Right now, I am bored.
Bored of guitar music.
I had a look at Kerrang! this morning, and realised that I knew none of the bands in the reviews section. And, guess what? I have no interest in getting to know any of them.
I'm bored of that whole shebang. My mind is finding other avenues of music to explore that are doing interesting things. It started with Gorillaz. Plastic Beach and The Fall are wonderful albums, expressive and emotive. And they're big. They paint pictures in my mind of huge scenes, big rolling empty spaces full of loneliness and homesickness and longing for a better time, whilst still celebrating the here and now.
Pop music, man. It's... interesting. I will not say good or bad, as I'm not sure myself, and some stuff that I've grown to like, I hated when I first heard it.
Mr. Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines, for example has a beat that gets under your skin and that's pretty much all there is to the song. A beat and a bass line. And yet, and yet.... it's a minimalist triumph, of sorts. I suspect the fact that I hear it approximately once an hour can't hurt it's cause of course. It's still just stupid pop song with a questionable lyrical message. Nothing new there, but...
Daft Punk's Get Lucky is easier to explain. It still uses instruments, theres a song you can actually sing... but it's a disco/funk hybrid. I'm not a fan of disco, and my knowledge of funk comes from Jamiroquai and One-Hit-Wonders Wild Cherry. Actually, it is somewhat Jamiroquai-ish... I've liked Daft Punk since Around The World, so this is less of a stretch, but musically, it's a departure for them from the electronica they've done up to now.
Onwards to a Seattle rapper called Macklemore. Thrift Store broke him in the UK, I guess, but the latest song Can't Hold Us is where he has really come to my attention. I can see myself buying his albums, to be honest. I've looked out a few of his and they're pretty good. He's actually breaking out of the Hip-Hop mold, and rapping about more than how awesome he is and how much money he has. Songs in support of gay rights, living life now, the loss of a friend to drug abuse, being an individual and not buying into capitalism... The guy is doing good so far. And the songs are good, use sensible and appropriate samples, he tends to look like he's having a blast. Good guy.
Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake... classic pop music. Nothing really new here, but done with such style and panache that you can't help but warm to it. There's a plethora of bands out there making dance music that (while it remains to be seen whether or not they'll be flash in the pans or not) just sounds so good to my ears now. Rudimental, Duke Dumont and even Naughty Boy (though the La la la la chorus grates a little).
Indie bands that I'm hitting a little late like Gym Class Heroes, MGMT and Imagine Dragons, even. All giving me new ways of hearing the world. New ways of expression, be it straight up or somewhat abstract.
So, guitar bands. Time to up your game! Come on, here we are now, entertain us...
