Today I asked myself whilst driving home, what was it about making music that made me love it so much?
As I started to dissect the reasons, I applied some of what I was teaching in tutorials today - about how images dominate and shape much of our perceptions. We live in a society that is fueled by visual communication.
Music on the other hand, involves listening and hearing, not looking and seeing. Playing music is beautiful because by and large, we can do it with our eyes closed (after some manner of instrumental proficiency, of course). We communicate through sounds. It is so beautiful jamming away with a band, big or small. Imagine a hundred people contributing to this symphony of sounds we cannot see, but can hear, and thus feel.
The truth is, aural communication, the lack of it, and understanding of it, is nowhere as purposefully designed as the visual world. The aural world takes a back seat and is a consequence of what is happening visually. What if, sounds shaped the world instead? How amazing would that possibly be?
Studies in acoustic ecology have developed a nifty new way to design the sounds around us, to better keep us at peace (yes, control too, but I trust it will not turn that way). Limited usage of it exists in Muzak, museums, installation art, and some buildings. It is a growing awareness, and one I am most glad to be a part of.
So, this is it. A short capture of my thoughts as I was driving home in my car, and into the driveway, and trying my best to remember to immortalize these thoughts, into words in this virtual reality.
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Sinatra hit has deadly record
Scary stuff! "The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you're somebody when you're really nobody. It covers up your failures. That's why it leads to fights." I trust none of the songs the band and myself have written so far will evoke such feelings! Music is much better for celebrating, healing wounds, and of course, chasing girls. Hah!
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Sinatra hit has deadly record
Norimitsu Onishi, Philippines
The Age, February 8, 2010
It's not safe to sing My Way in karaoke bars.
AFTER a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighbourhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone and briefly stilled the room with the Platters' My Prayer. Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck.
But Mr Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra's My Way.
''I used to like My Way, but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,'' he said. ''You can get killed.''
The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling My Way in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines. But the media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and include them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the ''My Way killings''.
The murders have spawned urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings a byproduct of the country's culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song? Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks.
Karaoke-related killings are not limited to the Philippines. In the past two years alone, a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for monopolising the microphone at a bar and a Thai man killed eight of his neighbours in a rage after they sang John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers.
Indeed, most of the My Way killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer.
''The trouble with My Way,'' said Mr Gregorio, ''is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion.''
Others point to the song itself. The lyrics, written by Paul Anka for Sinatra as an unapologetic summing up of his career, are about a tough guy who "when there was doubt", simply "ate it up and spit it out''.
'' 'I did it my way' - it's so arrogant," said Butch Albarracin, the owner of Centre for Pop, a Manila-based singing school that has propelled the careers of many famous singers.
"The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you're somebody when you're really nobody. It covers up your failures. That's why it leads to fights."
NEW YORK TIMES
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Sinatra hit has deadly record
Norimitsu Onishi, Philippines
The Age, February 8, 2010
It's not safe to sing My Way in karaoke bars.
AFTER a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighbourhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone and briefly stilled the room with the Platters' My Prayer. Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck.
But Mr Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra's My Way.
''I used to like My Way, but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,'' he said. ''You can get killed.''
The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling My Way in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines. But the media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and include them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the ''My Way killings''.
The murders have spawned urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings a byproduct of the country's culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song? Whatever the reason, many karaoke bars have removed the song from their playbooks.
Karaoke-related killings are not limited to the Philippines. In the past two years alone, a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for monopolising the microphone at a bar and a Thai man killed eight of his neighbours in a rage after they sang John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. And Filipinos, who pride themselves on their singing, may have a lower tolerance for bad singers.
Indeed, most of the My Way killings have reportedly occurred after the singer sang out of tune, causing other patrons to laugh or jeer.
''The trouble with My Way,'' said Mr Gregorio, ''is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion.''
Others point to the song itself. The lyrics, written by Paul Anka for Sinatra as an unapologetic summing up of his career, are about a tough guy who "when there was doubt", simply "ate it up and spit it out''.
'' 'I did it my way' - it's so arrogant," said Butch Albarracin, the owner of Centre for Pop, a Manila-based singing school that has propelled the careers of many famous singers.
"The lyrics evoke feelings of pride and arrogance in the singer, as if you're somebody when you're really nobody. It covers up your failures. That's why it leads to fights."
NEW YORK TIMES
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Chope | Easy Come Easy Go
Easy Come Easy Go
I keep calling from a higher point
To take advantage of the situation I'm in
And I turn it around to you
Should I call it some polite violence?
Chope 2009
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Written by Wesley Choo
Performed by Wesley Choo, Ronald Lee and Bob Tan
** Yes it is a little lo-fi and recorded in a home studio without a suitable complement of mics and acoustic paneling. Enjoy it nevertheless!
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