Shameless Plug: Voiceover Voice Acting Spoken Here

Now that I'm starting to exercise some vocal-recording chops, I thought I'd plug my work... All three of my readers will appreciate this:

Jimmy Bear Pearson/William Thomas Frederick Confesses to being a Mother Pheasant Plucker.

:-)

Perfect is rarely musical

When MIDI and sampling appeared on the musical scene (separately, of course), there was great interest and there was great concern.

The people (and some musicians) thought, "Neat! That's wonderful!" Others thought, "NO ONE WILL EVER TAKE THE PLACE OF LIVE MUSICIANS!"

The truth is that sampling and MIDI are neat and wonderful. And there will never be a true replacement for the human touch in music. Our inability to be precise makes music warm and analog.

Yet still, we strive for perfection when we play or record music.

Most of my best recordings (and those of other artists) were captured in early takes, with as little editing and smoothing as possible.

Still, playing sampled drum sets (for example) may not compare to someone like Phil Collins with a huge acoustic drum set, zillion-dollar mics, and his fabulous skill - but still, it can be musical and fun - when a human plays the piece via the electronics.

Ramble off.

TTFN

Dad Bands and Mom Bands

There has been a wonderful resurgence of garage bands.

But in an unexpected place.

Folks who chose to make a living via conventional means, raise kids, and have a stable lifestyle are getting financially OK enough to buy some gear, take some time, and play LOUD music, country music, bluegrass music, and so much more.

Dad bands and Mom bands, with their thirty-, forty-, fifty-, and sixty-something musicians are reliving the music they love most: live. Backyards, garages, storage rooms, living rooms, local venues, and barbeques... cover tunes and original tunes are getting into the ears of thousands of people because of mom and dad bands. (If we can keep the RIAA out the living rooms, we may actually see a resurgence of sales for the music that has kept America's feet tapping for generations.)

Cheers to you all, you who are brave enough to have some fun, entertain yourselves, and most of all, further the revival of the love of small-venue live music.

Pearl Jam, AT&T, Censorship, and Marguerite Reardon

I won't re-argue the (many) valid points posted on Pearl Jam's bloggy comments here (opens new window), but I wanted to reinforce one thing. In the blog entry, Marguerite Reardon is quoted:

"Any provider that blocks access to content is inviting customers to find another provider." (Marguerite Reardon, Staff Writer, CNET News.com Published: March 21, 2006, 2:23 PM PST)."

Exactly. Censoring music like AT&T (or their contractor) did, is wrong and is a Very Bad Thing. Period.

The Digital Music Revolution

The Digital Music Revolution is not devolution.

It is evolution.

Analog is visceral.

Digital is accessible.

Analog is warm.

Digital is cool.

The Digital music revolution is not devolution, it is evolution.

Sir Elton John - and Homespun Music - Why Less-Than-Perfect recordings matter

I'm a massive and HUGE of Sir Elton John's music. I have enjoyed his music since the 70s, and will always have a place in my heart for the wonderful music gifts he has given us.

From "Friends" to the glory days, to the present, Sir Elton has been a consummate entertainer, arranger, and force in popular music. His impact on the musical landscape is inescapable, indelible, and truly wonderful. Thank you, Sir Elton: your music makes joy in so many lives.

On a side-trip of things, Sir Elton made some interesting comments and shared some provocative thoughts with The SUN in the UK recently (opens new window).

I agree with some of what Sir Elton said - there are lots of albums coming out that aren't very good these days (hasn't it always been that way?)... Access to non-studio recording equipment and access to the internet has blossomed the amount of music being created and shared - many times over what it used to be. Sometimes easier access lowers barriers - whether or not the artist behind the technology has something that others want to hear.

On the other hand, I don't agree that very little good music is being created. I also don't agree that good music is exclusively the domain of (decidedly and absolutely superior) professional recording studios.

As for the first part, there is a blue ton of good music being created and shared - you just have to dig to get to it because there are lots of regurgitation bands and carbon-copy artists out there who are making music hunting difficult.

More importantly, the second part: is good music only created in wonderful studios?

No. Good Music/Great Music is created and recorded via the soul of an artist. The means by which it is recorded and shared is secondary.