You may see more of these posts periodically…
Music.
It’s a funny thing.
It’s my love, my profession, my obsession…
When it comes to music, I am like a jigsaw puzzle made up of thousands upon thousands of pieces. In the end, you see the picture, but the vast array of individual pieces that make it up can be very difficult to understand on their own.
I think, and hope, that this is one of the things that makes me interesting as a DJ, particularly as a wedding and special event DJ. You see, most wedding and special event DJs have a relatively narrow palette when it comes to music. If you don’t believe me, I would recommend that you look across as many play lists and suggested song lists on the websites of these folks as possible and then try to argue that point.
The reality is that the kind of DJing that I and people in my profession do is (and should be) client-focused and service-oriented. That is to say that if my clients want straight-up mainstream music programming, I am happy to give it to them because I know it makes them happy, which in turn, makes me happy. That’s a whole lot of happiness, isn’t it? And all from just playing music that people like and want. See? I told you: I love my job! But the funny thing is that, perhaps not coincidentally, so many of my clients are complete music hounds. I guess it takes one to know one.
Since I have already confessed the almost(?) ridiculously deep role that music plays in my life, it will come as no surprise that I have some pretty strong likes, as well as a few dislikes, when it comes to music.
Let’s start with dislikes: I dislike bad music. It’s that simple. To me, style is incidental: good music is good music regardless. I always tell people to try to not close their minds to any music. Let it in, let it rattle around a bit and look for the good in it. It may not be there, but why not look? And don’t forget, some music is so bad that it is actually good, so try not to get confused ; )
Of course, some music is so obviously good that you don’t need to look very hard. As an example, I have a hard time with people who roundly dismiss The Beatles. I mean, really, what does that say about their ability to understand and appreciate well-done music? You don’t have to like it, but you can’t deny its quality. Or how about people that say “I don’t like Opera – it’s boring.” Well, if you insist, perhaps you may find the librettos boring or an individual rendition of a given opera poorly-acted or sung, but to hear Puccini emanate from the soul of a genius like Luciano Pavarotti is such a triumph of humanity that I find it difficult to understand how anyone could not be emotionally moved by the experience.
Now, regarding likes, or in my case, mostly “loves”?
Seriously, you don’t have the time.
Which is why I warned of more posts like this to come.
So, with that, I’ll leave you with two absolutely stunning, awe-inspiring Jazz albums to check out if you’d like. One is quite conventional but in an oft-overlooked style, and the other is just plain other-worldly and gives us hope that the boundaries of Jazz have yet to be set. One is a nod to the past, the other a bold javelin being thrown into the future.
They are:
Dave Holland Big Band - What Goes Around
Dave Holland Big Band – What Goes Around
and
Eivind Aarset - Light Extracts
Eivind Aarset – Light Extracts (click here for a review that says it all!)
I hope you enjoy these recommendations. Please feel free to let me know if you end up buying these!
