What are you listening to?

[Nung]

(04-05-2011 12:20 AM)SpaceCadet Wrote:  

(04-04-2011 11:39 AM)Rey Wrote:  

(04-04-2011 11:22 AM)Nung Wrote:  Cool stuff, Rey! Thanks!

Not to stray off-topic but my personal approach is to avoid "videos" because I feel that music all by itself is perfectly self-contained. The forced visuals of videos always seem to weaken the music for me and ruin the magic the artist intended. Especially, because I have seen so few videos, the imagery of the ones I have seen stay with me forever. I prefer the images in my own mind...

Ok, back to the Topic!

I don't think its off topic at all. People started posting the youtube links I think just to share the music they liked. But I do agree somewhat with what you are saying, there are some times when you have imagery in your mind, then when you see the video, you are like, no no that is all wrong...

But there are some videos that I really like, that really click well with the music, "Special" is one of them for me, but there are not many I really like. Most videos just have people dancing around, those bore me the most.

It would be interesting to hear what people's favorite music videos are, where the music and visuals work together well.

-Rey

Hmm, I gotta dissent on that, Nung, at least partly. "It depends," is the phrase that springs immediately to mind. YMMV, but for me it generally depends on where I first heard the music, and obviously on the merits of each particular video and song. If I've known and loved a tune for a long time then see its vid, I tend to agree that it can be like someone yanking your inner conceptualization down a completely alien path, one that's often so jarring it can forever pollute your enjoyment of the song. The "I can't un-see that" phenomenon.

But just as often there have been times when a beloved song and the newly-seen video mesh wonderfully, even though I've been enjoying the audio alone for some time before seeing the vid. I can think of lots of these and have forgetten tons more. Examples, just off the top: Yes' "Owner" was an excellent Orwellian thing that fit the tune perfectly; "The Body Electric" from Rush didn't just fit the tune but enriched it, at least for me. By coincidence, I was in tech school at the time and had just learned about ASCII code, so I "cracked the code" so to speak, and was all duly and righteously pissed because I took it as a subtle dig on Rand. Perfect vid/song combo regardless. Another shoo-in, thanks to some magnificent visuals, was Enya's "Orinoco Flow." I get goosebumps just thinking about that one, and it's umpty years later.

Another aspect: There are also instances - particularly in the era of YouTube, and earlier with MTV (MTV: 1981-1985 R.I.P.) - where a video is actually the first place I hear a new tune that I like, and which fuses them in my mind from the start. Conversely, there are some vids that are so jarringly horrid that they detract even when both it and the song are brand-new.

So... depends.

Lemme link another vid as an example of that "instant catnip" reaction - music is like a psychotic obsession with me, so...patience, Grasshoppah. Just about a month ago whilst perusing YouTube, I stumbled onto a band that's got me nearly as giddy as I was in March '09 when I first heard JAM's "Sampomichi" (above.) It's another Japanese pop-rock-punk band called Shaka Labbits. Also fronted by an irresistible female singer with outrageous melodic sense, an incredible bassist/drummer combination, and a guitarist who cooks a whole lot of ska into the stew ('gotta get the obligatory foodie reference in there, dammit. ) For whatever reason the Japanese have not lost their enthusiasm for punchy guitar, melody and most of all, for fun, and these guys have got all of them in spades... Oyeah! The vid! Believe it or not, the lyrics to So Excited! are in English, but Uki's accent is just a tad thick, hahahaaa...

Another I first heard on YT is Mushroom Cat Number Plate: At first I cracked up at the visuals, then became spellbound at the groove - that chord progression just never stops going places.
A third of theirs, Monologue, is one of the most visually-arresting and artful vids I've ever seen (Donnie Darko minus the light, scattered engine-showers...) - illustrating a song equally arresting.

Long story short, to me it depends whether I experienced audio or audio/video first, and how well the video is done. YMMV of course.

(D'OH! Brevity - sorry. I try, I really do.)
.

Thanks, SpaceCadet! Brevity is over-rated when there are sharp minds at play and lots of good points to share.
Your reply was wonderful to read for many reasons. First, I really like your complete passion for music. You clearly LIVE music and enjoy sharing that excitement with others. Second, you have a way with words so I very much enjoyed your post. Third, and most importantly, you gave me food for thought and you encouraged me to track down some examples of "better" videos. That is all good.

And I want to point out that I do understand how sometimes visuals can be very artistic and integral to one's appreciation of music. One thing that you made me realize is that like so many people, for years I stared at LP artwork and CD artwork and it influenced my perception of the music. Who could forget the visual-music associations of classic titles like "Close to the Edge" or "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway?" As is often the case, nothing exists in a vacuum; music and visuals have a long association. I think I am just an older type of music fan...one that is more at home with an old Pink Floyd light show or the "Visualizer" of Apple's iTunes. I am psychedelic!

So, I will check out some vids and I encourage you all to check out the art-video/music side of things. There are some great minds out there producing some amazing art.