Subjects in civilization

For the last 10-12 weeks, I have been one lucky writer.

I have been given multiple opportunities and have tried my damnedest to take advantage of all of them. Specifically, I was given an opportunity to blog about music, both in this class and for the Houston Press. Between the two, I have over a quarter of 100 articles written in the last semester.

Coupled with being in a band, music has pretty much become my life. And I’ve got no complaints.

In a lot of ways, music was my life before I joined a band or began writing about it. For many people, like it was (and still is) for me, music serves as an escape; a place where you can beat up that guy who’s been bothering you, really tell that ex-girlfriend how you feel and revolutionize politics, people and the world over.

Growing up, I listened to a lot of punk rock. While I enjoyed the Sex Pistols and the Clash, I was only a pre-teenager at the time, so my problems were much simpler, so the music I gravitated toward was, too.

“I feel so mad, I feel so angry, I feel so callous, so lost and confused” were the lyrics Boxcar Racer sang into my headphones every night, as I fell asleep thinking about girls in my high school who wouldn’t even look at me. I thought about how my parents were always mad at me for not working hard enough and for making poor grades in school. I always had a problem paying attention in class and sitting still, so my parents put me on Ritalin, which caused me to act out even more. I always thought of myself as a normal kid – boys will be boys, right? – but some teacher was always complaining about me to the principal who would, in turn, tell my mother who taught at the school I attended from Kindergarten until high school graduation.

Punk rock – specifically Blink 182 and Boxcar Racer – were my escape, my way of screaming at the top of my lungs what I felt. Sometimes, the songs had a meaning behind them. In “I Feel So,” I connected with the lyrics as well as the energy of the song. I did feel mad and angry. I wanted to start over. I wanted to make cures for the way that people are. I wanted to make a cure for the way I was, the way I constantly bothered everyone and could never keep to myself. I just wanted to start over.

Other times, I connected more with the melody and energy and the picture painted by the song more than I did the meaning behind the lyrics.

I never really understood what this song was about, but taken at face value it seemed to be a song from an under appreciated son to his father, who might have been abusive.

But the symbolism behind the lyrics – “I tripped, I fell down naked. I scratched my knees, they bled. Sow up my eyes, see no more.” – always made me feel angry. Not the kind of angry my parents felt. As I listened to these songs, my parents worried that I would become an irate youth. But what they didn’t understand was that I was already an irate youth and that this music gave me a way to vent my frustrations. I would hop on my bicycle or go for a walk as I blared angry, music full of teen angst in my headphones. As the beat would build, I would walk or pedal faster and faster. It was as if I was envisioning myself in a movie, constantly acting out the final scene in which the protagonist overcomes whatever obstacle was in his path.

But eventually, the songs would end, and I would have to go back to the real world, where I had a real life, in which I had real problems, which weren’t easily fixed.

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Eventually, I made my way into high school. I grew a few inches, lost a few pounds off my stomach and was eventually getting attention from girls.

My revenge was to ignore them and work out until I was in perfect shape, which, at one point in my high school career, I was.

I got a drivers license, grew out my hair past “regulation length” and made a point to act out against any authority that questioned my actions.

Suddenly, I was partying every night, smoking cigarettes, popping pills and drinking bottles of hard liquor at a time. Being that I’m from Houston, I got into rap music; dirty south rap music, specifically.

I spent my free time (when I wasn’t partying, of course) driving around the city, listening to this kind of music loud and proud, hoping to get pulled over only to show an officer my up-to-date inspection, license, insurance and car note, which was paid in full.

Who the fuck was I? I was me, thank you very much.

My attitude became abrasive, and I focused all my time and energy on becoming popular, chasing girls and wreaking havoc in the Bayou City.

I ran around for a few years with no real direction. I had a full-time job, got by in school and kept my nose clean. I constantly searched for trouble, but I never involved myself enough to actually get into any trouble, legally or otherwise. It made my parents sick, but I was finally happy and carefree.

I was a Holden Caulfield of sorts; young, smart, good looking, driven, but without direction. Holden’s story of a weekend spent in New York City was my life for two years in Houston.

Then I met a girl named Jenn.

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Jenn and my relationship began casually enough. We met at a coffee shop and recognized one another from grade school. From the moment she laid eyes on me, I knew she was transfixed and had to have me. It was the summer after my senior year of high school, so I decided to have a short fling with the girl, party, screw, party, screw and party, then toss her away, head to Galveston and start my life as a professional college student.

I didn’t know it would be so hard to let go.

Our relationship ended up lasting about a year, and I had never been unhappier. Jenn was a blame-placer, and anytime she had a bad day, I was not allowed to be in a good mood. But if I was having a bad day, I wasn’t allowed to bring her down or unload on her. It was a codependent relationship; her happiness was dependent on my proximity and my near-constant validation of her life.

“I’m not pretty,” she would say.

“You’re beautiful,” I would reply.

“I’m going to lose my scholarship,” she would say.

“You’ll be fine,” I would reply.

“I’m not going to get that job,” she would say.

“You’ll get it, I’m sure,” I would reply.

…and so on, and so forth. Our relationship followed this pattern to a T. Without fail, I would constantly be complimenting her as she acted in a self-deprecating manner. Jenn was also a drug addict, always smoking pot or snorting cocaine to deal with her self-inflicted depression.

My mood, like that of so many others, is oftentimes influenced most by the people around me. We spent a lot of time together, and I found myself crawling into a dark hole, never happy and constantly venting through my music, the only outlet I had.

“There’s something cold and blank behind her smile,” Manson told me. I listened and eventually got up the courage to tell her how I felt, and I left her.

“All the drugs in this world won’t save her from herself.”

Then I spent a year as a single man, and it was one of the happiest times of my life. I began studying more, spending more time with friends and family and focusing on “me-time,” which I had never done before. I began reading for pleasure, not just because I had to for school. I began working out, not to impress girls but for me. I began going for bike rides, not to vent or get away but to enjoy the ride. I spent more time out and about meeting people, not to escape my past but just to enjoy the company of a stranger or two and strike up a conversation.

I began listening to music that made me happy, not focusing too much on the lyrics. Instead, I paid attention to the mood and melody of the songs and let them make me feel the way I wanted to feel.

Happy.

Then I made the mistake of dating a high school student, while I was in college.

I was a sophomore in college and she was a junior in high school. I was 20, she was 17. The age wasn’t too much of a factor, but the amount of life we had experienced was. Once again, I found myself in a relationship with someone who didn’t understand me and had no intent to begin trying to.

Exhausted and confused, I thought I was in love. She told me she loved me, so it must have been true, I thought. She told me that the fights we had were the kind of fights all couples had. And since I’ve never been too familiar with relationships or how they are “supposed to be,” I believed her. But as the months went by, I found myself slowly but surely withdrawing from her emotionally.

It was difficult not to be disappointed.

“Here I am expecting just a little too much from the wounded,” Maynard sang. I felt that this girl, this poor, broken, hurt girl needed me. And if she needed me to be a punching bag, so be it. It was foolish and looking back, I wish I had ended things sooner, but hindsight is 20/20.

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Now I find myself on top of the world. I still have my bad days – everyone does – but the good far outnumber them, and these days I listen to a bevy of music. A lot of times, I’ll get in my car, put my iPod on shuffle and listen to whatever  comes on. Sometimes it’s music from my past, sometimes it’s current music, and sometimes it’s music I haven’t heard in years but attach no memory (good or bad) to.

Music, for me, has been a savior, an outlet and someone to listen to my problems. It didn’t matter if I was screaming, crying or laughing. Music has always been there for me.

And now, because of our history, I think music and I have a long, healthy future together.

MK

Friday night at a sold-out Verizon Wireless Theater, LIGHTS and Owl City put on surprisingly solid performances. We use the word ‘surprisingly,’ because we fall into the category of people who oftentimes dismiss these kinds of artists as sans-substance pawns of the industry without giving them much of a chance.

We’re not the biggest fans of electro-pop, and we’ve heard all the talk of Owl City being a carbon copy of the Postal Service, but we listened, we watched, and overall we were impressed.

The people in attendance were what we expected. As we walked into the venue, we saw about a 60 to 40 percent ratio of kids to parents. The kids were wearing skinny jeans, pearl snap button downs, wool caps (in April!) and constantly checking their smart phones for tweets, texts and calls. For some of them, it looked like more of a nervous tic than a habit.

From the waist down, we couldn’t tell the gender of most of the fans. Thanks a lot, skinny jeans. And because we didn’t want to end up on To Catch a Predator, we didn’t make eye contact with anyone. Long story short, we stuck out like a sore thumb.

Before the show, we made our way to the loading dock for an interview with LIGHTS, whom we’re glad we researched, because she was far from what we expected. “We always look forward to coming here,” she said with a smile. “Everyone [in Texas] seems to really love music.”

Sitting on the opposite couch from us on her tour bus, LIGHTS leaned forward, smiled and charmed our pants off (no, not literally). She was accommodating and polite – which, from what we hear, isn’t the norm amongst pop stars. She came across as genuine and wasn’t just feeding us nonsense that her record label told her to say.

“I understand that it’s easy to misconstrue a female pop artist as kind of a puppet and just really fabricated,” LIGHTS said with a confident smile while discussing her acoustic YouTube videos with us. “So it’s cool for me to show people a more raw side of it to say, ‘This is actually what’s there. Don’t be fooled if there is some production on it.’”

Her acoustic sessions are our preference, but that’s not to say that her CD or shows aren’t worthwhile; in fact, quite the opposite.

“I look young, and I’m a girl, and whether or not people admit that they make judgments based on those things, you can feel it,” LIGHTS says about those who underestimate her. “I’ve learned to not act out about it.”

Instead, she proves them wrong, as she did with us.

“There’s something to be said about earning the respect of someone who doubted you,” she said.

LIGHTS is a smart, young lady, and we were impressed by her performance (as she told us we would be) and now officially consider keytars sexy.

Her act, unlike that of many Auto-tune honeys, was pleasing to the ears, and we could actually understand what she was saying. In Ice, she even makes a Vanilla Ice reference, which as far as we’re concerned earns her major kudos.

The girl’s got pipes… and while her CD is electro-pop, her live performance and her acoustic YouTube videos really showcase her talent as a vocalist, songwriter and guitar/keyboard player. Doesn’t sound like your average run-of-the-mill pop star, does it?

Many of her lyrics, taken at face value, aren’t all that deep, but her music is fun and definitely uplifting compared to what most teenage girls listen to. She doesn’t blatantly condone or promote premarital sex, drug use or tell young girls that their tits give them power. We’re not parents, but we still appreciate that.

As Owl City’s set list started, the boys and girls in the crowd began to scream at the same pitch, and a few parents were bobbing their heads – at which point, of course, their kids gave them the “stop it, you’re embarrassing me” look.

We even saw one mother who looked like she was at a Poison concert. Rock on, mama! It seems that Adam Young has received some voice lessons since his rise to superstardom, and surprisingly he managed to hit most of the notes that we thought were auto tuned not for effect, but because he didn’t have the range. We were wrong.

After “Fireflies,” the mood darkened and Ronald Reagan’s famous speech about the explosion of the shuttle Challenger played as Young lightly keyed the piano. He kept referencing space and rockets – “Houston, we do not have a problem,” he said early on during his performance – which we appreciated, but we also couldn’t help but feel that he could have tried a little harder. There’s much more to Houston than NASA, and a quick Google search will tell you that. Besides, he’s been here before.

We felt it was a bit out of place and, either because of disinterest or maybe curfew, many of those in the crowd began to head toward the exits. We stuck around until the end. We may not be the musicians’ niche audience, but you can’t argue with success. And as far as content goes, what’s wrong with a little happy, upbeat pop music from time to time?

Nothing, that’s what.

Now click here!

MK

In this WordPress blog, I have been researching music. On a national and local level, I have been trying to understand what music is popular, why and what (if any) music transcends time and context to live on forever.

Specifically, I have been asking (and will continue to ask):

How do bands market themselves?
What genres of music are most popular in Houston/worldwide?
How and why do people join bands?
What kind of political dissent is in most music?
How do local musicians get noticed?
Who markets the music? The musicians or the producers or the record executives?

I have interviewed dozens of bands and, coupled with much hard work with the Houston Press, feel that I am familiar enough with the local music scene to comment on it.

From there, a lot of research (online, via phone and face-to-face) has given me a better perspective on national and worldwide music.

I plan to continue this research indefinitely.

MK

Now that I have your attention…

Music plays a large part in our lives, sometimes larger than we realize.

Music matters, and music has salience. Many artists speak not only their own minds but attempt to connect with their fans. Lady Gaga, for example, wrote the wildly popular Telephone, in which she (and Houston’s own Beyonce Knowles) tell off their respective significant others for bothering them while they are dancing.

The song, taken at face value, has no substance. But the issue of cell phones and the ability to be in near constant contact with anyone at any time has forced many youths to feel trapped. They feel they are always at the beck and call of their boyfriends/girlfriends, and this song has given them an anthem. Whether they realized it right away, haven’t realized it yet or are just beginning to, Gaga and Beyonce  have done their part.

Similarly, music has always had a point. Throughout generations, it has had a recurring theme: politics.

–Nine Inch Nails (Survivalism)

The above video, written and directed by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails singer and songwriter), is a social commentary of what the Patriotic Act means to him and could mean to the rest of America. In it, he (and countless others including a lonely man and a gay couple) by what is assumed to be Big Brother (the government).

Coupled with the lyrics (“I’ve got my propaganda, I’ve got revisionism, I’ve got my violence in hi-def ultra-realism, I’m a part of this great nation, I got my fist, I got my plan, I got survivalism”), the song is blatantly political.

–Flobots (White Flag Warrior)

“We’d rather make our children martyrs than murders. We’d rather make our children white flag warriors. This is love, this is not treason.”

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In the 19th century (and a little of the 20th), Romantic music reigned. Romantic music refers to a particular period, theory, compositional practice andcanon in European music history.

The increasing importance of nationalism as a political force in the 19th century was mirrored in music and in other arts. Many composers expressed their nationalism by incorporating elements unique to their native cultures, such as folk song, dances and legendary histories. In addition to these exterior elements, there was an increasing diversification of musical language, as composers used elements of rhythm, melody and modality characteristic of their respective nations.

Late in the 19th century, Jean Sibelius wrote music based on the Finnish epic, the Kalevala, and his piece ‘Finlandia’ became a symbol of Finnish nationalism.

Chopin wrote in forms like the polonaise and mazurka, that were derived from Polish folk music. Many Russian composers (such as Balakirev, Cui, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov) shared a common dream to write music that was inspired by Russian folk music. Here is some of Chopin’s music:

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During the Civil War era, songs by Stephen Collins Foster, George Frederick Root and Henry Clay Work were among the most popular. Much of the music from that time period has transcended time (and context, for that matter) and is now enjoyed by people all over the world.

And let’s not forget the Battle Hymn of the Republic…

Some of these songs were used to rally troops, while others (like most country music today) instill a sense of patriotism in their singers and listeners alike.

In World War I, some popular songs were Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag, Keep The Home Fires Burning, It’s A Long Way To Tipperary, If You Were The Only Girl In The World, Oh! It’s A Lovely War, Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty, I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now, The Rose Of No Man’s Land, Lorraine, My Beautiful, Roses Of Picardy, Lloyd George’s Beer, Hello, Who’s Your Lady Friend?, They Didn’t Believe Me, Over There, For Me And My Girl, Send Me Away With A Smile, But For Gawd’s Sake Don’t Send Me, Daisy Bell, The Girl I Left Behind Me, Goodbye-ee and Are We Downhearted?.

Oh! It’s A Lovely War can be interpreted two ways. Taken at face value, the song is pro-war to a fault

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There is a long history of the connection between music and politics, particularly political expression in music. This expression can use anti-establishment or protest themes, including anti-war songs, although pro-establishment ideas are also used, for example in national anthems, patriotic songs and political campaigns.

Many of these types of songs could be described as topical songs. Unlike many other types of music, political music is not usually ambiguous and is used to portray a specific political message. While the political message in political music is apparent, it is usually in the political context of the time it was made, which makes understanding the historical events and time that inspired the music essential to fully understanding the message in the music.

Since political music is meant to be heard by the people, it is often meant to be popular.

Politically-driven music, as of late, has been mostly critical of the GOP. But you’ll occasionally run across a conservative, patriotic, right-wing band (though it’s rare outside of the country genre).

–Avenged Sevenfold (Critical Acclaim)

Rock the Vote, for example, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan (or so it claims) organization founded in Los Angeles in 1990 by Jeff Ayeroff for the purposes of political advocacy. Rock the Vote works to engage youth in the political process by incorporating the entertainment community and youth culture into its activities. Rock the Vote’s stated mission is to “build the political clout and engagement of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country.”

Some rock groups, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Living Colour, Rage Against the Machine,Manic Street Preachers, Marilyn Manson, Megadeth, Anti-Flag, Scars on Broadway, and System of a Down have openly political messages in their music.

–System of a Down (Sad Statue)

Below are a few examples of political dissent in (relatively) current American rock music. The first song is a cover of John Lennon’s Imagine.

–A Perfect Circle (Imagine)

–Marilyn Manson (The Beautiful People)

–Green Day (21 Guns)

These songs are the type of political music most people hear in the 21st century (these are the songs that receive radio plays), however some songs are designed specifically for union workers to support the middle class (the blue collar workers).

As you can hear, there is a bit of a country twang.

But sometimes, the line between radio-friendly, fan-approved political music and music for the working class are blurred.

–Dropkick Murphys (I’m Shipping Off To Boston)

This band has made a name for itself and built a following as a result of its members’ non-stop touring all over the world and their St. Patrick’s Day weekend shows, which are held in and around Boston. The group is also worldwide famous for their patronage of the Boston Red Sox and Bruins.

The Dropkick Murphys have been known for supporting working class and union causes, and have a strong relationship with the AFL-CIO. The band has said that they are all Democrats, and during the 2004 United States presidential election were part of Punkvoter, a political activist group dedicated to defeating George W. Bush. That year they also appeared on the Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 compilation contributing the song “We Got the Power.”

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And then, of course, there is the Playing for Change movement, a multimedia music project created by producer and sound engineer Mark Johnson with his Timeless Media Group, that seeks to bring together musicians from around the world. Playing For Change also created a separate non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation which builds music schools for children around the world.

Periods of European art music
Early
Medieval	(500–1400)
Renaissance	(1400–1600)
Baroque	(1600–1760)
Common practice
Baroque	(1600–1760)
Classical	(1730–1820)
Romantic	(1815–1910)
Modern and contemporary
20th-century	(1900–2000)
Contemporary	(1975–present)
21st-century	(2000–present)

[rough draft]

MK

Rocks Off has been bad, very bad.

In our last two “Don’t Start a Band” blogs, we ragged on our bassist, our drummer and our guitarist. We meant it all in good fun, but we have yet to rag on ourselves, and that’s just not fair. So here’s to equality and journalistic integrity.

We joined the band a year ago. Our first performance as lead vocalist was last June, but the band has been around for about seven years, previously under another name. We’ve been a longtime friend and fan of the band, so when we were asked to help them market their music as well as get involved in performances, we were stoked.

In the seven years of its existence, the band often came to us for feedback. And being a journalist, we liked to talk with the fans about what they thought. They all said the same thing: “They’re a great band, but they need more stage presence.”

So one night, after discussing the band and ways it could market itself over a few drinks with the drummer, he proposed a question: “Can you sing?”

We were in choir from middle school through high school, but it had been a long time since we had even attempted to sing (other than in the shower when no one was home).

We hesitated. He noticed.

“Look, you’re friends with all of us, and you know we’ll be honest with you. If it sucks, it sucks. We’ll tell you. But if it’s good, we can do something with it.”

We had another drink and agreed.

A week later, we were trying out. We had always wanted to be in a band, but didn’t know how to go about starting one. Instead, we lucked out and became involved in a project that had already been years in the making.

Eventually, our first show came around, and we had an idea. Since the recurring feedback was that the band needed more of a stage presence, we thought we would try something new: uniforms.

Not really, but kind of. We know, we know. It sounds stupid, but we weren’t thinking My Chemical Romance-esque, we just thought it would be a good idea to look like a group. Originally, we wanted to keep it simple, so we suggested black T-shirts (or polos, or button downs) and jeans.

“Every band does that,” our bassist said.

He had a good point, so we decided to wear red instead. All of us are either current or former students of UH, so we thought we’d represent the Coogs. But it didn’t really work because of the stage lights, which we didn’t take into consideration. Coupled with the fact that we were all wearing different shades of red, we don’t think anyone even noticed.

One day, before our first show, a fellow Cougar and acquaintance of ours asked if she could attend, review it, interview us and write about our band in a presentation she was working on for class. Why not, right? We informed our band mates and asked them to play nice, to which they agreed.

The girl showed up to the first show. From the stage, we saw her taking pictures and, after the show, asked her what she thought of our music. She was a bit shy, so she didn’t have much to say, but she did tell us that she was still planning to plug us in her project. Sweet! We asked her to send us a copy of the finished product, which she agreed to do.

It took us months to get it from her and, when we finally did, we realized why it had taken so long. Our drummer told us that, had he done this, he would have lied, said it was lost and never brought it up again. Instead, she actually sent it to us, and we were shocked.

In it were fabricated quotes and bios that were as wrong as they could possibly be. It was as if she actually researched us, but then, for whatever reason, decided to lie. She even quoted members of the audience calling us “Houston’s grunge revival mixed with A Perfect Circle and Tool.”

We wish… but no one ever said that about our band, so the first press we ever got (if that could even be called press) was a complete lie. It also mentioned that our bassist was a Chicago native and would occasionally break out his accordion and didgeridoo onstage. Both statements are false, but maybe he could learn to play those instruments. We’re thinking about the keytar too.

So our first two attempts to market the band were, in Internet terms, a fail – failure is too long of a word for us bloggers. But since then, we’ve been working hard with a lot of people to get our music out there. And we’ve got some time in the studio booked this weekend to (hopefully) finish mixing our first album, so soon we will have an actual product to actually market. FTW!

In the meantime, we should really quit smoking. Our only position in the band is as lead vocals, so we should work on that. Maybe tomorrow we’ll give it a shot. Or maybe the next day. Or maybe not at all.

Now click here!

MK