Music Meme Day 3: A Song That Makes You Happy

day 03 - a song that makes you happy

I'm not usually a big fan of happy music, especially when it seems to be mocking me. I prefer music that reflects the mood I'm already in, and slap-happy grinning is not a state of mind I'm in very often. Being forced to listen to upbeat, cheerful tunes when I'm not in that state of mind reminds me of that song by Bright Eyes where the depressed person is told by some clueless but well-meaning bystander, "You would be happy if only you'd TRY."

"Lovelife" by Lush is the kind of happy song I can enjoy, however. Because if musicians like Lush who are normally shy, gloomy shoegazers like me can gush forth something this bubblegum sweet on occasion, then surely I can lift my head and smile once in a while, too.

Music Meme Day 2: Least Favorite Song

Honestly I don't spend a lot of time thinking about which songs make me want to kill somebody. So when I was faced with the question of which song is my least favorite, I just asked my husband. He told me that I'd once called "Rag Doll" by Aerosmith "soul-killing music" so we'll just go with that, so I don't have to spend another minute on this question. (Except to mention that I generally detest Bee Gees, the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers as well).

Day 1: Favorite Song

"Ivo" by Cocteau Twins

I've liked this song since it came out in 1984. The texture, flow, melody, harmony, rhythm...it's all exactly what I want in a song.

[BTW I'm starting a new thirty-day meme and cross-posting it to my LJ.]

A Vocal Mystery

I've been listening quite a bit to Natural Snow Buildings and TwinSisterMoon this past year, and puzzling over whether or not the person who sings in TwinSisterMoon is Mehdi or Solange. Here's the thing: Natural Snow Buildings is comprised of Mehdi and Solange, while TwinSisterMoon is supposedly Mehdi's solo project. But the vocalist on TwinSisterMoon sounds female, and Mehdi is male. Yet there are a number of blog posts out there saying that is for sure Mehdi's voice, however girly it may sound, while at least one other blog states that it was actually Solange guesting on the vocal tracks.

Natural Snow Buildings clearly sounds like it has two vocalists, one that sounds 'male' (which I assumed was Mehdi) and one that sounds 'female' (which I assumed was Solange). Here is an example of the 'male' sounding voice:

And here is an example of the female sounding voice:

Now compare with the vocalist for TwinSisterMoon:

What the hell? Is that really Mehdi singing there? Is it possible that a biological male could sing that high, without the nasal sound of a falsetto? Heck I can't even sing that high, period. But I am willing to accept that it is him, if it is true, which I don't feel certain about.

Then check Solange's solo project "Isengrind." I've only heard two of the four albums she's released, but the vocals all pretty much sound like this:

...the vocals are so distant I can't tell if this is the 'male' voice from NSB or the 'female' voice. If anything, this sounds like a third person entirely! If Solange is capable of any of the beautiful intimate singing I hear on either NSB or TSM, then I can't imagine why she would want to make herself sound so monotone and processed on Isengrind.

I realize there are more important issues in the world I should probably be concerning myself with. Ultimately...I enjoy it when I can't tell if someone is male or female. But I would like to know the truth...it is frustrating to see music bloggers stating completely different 'facts' about who is singing what.

What would really help is a bit of live footage showing them singing, but I haven't been able to dig that up. If anyone can definitively answer the question of who is singing which of these songs, I'd love to see your comment!

My Top Ten Songs of 2010

I noticed other people doing this, so I thought...why not?

I just went into my Last.fm and looked the most played tracks for the past 12 months, and chose the top song for each artist (otherwise it would have been nothing but Jónsi and TwinSisterMoon in my top 10), and here we are:

Jónsi – Boy Lilikoi

TwinSisterMoon – Bride of the Spirits

Jeremy Enigk – Chewing Gum

Moby – Into the Blue

Antony and the Johnsons – The Snow Abides

Holy F*ck – SHT MTN

Cindytalk – The First Time Ever...

CocoRosie – The Moon Asked the Crow

Echo & The Bunnymen – The Cutter

XTC – Rocket From a Bottle

And if you haven't heard most of these songs, well...to be honest, I haven't heard of most of your favorite songs either!

Happy Birthday, Tangerine Screamer

This July, my car (aka Tangerine Screamer) turned 10 years old. Except for some scratches she's doing pretty good. And I'm doing pretty good, too.

Here's what we looked like in 2000:

And here's what we look like in 2010:

As you can see, that dress still fits.

The Way I Hear Music

"Love is the light in which we see each thing in its true origin, nature, and destiny. If we could look at the world in a loving way, then the world would rise up before us full of invitation, possibility and depth." - John O'Donohue, from Anam Cara

When I read this quote, I realize why I hear music differently from most people. Because I truly love music, I usually hear it in the most loving way...the same way a mother loves her child; it can do no wrong, and it is full of wonder and possibility.

This is how I hear most music...with the hope that it will bring me joy and help me transcend the everyday banal. I expect the best from it, and usually it delivers. I try to hear past the flaws of the music, the singer, the off-key notes and clumsy performance. I let it transport me somewhere else and show me the best it can be. It takes hold of my imagination and becomes something greater than what it really is. It is soul and spirit unified with flesh.

I can hear the vibrato that isn't there, and strengthen the singer's voice with my mind. I hear the off-key note that exists, and add to it the on-key note it should be, and combine the two into a lovely harmony. I convert cheesy synth sounds to violins, guitar to dulcimer, and spiff up dull arrangements with a bit of added instrumentation. It's a rare song that I hear as is, without altering it in my mind.

In this way, listening to music becomes a creative act, kind of like parenting. Musicians are my children, and I place their compositions upon my refrigerator, proud of their work. What other people might view as mere scribble, I notice the craft of a genius.