The Musical Experiment
Purpose:
Have you ever thought about all those pieces of music people tell you you’re supposed to love yet never found them remotely interesting to you at the moment. I usually have some things on my mp3 player that I don’t really listen to but have in case I feel compelled to explore it. I had the Bob Marley greatest hits 2 disc set and still haven’t touched it. Well, I want you/us to get out of that place and here’s how I’ve decided to do it.
Method:
Pick a piece of music that you’re “supposed to” like. Set aside some time everyday to listen to it. Usually I pick mornings because I naturally just use the music as an alarm. Do this for a month so that you really listen to it…I mean, really. Don’t quit.
Theory:
Is art subjective or is there some objectivity to it? In other words, can someone honestly say that Michaelangelo or Shakespeare or another established figure suck? Or have we as a society decided that certain things are beyond reproach, in other words, that they have objective value from centuries of discussion, analysis, and counterarguments?
Well, by listening to some supposedly great piece of work, the hope is that it is great enough that you latch onto what makes it great. Your resistance to it will be slowly whittled away after a month and you’ll find yourself either appreciating that thing or realizing that it is overrated and perhaps not as great as hyped. Either way, you will have ample defense for trying it.
This is something that I’m doing now. I’ve listened to the Brahms Intermezzi, pieces that I’ve heard in various contexts and now systematically. Some of the works were annoying and stayed that way. Others seemed to be impenetrable and later revealed themselves. The reason is that after a while I started anticipating aspects of the music. Here’s the part where it has an awesome beat. There’s a chord progression that sounds cool. There’s that melody I find myself whistling at work.
And when you anticipate the music, you get it. Music works through anticipation. You tend to like music that makes sense to you. It sounds like other music you like. It is structured in a recognizable way (verse-chorus songwriting, 32 bar techno, etc.). It is by an artist who has a proven track record in producing other music you like. When music is reliable, you relax into it and don’t need to reinvent your listening wheel, so to speak.
However, if you break down your resistance to other musics, you begin to explore, accept, and EXPECT to hear those other ways of sounding. Listen to enough classical music and you can’t wait to get to those explosive Beethovenian codas. Listen to enough Radiohead and you want the music to start freaking out.
I’m not going to suggest you do this experiment with any particular type of music, just something you can’t imagine listening to. And when you start, you will feel some resistance like, “Why did I choose this? I’m going to hate it.” But stick with it. Remember, it’s only for a month so all you do is wait for the next month to show up and you’re on to something else. Believe it or not, one month is not a long time, especially to spend time with music that the rest of the world believes is great.
Speaking of great, I really love the new DeVotchka album. They first came to my attention with their songs used and rescored on the Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack. Their latest album is fun goodness. And somewhere I read that they encourage piracy…so let’s take them up on that.
