm

sei046 wrote: »

Yup your right. But in country you talk in nashville numbers. So a chord sequence might be 1 4 5 1 in the key of G.

So thats G C D G.

Its just a commom language and makes charting songs very easy.

I gets it now. I thought I was missing a digital joke a la: "There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't."

jtsuited · 13-05-2008 11:46pm

frobisher wrote: »

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't."

still my favourite joke of all time.

only works non-verbally though

frobisher · 14-05-2008 7:46am

jtsuited wrote: »

still my favourite joke of all time.

only works non-verbally though

Yeah. Trying to explain it verbally would be the nerdiest thing i could think of!

Do you LISTEN to music?

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