four things #14 (mostly about music)
monica martin "go easy kid", josh freese+ rick beato, ted gioia's subversive history of music, music is art
Song:
Writer Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity) has a Substack now, which is a great place to read about music and writing. He recently shared a amazing song by Monica Martin, called Go Easy, Kid. It came out waaaaaay back in in 2021. I had never heard of her before hearing this song. Blew me away. Her voice is full of.. whatever the stuff is called that makes life-life. That stuff. Color. Energy. Magic. Her voice has everything inside of it. The song is so incredibly beautiful, I’ve probably listened to it 30 times at least since reading about it on Nick’s Substack. When you hear it, try not to do anything else. Just sit and listen.
Watch:
Josh Freese interview with Rick Beato. I remember seeing Josh in drum magazines when I was a kid. He had pink hair, or maybe green, and he was playing drums for Suicidal Tendances and/ or the Vandals and/or A Perfect Circle and/or every other band in the 90’s/2000’s/ 2010’s. You’ve probably heard him play drums on more songs than you realize, even if you’re not a music fanatic. Rick Beato is giving some of the best music interviews out there these days, and this one doesn’t disappoint. He talks his career, the bittersweetness of getting hired to be Foo Fighter’s drummer, drum-nerd stuff, and cool stories.
Read:
Music: A Subversive History by Ted Gioia. I probably should write a longer review for this book. Holy hell it was informative. The title is perfect. He talks about how music over time was developed and progressed by societal outsiders, people on the fringe of cultures throughout the world. What they did was push boundaries to what was accepted by the masses, and influenced the creation of more popular music. Just about every genre of music you love was once considered taboo. It was a fascinating book, definitely for people who love history and/or music. Ted also has one of the best Substacks you can read, and is one of the few I pay a yearly subscription to access.
Idea:
Music has been turned into a commodity. But it didn’t start out that way. It started out as an expression of what it means to be human. It has mutated into what it is today. Like a beautiful frog that laid its eggs in the sewer system of a nuclear power plant. It’s an important realization because it helps me make sense why so much bullshit can be so popular. It seems unfair, but it’s not. It’s just business. The people in the big offices and the nice suits don’t give two shits about art. They care about the bottom line, money and attention. This doesn’t mean that good music doesn’t exist anymore. Of course it does. But nowadays what’s great music is usually not what’s popular. You have to go search for it. So if you find yourself stuck listening to the same stuff and need something new, do yourself a favor and go search for it. There is a whole universe of music out there, unheard by billions of people, that is waiting to blow your mind. Some kid in India, Nigeria, New Mexico, or Siberia, is sitting on the edge of his or her bed recording into an electronic box right at this moment. And maybe they won’t be as popular as Michael Jackson or Taylor Swift, but what they make and what they create will touch you in your heart. Or make you bob your head up and down. Or shred the air guitar. They make that music for themselves, for you, and for me.
See you next time.
-Tyler
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Email: cannondispatchpodcast@gmail.com