A long time ago, I was explaining to a friend of mine my theory about why music — especially rock or metal — seems to favor the younger musician, and it dovetails with something I noticed while checking out the sounds of the worship band at a church service this evening.
Long story short, the key to a great song is complete emotional honesty and a willingness to be vulnerable in the performance. I think every artist knows this, but I think that people sometimes get wrapped up in looking for formulas that define how someone “makes it” as a commercial musician. “Oh, you have to sound/look/dance like this…”
But truth be told, I’ve listened to quite a few musicians who are too young to be trusted to rent a car who, nevertheless, seem to be able to crank out a song that just grabs the listener. It’s not a matter of technical proficiency. It’s not a matter of them being child prodigies who have developed chops that none of the rest of us are capable of playing. It’s a matter of combining the talent and the emotional honesty in to a single work of art.
Now, this leads to my next point — part of the skill in knowing how to pull the listener in to a song is knowing what the cues are that will resonate with them. If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of Girl Talk, who has a knack for creating mash-ups that touch on the familiar and the unfamiliar to create grooves that just speak to the listener. You can check out his creative process….
…but I think it’s nice to look at one of his finished works.
I’ve also been a huge fan of synthesized music. For example, There’s a part of me that loves stuff like Kraftwerk’s “Trans Europe Express”…
I also know this song has very little emotional impact on folks, whereas Enigma’s “Return to Innocence” seems to stir up feelings. Is it the chanting? Is it the lyrical content? Or is it just a richer arrangement that pulls the listener in? I’d say yes to all three.
So back to the church music. There is beautiful is music being made by people who belong to various faiths around the world. There is something transcendent about the sounds of people engaged in practicing their faith, and — at its’ best — an authentic selflessness shines through. It is inspirational to listen to, because unlike the songs that focus on the transient things that may only last a lifetime, these songs speak to something eternal… something that calls to all of us the same way a dance hall song coaxes us to the dance floor.
