So a couple of years ago some friends of mine introduced me to Mogwai specifically and ambient music/postrock/whatever in general. It took a minute for me to catch on but. Especially lately I've been spending a lot of time in the graduate carrels (10-20 interesting and opinionated people sharing an office) and have been listening to a Mogwai-based Pandora station to keep my head in the game. Love. Love trying to winnow out the good stuff from the overly Maxwell-lick-my-ear-beats and campy dancy stuff and etc. (This, btw is something that fascinates me about Pandora endlessly, where musical qualities meet social and cultural mores. Oldies stations are soo hard to engineer, the music is 90% associations and 10% poppy guitar.) Love the band/song names. Love love love the party in my brain and no one's invited but me and maybe, like, Wayne Booth when I'm working on him.
This: what's it called when the music takes advantage of stereo sound and slides its way around my brain? Like a finger around a crystal goblet or (everything here sounds sexual because it's such a sensory experience) something?
Also, I have a thing for repeating themes--the short ones, less than 10 notes maybe--that just keep going and going and maybe changing a little? "Everything in its Right Place" is a good example for me. This probably, also, has a real name. Anyone? Heart.
Sometimes I sit just swooning enjoying this stuff. Thanks for the intro you guys are the greatest.
And, in the spirit of musical sharing:
Call for Mix CDs
What are you listening to lately? Do you want to send me some? Or names and I'll look them up myself (or if you have issues with piracy. Arr.)?
My best stuff always comes from friends always.
Toodles. :)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Kids Will Be Skeletons
Posted by Kjerstin Evans Ballard at 2:48 PM
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8 comments:
I saw your title and couldn't resist putting off everything I was supposed to be doing to read a post inspired by Mogwai.I'm so glad to have friends with great taste and for appreciating its intimacy with the mind/self?. Miss you.
80s love songs and top 40 country. You don't want it. LOL.
Repeating small theme: motif.
Also spelled/pronounced motive.
I finally started telling people that my favorite music is romantic-era classical, because I finally figured out that this is the truest thing I can say. Before then I would try to think of something written in at least the twentieth century that I could latch on to (I like some Simon and Garfunkel, and LOVE Aaron Copeland-- er), but when it comes right down to it, the only thing I know well enough to say for sure that I like is Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky et al.
I'm glad to have visited your blog and good to know you! I find it interesting and informative.
All we listen to in our neck of the woods these days is melancholy stuff, which somehow makes my husband happy. "Mad World" (Gary Jules' version from Donnie Darko) has somehow been playing in my car every time I've turned on the ignition this week.
Kaila: Ditto.
K: My brother-in-law has a theory that you can only listen to melancholy music when you're happy. So good news I guess. And that version of Mad World haunts a certain era of my life (that wasn't particularly happy, but deliciously so).
This is great:
"Love love love the party in my brain and no one's invited but me and maybe, like, Wayne Booth when I'm working on him."
Those are some of the best parties I've been to! As for music suggestions . . . I could recommend a lot of things, but it'll be more productive if I know what you're already listening to and/or familiar with. I have a feeling that getting our collections together woudl be like an indie explosion, and I would love to see what you've got or heard of. I've really been into classic rock lately, but I'm always up for something new and beautiful. That really doesn't help at all, but just know that I think you're cool! (Bear in mind, I'm an ueber-nerd;)
And here's a comment with my picture so that you know who I am. Oh bother; or should I say, "blogger!"
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