Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Remember Music?
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Remember Music?
HAT 5: Remember Music?Human beings are confronted with complex and disquieting issues day by day and minute by minute. There are sophisticated existential puzzles to solve and critical decisions to make upon which the balance of the future could rest. The following is not one of them, but it’s definitely a thing. Today’s affair centers around a timeless source of friction spanning countless generations. What is this nebulous conundrum that has plagued mankind for eons? Well, HERE’S A THING. There is little doubt that when young, and not-yet-great, Alexander was sitting in his room doing hammer ons on his lyre Philip II of Macedon could be heard shouting, “Turn that shit down!” Is the world any different today?Not especially, so I have a mission for you. It should be simple to execute given the near-universal access to digital content. All it requires is a few minutes of your time and the fortitude to irritate your children for the sake of the culture.Construct the following songlist and play it whenever your kids are in the car. Don't say anything; just play it. And don't take any shit about it because, regardless of their protestations, they desperately need this guidance from you. Have you heard what they're listening to? They are DYING for composition, instrumentalism, vocal ability, and anything resembling a melody. This lack of musicality knows no genre or demographic. The atonal detritus being produced and distributed to your unwitting adolescent is the audio equivalent of a rug burn to the forehead. It’s like Satan gathered all the world’s musical instruments and threw them down the stairs. And not your basement stairs either, but that 900 foot escalator that descends into the depths of the Atlanta airport.Do not accept that the current state of affairs is "just the way it is"! Push back against that which you know to be encyclopedic BS. You know that three dudes are sitting in a room in Burbank making all of this noise, because somehow we’re at a place where hip hop, pop, and country all sound exactly the same. And apparently these three dudes assassinated rock and roll somewhere along the line.Now, I selected these 24 songs from my personal library. This is not the end-all-be-all and I am in no way telling you that these are the 24 best songs ever. That’s stupid and some of you need to stop thinking it. This doesn’t even cover the breadth and scope of my personal taste, but it’s a great cross-section. This is simply a list of songs that spans style and season and has a common thread . There are a million more great tunes that could be dropped in here anywhere, but this is a great cross-section.-Express Yourself-Madonna -Baby Love-Mother's Finest -Pop Life-Prince -Good Time-Leroy -Oh Happy Day-Edwin Hawkins Singers -My House-Flo Rida -Blue-LeAnn Rimes -Solace Of You-Living Color -Southern State Of Mind-Darius Rucker -Drop Dead Legs-Van Halen -Peg-Steely Dan -Sugar-Maroon 5 -Home Sweet Home-Motley Crue -Let Love Rule-Lenny Kravitz -Walking On Sunshine-Katrina & The Waves -Bust A Move-Young MC -Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen -Just A Gigolo-David Lee Roth -Jive Talkin'-Bee Gees -Running On Empty-Jackson Browne -All I Wanna Do-Sheryl Crow -Lay Your Hands On Me-Bon Jovi -Little Guitars-Van Halen -Take It Easy (Live)-EaglesThese songs all share a common element... a friggin' melody. They also have a hook and a groove. You know... music. It’s funny; my 16-year-old daughter says I hate everything when it comes to music. While it’s an accurate statement that I am, shall we say, a bit acerbic when delivering art critique; if she had a truth gun to her head she’d have to admit that I have more than a few of “her” songs among my various playlists. You see, I could not possibly care less about the genre or generation of the sound that hits my ear. If I can’t find a melody, I’m out. You have to start there. Then you can begin to embellish. The greatest blessing of the time in which we live is the instant total access to information, including the arts and entertainment realm, via a handheld pocket-sized device that weighs about 6 ounces. That is a miracle of ingenuity. Somewhat less miraculous is the flip side of that coin which is the sad fact that we seem to be engaging said technology mostly for porn, drug trafficking, and disengagement from life. Were you aware that Candy Crush made a billion-and-a-half dollars in micro transactions in 2018? Dazzling use of resources, wouldn’t you say?Anyway, the point I’m trying to drift toward is that because we seem so eager to ram electronic devices into kids’ hands as soon as they can hold their heads up, they have access to all the music of the world. That is an incredible blessing. It wasn’t all that long ago that we had to go to the record store or wait to hear stuff on the radio. I know, “That’s a great story, grandpa!” Because almost no effort is required to procure music today, we are missing a tremendous opportunity to educate our kids… which seems to be rampant and accepted, but let me not digress into another episode.The kids don’t have to listen to mom and dad’s music in the car anymore. There’s an important generational link that’s missing here. Mom and dad’s music may have sucked, but at least the next generation was exposed to it and could carry it forward or not based on choice. Today kids are locked in their own earbud prison assimilating whatever narrow slice of the musical pie the algorithm shoves into their consciousness over and over and over. Just like everything else in this sanitized and unchallenging culture, the learning curve isn’t curvy anymore. It’s a flatline just like every damned thing else we’re doing. We’ve filed off the edges and sanded down the middle. How many of your warmest memories involve music that reminds you of your family? Don’t cheat your children of that experience. Take away the earbuds and lock the phones next time you’re in the car with the family. You’re in charge. Friggin’ act like it. Blow their minds by spinning up a mix of Tony Bennett, Captain & Tennille, Voivod, and Public Enemy. I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the reaction. You’ll at least create about 15 minutes they’ll never forget.That’s enough to ponder for now. This episode is dedicated to Lenny Kravitz who blew my mind with his musical brilliance in 1989, to Nikki Sixx who understands on another level how to craft a hook and entertain the hell out of the people, and Prince whose genius may never be fully comprehended. Here’s A Thing can be found on the Podbean app, iTunes & Apple Podcasts, [email protected], and everywhere else in the podcast universe. Episodes will also be posted on Twitter and Facebook which makes me want to yak because social media is mental sawdust. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Your active support is critical. Become a patron and donate to the cause by following the show link.Whatever you do, get after it 100% or don’t bother the rest of us. And, if you can’t be anything else today, be authentic. It’ll pay off.
View all episodes
HAT 5: Remember Music?Human beings are confronted with complex and disquieting issues day by day and minute by minute. There are sophisticated existential puzzles to solve and critical decisions to make upon which the balance of the future could rest. The following is not one of them, but it’s definitely a thing. Today’s affair centers around a timeless source of friction spanning countless generations. What is this nebulous conundrum that has plagued mankind for eons? Well, HERE’S A THING. There is little doubt that when young, and not-yet-great, Alexander was sitting in his room doing hammer ons on his lyre Philip II of Macedon could be heard shouting, “Turn that shit down!” Is the world any different today?Not especially, so I have a mission for you. It should be simple to execute given the near-universal access to digital content. All it requires is a few minutes of your time and the fortitude to irritate your children for the sake of the culture.Construct the following songlist and play it whenever your kids are in the car. Don't say anything; just play it. And don't take any shit about it because, regardless of their protestations, they desperately need this guidance from you. Have you heard what they're listening to? They are DYING for composition, instrumentalism, vocal ability, and anything resembling a melody. This lack of musicality knows no genre or demographic. The atonal detritus being produced and distributed to your unwitting adolescent is the audio equivalent of a rug burn to the forehead. It’s like Satan gathered all the world’s musical instruments and threw them down the stairs. And not your basement stairs either, but that 900 foot escalator that descends into the depths of the Atlanta airport.Do not accept that the current state of affairs is "just the way it is"! Push back against that which you know to be encyclopedic BS. You know that three dudes are sitting in a room in Burbank making all of this noise, because somehow we’re at a place where hip hop, pop, and country all sound exactly the same. And apparently these three dudes assassinated rock and roll somewhere along the line.Now, I selected these 24 songs from my personal library. This is not the end-all-be-all and I am in no way telling you that these are the 24 best songs ever. That’s stupid and some of you need to stop thinking it. This doesn’t even cover the breadth and scope of my personal taste, but it’s a great cross-section. This is simply a list of songs that spans style and season and has a common thread . There are a million more great tunes that could be dropped in here anywhere, but this is a great cross-section.-Express Yourself-Madonna -Baby Love-Mother's Finest -Pop Life-Prince -Good Time-Leroy -Oh Happy Day-Edwin Hawkins Singers -My House-Flo Rida -Blue-LeAnn Rimes -Solace Of You-Living Color -Southern State Of Mind-Darius Rucker -Drop Dead Legs-Van Halen -Peg-Steely Dan -Sugar-Maroon 5 -Home Sweet Home-Motley Crue -Let Love Rule-Lenny Kravitz -Walking On Sunshine-Katrina & The Waves -Bust A Move-Young MC -Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen -Just A Gigolo-David Lee Roth -Jive Talkin'-Bee Gees -Running On Empty-Jackson Browne -All I Wanna Do-Sheryl Crow -Lay Your Hands On Me-Bon Jovi -Little Guitars-Van Halen -Take It Easy (Live)-EaglesThese songs all share a common element... a friggin' melody. They also have a hook and a groove. You know... music. It’s funny; my 16-year-old daughter says I hate everything when it comes to music. While it’s an accurate statement that I am, shall we say, a bit acerbic when delivering art critique; if she had a truth gun to her head she’d have to admit that I have more than a few of “her” songs among my various playlists. You see, I could not possibly care less about the genre or generation of the sound that hits my ear. If I can’t find a melody, I’m out. You have to start there. Then you can begin to embellish. The greatest blessing of the time in which we live is the instant total access to information, including the arts and entertainment realm, via a handheld pocket-sized device that weighs about 6 ounces. That is a miracle of ingenuity. Somewhat less miraculous is the flip side of that coin which is the sad fact that we seem to be engaging said technology mostly for porn, drug trafficking, and disengagement from life. Were you aware that Candy Crush made a billion-and-a-half dollars in micro transactions in 2018? Dazzling use of resources, wouldn’t you say?Anyway, the point I’m trying to drift toward is that because we seem so eager to ram electronic devices into kids’ hands as soon as they can hold their heads up, they have access to all the music of the world. That is an incredible blessing. It wasn’t all that long ago that we had to go to the record store or wait to hear stuff on the radio. I know, “That’s a great story, grandpa!” Because almost no effort is required to procure music today, we are missing a tremendous opportunity to educate our kids… which seems to be rampant and accepted, but let me not digress into another episode.The kids don’t have to listen to mom and dad’s music in the car anymore. There’s an important generational link that’s missing here. Mom and dad’s music may have sucked, but at least the next generation was exposed to it and could carry it forward or not based on choice. Today kids are locked in their own earbud prison assimilating whatever narrow slice of the musical pie the algorithm shoves into their consciousness over and over and over. Just like everything else in this sanitized and unchallenging culture, the learning curve isn’t curvy anymore. It’s a flatline just like every damned thing else we’re doing. We’ve filed off the edges and sanded down the middle. How many of your warmest memories involve music that reminds you of your family? Don’t cheat your children of that experience. Take away the earbuds and lock the phones next time you’re in the car with the family. You’re in charge. Friggin’ act like it. Blow their minds by spinning up a mix of Tony Bennett, Captain & Tennille, Voivod, and Public Enemy. I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the reaction. You’ll at least create about 15 minutes they’ll never forget.That’s enough to ponder for now. This episode is dedicated to Lenny Kravitz who blew my mind with his musical brilliance in 1989, to Nikki Sixx who understands on another level how to craft a hook and entertain the hell out of the people, and Prince whose genius may never be fully comprehended. Here’s A Thing can be found on the Podbean app, iTunes & Apple Podcasts, [email protected], and everywhere else in the podcast universe. Episodes will also be posted on Twitter and Facebook which makes me want to yak because social media is mental sawdust. Please subscribe, rate, and review. Your active support is critical. Become a patron and donate to the cause by following the show link.Whatever you do, get after it 100% or don’t bother the rest of us. And, if you can’t be anything else today, be authentic. It’ll pay off.