MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE (2023)

Support MxG & REC: Get a shirt! Sponsorship @ $5/month - "It's All Too Much" (from "IT WASN'T ME!" & "Synergy for the Weird") The Drop feat. Nick DeMatteo - "I'm So Tired" (from IT WASN'T ME!) OR STREAM ANYWHERE In this fourth installment of my six-part Beatles series, I take a look at their most experimental phase, focusing on the Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (The White Album) and Yellow Submarine. This is the period (1967-69) when the Beatles' cohesion began to break down in more ways than one, including the whole concept of what it meant to be "the Beatles". While it led to their split, it also spawned three albums of the most eclectic range of music the Beatles have ever released. And I explain why The Beatles is the only album that embodies everything they ever were. Are any of these albums your favorite? And this time as a whole? Can you hear how exploitation and discord went hand in hand? Fuck argue! ECLECTIC SONGS FROM THE BEATLES LIVE ACOUSTIC CONCERT~~~~*Intro Song Credit: REC – “Wake Up High”

March 27, 2023

Support MxG & REC: OFFICIAL Join MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonWatch MxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 26SONG FEATURED: REC – “Make Me Break Like Everyday” (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007–2020 and Syncopy for the Weird) This week I'm talking about neo-soul, the progressive R&B genre of the late '90s that fused '70s soul style with a hip-hop sensibility. I address some of the major players, including ancestors and artists, who emerged after neo-soul disappeared. I also discuss why it was so important to the development of R&B, hip hop, and music in general, why it seemed to sell out so quickly, and what happened next. Were you a fan of neo soul? Who were some of your favorite artists? Do you think it ended because it got too purist and/or the world evolved? Or do you think it's not over, but just turned into the next wave of music and artists? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

March 17, 2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 25FEATURED MUSIC: The Drop feat. Ape Cafe - "Lock-Load-Love" (series theme song, from IT WASN'T ME!) This week I'm diving into TV music. I'll go through some iconic and popular TV themes from each decade from the beginning, breaking the list down into songs complete with selected lyrics and instrumentals. My main list consists of songs written specifically for each show, and then I throw in some "honorable mentions" - pre-existing songs used as themes. I also talk about TV music in general, how it has moved very slowly towards contemporary music and how pop music has gradually infiltrated the soundtracks of almost every show. Are there any you can still sing or hum today? Do you think there was a heyday for TV theme songs? How is my favorites list different from yours? How much popular music have you discovered through television? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

March 13, 2023

Support MxG & REC:MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialOFFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHPODFAST #8SONG FEATURED:REC - "Any Universe" (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020 and The Sunshine Seminar)In this On PODFAST's 8th bonus episode, I announce that in all of music history and as far as we can see into the future, there are ONLY EIGHT GENRES. They are: 1st people2. Classic3. improvised4. Experimental5. Electronic6. Rhythm & Blues7. skirt8. Rap/Hip HopDo you agree? disagree? Would you like to see a copy of the decidedly incomplete list of 1400 genres/subgenres I compiled? Discuss shit! ~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020)

March 08, 2023

Support MxG & REC:MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialOFFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHSeason 5 Episode 24FEATURED MUSIC:The Drop - "This End Up" (by IT WASN'T ME!) This week I'm featuring a pair before British hip-hop artists Dizzee Rascal & The Streets. Both rose to prominence in the 2000s and have had careers ever since. I talk about how their styles - and British hip-hop styles in general - are often more interesting and less restrictive than American hip-hop, and how that approach applies to all British music that reinterprets American music. I also talk about the global reach and dominance of hip-hop as it approaches its supposed 50th anniversary, and how hip-hop fits into music culture and music history, given such an incredible milestone and such a rich legacy. . Are you a hip hop fan? Do you know the two Spotlight artists? Are you into hip hop outside the US or UK? Where do you think hip hop belongs in all of music history? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

March 06, 2023

I'm spending an hour with Anthony Cirillo. Anthony is president of The Aging Experience (www.theagingexperience.com), creator of the Caregiver Smile Summit, a virtual video-on-demand based program that includes professionals across the spectrum of care. He is also the creator of Sage Stream, a senior entertainment/educational network that broadcasts LIVE entertainment to nursing homes and other venues. Learn more about Sage Stream here: www.sagestream.liveAnthony is a Philadelphia-based musician who has performed in casinos and resorts, won multiple Billboard songwriting awards, recorded in Nashville, and appeared in songwriter shows. Visit www.tonyc.live to learn more about Anthony's music and where he plays in the Charlotte, NC area. MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialOFFICIAL MxG & REC MERCH~~~~*Music Credit: REC – “Sing Owwt”

February 27, 2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 22FEATURED MUSIC:REC - "Silence of the Disabused" (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020 and Symphony for the Stranger) This week I'm putting the spotlight on David Bowie. He and his entire career can be summed up in one word: indefinable. I explain why this is the end state for ALL artists, few of whom reach it, and how in the long run it can show that all the pieces fall into place to create an unrepeatable image. Are you a Bowie fan? If so, when did you find it and manage to explore most or all of its levels? If not, why not? Did you always see Bowie as the one you first incorporated into your music, or are you able to incorporate his full range of expression? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

February 20, 2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 21FEATURED MUSIC:REC – “The Accumulate” (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007–2020 AND Symphony for the Weird)In Part 3 of my six-part series on the Beatles, I explore their most expansive period, when they left live rock recording and became full-on studio masterminds, Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's (as well as the US release Yesterday and Today). It was also when they felt the strongest bond as a band, as opposed to when their disillusionment began to destroy that cohesion. I talk about why this is their best and most memorable period, what makes them so great and which of the three albums is really their best. Are any of them your favorite album? Can YOU decide if Rubber Soul or Revolver is better? Where do you rate Sgt. Pepper? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

February 13, 2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 20FEATURED MUSIC:*Anon.* - "Move Ahead, Long Boy" (by It Wasn't Me!) in the middle of Season 5 (sort of) and what a season that was. In this third episode of the update, I'm giving some fan shout outs, specifically to the fans who sparked "music, entertainment, and connection" as I always mention. I'm making some additions and corrections to most of the episodes this season. I talk about what's going on for me musically and what's coming next. I also delve into what it means to fetishize the past and the importance of contextualizing, recontextualizing and staying connected to the present you are through the things you know and love. If I missed a comment you made, or an idea/band/fact you think should be here, then let's discuss it!~~~~*intro song credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

06.02.2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 19FEATURED MUSIC:Nicky DeMatteo - "The Lady's In Love With You" (from Blame It On My Youth)This week I'm talking about Frank sinatra Does he deserve all the praise? What was his best time? How does he stand out among singers of his type? What has happened to singing since the 1960s? I also talk about the history of singing and break down the five main eras of singing. Are you a fan of Sinatra? If yes, do you have a favorite time? If not, why not, and which other singers do you think are better? Are there any pop singers from the last 40-50 years that you're a fan of? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

January 30, 2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 18FEATURED MUSIC:REC - "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (from It Wasn't Me!) This week I'm talking about the biggest explosion of rock in the history of music. NOT the 1960s. NOT the 1970s. NOT the 1990s. It's the 2000s. It was also the last time that rock music was a truly dominant force in music and culture in general. Why? And will you come back? This episode covers which rock genres and movements were prominent in the 2000s (hint: almost all of them), which newer or newer bands were significantly active during that time, and where music went after rock touched everything. Are you a fan of 2000s rock? Do you think another era had an even bigger explosion? Why do you think rock exploded so much and then seemed to disappear just as quickly? What the hell! POP NO SPOTIFY2000s MIX 3 - EMO SCREAMO POWER POP NO YOUTUBE2000s MIX 4 - MELLOW ROCK & ELECTRO NO SPOTIFY2000s MIX 4 - MELLOW ROCK & ELECTRO NO YOUTUBE2000s MIX 5 - DANCE & WEIRD ROBOTIC SHIT NO SPOTIFY2000s MIX 5 - DANCE & WEIRD ROBOTIC SHIT MIX 6 - NEW NEW WAVE ON SPOTIFY2000s MIX 6 - NEW NEW WAVE ON YOUTUBE2000s MIX 7 - PUNK & GARAGE ROCK ON SPOTIFY2000s MIX 7 - PUNK & GARAGE ROCK ON YOUTUBE~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

January 21, 2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialMUSIC is EVERYTHING - Edition 29SONG HIGHLIGHT:The Drop - "Centerfield" (cover of the song by John Fogerty - from It Wasn't Me!) This every week I travel back in time and through all the main musical genres. I announce with all my infallible authority and knowledge when each genre was at its peak - i.e. which decade of the 20th or 21st century each genre was at its overall best. I use the criteria of the “three Cs” from which I take an aggregate measure: CREATIVITY – the breadth and depth of exploration; CHARM – how popular the song was and how connected it was to the culture's imagination and zeitgeist; and COMMERCE – how much money it made for artists and labels. These are the genres I will cover:AmbientAfrican & Asian Pop MusicBluesClassicalCountryEasy ListeningEDMElectro PopEuro PopFilm MusicFolkFunkHip HopIndie/Alt RockJazzLatinMetalMusical TheaterPopPower Pop / EmoProgressive RockPunk & Post-PunkReggaeR&B/SoulRockSwingTechno/House/Trance/Dubstep/Drum & BassDoes not mean music in other decades was not popular or even more popular). That doesn't mean it was the ONLY decade artists were creatively fruitful (or even at their peak). And that doesn't mean Genre hasn't made a lot (or even more) money in another decade. It's about the overall influence of music on culture, and in particular the music business at large. Oh, and I won't go into most sub- or ANY sub-genres. Which decades are your favorites for these genres? Were there other decades that you think were even better? Discuss shit!* Intro song: REC - "In Your Dreams Tonight" (Agent Orange cover - by Syzygy for the Weird)

January 16, 2023

I'm spending an hour with musician and teacher Bob Adams. Bob is a high school instrumental music director whose indoor percussion ensemble won the 2021 Coast Championship. He's also an accomplished trombonist who once took a tour that took him to the North Pole. And he's been a dear friend and acquaintance of mine for a long time.~~~MxG & REC Support:OFFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo Official~~~~*Music Credit: REC – "Sing Owwt "

01.06.2023

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 15FEATURED MUSIC:REC - "I'll Be Back" (from "It Wasn't Me!") Beatles Subseries , I go through your movie albums and the intermediate album. It's one of the least explored Beatles eras because the films themselves received the most attention. While each Beatles phase was a transitional phase, this one may be the most significant because it bridged the gap between their rock n roll/cover band/copycat years and their impending creative explosion of genius and originality. It was at this stage that they started to go beyond their influences and explore what it means to be themselves. I also talk about how this album showed among the movies that they were overworked, traveling too much and slowly getting over the mad monster of fame. Which songs from these albums are your favorites? Which movie do you prefer? How would you rate this phase of your career? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

January 02, 2023

PODFAST #7In this specific episode of PODFAST, I speak with Ashira. She is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles who just released her new single "Saint". Check out ALL of her links below and listen to Ashira anywhere. LISTEN TO ASHIRA: "Saint" "Divine Intervention" FOLLOW ASHIRA: TikTokInstaYouTubeSpotifyApple Music for Rome Prisma Awardshttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt11674936/~~~MxG & REC Support:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo Official~~~~*Music Credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020)

December 26, 2022

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 14FEATURED MUSIC:Nick DeMatteo - "This Christmas" (live cover of the song by Donny Hathaway)In this episode, I discuss albums by Christmas in general. Is there a better one? What are my favorites? What are some of my least favorites? Why is it easier to love cheesy holiday music more than any other kind? I also defend two songs: one that you can't find a single GOOD version of and one that really doesn't have a BAD version. What are your favorite Christmas albums? Or Christmas carols? What Christmas albums or songs can you just not listen to? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

December 19, 2022

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 13FEATURED MUSIC:The Drop - "Lovely to See You" (by It Wasn't Me!) In this episode, I discuss the cover Art albums and cover art in general. I use some of my favorite cover albums to illustrate how the best covers capture the essence of the original without having to replicate the sound. And indeed, those that DON'T replicate the sound are almost always much better. This episode takes place on the eve of my new debut album, It Wasn't Me! - featuring covers and songs made for movies and other similar projects. You can hear it on REC's Bandcamp: https://recarea.bandcamp.com/What are your favorite cover albums? Do you prefer covers that are as faithful as possible to the original or do you like it when artists reinterpret and/or experiment? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

December 12, 2022

I'm spending an hour with Kevin Stroud. Kevin is an attorney and podcaster who is perhaps best known as the creator and host of The History of English podcast - my absolute favorite podcast to listen to. He has written a book review for The New York Times and sometimes gives presentations on the history of legal language and legal English. And please support Kevin's great work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historyofenglish~~~MxG & REC Support :OFFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo Official~~ ~~*music Credit: REC - "Sing Owwt"

December 05, 2022

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 11FEATURED SONGS:REC - "I'm Gone" (by Parts and Labor)NICK - "Alive" (live acoustic cover) from Pearl Jam music) In this episode I talk about Pearl Jam, one of my favorite bands that was born in the 1990s. They are not just survivors of grunge, they are the new classic rock. They've proven time and time again that you can balance experimentation with pop and rock without compromising your principles. And they were the first grunge band I fell in love with. Are you a fan of Pearl Jam? Did you follow them throughout their careers or did you stop listening after Vitalogy and the end of grunge? Who was your first grunge love? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

November 28, 2022

Support MxG & REC:OFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHMxG on PatreonMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 10FEATURED MUSIC:NICK - "Do You Wanna" (by Listen You People)This is the first in a six-part series on The Beatles. I've divided their careers into different eras based on their UK albums. While I include historical rather than musical ideas, most of my talks will focus on the music itself, from my usual creator and fan perspective. In Part 1 I explain the whole series and go straight to The Formation of the Beatles, years before recording and the first two albums. Which early Beatles songs are your favourites? How would you rate this phase of your career? Discuss the fuck! ~~~~*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"

November 21, 2022

I'm spending an hour with Joe DeLuca. Joe is a producer, engineer, musician, writer and performer who has owned and operated Why Me Recording in Gibbsboro, NJ for 35 years and has recorded over 600 bands. Joe's recent work includes Abstract Geometry by Kurt Bock and singer/songwriter Jeff Ehling. For more information about Joe, visit his website: www.JoeDeLucaProducer.com Guitar, Dave Kloss - Bass, Ritchie DeCarlo - Drums, Joe DeLuca - Guitar/Keyboards/Mixing) Creamcicle Spiders - "I" (Karolyn DiAntonio-Jordon - Vocals, Dave Kloss - bass, Ritchie DeCarlo - drums, Joe Deluca - guitar/keyboards/mixing)NICK - "Your Sister" (Nick DeMatteo - vocals, Pete Braidis - rhythm guitar, Cary Wallace - lead guitar, Dave Borginis - drums, Chris Leaverton - Bass , Joe DeLuca – Mixing)~~~MxG & REC Support : MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo Official*Intro Music Credit: REC - "Sing Owwt"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor : The easy way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

November 14, 2022

Support MxG & REC: MxG on Patreon MxG on Anchor MxG on YouTube REC on Bandcamp REC on YouTube Nick DeMatteo OfficialMUSIC is EVERYTHING - Edition 28SONG FEATURED:REC - "Where You Go" (from the REC: The Best of REC 2007-2020 collection) We all need rest. It's restful - a break from the constant noise we can hardly escape. But when does silence become very silent? Tracking my music is like watching an arcade machine. Up down left right. I can't stay in a mood for long. Give me a few hours of music of any kind and I'm willing to switch. Even better, give me a blend that has a little bit of everything and I'm happily ever after. You can count on the music to offer as much variety as possible. Even within a genre, dynamism, attitude and expressiveness are almost everywhere. Think heavy metal. Then think of the power ballad. Think jazz fusion. Then consider smooth jazz. Think of stones. Then think Soft Rock. Remember that for a second, because we'll come back to that. Let's talk about pop music first. Examine the charts for any week or month over the last, I don't know, 80 years. The top 10 songs are almost guaranteed to represent a healthy range of music. Every once in a while, one genre of music dominates in a way that screams trend. Jazz and big band singer in the 1940s. Doo Wop and Rock n Roll in the 50s. Britpop and Folkrock in the 60s. Disco and soft rock in the 70s. New Wave & Hair Metal in the 1980s. Grunge and hip hop in the 90s. Alternative rock and R&B in the 2000s. EDM and Hip Hop in the 2010s. And wherever the trends go, you will find labels, producers and even some artists taking advantage of them, creating increasingly weak imitations until the trend disappears. In the last decade in particular, a trend has developed where it is now clearly the dominant force. And this time it's not a genre. It's everywhere. SOFTNESS. Choose a genre. Pop. R&B Hip Hop. Whatever Taylor Swift is these days. In any case, the most popular songs are mellow, characterized by mellow midrange tones, often quite mellow, or at least inoffensive, synths and vocals that strive to subdue. Take a look at the current Billboard chart. From today's podcast recording, you have to go to number 22 to find a song that isn't mellow. The vast majority of top 50 songs are just mellow. Given what the world has gone through in recent years, it's no surprise that the general population needs everything to disconnect and relax. It's objectively not a bad thing. Soft music has always existed. But we need to distinguish between intentionally and meaningfully soft music and music that is soft - or we might call it understated - because it's fashionable or afraid to sing out loud. We'll start with the first type: ambient music. For the FULL SCRIPT go to https://patreon.com/MUSICisnotaGENRE*Intro Music: REC - "In Your Dreams Tonight" (Agent Orange cover - by Syzygy for the Weird) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor : The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

07.11.2022

Support MxG & REC:MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialOFICIAL MxG & REC MERCHSeason 5 Episode 7FEATURED MUSIC: NICK - "The Same Way" (from The Metrogrande Sessions)In this episode I talk about "27 Club ' , an informal group of celebrities who died at age 27. Specifically for this podcast, I'm focusing on musicians. The list is much longer than you might think. I also talk about whether or not this "club" has any real meaning. Who do you remember the 27 Club? Which deaths do you tackle the most, if any? You think none of this matters? Discuss shit! *Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: A Easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 31, 2022

Support MxG & REC: MxG on Patreon MxG on Anchor MxG on YouTube REC on Bandcamp REC on YouTube Nick DeMatteo Official PODFAST #6In this episode, I give a brief overview of eight recently released albums: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cool It Down Simple Minds - Direction of the Heart Rina Sawayama - Hold the Girl The Pixies - Doggerel Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9 Dr. John - Things Happen That Way Death Cab for Cutie - Asphalt Meadows Alvvays - Blue Rev* Music Credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (from RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 28, 2022

I'm spending an hour with John Kiran Fernandes. John is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, music creator and owner of Cloud Recordings. He was a seminal part of the famous Elephant 6 collective and played with many of its bands including The Olivia Tremor Control & Circulatory System. John is also the father of musician/artist Jeremy Kiran Fernandes. Learn more about John and hear some of his great music here: Cloud Recordings-label Cloud Recordings on BandcampShane Parish, feat. John Kiran FernandesJohn on FacebookJohn on InstagramAnd to learn more about the Elephant 6 musical collective, read this book: Endless Endless: A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery~~~MxG & REC Support: MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo Official*Intro/Outro Music Credit: REC - "Sing Owwt"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 24, 2022

Support MxG & REC: MxG on Patreon MxG on Anchor MxG on YouTube REC on Bandcamp REC on YouTube Nick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 5SONG FEATURED: REC – “Three More Minutes” (by Synergy for the Weird AND RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007- 2020) In this episode I talk about Green Day, the most successful punk band in history. They show that punk music not only has staying power, but can be just as popular, expansive, and artistic as any other type of music. I also talk about what it means to be a true punk. Have you heard Green Day? Do you think they should be called "true punk"? Is punk an attitude, a sound or both? Discuss shit! *Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 16, 2022

Support MxG & REC:MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 4FEATURED MUSIC: REC - "Let It Wreck Your Mind" (by Syncopy for the Weird)In this episode I talk about one of my best bands hip hop favorites of the time and one of Philly's best bands of all time, The Roots. They popularized live band hip-hop, helped usher in the neo-soul movement, and created a legacy of diverse, socially conscious, and incredibly fun music. Do you know The Roots? Do you know her besides Jimmy Fallon? How do you see their work compared to standard drum machine and sample-based hip hop? Discuss shit! *Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 10, 2022

I'm spending an hour with Danny Burstein. Danny is an experienced stage, film and television actor. He is a seven-time Tony Award nominee and won Best Actor in a Musical for Moulin Rouge in 2020! He's a nice guy too. You can find more information about Danny pretty much everywhere you look. Support MxG & REC: MxG on Patreon MxG on Anchor MxG on YouTube REC on Bandcamp REC on YouTube Nick DeMatteo Official*Intro/Outro Credit: REC - "Sing Owwt" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

03.10.2022

In this short and dangerous episode of PODFAST, I announce that the new REC album is on Bandcamp. RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020 is now available exclusively on Bandcamp. It is a two-volume set of 30 remastered tracks from the eight REC albums. Listen here: RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020 For bonus content, including all 30 high-quality WAV files, high-resolution cover art, and a 16-page booklet featuring the band's history, stories about each album, never-exclusive -never-before-seen photos and artwork and a taste of what REC's next steps, join REC & MxG on Patreon:MxG on PatreonAnd don't forget all the other ways to support:MxG on Anchor MxG on YouTube REC on Bandcamp REC on YouTube Nick DeMatteo Official* Music Credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (by Syncopy for the Weird) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

September 30, 2022

Support MxG & REC:MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 2SONG FEATURED: REC - "Real Life" (from Symphony for the Weird AND RECcollection: The Best of REC 2007-2020)In this episode I discuss the legendary James Taylor, what it REALLY means to be a singer-songwriter and how Taylor embodies and defies convention. ??? Or how he helped define this genre? you're a fan Have you heard more than just their greatest hits? Do you think the only real singer-songwriters are quiet solo singers playing piano or guitar? Discuss shit! *Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

September 26, 2022

Support MxG & REC:MxG on PatreonMxG on Anchor MxG on YouTubeREC on BandcampREC on YouTubeNick DeMatteo OfficialSeason 5 Episode 1SONG FEATURED: REC - "Some Things Happen" (from Parts and Labor) A to Z Master List of Popular Music Artists. These aren't acts I just like - this list would be 100 times longer. These are artists I love and can't get enough of. Artist at heart, you could say. Some of them have already been featured on MxG. Others are in the works, serving as a preview of what's to come in Season 5. Here is the list: Alice In Chains / Ape Cafe / Apples in Stereo Bach / Beastie Boys / Beatles / Bee Gees / Tony Bennett / Leonard Bernstein / Big Audio Dynamite / Bloc Party / David Bowie / Dave Brubeck Chicago / Chopin / The Clash / George Clinton / Phil Collins / Cornershop / The Cure The Dead Milkmen / Nicky DeMatteo / Depeche Mode / The DropEminem Foo Fighters / Fountains of Wayne G. Love & Special Sauce / Genesis / Green Day / Vince Guaraldi Hall & Oates / Jimi Hendrix / Hole / Husker DuIndigo Girls / INXS Billy Joel The Kinks / Lenny KravitzLed Zeppelin / John Lennon / LL Cool JPaul McCartney / Metallica / Thelonious Monk / Morrissey New Order / NICK / NirvanaOasis / Ozzy OsbournePearl Jam / Prince / Louis PrimaQueen REC / Red Hot Chili Peppers / R.E.M. / Smokey Robinson / The Roots / Run - DMCSmashing Pumpkins / The Smiths / Stephen Sondheim / Soundgarden / Squeeze (retroactive) / Matthew Sweet / Stone Temple Pilots James Taylor / They Might Be GiantsU2 Violent Femmes The Who / Wings / The Wombats / Stevie WonderXTC Yazoo / YesThe ZombiesWhere do we agree? Where do we disagree? Who should I have included? Discuss shit! *Intro Music Credit: REC - "Wake Up High"--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

September 19, 2022

How to Support MxG & REC:MxG on Patreon - Subscription for as little as $5/monthMxG on Anchor - Monthly Subscription at any price Subscribe to MxG on YouTube - Subscription is free and you can add a one-time donation here: https://paypal .me /MUSICisnotaGENREREC on Bandcamp - buy REC music once or subscribe for just $5/month. Subscribe to REC on YouTube - completely free and one of the BEST places to get REC music. Sign up for Nick's newsletter for free! THANK YOU!* Music Credits: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (by Syncopy for the Weird) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

August 27, 2022

If MUSIC isn't new to any GENRE, this intro will explain it all. You can also view the video version here: MxG New Intro VideoPlease consider supporting MxG. This is (as of 2022) a one-person operation and only exists because of generous listeners and supporters like you of MxG, my band REC:REC on Bandcamp Subscribe to REC on YouTube --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.08.2022

*Music Credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (by Syncopy for the Weird) SUPPORT MxG ON PATREON SHOW MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS AND MORE~~~~In this episode I present the new intro video of MxG which is officially released will debut soon. You can watch the PODFAST version of the video here:PODFAST #3 VIDEOHere are ways to support, follow, share and show your love for MUSIC is not a GENRE:Subscribe to MxG on PatreonMxG on AnchorMxG on YouTubeNick DeMatteo Official SiteAnd here's where you can find all songs from REC: REC on Bandcamp Subscribe to REC on YouTube --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.08.2022

*Music Credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (by Syncopy for the Weird) SUPPORT MxG SHOW ON PATREON MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE ~~~~ In this episode, I give a brief overview of seven albums released in July 15th: ...and You Shall Know Us by the Trail of the Dead - XI: Bleed Here Now Beabadoobee - Beatopia callinamagician - Head Full of Snow Chicago - Born for This Moment (XXXVIII) The Fall - Grudges Held Long Interpol - The O another side of Mock Lizzo - Special --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

July 22, 2022

*Music credit: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (by Syncopy for the Weird) APOIE-ME NO PATREON SHOW MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MORE~~~~Welcome to MUSIC is not the first PODFAST of GENRE. This edition of MxG will consist of bonus mini-episodes starting in the summer of 2022 and continuing regularly into future seasons. This episode is all about the changes to the podcast - some coming in season 5 and some already here. RECOMMENDED LINKS: MxG - Every Episode EverMxG - The OpinionsMxG - The InterviewsMxG - Death is DUMBMxG - The Book SpeaksMxG - The Featured Songs--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

June 27, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON SHOW MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and OTHER MUSIC: REC - "When It Comes" (from Distance To Empty) Hard to believe but this is the final episode of MUSIC is not a monumental 4th season of a GENRE . With each season, MinaG gets closer to his ultimate form and tone. New subseries have been added (including this one!). Old segments were worked on. New goals set - some achieved and some saved as Season 5 goals. New fans and subscribers. New Commentators. New patrons and supporters. And in the midst of an extremely up-and-down year, a renewal of spirit and purpose. Here's what this week's recap will cover: 1. Know MinaG terms - I make up a lot of shit. It will be more fun if you understand what these four terms mean: Chronolography, Artist of the Heart, Death is DUMB, Sharing Tingles.2. Season 4 Recap - A list of all episodes, including fan comments, some corrections, and additional notes.3. More fan comments - many of you dear people have contributed this year and I would love to respond.4. Timelines - as in #1, you know what that is, right? I'll talk about what I've heard lately.5. Look forward to the next season - what's next, what's changing and how you can be a part of it. Besides putting on the best show I can put on, the most important thing to me is your feedback. Although I have more or less free time during the summer, I would love to hear from you. Tell me what you liked (or didn't like) about this season and what you would like for the next season. I have some surprises in store and would love for you to be a part of them. As always, your support is more valuable than I can express, so please join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MUSICisnotaGENREI'll drop you one of my favorite singles from REC. It's about finding the love you didn't even know you wanted. It feels like summer to me. - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

June 13, 2022

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE MORE FEATURED VIDEOS AND MUSIC: REC - "It's Like This" (by Parts and Labor) yeahokaywhateverBut when I'm into something, I usually don't want it to end. As you might guess from a guy who does a Death is DUMB subseries, endings are not my strong point. This is one of the reasons I choose my chronology subjects very carefully. When I listen to each album, I have to make sure I like the music. I'm the same with books. I've read books with almost 1500 pages. I read series of books with 8 or more parts. The length doesn't matter. In fact, I was so absorbed in these books that even that wasn't enough. The same goes for this week's topic: The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Progressive Rock, by David Weigel. And for two reasons. First, I really loved this book. I'm glad a book like this exists because very little has been written about the history of progressive rock. Individual bands or strands of bands were profiled, but not the genre as a whole. This book is a great introduction for anyone wanting to learn more about progressive rock and a fun and informative tour for anyone who already enjoys it. It also extends to current and very current Prog bands, reminding readers that this music is still creatively alive and evolving. Of course I wish it was longer. But that's not the only reason. We're talking about the most complicated, convoluted, expansive - and yes, LONGEST - form of rock music there is. This is a genre where seven minutes is considered SHORT. A quick search online revealed that there are many progressive rock songs that are over an hour long. In my opinion, it would be more appropriate, fitting and respectful to write a book as long and extensive as the best progressive rock song or album. Furthermore, I would argue that writing a comprehensive Prog Rock book is necessary and really the ONLY way. It's clear that David Weigel knows and loves what he's talking about. He would have honored the music and the fans more - and it would have been a lot more fun - if he had been as forgiving as the music itself and just let the stories and facts fly by until his hands hurt. It's possible his goal was to make it more digestible for casual fans. Or the publisher heavily edited the book. I can understand these reasons why the book is so short. As someone who is halfway between a casual fan and an obsessive, I wanted to pull a lot more tangents, a lot more threads, a lot more paths to his ending. He casually mentions genres and bands that border on progressive, but doesn't go far enough to be specific and omits some bands and genres that I would have included. Maybe I'm asking too much. But isn't that the point of progressive rock? Go overboard on purpose. It's asking a lot of the listener. It reveals itself in a way that few other styles of music rarely achieve. While I was satisfied with this book, I wasn't full. I love what's there, but I really miss what's not. Still, this is a book every progressive rock fan - or super-curious music fan - should read. Progressive rock influenced my music from my first demos in my teens and early twenties. You hear progressive elements on all REC albums. I'm even working on a song for the next REC album that could be up to 20 minutes long. But there's no question that my brand of progressiveness is more pop/accessible - let's say, yes, 1980s rather than mid-1970s. The song above is a great example of that. Comment! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 30, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC are non-GENRE VIDEOS and MORE FEATURED MUSIC: REC – “The Garden” (from Sympathy for the Weird) Everything is part of a cycle. Macro, Micro, Nano, Epoch. Even if it looks like something new and never done, it is guaranteed to be an echo of something else. This is in part because nothing is created in a vacuum. New work - even one so refreshingly new that it turns your head - is always influenced by the old. Every shift and movement that catches your eye is a reaction to something that came before it. The complex gives way to the simple. So-called "high art" gives way to so-called "low art" (distinctions I always dispute, but which are useful here). Intrusive and confrontational gives way to smooth and inviting. Sarcasm and nihilism give way to sincerity and faith. And while each iteration of the cycle is different and almost always takes a step forward, it's wise to look back for perspective and context so we can better understand what's being done and why. This makes the seemingly unfamiliar and potentially offensive feeling closer to our experience and therefore more inviting. You can trace the cycle of influence and reaction from the first time a humanoid hit an object repeatedly with a bone or made a sound that was useful to make repeatedly. We're not going to do that here. That's what I call the "$50,000 version" of this podcast. A quicker illustration is as follows: PUNK - a stripped-back response to the complexity and bombast of progressive and classic rock HAIR METAL - a fusion of punk, metal and glam designed to poke a hole in the straight-up seriousness of punk GRUNGE - a stripped-back, upbeat response and more personal and inclusive to the excesses of hair metal and overt misogyny. TWEE INDIE POP & POST ROCK - a quiet, seemingly more contemplative, less guitar-driven answer to the GrungeNow moshfest, all streamlined and very qualified. This type of music existed for more reasons than just a reaction to what came before, whether sociopolitical or purely artistic. And their influences were broader than just "we don't want to do what they did." Punk was in many ways a throwback to the 3- and 4-chord pop rock of the 1950s and the garage rock movement of the 1960s. Hair Metal, as I said, was a descendant of Glam, but also very much based on blues, as opposed to the more classic/progressive metal of previous bands. Grunge brought in a lot of the 1970s - including the relatively flat mid-EQ. And the grunge backlash that included twee and post-rock consisted of tribes that had been around as long as grunge and influences that had been around even longer. And that's where this week's band comes in. Belle & Sebastian are an indie pop band influenced by the 1960s and 1980s from Glasgow. They continued the traditions established by bands like The Zombies and The Smiths. His texts are often literary and intellectual - very academic and often very personal. The same can be said for many grunge lyrics, but grunge was never known for it. Listening to two indie pop and grunge tracks in a row is like the sonic difference between being invited into a basement of isolated suffering or a living room of almost unbearable boredom. Both speak of personal struggle, but in very different ways. Where grunge strove to shock and smack you, twee music tried to be as quiet and humble as possible. And both were absolutely captivating. For the FULL ESSAY go to https://patreon.com/MUSICisnotaGENRE--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easy Way to Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 23, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE FEATURED MUSIC: REC - "Ripe" (from The Sunshine Seminar)Every band has a different dynamic, both for music and business. Mick Jagger was right when he called the Beatles a "four-headed monster", but on the music side, they really only had two heads. Most of U2's music is also driven by two minds, but Larry Mullen Jr. started the band, so I assume there's more equality overall, business-wise. Fleetwood Mac has almost always been a complete mess on both sides, making its longevity and artistic success all the more remarkable. Nirvana was that boisterous head for music and probably the same on the business side. Chicago was a special case. (I say war because they have been a shadow of themselves for so long, and more on that later.) They transformed. Since musical direction and business decisions have changed so many times, you'd think the crew would change too. no They were the main seven (and for a short distance percussionist, Laudir de Oliveira) throughout the classical period. After Terry Kath's death and some growing pains (more on that below), their early 1980s comeback had six original members, plus Chris Pinnick and Bill Champlin. After Peter Cetera left, he was replaced by Jason Scheff and Dawayne Bailey took over for Chris. When Danny Seraphine left, Tris Imboden took over and stayed longer than any other drummer. And in the 1990s and most of the century, it was Core Four, Tris, Lou Pardini on keys, and a host of other changes. In later years, after Walt Parazaider's retirement, there are only three originals, Lou and a handful of others, who seem to have remained for the time being. Why am I going into so much detail? Two reasons. Firstly, to show how much change a loyal band has to endure to have such a long career. And second, to show how this week's topic - the death of Terry Kath - has impacted both the business and musical development of Chicago more than any other event in its history. For those unfamiliar, a brief history. Terry was one of the greatest guitarists of all time. The top ten in the minds of many. He was also one of the band's main vocalists and writers. Above all, his passion and dedication to expression gave Chicago much of its original raison d'être and its depth and realism. Then he died in 1978 from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. From then on, Chicago was never the same. And in many ways, never quite so well. You could say that the death of a core band member changes a band forever, but that's a sliding scale. Bonham's death ended Led Zeppelin, but I would say it didn't change their music that much. The Who's sound changed when Keith Moon died, but they were always another two-headed monster. Cobain's death, of course, ended that band. As for Taylor Hawkins' recent death, the ramifications have yet to be seen. For the FULL SCRIPT, go to https://patreon.com/MUSICisnotaGENRE--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 9, 2022

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE Not everything in life can be positive. There are some things that aren't as objectively good as you might think. Most of us want most of life to be great. And for the things that aren't good, to be "life lessons" or have a "silver lining". But let's face it. There's shit out there and that's it. At the same time, there is almost nothing that can be considered 100% bad. Almost everything and everyone has at least one redeemable property. Society pushes us to communicate as simply as possible, to distill our thoughts into memes or chunks of sound or 280 characters. There is no room for nuances. There is no place for gray. Anything below 100% tends to get lost in the cacophony. Even worse, we think the only way to be heard is to shout in kind. But every time we try, our words are co-opted, belittled or misunderstood. Talking about AT is not talking about TO, and people will give what they get. to find more connection and similarities. To actually have a conversation. How we use these means depends on how hard we've been pressured to believe that screaming is the only way. Because it's still possible to talk a lot and say only one big thing: This is great or this sucks. Agree or disagree. Saying that in 500 or 1,000 words is as reductive as screaming in two. And I would say it's worse because it makes people think you come from a more informed and authoritative place. Fancy words can easily hide simplistic views. And here we have to deal with negative reviews. I have often threatened to explain the difference between a review and a review. So rest assured because here it comes. A critic is a judge. Which implies power. Which, as we all know, can corrupt. And he does. Big moment. Many critics feel it's his job to take down creations and creators, thoughts and mentors or whatever they're reviewing. This is, to put it as simply as possible, a pathetic power play. It's someone with little to no real power or creative power trying to take down someone whose power stems from the act of bringing something into the world that never existed before and then waiting for it to happen in order to be judged. It's a way to divert that power, steal it and use it for destructive purposes. This is a "review". And although some of these reviews contain different, more subtle and constructive thoughts, their overall impression is the worst kind of negative. Skewed. Guys. condescending. Vengeful. service. self-aggrandizement. I seek to destroy, not to illuminate. And intentionally misleading. There is a place for negativity. A place to point out mistakes and explain why something isn't working or is just plain bad or wrong. In a culture that values ​​black and white at all levels, it's important that we don't fall prey to "everything is great in its own way" reductionism. This is just as wrong as the other way around. We must be willing to become didactic or even boring. Live in the gray. Reviewers who deal with constructive criticism know this and encourage it. They create a context and safe space to discuss the negative AND the positive, to respect the artist or thought leader, whether or not they like what they hear or read. They don't proclaim. They invite you to chat and connect. They prove that it is possible to be both critical and respectful. For the FULL SCRIPT, go to https://patreon.com/MUSICisnotaGENRE--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 02, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThis is the second half of my two-part interview with Bridget Hogan - classical singer, actress and artist teacher and recently appointed artistic director of Reaching for the Arts: New York City Opera , San Diego Opera, New York City Ballet, Opera NJ and Resonance Opera; and oratorio/concert appearances at: Carnegie Hall, Toronto Sinfonia, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Summit Music Festival and Ocean Grove Music Festival. She also founded Silver Thread Productions, a company that produces small integrated works of art. To see and hear more about Bridget, visit: La Voix Perdue - a one-woman show loosely based on the life of "Merce Dilette Amiche" by Teresa Strata, from I Vespri Siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi-- - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor : The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 25, 2022

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NON-GENRE ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC IS NON-GENRE VIDEOS and MORE MUSIC: The Drop - "Hey Bulldog" (Beatles cover) REC Cover Melodies YouTube PlaylistNick - "Yes It Is" (a cappella ) There is very little anyone can say about the Beatles that has never been said before. They've been talked about, written about, critiqued, analyzed and dissected, loved and hated, remembered and revived, covered and copied, and they've influenced more musicians than musicians themselves realize. But do they deserve it? If you think this question needs asking, you should probably stop reading and go back to the sick cave of self-loathing you live in. Yes, it is possible to not like the Beatles, even not to like them. But no one with a working brain - and more importantly, a working heart - can suggest that he doesn't deserve all the attention and praise he's been given. It would be like saying Bach was a mundane, repetitive hack, or all Mozart really did was co-opt other people's ideas. Personal opinions aside, the Beatles are objectively one of the greatest creators of music in thousands of years of recorded history. They have infiltrated most cultures in a way that few other art creators have. At this point, it's even more surprising if anyone has never heard of them or at least one of their songs. They just are. This is not my definitive Beatles episode. In fact, I'm not going to discuss their music too much. This week I will focus on three things: 1. The books in my collection and the wealth of Beatles books (and films, TV shows and other media) in general: what they contribute to the wider discussion and what new books can bring out could be brought out - for we all know they are coming;2. The idea that the Beatles are more than just a band; They're an almost universal Rorschach test, a way to figure out what kind of person someone is based on their relationship to the Beatles. In particular, which Beatles period appeals to you, which defines what the Beatles are for you, cannot just dictate the rest of your musical tastes. It can also shed light on how you view and relate to the world at large.3. That the most valuable thing you can say about the Beatles is what you think and feel. Your opinion, assessment, focus, emotion is a unique mix, no matter how much you share it with others. Indeed, it is this combination of uniqueness and similarity that does exactly what the Beatles intended: spread love and connection through music. As a music creator and member of PreFab 4 - one of the best Beatles cover bands (NOT a tribute band), I consider The Beatles my favorite band and I love being able to learn more about them almost every day. It's a clue to WHY so many books, movies, shows and covers are Beatles-inspired. We want to feel what we felt - or what fans alive enough to experience firsthand felt. We want to recover and revive the life and magic that once was. But we can not. In truth. Nothing we do now will fully satisfy that desire. That's why we always want more. FIND THE FULL LINE AND MORE HERE --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 18, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThis is the first of a two-part interview with Bridget Hogan - classical singer, actress and art teacher and recently appointed Artistic Director of Reaching for the Arts. Her credits include roles with: New York City Opera, San Diego Opera, New York City Ballet, Opera NJ and Resonanz Opera; and oratorio/concert appearances at: Carnegie Hall, Toronto Sinfonia, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Summit Music Festival and Ocean Grove Music Festival. She also founded Silver Thread Productions, a company that produces small integrated works of art. To see and hear more about Bridget, visit: La Voix Perdue - a one-woman show loosely based on the life of "Merce Dilette Amiche" by Teresa Strata, from I Vespri Siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi-- - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor : The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 11, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is NON-GENRE VIDEOS and TOP MUSIC: REC – “Gold” (from Parts and Labor) What I am about to discuss is highly illegal. A little bit of that. Perhaps. Among other things, it's an introduction to what music piracy is and isn't, and who the real pirates are. But before that, I want to tell you why I'm going for this. As I've said a dozen times or more, I've been a DJ since I was young. I started doing mixes by transferring songs from one recorder to another. I then used a mixer and two turntables to record my mixes with crossfades and other fun punch-ins - back to tape. I recorded live in high school and college. After that I created a mix for our annual Halloween party and a mega mix every other year. Plus a variety of special mixes for friends, boyfriends and other occasions. There were several technological developments that converged to change everything: · The Internet. Sure, it's been around for about 50 years, but most of us know that it really caught on in the early to mid-1990s - the days of the AOL Disc. · The CD-R (or CD-RW). Introduced in the late 1980s, the technology became affordable about a decade later. This allowed me to record a higher quality live mix than cassette, using the best songs from two years of my purchases · The mp3 (and wav). Again, look to the late 1980s for this innovation and the 1990s for its wider spread. You may remember that computers and the internet were too slow and weak to handle many high quality files (like WAVs), which is why MP3 was so important. Especially when it comes to …· file sharing. Documents and other very small files had been shared on the Internet since the 1970s, but it didn't catch on until the 1990s. And it was the early to mid-2000s when it exploded - in more ways than one. Do you remember Napster? MP3. with? LimeWire and FrostWire? kazaa? The BitTorrent protocol? When it all came together, I was like a diabetic in a candy store, gobbling up whatever I could get my hands on, even if it turned out to be a bad idea. Yes, like most of us, I was a music pirate and lucky to be one. I created several collections of songs that I could never have bought and I loved every minute of it. Entertaining as hell and incredibly educational, but again a bad thing. But was that it? Yes and no - and this "no" is relativized by what came later. Music piracy didn't die because it was banned. (In fact, it's alive and well with things like free online software that lets you copy music from YouTube.) It died because music and tech companies got smart. They saw an opportunity to make a lot of money. They made it so much easier to legally buy almost unlimited music - first with Rhapsody/Listen, then iTunes, then everything else we know and... condone. Things are better for everyone now, aren't they? Incorrect. These companies have made music consumption super convenient, enhancing the experience for both the listener and the companies themselves. But make no mistake: music creators themselves are still being pirated. For the FULL TEXT AND MORE, visit the NEW MUSIC Is Not a GENRE homepage at: https://www.nickdematteo.com/podcast--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

04.04.2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON SHOW MUSIC are NON-GENRE VIDEOS and FEATURED MUSIC:NICK - "Come A Little Closer" (from The Metrogrande Sessions)What is Jazz? At this point there are so many divisions that it is not easy to define them. This word - "JAZZ" - evokes 100% different sounds and ideas in everyone's mind. For me, jazz has to have some form of improvisation - freedom of form - and it has to be funky, at least a little bit. If I were to do a podcast about jazz in general, I would add a few more descriptions and even talk about what I think jazz IS NOT. But that's not what this week is about. I'm asking the question because this week's Spotlight albums are probably NOT the first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think of jazz. Take Heavy Flute - a compilation of jazz songs from the 1960s and 1970s with flute solos. Released in 2000 (and now out of print and nowhere on streaming services), it was an instant classic for me. Say "flute" to someone and the first words that come to mind are probably not "funky" or "cool". But this album proves without a doubt that the flute can be both. Ian Anderson knows this, as does Lizzo. And Walt Parazaider from Chicago. The songs on this album range from lyrical to percussive and everything in between. If you listen - and I suggest looking up each song - you'll get a great 1960s/70s vibe. And you will be surprised how diverse, cool and funky it is. My favorite is without a doubt Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He treats the flute like anything else, from what it should be to a percussion instrument to a microphone. What he did was practically punk. The guy went crazy in the best way and clearly influenced Walt Parazaider's solos. Herbie Mann is a firm second favorite on this album, but you could start with any track and be blown away. intentional pun. Crime Jazz was published in two parts (first grade music and high school music). Both albums were released in 1997 and are also out of print and not available for streaming. They offer ensemble jazz made specifically for thrillers and television. Think Mission: Impossible (the old TV show, not the movie series) or Peter Gunn themes. Although the first one is not included in this compilation, you can find other compositions by the great Lalo Schifrin. The second was by Henry Mancini and performed by Quincy Jones and his orchestra. Also check out the tracks by Elmer Bernstein. He has always been one of my favorites. For FULL TEXT AND LINKS, go to: https://www.nickdematteo.com/podcast--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

04.04.2022

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREI spend an hour with Jacqueline B. Arnold. Jackie is a performer currently starring on Broadway in the musical Moulin Rouge! The musical. We talk about her story, her story on Broadway, on tour, and everywhere else in musical theater and beyond. For more information about Jackie, visit: INSTAGRAM: @jacquelinebarnold https://jackiebarnold.com/ The episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 26, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON SHOW MUSIC is Genreless VIDEOS and MORE MUSIC:REC - "Break You" (from Parts and Labor)REC - "Suddenly" (from Synergy for the Weird)NICK - "Your Sweetness" (from their EP) See this link directly above this line? It makes me feel… whatever. Basically, I always get "emo" when someone tries to define what "emo" is and which bands qualify and which don't. Not unexpected, I'm sure, as you well know, I have a problem with 'genres'. As with any genre, a band you're pretty sure you belong in is hooked up with another band that's a little different. This band is close to another band, etc. etc. Up to five bands down, you've gone from emo to pop-punk for Olivia Rodrigo, or from emo to goth-punk for The Cure. That means I'm going to dive headfirst into this maelstrom of emo shit and hopefully come back with some real conclusions. So what's with all the labels in this week's title? First of all, it's a perfect example of the mess we're getting into with this topic. It's also a short story of where emo came from, when it appeared (pun intended), and where it's going. First, your definition of emo depends a lot on when you discovered it, perhaps more than any other type of emo music. If, like me, you learned about emo in the 1990s, think of everything before Sunny Day Real Estate as proto-emo and think of everything, say, Jimmy Eat World, as NOT emo. If you got into emo in the early 2000's, you're more likely to call Fall Out Boy and Blink-182 emo acts. Here is a quick breakdown of what I consider to be the main emo divisions: For FULL BREAKDOWN including PRE-MO, DREAMO, EMO, SCREAMO, GLEAMO, FE-MO and EMO RAP go to: https://www.nickdematteo.com/ podcast So what is "real emo"? If you know that MUSIC is not a GENRE, you already know the answer: THERE IS NO ANSWER. Emo qualities are found quite prominently in some bands from the 1980s, some grunge bands, and some pop music. Some pop punk have emo leanings and some don't. Some metal and prog bands are emo-adjacent. Others don't. What makes all this fun is finding the topics and following them until you hit the "emo" that suits you (Jimmy Eat World's "Sweetness", btw), but the influence really comes through with REC's Parts and Labor, with the first song being hands down the best example of what emo REC can be. The second song is more like "GLEAMO" than "EMO". And the third is the already mentioned “Your Sweetness” which dates back to 1996. Do you know the music of the bands I performed? What is "real emo" to you? Do you think emo can be clearly defined, and if so, which bands would they be? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 21, 2022

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE. Or at least I present myself as one. I actually have a little too much fire inside me, which is a little too easy to light. Fortunately, with age comes...slowness. I will take longer to answer. I sit with my trigger feeling and explore what else could be there. I'm looking for a way to fill in the gaps. I... drum roll, please... LISTEN before I speak. All of this leads to much better communication, understanding and connection. This is especially helpful when my passion for a topic is beyond reason and I come across someone with the same passion who doesn't necessarily see things the same way I do. What can end up in total distancing and hostility becomes an opportunity to learn, respect and connect. It's a journey. It's a pain in the ass. And it's one of the most rewarding experiences anyone can have. This week's book, Kelefa Sanneh's Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres, is one of the most passionate music books I've ever read. And because the author is passionate, knowledgeable, informed AND opinionated, the book was thoughtful and emotionally stimulating. I was skeptical of major labels because a friend of mine - himself an accomplished writer and critic - mentioned to me that Sanneh champions "genre boundaries", something you might guess MUSIC isn't a GENRE maker of, but not is a fan of his 😊But I was too intrigued by the general topic to pass the book along. So I went in with an open mind, equally willing to enjoy and be frustrated. And although recognition won out, it was a close one. And his often deeply personal touch - shaped in part by his feeling of being an "outsider", both by race and lack of musical ability - did much to temper the moments when he overstepped with subjective judgments or genres interpreted in this way to a real musician to be deaf. What most saved the book for me were three things: First, he knows his stuff. I'd like to say "inside and out", but outside of the punk and hip-hop sections he mostly comes across as an outsider, more inclined to "criticism" than "criticism". Second, he was consistently honest about his views and biases, and particularly about how his opinions, assessments, and predictions were wrong in the past. Third, he's close enough to my generation to have similar reference points and perspectives, even if our attitudes toward specific genres clash only half the time. As far as the general claim of the book is concerned, this popular music can be divided into seven genres - eh. I wanted to get more excited about this, but the author understands that fluidity is a part of music (and any other identity), and his delight in defining genre boundaries and reveling in the specifics is very understandable. The truth is that I also love genres. And sub and sub sub-genres and all the fun classifications we can come up with that refute their own rules. They do what they are supposed to do - giving us a glimpse of what COULD be found. Unfortunately, they also do a lot more - like discriminating against and excluding people en masse, and all the other issues I discussed. Genres are a guilty pleasure, which I'm glad to be falling apart. In a way, I see this book as summing up the "Hyper Genre Divided" period in music history - a period we can ALMOST look back on, and the sooner the better. FIND THE FULL LINE AND MORE HERE-- - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 07, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH THE MUSIC is NON-GENRE VIDEOS and MORE SPECIAL MUSIC: REC - "I'm Gone" (by Parts and Labor) First of all, we need to agree on what makes a supergroup. There are lists based on the conventional definition that a group is made up of members of other groups. I go two more steps. STEP ONE (yes, I've planted the NKOTB song in your head now): The groups these people came from must have been famous in their own right - i.e. successful and well-known, i.e. "amazing". This could include solo careers. STEP TWO: The new group they formed must also have had some success and prestige. In short, a supergroup is "a new famous group formed by members of former famous groups". This stricter definition excludes many groups also called "super". Some categories that no longer apply: · Groups whose members were in groups no one has heard of. Example: Can anyone name another group of Frankie Valli and Four Seasons members? · New groups that almost no one has heard of or remembers. Example: We probably all know Filters, Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots, but does anyone remember Army of Anybody? · Glorified Side Projects - Mainly people from one band, with some parallel types from other lesser known bands. Examples: GTR, A Perfect Circle, Zwan. · Established bands that another famous person played in for a while. Examples: RHCP with Dave Navarro; Mars Volta with John Frusciante, Queen with Paul Rodgers. · Glorified Solo Projects - A famous musician forms a band with a bunch of non-famous people. Example: Wings Personal Favorites - A new group of famous musicians that you wish everyone knew about but never made it there. Example: tinted windows. I'm not saying they deserve less praise or respect. They are not really supergroups. Now that we've established the criteria, let's take a look at a much shorter list of actual supergroups: TO SEE THE FULL LISTING AND REVIEW GO HERE: THE NEW HOME OF MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE One thing that everyone immediately appreciates is whether the new group is better than the old one. In some cases - CSNY, Bad Company, Foo Fighters, Madvillain and Run the Jewels - the new groups ARE better. Their music can stand alone, with or without their original groups - one thing I think makes a supergroup really super. But in almost all of the above cases, and in all the ones I missed, the answer is no. Them Crooked Vultures is no better than any of the bands these people came from. Neither Broken Bells nor Hollywood Vampires. And certainly not Audioslave or Velvet Revolver. Were these bands any good? Yes. Did you bring something new? To some extent, yes. Did they eclipse your old bands? No way. It was great to hear Cornell & Weiland sing again, and in such beloved company. And there were several songs by each that I really liked ("Cochise", "Show Me How to Live" and "The Last Fight", "Fall to Pieces" to name a few). But I think there's no doubt that new bands never came close to Soundgarden & STP's artistic accomplishments. It's great that they exist - both for the artists and for us. But they will always be footnotes. Exceptions like CSNY or Bad Company prove the rule: supergroups are usually not that great. Before REC, I was in a lot of bands, including my own solo career. REC members have also been in other bands. However, none of us are famous – neither then nor now. Therefore, we would not make this list. Which is perfectly fine. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 28, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is non-GENERAL and MORE SPECIAL MUSIC: NICK - "Water Baby" (from his EP) I've been putting this off since the first volume of Death is DUMB. For many reasons. It's confusing and painful. It feels a lot like 1994 and yet not at all. It's full of commentary, assumptions, and bias. It's like what I said about the Eminem "controversy" - what possible new twist or insight could I provide that would warrant an entire episode? But I can't do a subseries about great deaths in music and not include this band. It's just cowardice and a denial of responsibility that should strip me of any pretense of being a good music podcaster. So fuck off. Time to reopen the old wound and spill my guts. Let's get one thing out of the way first. It's not about grunge. Death is ubiquitous in music, and while several grunge-related deaths have been surprising, they are no more numerous than in other styles of music. It's about amazing music, nostalgia in its truest form ("the pain of coming back") and what it all means to me. It doesn't have to be for or about anyone or anything else. No long history or patchwork biography - you can find them everywhere. No repeating old arguments or trying to figure out whys and ifs. In fact, that won't even be a negative. Yes, death is pretty stupid, self-inflicted or not, and it's become a huge part of the Nirvana story. But before that, the music was the story. And the more time passes, the more the story is dominated by music. How should be. The monkeys. WITHOUT. The Beatles. The Smithereens. The elves. Punk. heavy metal. Pop. Raw dynamics that often mask the subtleties and genius of the composition. The contrast of voicing the weakest weaknesses with the loudest screams. Nirvana did for a generation of musicians and music lovers what those other bands did for Kurt Cobain. They reminded us that in music - and in all art - there is no such thing as "allowed". We can ask our example for permission, like Cobain did with the leprechauns, but it's us, fighting within ourselves. The world can fuck off. Once you accept this, ALL YOU, ALL REAL and ALL NEW comes out of you, regardless of what came before. Was Nirvana grunge? Sure, ok But deep down (and heart-shaped heartbreak), and as I historically believe, they were power pop. Beautifully conceived and written pop songs performed with original and compelling power. freedom in form. Deeply conscientious creation, imbued with fucking dedication. Very few artists - very few people in life in general - discover this. We lean on structure and rigor, or we wallow in self-centered self-destruction. We've lost that sweet spot - that perfect state of total surrender to our inner truth, respecting form, function and relationships. We miss that nirvana. No album of mine better captures what Nirvana meant to me than their EP. All songs, except one, were a declaration of love for her. Mild and bitter. Hard and open. Especially "Your Sweetness" and this week's featured song: NICK - "Water Baby" (from your EP) What is your relationship with Nirvana? What are your thoughts/feelings/memories about Cobain and his untimely death? Can you still enjoy the music? Do you hear unabashed (or I guess abused) pop music in your songs? What other bands do you think express the beautiful heartbreak of existence? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 21, 2022

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThere's sort of an old saying, "You can't put lipstick on a pig." Wearing something does not change its inherent nature. Let's really clear this up. First, I bet you can put lipstick on a pig. It may require guarantees or some form of restriction, but it can be done. Second, has anyone ever asked the pig if he wanted lipstick? I feel like it's perfectly fine to be the way you are. Third, and crucially, does the ineffectiveness of the lipstick mean that the pig itself isn't worth it? Finally, and most relevant to this podcast, is this true? If you apply enough "lipstick" to enough areas, can you change the impression made by the pig to the point where its inherent nature becomes practically irrelevant? Okay, and fifth, what does this have to do with music? When you hear a song, all that really matters is how it makes you feel. Do you like it? Does it arouse the desired emotion? Will you want to hear it again? When it comes to gut reactions, whatever steps the song went through to reach its finished state are immaterial. If you think a song is good then it is good. If you don't mind, it's not. Therefore, it is not only difficult but pointless to try to judge the quality of any kind of art. But we do. The curious - those of us who take music seriously - yes. We were not satisfied with the first impression. We instinctively know - and often from direct experience - that we will encounter so many people who either agree or disagree with our opinion of a song. If the consensus says a song is rubbish, there are probably millions of people out there who think it's great. If the accepted wisdom is that a song is awesome, there are millions of people who either don't care or just plain hate it. This makes the process of creating music magical, even elusive. That general impression - rubbish or genius - is shaped by more factors than most of us realize. When recording a song, we tend to gravitate towards the big three: lyrics, music, performance. But does not stop there. It has the arrangement and instrumentation (it has guitar, drums, keyboards, backing vocals, etc.). The quality and aesthetics of the recording (Lo-Fi or Hi-F, crisp or warm). The riffs and hooks (melodic lines or power chords or anything else that isn't fundamental to the originally written song). And the style itself (just one genre, a mix of sounds, consistent and predictably predictable, everywhere and excitingly experimental). This is all part of the music production process. I've said many times that if a song is good, it can be played and recorded in almost any way and still be good. That's why I like to cover songs that are different from the originals. But what if a song is not good? And if you get down to the basics of music - music and lyrics - there's not much, or what's not great? Can all the production work save this song? Can good production turn a clumsy, worn out, or poorly conceived song into a gem? Yes. Yes you can. You've done it thousands of times. I don't usually answer directly to the questions I ask. Most of the time, they are red herrings that serve as an appetizer for a broader discussion. And, of course, that discussion also takes place here. But this time I can say in no uncertain terms that good production - innovative and intuitive use of all of the above elements - can create the almost universal impression that a bad song is a great song. It might even make you wonder what the essence of a well-written song sponsored by Anchor really is: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 15, 2022

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREI spend an hour with Lon Dorsey. Lon is a veteran blues, jazz and gospel singer and was a dead fighter for the great Lou Rawls in both looks and voice. He is the founder of several Lou Rawls fan clubs and was friends with Lou Rawls. We talk about his musical history, the Dallas blues and jazz music scene, Lou Rawls and his family, and more Rawls-www.facebook.com/groups/lourawwlsfansLou Rawls Jr. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ 145571985519837 "Blues is the music between love and need." -Lon Dorsey--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

04.02.2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE I recently had a conversation with a fellow musician who pointed out that technology often drives the development of music. It's a topic I covered in a previous podcast episode that has intrigued me for years. This usually refers to things like amplification, electric instruments, synthesizers, recording equipment, digital technology, etc. We often overlook the fact that the way music is brought to people has contributed so much to what music has become. The older recording technology used to distribute music was very limited in terms of sound quality and duration. One side of a 78 RPM record can only contain about 3-5 minutes of music. This was the standard until the late 1940's when 33 1/3s took over and 12 inch sides could be made much longer. From the late 1890s to this point, anything recorded had to be either a very short piece of music or a longer piece divided into many shorter segments. When the first box set was released - circa 1894 (YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT), what few recorded music connoisseurs there were were interested in classical music. Most of these tracks were much longer than 3-5 minutes, so they were segmented. For example, to get an entire symphony, or even a movement, in shellac (the most common material for 78s), you would have to split it into MULTIPLE pages. It can take at least six sides or three discs to complete this move. That means you would need a good dozen records for an entire symphony. For this reason, box sets have been around since the beginning of commercial music recording. They had to. This is also the reason why individual songs, when they became more popular than symphonies, had to be 3-5 minutes long. Look no further than this fact to understand why this is still the standard length range for a pop song of any kind. And when 33 1/3 gave the company the ability to have 23 or more minutes per side, the idea of ​​an "album" morphed from describing a collection of records—also known as a "box set"—to a disc; and also why albums up until the CD era couldn't be longer than 45 minutes in total. Box sets continued to appear as the music changed. In fact, the first 33 1/3 album sold was a box set - again a classic track, in June 1948. That said, when we think of box sets today (if we think of them instead of just creating streaming playlists) , we usually think of them as collections of songs or albums from an artist, genre or era. It was decades before the music industry had enough recorded material to justify box sets like this one, which is why they became so popular on vinyl and cassette in the 1970s and on CD in the 1980s and 1990s. (the first being Bob Dylan's 1985 biographer). - the true heyday of snare drums and recorded music in general. Just before the accident. Where are the box sets today? Interestingly, they date back to around 1894, which means that anyone who buys probably ANY physical music - CDs or vinyl for retro fans - will get one of those boutique boxes with booklets and B-sides and outtakes and all the rest. They are collectibles. I have several but to be honest while I fully absorb the books I usually just pass on the content. I will be releasing an expanded lineup of REC songs this year - hits and favorites from REC's inception. So far, the best example of a box set in my catalog is the most recent release of REC:REC - The Weird ObjectiveAll infoOn YouTubeOn SpotifyOn Apple --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Make a Podcast . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 31, 2022

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREI chat with Steve Erickson for an hour. Steve is a music producer and music and film critic. You can find his music on Bandcamp, including his upcoming album Very Special Episode. Reviews of him are published in Gay City News and on his blog. For more information about Steve, visit: MUSIC - http://callinamagician.bandcamp.com/WRITING - http://steeveecom.wordpress.com/https://gaycitynews.com/the-best-music-2021/-- - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 24, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI was born in Philadelphia. It will always be my first love of the big city - heck, it's in the name. I have been a New Yorker for over two decades. It will always be my favorite city. But for the intervening 30 years, I was a proud resident of New Jersey, perhaps the largest state in the country. Okay, some of the last statements might be exaggerated. As a teenager, I wasn't proud. It took me to leave NJ to love it. And bigger state? Nah, I'm sticking with it. Whether you agree or not, there's one thing we can't dispute: A lot of legendary and incredibly diverse music hails from New Jersey. Take the 3 artists most people think of first: Sinatra, Springsteen, Bon Jovi. None of them sound the same. In fact, the only things they have in common are their NJ roots and Italian heritage - which OFT goes hand in hand. Then there are the Fugees/Lauryn Hill & Whitney Houston. Two more legends. And I have to highlight 2 of my absolute favorites: Fountains of Wayne & Kool & the Gang. Here is a list of some of the biggest artists in the biggest state: The Sugarhill Gang Blues Traveler Thursday The Gaslight Anthem Looking Glass Skid Row The Feelies Dramarama Donald Fagen Naughty By Nature Queen Latifah Ice -T Redman Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes Ricky Nelson The Shirelles Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons Dionne Warwick Sarah Vaughan Count Basie Wayne Shorter John Pizzarelli Halsey Patti Smith Debbie Harry The Misfits & Danzig Yo La Tengo My Chemical Romance Jonas Brothers Gloria GaynorWhich band have I not recorded? The Smithereens. I did this to prove a point. Most of these artists can be identified by just about everyone (okay, maybe not Dramarama & Looking Glass, but overall it's true). Ask most people who the Smithereens are and you'll come up blank. The same can be said of other bands. But what's special about the Smithereens is that they were once very successful. They had a string of hit singles and albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their songs were featured in films. They have performed and recorded with great artists such as Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Julian Lennon, Suzanne Vega and Belinda Carlisle. And their music was great. Listen to "A Girl Like You", "Blood and Roses", "Only a Memory" or "Too Much Passion" and tell me I'm wrong. I haven't heard these songs in years and I still remember them for their dynamic mix of 1960s revivalist rock, punk and power pop well done and infectious. It's a crime that this band is so overlooked and that many of their releases are so hard to find. I have a soft spot for artists who have been around for decades. It shows that music is your passion. For not letting the ups and downs get in the way of its journey, including, in this case, the death of its lead actor, Pat DiNizio, in 2017. I feel so empowered about my own career. Despite very little recognition and even less money, I released 15 albums and hundreds of songs while working with dozens of bands on the side. And with my band REC releasing a new album later this year, it's far from over. The Smithereens are an amazing power pop band that shows you can be a singer/songwriter and even haunted in the midst of pure rock joy. You can hear her influence in many of my past works, including "Do You Wanna", "Deal", "It's Almost Over" and this week's pick, which clearly has the pedigree of rumbling/meaty power-pop: REC - "Beautiful Love” (from the Parts and Labor album) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ musicisnotagere/support

January 20, 2022

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE A few years ago I started a playlist called MY Christmas. It's an offshoot of the Christmas CDs I've collected over the decades, inspired by the very eclectic collection of Christmas vinyls and cassettes my dad plays every year. The playlist is my declaration of independence from standard Christmas mixes with all the usual suspects. Most of them are great songs, but there's no reason to limit ourselves to just those. So I'm putting together a playlist that might be the most diverse collection of Christmas carols ever. You can listen to it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76cDL5B7IyCLtqWGkUF6cq?si=272cd5c160bf4215Every year I add something. I'm always looking for new material, whether it's current new Christmas songs or old songs I've never heard or just forgotten about. The final category includes this week's topic, Lou Rawls's 1967 album Merry Christmas Ho! Hey! Hey!. It's a CD I've had since the mid-90s. I can't remember what made me buy it, but once I did, it's become a perennial favorite. It's a great mix of traditional and irreverent, cheese and soul. Which also describes Lou Rawls, one of the greatest pop-soul singers of the 1960s-70s. His name is a name you would hear along with every other famous singer of the time. He was one of those guys who bridged the gap between the old and the new and made it look easy. AND, STILL, I totally forgot about this CD until I quickly added some of the songs to my playlist last year. And that's why playlists are important. They come closest to being popular and accessible to mixtapes, DJ mixes and/or old school radio stations that play more than one genre. The best playlists aren't just a bunch of songs put together to serve a general purpose or set a mood. They are carefully thought-out collections of songs that are important to the curator. They do what the best playlists, mixtapes, DJs and radio stations have always done: weave interesting lesser known material into a mix of better known music so that these more obscure songs can be brought to a wider audience. They set a mood, serve a purpose, AND move the musical conversation forward. They create connections and promote diversity. They break genre conventions and laugh at the clear channels of the world. I haven't done this in a while, but this album totally deserves it. My favorite tracks are #2, 5, 6, 7 (even with the broken lyrics!) and 10. 7 and 10 in particular are two of my favorite versions of two of my favorite Christmas songs. I won't pretend there's a direct influence, but you can hear the mix of traditional rock, irreverent lyrics and relaxed holiday theme in this REC song. It's also on the MY Christmas playlist on Spotify.REC – “XMiss” (from The Sunshine Seminar album) Do you know this album? Or Lou Rawls? What are some of your favorite Christmas songs/albums that you think other people might not know but should? When creating playlists, do you pay the same attention as I do? Did you discover new songs and artists in other playlists? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

December 16, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE When I'm choosing a podcast topic, I can usually figure out my angle with a little research, listening, and general thinking. This week I'm going to come out and say I need help. There are certain artists whose output is so dense and prolific that trying to summarize it into a podcast is overwhelming. Dylan comes to mind. zappa Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Apparently Buckethead holds the record for most albums at 166?!?! Eminem is not about raw numbers. It's about density. Few artists put as much into their lyrics as he does. Whether you care about the content or not, anyone who pays attention and is well-versed in word creation should agree that he is one of the masters. story and character. Flow, skill and clarity. All of that, yes. But what always surprises me is the play on words. Internal rhymes. Alliteration. Assonance and consonance. Polysyllabic rhymes! I use those words on purpose to make it clear that Eminem is one of the greatest poets of all time. A 2015 study found that Eminem has the largest vocabulary of any recording artist of all time, surpassing second-place Jay Z by over 2,000 words. Side note: The four richest musical words are all hip-hop artists, followed immediately by Bob Dylan. I don't find this at all surprising. And how he uses those words is amazing again and again. Take this text as one of hundreds of examples: My pen and paper set off a chain reaction to relax your brain, the insane actin maniac in action. A mentally ill child, in fact, you mostly lack attraction. You sound insanely crazy with just a fraction of my tracks playing. I count NINE almost polysyllabic rhymes in the midst of several coherent ideas forming a connection point. I would draw parallels with the lyrics of Sondheim or Lin-Manuel Miranda for the sheer skill and ingenuity. When we talk about real poets, I have comparisons with greats like Shakespeare, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound and many others, including the obscure but able John Skelton. And the beat poets and their raw emotions? Free poets and their flow? Definitely slam poetry that has something to do with hip hop, especially freestyle. The thing is, Eminem's lyrics contain too many elements to dismiss them as anything other than poetry. My discussion of the "controversy" in his lyrics? Eminem demands that you go beneath the surface, slapping you in the face repeatedly. Surface dwellers hear only "bad language" or disturbing stories, completely missing context and often skilful characterizations. Did he exceed? Yes, especially while insulting other celebrities or music. But overall he's an illustrator of the grotesque - he calls it the twisted horror that it is. One of my favorite aspects of his work is his humor. I recently spoke with someone who said that any artist who can incorporate humor into their music is mature. Eminem - like Prince, the Beatles or Bob Dylan - showed that it's possible to be serious AND self-deprecating, meaningful AND ridiculous. And it's a sign of a listener's development when he can spot humor and know how to take a joke. From the moment I heard Eminem, I picked up a bit of his lyrical technique - sounds and rhymes twist, twist, repeat with variations. As a former poet, it was an easy adjustment. I LOVE polysyllabic rhymes and use them when they feel organic. Even aspects of his acting and humor penetrated me. "Stop It!", "Never Say", "Different People" And this: REC - "Sing Owwt" (by Syncopy for the Weird) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easy Way to Podcast . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

12.08.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE It's been a busy year. A lot of work and a lot of changes. There is not always time to stop and think. But that will change soon. I was reviewing old episodes - I actually listened to my own shit. I have already noticed more than once that I neglected to comment on something, or maybe I did not know anything at the time. I also read viewers' comments and suggestions and you all have a lot of good things to say. So I put it all together for this week's episode and started a new series. It's our chance to go beyond the usual formats and talk. And the more you comment and reply, the more times I bring this series back. Here's what I'm up to this week: 1. Matthew Sweet - Responding to comments from Vinny C, Matte S and Todd C.2. Chart Action '83 - Response to a comment by Dr. hookyeah3. Billy Joel - Elaborating on a comment I had with Jim C.4. The Hives - lots of news about wealth distribution5. Liz Phair - how comparing her to Avril Lavigne should be a joke6. New albums from past artists - They Might Be Giants, ABBA, Duran Duran7. What I'm Listening To Right Now - Check out my timeline8. Chris Cornell - his solo work and the general idea of ​​reading lyrics9. Goomba Music - Elaboration of a discussion about popular Italian singers started by Cheryl L. and continued in my interview with Nicky DeMatteo. You have to be watching to hear all the intricacies. What I want to fix is ​​a song that needs some love. Of all REC's songs on Spotify, only "Wonder Wonder" got ZERO listens. I'll post it at the end of this video as usual, but please, if you're a Spotify user, check the link below and turn it on.REC - "Wonder Wonder" (from Symphony for the Weird album)What else you did? do you have for me? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

12.03.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a VIDEO GENRE and MORE tribute music has been around for a long time. As soon as a style is old enough to be called retro, someone attacks it. If you follow this podcast here, you know that I made an episode about it. I distinguish between music that is just an echo of the past - that explores nostalgia, and music that takes and adapts elements of the past in a modern context - to illuminate and breathe new life into music that deserves to live breathing in even more. It's not always easy to know what's what. Some bands and producers start out with a new take on an old sound and end up getting caught up in the retro vortex. Eventually, their output becomes a caricature of themselves. Others dive headlong into a retro sound and over the years evolve into something so unique that it starts a new trend or genre. Pharrell. Elephant 6. Bruno Mars. Du Lipa. Laura Mulla. Greta Van fleet. Some of them fall into the first category for me, others into the second. These categorizations might be the exact opposite for you. There's a fine line between creative repurposing and lazily giving in to the nebulous version of what used to be, and which version is in the eye of the beholder. A perfect example is this week's artist, Lenny Kravitz. From the beginning, he clearly exploited the 1960s and 1970s. Also, from the beginning, critics were divided on which side of the retro line he fell. Some thought their mix of old school styles with modern soul and funk put a new spin on tired sounds. Others thought he was too reliant on his influences. It's a debate that accompanies him with each album. When I first heard it, it was like all my musical worlds came together. Prince mixed with the Beatles mixed with hard rock. At a time when Prince was moving away from its more psychedelic and hard rock elements, and hard rock itself was at a post-hair metal/pre-grunge crossroads, Lenny was exactly what I needed. He transcended gender, race and time, bridging gaps and uniting worlds. He took their influences - their tributes - and turned them into his truth. Aside from adding some electronic and 1980s sounds, it pretty much stayed the same. Which, in turn, depending on his tastes, could be great either way. That influential initial burst of Kravitz fusion has stuck with me. I love combining funky rhythms with power pop and a touch of psychedelia. You can hear it clearly in one of my latest songs: REC - "No Way Out for Me" (from the Symphony for the Weird album) What do you think of Lenny's use of retro elements? Too much retread or effective recontextualization? Are there other artists whose homage to older styles resonates strongly with you - for or against? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

November 19, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREI chat with Mike Indovina for an hour. Mike is a recording, mixing and mastering engineer and online teacher who runs MasterYourMix.com, which focuses on helping musicians create professional-quality recordings in their home studios. He is also the drummer and author of the #1 selling book on Amazon, The Mixing Mindset: The Step-By-Step Formula for Creating Professional Rock Mixes from Your Home Studio. You can find more information about Mike here: MasterYourMix: https://masteryourmix.com/ The Mixing Mindset book: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Mike's Productions: https://mikeindovina.com/ And about some To listen to Mike's work here: Hangtime: https://open.spotify.com/album/0Lgi2fNcKp5GvkD61znygg?si=H6mhHoILSi2YODBmczOLsw Nothing serious: https://open.spotify.com/album/777RRe1mp4kKhUCdZWodL3?si=NFSUjfHFQt-QUXPBwB5gzQ- -- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

11/04/2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS AND MOREAnd now for something completely different than MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE...an entire episode is dedicated to a BOOK! This week I'm talking about Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Music Taste by Nolan Gasser. Find a comfortable seat because it's big. First, I love that this book exists. I love that someone cares enough about music to write a 600+ page book just about LISTENING. The two biggest impressions you'll get from reading this are: A. Nolan knows his stuff inside and out; and B. He really loves music. To say that this book is comprehensive, thorough, broad, and deep would be an understatement. Nolan has a voracious appetite for music of all kinds, and reading this book will make you hungry too. As you know, I appreciate anyone - artist or fan - whose musical tastes vary so widely that they cannot be classified into one or a small handful of artists or styles. I've read other very well done books on more specific subjects (I'll discuss this in future episodes) that are a little myopic and insular - namely H. They are such privileged books that the author doesn't spend a lot of time (if any) connecting this music to the rest of the world. This author is the opposite of that, and why shouldn't he be! Nolan Gasser is a composer and chief architect of Pandora's Music Genome Project. Ever wonder how streaming services got so good at predicting what the next song is or what your tastes are in general? That's how it all started. I won't go into the story here (it is in this book), except to say that an enormous amount of human resources and effort went into research and development, resulting in the ancestor of all music predictive algorithms. And while I think they're less than a true human DJ making decisions, they've had a lot more success than mistakes over the years. Now for the book. Wow. It lives up to the promise of the title. About 2/5 of it is music theory - and although I learned most of it in college, it was an amazing refresher. Even though the author says you can skip all that and get to the "why you like it" part, I think you'll understand his reasoning much better if you absorb as much theory as possible. It also includes "interlude" chapters that connect to science, math, culture, and psychology. They are short but quite insightful. The rest of the book is divided into sections focusing on musical "genotypes". They are umbrella terms for a fan's primary tastes: musical theatre, pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, electronic, world & classic. Nolan says something about the shortcomings of genre labels that made me love this book from the start, so he's aware of how limiting those categories are. Despite this limitation, he manages to embody each genotype and connect the tastes of these imaginary fans to broader musical spectrums. It's fun to find out what genotype you are. For me - as you can predict - I didn't align perfectly with any of them. The book promised a test on its website, but unfortunately that page is still empty. As someone who loves tests/surveys/quizzes, I hope he does at some point. In the end, this book is some sort of non-fiction story or book that claims to have the answer to "the meaning of life". It never quite delivers the magic you'd expect, but it's done so well that it's worth the trip to wherever it takes your brain. In fact, it gives you the tools to find the answers yourself. Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

11/04/2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREI chat with Patrick Tape Fleming for over an hour. Patrick is a musician, producer and sound engineer. He is co-founder of the bands Gloom Balloon & The Poison Control Center. His music has been featured in numerous industry publications including Rolling Stone, Spin and Billboard. He has produced over 40 albums. Patrick also produced the documentary Olivia Tremor Control, The Realized Film: Dusk at Cubist Castle, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of the band's debut album. For more information about Patrick, visit: https://gloomballoon.bandcamp.com/https://thepoisoncontrolcenter.bandcamp.com/--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 29, 2021

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE You know that feeling when you hear a song for the first time and it hits a place - a climax, crash after crash, a soaring melody, brilliant harmonies or a beat you can't ignore - does it appeal to your body? You may feel butterflies in your stomach, chills, or the need to move. This can stop you breathing for a second or force you to sing or scream uncontrollably. You may cry or laugh in surprise. You forget everything except the moment you are inside. Whatever it is, it's like the music is inside you, flowing with your blood, jumping with your synapses, and you couldn't stop its reaction even if you wanted to. The Next When you hear the song, you know this moment is coming. The anticipation sends an electrical tingle through you that builds in intensity until the moment arrives and you explode. It's even stronger than the first time. You know that from then on you can count on this music to erase all other thoughts or feelings and transport you to transcendent bliss. After a while, this feeling disappears. Maybe you've heard the song too many times or too many times in a short period of time. Or maybe it's just because you know him so well that the feeling is more of a memory than a full run. You will always love music, but it will never have the same effect on you. Or is it? Think about that song again. Now imagine that you are talking to someone who has the same taste in music as you. You discover you've never heard the music and your breathing stops for a second and time does too. The only thing you can do next is play this song for her. You imagine yourself in their shoes - completely unaware of what is about to happen. They can feel your excitement, hear it in your voice. Thus, they tend to experience music with open ears and open hearts. And you tend to hear it the way you're going to hear it - for the first time. The moment arrives, and when you hear the music through your ears, something amazing happens. That overwhelming feeling you thought would never come back, comes back stronger than ever. It could also be your first time. Your friend is there too, and both feelings are converging and growing into something bigger than either feeling could ever be. It makes you want to share this song with all the other like-minded people so you can spread the joy and feel it for yourself again. I call this feeling "shared tingle" and it happens all the time. It's what gives music an almost eternal life. self-renewal power. These mega-impact moments in a song or a great work convey your feelings to those who hear them, and the power is multiplied exponentially. You don't even need to know the person. You might even be awkward in the crowd. Just being with other people who feel who you are brings everything you've ever felt back to life. For this reason, although live music rarely sounds better than recorded music, the experience can be far superior. That's why great DJs are shamans. That's why radio still exists.... Listen to the rest of this essay and stay until the end to hear the featured song: NICK - "Your Sweetness" (from the album Your EP) And also check out: REC - " Break You" (from the album "Parts and Labor") --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 29, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREHere's my interview with Paul Leschen. Paul is a musician, composer, piano karaoke expert and founder of the Leschen Sessions music series and the band Kingship. Among many other accomplishments, he has co-written and directed several musicals. You can find more about Paul here: http://www.leschenandsauter.com/ https://sidgolds.com/new-york/ https://open.spotify.com/album/7FT2FO5EFHdrdqWQhfh4CD?si=Wzh6kzt8Q3OT4xd-9xny9A- - - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS AND MORE Everything in this country - and possibly the world - needs to be a competition. Think of the growing number of TV shows that pit people's talents against each other. The Voice, America's Got Talent, etc., etc. Or heck, think an entertainment award show. The conventional wisdom is that conflict makes a good story. And if you create conflict where none exists, then you REALLY win the game. I already did a podcast about false musical rivalries, so I won't go into too much detail here, except to say that only about 100% of the time do we feel compelled to compare apples to oranges. We follow the lead of false conflict creators and actively look for similarities and comparisons so that we can decide which is best, even if most similarities are superficial at best. Take this week's case: the so-called contest between Billy Joel and Elton John, two singer/songwriters/pianists who rose to fame around the same time. When you know enough about both, the first thing that comes to mind is how different they are. Background, general sound, vocals, model of composition, creative process, career, personal life and even playing the piano - they only crossed paths from time to time. For the most part, ALL of these elements were blatantly different. We all know that our judgments are very subjective and that they both excelled at what they did. But we must choose a favorite and justify this choice by saying that this person is better. So, we hope to turn chance into equality, then separate one of them to make our choice even better. I grew up with both, love and respect both, played covers of both, made current timelines for both, read biographies and reviews of both and have three conclusions: 1. Billy Joel is to the Beatles what Elton John is to the Stones. There are parallels to almost all of the qualities listed two paragraphs above - composition, trajectory, etc.2. My favorite will always be Billy Joel. It also happens that my favorite number 1 is The Beatles. I don't think it's a coincidence. I suggest that if you're more of a Beatles fan than a Stones fan, you're more likely to prefer Billy Joel.3. There are almost no critics who prefer Billy Joel. It's amazing the difference in accolades, awards, good reviews and general respect between these guys. You two deserve everything. They are geniuses and legends. So why was Rolling Stone so much more concerned about Elton than Billy, for example? Why are more and more Elton songs topping the charts? Could it be that Billy Joel was always more direct and open with his intentions and Elton John had a more devious path - i.e. Billy isn't shit pop/rock and Elton is art rock/pop? There are too many caveats for any of them to be true, but I suspect that's a big part of it. As a singer/songwriter, I gravitate towards Billy Joel's style. But as a pianist, I'm MUCH more like what Elton does. As a producer, I incorporated elements of both. There is no doubt that Billy Joel influenced me far more than Elton John, right down to some of his pronunciations of words and the directness of his lyrics - often dealing with relationship issues. Here are two I've been dying to feature, an "intro" song that leads into one of my first hit singles, the title track of my album, What It Is:NICK - "10 Shun" NICK - "What It Is" Who is your favorite? Why do you think critics tend to favor Elton John and do you agree or disagree? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 22, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREHere's my interview with David Dabbon. David is an experienced songwriter, composer, arranger and orchestrator. He was also the dance music arranger for Beetlejuice on Broadway and an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for "Eat Shit Bob" on "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver here: www.daviddabbon.com Instagram: @daviddabbon IG - Food Blog : @goodcrazybites--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH THE MUSIC isn't GENRE VIDEOS and MORE MUSIC SPECIAL: NICK - “Xylophone Ways” (from the album “Your EP”) That's what voice is for me. When it comes to popular music, it's the vocalist that makes or breaks it. The absolute best band or song directed by a singer I don't click with may very well be music on hold. Two perfect examples: some people can't stand The Cure because Robert Smith's voice torments them. I love her in large part BECAUSE of her voice. Some people find Billie Eilish's music haunting, intimate and enchanting. Her songs are so well done and her voice is wonderful, but it doesn't move me at all. Which brings us to Soundgarden. They were many things - Grunge Metal Punk Progressive Psychedelic Classic Rock Pop. They were incredible for many reasons - songwriting, the aforementioned mix of styles, live performances and the genius of Kim Thayil. But to me they were legendary because of Chris Cornell. No voice in the last 40 years has been as epic, powerful, yet subtle and beautiful as his. I call Soundgarden's music modern opera because that's what opera should be like. what it should be Fought with emotions, crossing the entire dynamic spectrum, technically sound but not bound by rules. Cornell was able to convey full delivery and total control at the same time - over a vocal range and intricate melody that would confuse, or worse, limit even the best opera singers. You could feel the fear and vulnerability in equal measure. The fight and the triumph. The weakness and strength to resist. That's what we all believed until 2017. You could say Kurt Cobain's death came as a shock. Or Layne Staley. Jim Morrison or Janis Joplin. But what they all had in common was that A. They were relatively young; and B. They were still in the throes of their worst addiction, regardless of recovery. Cornell's death was a much bigger shock because we all thought he had crossed the line. Like Philip Seymour Hoffman, we all thought he had cast his demons out and found a stable path forward. We thought we were going to see him mature into one of the great modern statesmen. No. He's dead, and that sucks. Mainly for him and his family and friends. Also for his band. his fans. And all the songs. I can't say there will never be a voice of his caliber again, but we will never hear HIS voice again. Whether on Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave or his solo work, he left us with a tortured beauty that was both rawer and more polished than Led Zeppelin. And deeper than any of the metal predecessors that influenced it. As for Soundgarden's influence on me, it might not be immediately obvious. But it's there. All vocal expression. All the power and complexity of music. The frankly poetic lyrics. That's kind of a left-wing choice, but if you focus on the lyrics, the emotion and especially the chorus and solo sections, you'll hear the connection: NICK - "Xylophone Ways" (from the album Your EP) Also, as part of I covered the song "Fell on Black Days" on my acoustic as a homage to grunge. I'll add it here as a bonus: Nick DeMatteo - "Fell on Black Days" (Live Acoustic Performance) Do you know the Soundgarden song? Are you a fan? Did Chris Cornell's voice captivate you as much as it did me? What other bands do you love because of their lead singer? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 14, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREHere's my interview with Leslie Goshko - comedian, musician, author and host/creator of the side show Goshko Storytelling Series. For more information about Leslie, visit:lesliegoshko.comIG :@lesliegoshko--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

October 13, 2021

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThere's nothing that gets me going like a good song by Housemartins. When you hear one of his mega-hits on the radio, it takes you back to a time when... Okay, you get the point. Virtually no one has heard of the Housemartins, the 1980s British pop band whose biggest hit was an a cappella cover of the Isley, Jasper, Isley song "Caravan of Love." If you like the Smiths, you should check them out. And as you listen, remember that their bassist was Norman Cook. Another forgotten name, right? Sure, except he took the stage name Fatboy Slim in 1996 and helped change the face of dance music. Like so many successful DJs, his music roots lie outside of dance. In Cook's case, punk and the aforementioned jangle pop. Throughout it all, he was a DJ - often as DJ Quentox, but it didn't come to light for him until the late 1980s, when he formed the laid-back collective Beats International. This was when sampling got huge, but before laws were passed to regulate it. Of course, sampling processes have also gotten huge. And one hit Cook so hard he had to change gears, which in turn helped infuse his music with even more original ideas and explorations that went beyond the recontextualizing of samples and remixes that he mostly did. During that time, he worked with the band names Freak Power, Pizzaman & the Mighty Dub Katz before finally settling on Fatboy Slim, a name he says is "silly and tongue-in-cheek", as much of his music. He exploded as Fatboy Slim, specifically his second album, 1998's You've Come a Long Way, Baby. He broke through internationally with "Right Here, Right Now", "The Rockafeller Skank" and "Praise You" and never looked back. . Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars continued the success, especially with "Weapon of Choice" and this fantastic video by Christopher Walken. and has done remixes for all types of artists including Cornershop, A Tribe Called Quest and Beastie Boys. No matter what Cook does, he is always exploring and expanding, never settling for routine dance music of any kind. Always infusing his music with a variety of sources - samples, funk, electronica, rock, glitch, world, ambient, spoken word - he structures his songs as SONGS and not just seven minutes of dance music. He's a DJ. An artist. A musician. And for some, that's debatable. I've been a DJ since I was a teenager. Even so, I understood that there are many types of DJs and many ways to become a DJ. Play only the hits. Play the hits, but throw in some surprises. Play totally obscure music. Play a mix of genres or have everyone play one type of music. Play standalone songs or crossfade and beat match. Create remixes of existing songs as new styles. Create mixes and remixes from scratch, both recording and live. LISTEN TO MY DISCUSSION OF THE AWARD-WINNING STORY OF DJs and BOOK OF DJing, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life.REC - “The Power of Repetition ( Everlasting )” (from Syncopy for the Weird album)REC – “If It Feels All Right ” (from the album Parts and Labor) Argue dammit! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.10.2021

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE In this part of the interview, Nicky DeMatteo returns to answer your questions and mine. For more information about Nicky, visit: https://nickydematteo.bandcamp.com/--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.10.2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREIn an AMAZING reversal, the interviewer becomes the interviewee thanks to Cathryn Lynne's charming and insightful conversation skills. This is a talk where Cathryn asks Nick a few questions and they talk until you want more, more, more. You can find more information about Nick here: https://recarea.bandcamp.comREC on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkxLpSbRASllUyqANUUcP9Qhttps://youtube.com/nickdematteohttps://nickdematteo.comAnd you can find music by Nick and his band REC EVERYWHERE. Browse these albums:Synergy for the WeirdSyncopy for the WeirdSymphony for the WeirdSyzygy for the WeirdSympathy for the WeirdThe Sunshine SeminarDistance to EmptyParts and LaborThe Metrogrande SessionsWhat It IsListen People--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easy way to make a podcast . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

10.04.2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThere's a lot of great music out there. There is even a lot of extraordinary music. Just look at Rolling Stone's last 500 lists and think of all the albums and songs that were NOT included but could or should have been. Some of these songs are considered great when they are first released. Others were only considered great and contextualized over time. For music to stand the test of time, it must do three things: 1. Be good to begin with. This seems obvious, but there are many albums that were considered great upon release that have since proven to have far less substance and quality. This first judgment can be based on the novelty of the sound, production, instrumentation or context. All of these things tend to be assimilated into the new normal, and at this point this first iteration is being seen in a very different light, which might show that it was the novelty rather than the quality that made it so popular.2 . good age. Own music, regardless of tapping into trends, almost always ages well. Music that follows current trends too much without infusing something more personal rarely lasts. That means it has to survive multiple sound and flavor changes. Albums and artists go in and out of fashion all the time. Producers and listeners alike want more minimalism (and yes, it's possible to have more or less, so remember to quote me on that), so artists who produce layered or complex music aren't as popular. And vice versa. It's the albums that are considered great, regardless of these changes, that will be great forever.3. Reveal more fully over time. Tons of music can captivate an audience on first listen, especially when it introduces something new or recontextualizes something else. Much less does music withstand repeated listening. That doesn't mean it's not good, just that it might not be much different than what we've already gotten from it. It's even rarer that repeated listening reveals the beauty of a song, performance or production decision that wasn't addressed all those years ago. This week's podcast is all about that last idea. ...--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

10.02.2021

NON-GENRE SUPPORT MUSIC ON PATREONWATCH NO-GENRE MUSIC VIDEOS & MORERemember Roxette? basic ace? How about the cardigans? Ávici? Robin? Or maybe you know... fuck ABBA?! What do they have in common? They are all from Sweden. As well as Icona Pop, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Peter Bjorn & John, the Swedish House Mafia AND this week's band Spotlight, and my favorite Swedish export, The Hives. Here in the US, we don't tend to place much value on exploring music from other countries. You have to come to us. Be honest, we would remember the Beatles, if at all, as a little British sensation if they hadn't made huge strides behind our backs. It has always been so, and to a large extent it still is. Listening to music is becoming more and more multicultural, but in general, an artist needs to get to the US to let everyone know who they are. America is built on competition where everyone wins. You will be paid well if you are already making money. You are successful when you are already successful. And it's only occasionally performance-based. We have a lot of good music, but it's not because this country really supports the arts. Aside from a handful of generous benefactors and charities, as an artist in America, you are probably poor and struggling and will continue to be on that path for years to come. This is not the case everywhere. No country is perfect. Poverty, racism and disease are omnipresent. But the fact is that some countries do some things much better than we do. We're so US-centric in every way that we don't examine how other countries do what they do well. Like health. maternity and paternity leave. Respect and support for elders, children and teachers. REAL support for veterans. And support for the arts. Sweden is known for supporting and promoting its artists. Not just benefactors or organizations. The damn Swedish government. If you are a worthy artist, the government gives you the opportunity to live while you do your work. You don't have to work three jobs, a strenuous day job, live with your parents, or have no money to pay anything. You can live a sustainable life while developing your art and your career. I don't know all the details. I'm sure there are reservations, pitfalls and discrimination. But it comes from a place where there's a belief that art and combat don't need to be bundled together. That creating art is a profession as valuable and respectful as any other. We like to glorify the fight because it makes us feel like martyrs to the cause AND because we want to believe there's a good reason for it. We are not martyrs. There is no other good reason than the one that governs the rest of this country: the rich want to keep what they have, and the poor can suck it dry. That's how we got the Hives. They started in the 1990s, released their first album, Barely Legal, in 1997, and had a huge international success in 2000, with their second album, Veni Vidi Vicious. That's how I discovered them - reunited as part of the early 2000s garage rock revival. They've been stuck at it ever since. They make music that sounds like punk gone mad, but it ties it all together. The Hives do a better job than almost any other punk rock band at capturing their incredible live sound and spirit in recorded tracks. They woke my ass up better than any American garage rock band and infused many of my subsequent songs with the same controlled punk energy. Including these two: REC - "Three More Minutes More" REC - "Beautiful Love" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

September 23, 2021

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS and MORE Lots of bands are there. They tour and release albums every few years and we take them for granted. Most of these bands peaked or never had one. They are mostly unnoticed and unnoticed. But what happens when one of these bands is not only recognized and celebrated, but has quietly created a solid album and hit after hit? From this a legend is born. We know the Stones and the Who. Pearl candy U2. These are legendary bands known by almost everyone. Probably most people can name a hit. They are always looking forward to the next tour and the next song or album they can release to keep the dream alive. They're in a higher league than legends like the Beach Boys or Chicago, who still tour and have active careers but don't want to bring anything new into the music conversation. They're also not like the Beatles or the Beastie Boys, who will somehow always be with us but can't go on as they were. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a special case. They've been quietly there all the time AND are releasing hit albums and songs every few years with remarkable consistency. They stay true to their core but always look to what's next. Somehow they don't get mentioned in the same way as U2, Pearl Jam or the Stones. We take them for granted, we reject them, possibly because we still see them as sock-wearing party people who don't take anything too seriously. (I would also put Green Day in this category. I would have said the same thing about the Foo Fighters a few years ago, but they have long since become true legends of elder statesmen.) Consider the Peppers' production. They started out as funky punks creating a particular brand of proto-rap rock, which Anthony Kiedis only sang after several albums. They worked with George Clinton on his SECOND ALBUM. When they added John Frusciante and Chad Smith, they turned around and created their first true masterpiece, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. All this would already put them at the top of alternative bands. But they didn't stop. After more than 15 years, they REALLY exploded. Californication, by the way, Arcadium Stadium. Three masterpieces. And they continue. They are undisputed legends whose love of music keeps them alive in every way. They are the modern Stones: they started loose, with good material backed by a clear sonic vision, paying homage to their favorite African-American music and adding rock to the mix. They keep their core members, except for regular personnel changes (which for RHCP means Frusciante decides when he wants to be in the band). And despite the drugs and breaks and everything, they always come back to the music and always give us something new. RHCP's mix of alternative rock/punk, funk, psychedelic and pop is a close cousin to my music. I once told a drummer of mine, "When in doubt, go funky." This is what I do. Each REC song has something funky and/or syncopated about it. I also love the bass and have written and arranged music that Flea would be proud of. You KNOW I like power pop - that covers rock/punk/pop elements. And my production style has always had psychedelic elements and sweet, layered harmonies. I could cite dozens of REC songs as examples, but overall I'd say that our Parts and Labor album most represents RHCP's influence. Especially "I'm Gone", "Stop It!" and "Some Things Happen":REC - Parts and LaborDiscuss!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

September 15, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThis podcast used to be something else. It all started in January 2016 as The Thursday Throwback Track (4Q), a text and photo blog about my cassette collection. I had no idea at the time that there would be more. I stuck with it for over three years, moving on to my vinyl collection, until I realized it was going to be a video podcast. I published my first video in the fall of 2019. By mid-2020 I realized that this had become something different. So I changed the name to match what I had already started calling my YouTube channel - MUSIC is not a GENRE. It comes from a music recording project that I also started in 2016. It made me realize two things: 1. All these things are connected and should be under the same umbrella; and 2. Change is inevitable, so why not actively choose it. Divided into seasons. I started a second series called MUSIC IS EVERYTHING. I started a Patreon page. I started a series of interviews. Change keeps coming. Since this is the Season 4 premiere, it's fitting that there are more changes. Just as I was shooting this first episode and about to release it, my basement studio was flooded by Hurricane Ida. We are still recovering. We didn't lose anything very important, but many things were damaged. That includes a few dozen CDs and, coincidentally, a few that I plan to review next week. So I decided to drop the original recording and talk about things as they are now. Some changes come whether you like it or not. One change I WANT is to bring more YOU into the mix. About what you want to talk? Which artists should I feature? Which albums or songs should I review in depth? Even if they are not part of my collection, I go there. What musical ideas have you always wished someone would look into? Who else should I interview? Is there a music-oriented book, movie, or TV show you'd like to talk about? I collect all your suggestions and future episodes will be shaped by them. Hell, maybe I'll even interview you. If the genre can't contain music, neither can the idea of ​​what this podcast should be. It can be anything we want. Here are some ideas to help you: What's in your collection? What does it mean to be a true fan? Can you be honest about your favorite artists' weaknesses? Do you prefer well-known artists to independent artists? You really are open minded - i. H. Do you actively want your mind to change? Do you think music can change the world or is it just the soundtrack to change? Do you know someone you think I should interview? Have you heard my music and if so, what do you think about it? Here's a link to get started. It's a song that fits 100% with this week's theme that change is inevitable. It's also one of my favorite REC songs: REC - "Some Things Happen" (from the Parts and Labor album). It's in our hands. Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

September 12, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREWhen we meet an artist we can't live without, our emotions connect in a way unlike any other. We can all share favorite songs or qualities, or general passion, but each of us finds little facets that no one else can feel. Our whole relationship with this artist is unique. This applies to obscure artists as well as the famous and legendary. That means I'm not going to explain Prince to you. Either reread his story in detail or make a big statement about what he meant to the music business and society at large. I'm going to talk about myself About my relationship with Prince - what he meant to me, what he did for me and what he will continue to do until I'm as dead as he is. I grew up Catholic. I learned shame, guilt and fear. I also learned passion, faith and love. It is all in religion as in life. When I first heard Prince, I was struggling with puberty, with sexuality, with faith. I was trying to put together the pieces that society and my upbringing said didn't fit. But Prince knew they matched. He knew they could co-exist even though the world - the Jewish-Christian-Puritan Western world - told us we had to choose. It was an eye opener for me that someone else felt like these things could fit together and it changed me. But only inside. It took me decades to reconcile all parts of myself without shame, fear, guilt or rebellion. And all this time, Prince's world has been one of the few sanctuaries where I feel safe, whole, and understood. An artist like Prince doesn't just make music, he creates a world and then fills it with art and sound and character and a belief system and everything else that a world envelops as an artist and much later as a complete manifestation of my true nature. he stood alongside a few other Princes showing me the way. His music yes. Also your humanity. Its juxtaposition of mystery and honesty. Its fusion of the sacred and the profane. His uncompromising vision and bravery. Your struggle and your joy. I listened, watched and absorbed every step of the way. I asked and waited, found answers and more questions. I felt catharsis and disappointment - because he wasn't mine, he wasn't me, he could never be exactly what I wanted. But the more princely he was, the more he let go of his art to reveal another layer, the more I loved and respected him. We saw him approaching a period of peaceful rest, stripped of the essentials. We saw him arrive at a place where everything that came before was reconciled and formed into Prince's Ultimate Truth white dwarf. Then it collapsed. Now we live in the black hole - full of the same energy, but hiding the light that once was. We have no idea what would have happened next. Perhaps it expanded again, going in a completely different direction. He could have revisited his past or surprised us with an as-yet-unknown facet. I've been waiting for the last 20 years for the rumors to come true that he forms a power trio. And so it is. No answers. just the past. He never held back. He never moved but forward. Now it's up to me to keep loving what he did, finding joy in it, even if it ends too soon. Sucks. But it would be much worse if none of that happened. Nothing I do Prince doesn't have in its DNA in some way. listen to it all Start here: REC - Syncopy for the WeirdDiscuss damn!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

June 21, 2021

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE When we think of drummers, we envision them banging their thrones behind the kit, maintaining the beat and structure of the songs and giving them an energy they would never have to other way. We can see a mic on the side for some backing vocals or the rare lead vocals. When a drummer steps out of the kit, he pauses or takes a bow. That's pretty accurate for 95% of drummers (this percentage was measured scientifically by The Guesstimators). But what about the other 5% (scientifically measured)? What are you doing? They reign - on E beside the throne. Not only do they rock a kit, they play on the mic, in the studio, and with pen and paper. It's the difference between a titular monarch and one who actually calls the shots. These drummers lay the groundwork and rule the entire castle. Many drummers sang backup or occasionally lead - Roger Taylor, Peter Criss, Grant Hart and even Taylor Hawkins of Foo. Respect, but they are not the subject here. I'm not even talking about all the very worthy drummers who sang from the beginning - like Dave Clark, Mickey Dolenz, Levon Helm, Sheila E., Anderson .Paak etc. Or the multi-instrumentalists who always played drums - McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, Prince. And this is absolutely not about lead singers who CAN play drums but haven't played that role in any meaningful way, like Rick Astley, Chris Cornell or Jack White. These are drummers who went from virtual silence to commanding the entire show. I'm talking front person status like Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Karen Carpenter, Don Henley, aaaaa and Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters are now legends. You've been there for over 25 years. See how Dave Grohl emerges from tearing down a legendary band to start a new one. By 1994 he was already a senior and was already writing and recording his own songs. He had many opportunities after Nirvana, but fronting his own band was the logical next step. And boy did the foos roar out of the gate. Grohl recorded almost everything on that first album, which is indicative of how long it took him to rise. Since then, Grohl and his bandmates - whose core has remained intact for over a decade - have taken every step to do more and overcome more challenges. mate live Conquering the pop charts - every album had at least one big hit, no matter what else was happening on the charts. Record and write on the go and turn it into a TV show. Adding to your sound. Your early work was exciting for me. It was therapeutic to hear that passion erupt after Kurt Cobain's death. It seemed that Nirvana would have hit the nail on the head if they continued because it fused grunge with earlier hard rock and especially power pop. The Foos music was everything I was looking for and has continued to influence me over the years. There are Foos-inspired songs on every REC album from Parts and Labor onwards. Most recently this song here: REC - "Don't Say You Don't" (from the album Synergy for the Weird) Do you remember what it was like to hear the first Foo Fighters song right after Cobain's death? Was it a surprise how good Dave Grohl was at everything from the start? Did you expect them to have so much power to become the standard bearers and ambassadors of hard rock? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

June 16, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREI love the whole idea of ​​a music collective. That's how musicians work anyway. We all bounced back and forth between projects and helped each other out. We all influence and inspire each other. But very few musicians had the courage to form a real collective and, of them, Elephant 6 was by far the most innovative, successful and influential. They formed in the late 1980's but really caught on in the 1990's and early 2000's. E6 (as nobody calls it) spawned over 30 bands, at least four of which - The Apples in Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel and of Montreal - had notable success and influence, particularly in bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire and Taming Impala. I'd say they've done more to shape the indie scene this entire young century than any other music. With so many bands, it's clear that their sound is ubiquitous. But its main elements come mostly from mod/psychedelic/chamber rock/pop of the mid-to-late 1960s. Think mid-to-late 1960s Beatles, Pet Sounds & Smile, The Zombies. Mix that with '90s indie rock, alt pop and some synths and you get... something really crazy and really catchy. Also very strange. And very nice to hear. Is weird. If you're new to this music, start with Olivia Tremor Control. No E6 band represents her entire aesthetic, but Olivia Tremor Control comes closer. I was disappointed when they broke up too soon and saddened when Bill Doss, their main driving force (and also the founder of the Sunshine Fix), died so young. Open your Singles and Beyond collection and you'll be drawn right away. Then continue with Apple in stereo. For me, they created the most complete and accessible fusion of all of the above styles. They also released a lot more music and probably had the most successful singles. I don't know much about Montreal, except that they are the ambient and synth incarnation of the Elephant 6 sound and they sound the most modern. They also lasted longer and released more songs, which were much more ubiquitous than other bands' songs. As for the Neutral Milk Hotel, I know next to nothing about them. I was happy to see the album In the Airplane Over the Sea, which represents the E6 in the Rolling Stone Top 500. They had a kind of freaky folk vibe. And if you listen to Arcade Fire or bands like that, you'll hear a tremendous influence. Speaking of which... a lot of making music revolves around 'permission' and 'implantation'. An artist goes out doing something unorthodox or inappropriate, and part of the creative head says, “Can you do that?!?” These new or recontextualized ideas are implemented and influence what comes next. A good deal of my work is indie/mod/psychedelic/synth/alternative pop tinged - released and unreleased. (Later example: https://soundcloud.com/recarea/3-sample.) Here are two recently released samples, one more mod/retro/synth and one more indie/psychedelic:REC - "Sparkle Shine Shine" (from do album "The Sunshine Seminar")REC - "The Accumulate" (from the album "Symphony for the Weird")Have you heard this song? Have you heard of the collective or any of these bands? Are there any other Elephant 6 bands that you prefer? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.06.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MOREWe can do this forever. Death is a constant. When a celebrity dies - especially very soon and especially one who created something we are passionate about, we feel it and never forget it. You can go back to Franz Schubert and Frédéric Chopin to find the untimely deaths that shook the music world. Hell, you can go back a lot further. Even if we limit ourselves to the 20th and 21st centuries, the list is endless. There have been hundreds of tragic deaths of musicians since the 1950s. The first thing that comes to mind (by no means the first) is "the day the music died" when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper's plane crashed . Then you have the infamous "27 Club" that took shape in 1970-71 with the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison, but also includes Brian Jones of the Stones the year before and much later Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, and according to the internet, over 75 musicians in total, dating back to 1892. Then there's Elvis. The two mega drummers lose Keith Moon and John Bonham (both 32 years old). The fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ian Curtis from Joy Division. Marvin Gaye. Freddie Mercury. selena aaliyah. And so on for Bowie, Prince, Chris Cornell and everyone else I've reviewed in previous volumes of Death is DUMB. So what's the point of all this? Death is death and loss is loss. What matters is which deaths touch you. The reason I won't do an episode about everyone I mentioned above, let alone everyone I didn't mention, is that while they are all tragic, only a few made a difference for me. Definitely the last three. The drummer partially dies. The rest? In varying degrees, not so significant. And this is where John Lennon comes in. I'm old enough to remember Elvis's death pretty much every day since. But the first loss I felt personally was Lennon. You could say he is the patron saint of STUPID death if not the whole reason for it. If I've talked about any other death - Adam Schlesinger, Scott Weiland, Adam Yauch, Layne Staley - my ability to articulate what it is like and why it matters comes from the impact that Lennon's death had on me. That immediate loss of future, possibility, reunion, renewal, hope. Drawing a living creative and existential energy. For me, the idea of ​​a definitive end to a life and music career started with John. I'm still not over it. And that's all I'm saying here. There is no need to rehash your life, death or legacy. Better historians and musicologists than I have done this thoroughly. My only main point is this: we take the music personally. We connect and identify with the music and musicians that move us. If that's 1959 for you, or 1970-71, or 1977, 1980, 1984, 1994 or any year before or after, that's because it was important to you. And as much as we must mourn all these deaths, as much as we feel them, the passion that makes us feel them in the first place is something we should celebrate. John's solo work influenced me to always strive for personal honesty and open lyrics. I always try to have a musical and lyrical impact, no matter the genre. Pick any of my songs, but you might want to start with these two: REC - "Some Things Happen" (from the Parts and Labor album)REC - "Lost Found" (from the Sympathy for the Weird album)Did Lennon's Death hit you the how did he hit me? What other musical deaths influenced you? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

01.06.2021

SUPPORTING MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThe conventional wisdom regarding music production is that it involves instruments, voices and traditional songwriting elements like chords, melodies, harmonies and rhythms. This is true and false. It is true that most of the music of the last 500 years was created with most or all of these elements. FALSE because there are many ways of making music that involve two or one or none of them. The truth is that all new music, no matter how it appears, is an act of creation. When sampling started in the 1980s, some people protested that it was not a real creation. EVERY PART of this statement is false. Sampling - the use of pre-recorded music to create or enhance a new work - began in the 1940s with the postmodern musical movement "concrete musique" using tape splicing. The term was coined in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the sampler entered popular culture - hip-hop and other electronic/rock music. It was a great time because it was brand new to most people and because the music industry had not yet established usage standards. This is where bootlegs come in. Since laws were in place protecting existing recorded material, artists had to pay to use samples. OR they could do a final run and publish their work for free. As long as an artist doesn't make money from a work, anything can be used without penalty. Once the internet was robust enough to handle mass distribution, an artist could release something for free that anyone could access. Even if this job did not bring money, she could make a career out of it. That's what happened in Danger Mouse - and that's where mashups come in. He had a brilliant idea. Why not take Jay-Z's black album, mix it with the Beatles' white album and call it the gray album? There are few people in the world who can buy all that music to sample, so he released it for free in 2004 and has had a thriving career ever since. Not only did he dub tracks on each album, he put them together in a way that put ALL the music in a new context. He used existing old things to create something new. He MAKES MUSIC. Therefore, the birth time of the mashup - NO. Incorrect. And this is where the Beatles time twist turns. The Gray Album made mashups perhaps more popular than anything that came before it, sparking a wave of amateur and professional mashups as technology made it easier for anyone to do so. But it wasn't the first. Almost not. The first mashup was made in 1967 by Harry Nilsson with – you guessed it – music by the Beatles. More than 35 years before Danger Mouse used Beatles music for its seminal mashup, Nilsson used Beatles music to get the whole idea when the Beatles themselves were sampling via spliced ​​tape for songs like "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Revolution 9". " used. Very cool. I don't do mashups and I haven't used a lot of pre-recorded material in my work. But mashups pack a punch. I like to layer two or more different sounds or put two or more types of music together to create something new. This is best heard in the following song, which uses at least three pre-recorded samples as the rhythmic/drone basis for the rest of the song, which mixes Hip Hop, Pop, Psychedelia & Avant Garde: REC - "The Power of Repetition (Everlasting )” (from the album Syncopy for the Weird)Remember The Gray Album? Are there any other albums or music mashups you liked? Discuss the fuck! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 26, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThis is the second half of a two part interview with Shok - music producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is also the creator of the Not-So Ebb parody of Nitzer Ebb. Producer/host and DJ for the popular MyLiveTube channel, part of the electro swing band Red Light District AND founder of Newgrounds.com - one of the first online entertainment sites. For more information about Shok, follow these links: http://twitch.tv/mylivetube http://soundcloud.com/fdaallday http://losttapes007.bandcamp.com http://redlightdistrict.bandcamp.com http:// twitter.com/fdaallday http://facebook.com/mylivetube http://instagram.com/losttapes007--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 19, 2021

SUPPORT MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS and MORERock is like a sidewalk of records. When it's hot, it expands. If not, it contracts. In the mid-1960s, rock music was very popular. So you get complex extensions of simple rock sounds like chamber pop and concept albums. The same goes for the mid-1970s, when progressive rock reigned supreme. By the late 1960s, as the excesses of previous eras were being dismantled, rock had contracted into the simplicity of blues rock, like Led Zeppelin & Stones of the Let It Bleed era. The same goes for the 1970s, when punk shot through the inflated balloon of progressive rock. And again in the early 1990s, when grunge took the glamor out of hair metal. Then there's the garage rock revival of the early 2000s. In the late 1990s, rock morphed into grunge, swaggering nu-metal, and watered-down emo. Another cleanup was needed and Garage Rock came into view. The Strokes, the Hives, the Vines and in a HUGE way, the White Stripes. It's no coincidence that the White Stripes named their second album De Stijl, after the Dutch art movement that valued simple geometry and primary colors (think Mondrian). Jack & Meg White limited themselves to three colors, both visually and sonically. Black, white and red. Drums, guitar, vocals. It was a deliberate limitation - a way to explore maximum freedom in its strictest form. It took me a while to catch the White Stripes train. My first reaction was that it was deliberately reduced artistically. I wanted to prove that you don't need all these new things to make good music. As much as I love the analog neo-lo-fi rock of Lenny Kravitz & the Stripes & Co., I'm not a fan of people not appreciating the times they live in. As they evolved, three things became clear to me. First, I was right about all of this, and it's actually a good thing. This kind of rigorous exploration forces extreme creativity. Second, they wrote and played amazing songs, so who cares how or why. Third, they recognized the times deliberately going against them - showing that no amount of exaggeration can make a bad song good, and that great music will shine with the sparse production. I don't choose a side. I like crazy pompous rock like prog and chamber pop. And I like stripped down sounds like The Hives (my favorite at the time), old Clash and old Led Zeppelin. As always, good music is good music, no matter what it is or where it comes from. As I like almost everything, when I'm making simplified music, I tend to include some more progressive elements as well. You can hear it clearly in these two songs, one from the White Stripes era and the other just released:REC - "Some Things Happen" (from the album Parts and Labor)REC - "No Way Out for Me" (from the album The album Symphony for the Weird) A note about this never-ending cycle of expansion and contraction: pay close attention to the NOW. We come from a time when rock music didn't dominate the charts. But many new artists harken back to different eras of rock. I predict that rock will regain popularity in three years or less. Were you a fan of the White Stripes? Do you prefer music with more layers? Do you ever believe it when the media or a critic or an artist trying to get attention says "rock is dead"? Or do you see the cycle that all pop music goes through? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE This is the first of a two-part interview with Shok - music producer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is also the creator of Nitzer Ebb's parody Not-So Ebb, producer/host and DJ for popular twitch channel MyLiveTube, part of electro-swing band Red Light District, and founder of Newgrounds.com - one of the first online music portals. entertainment. For more information about Shok, follow these links:http://twitch.tv/mylivetubehttp://soundcloud.com/fdaalldayhttp://losttapes007.bandcamp.comhttp://redlightdistrict.bandcamp.comhttp://twitter.com/ fdaalldayhttp://facebook.com/mylivetubehttp://instagram.com/losttapes007--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 13, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREOnce in a while I feature a band that is a perfect example of why genres and labels don't work. Alice in Chains is one of them. They've always been grouped with the other bands of Seattle's slash-grunge era - even if you've heard Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, STP, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and every other back-to-back, you'll be hard pressed to tell which one of them really sounds like the other. Nirvana leans towards punk. Classic Pearl Jam Skirt. pumpkins. STP Power Pop. And while all of these bands also have some of their roots in hard rock/metal, only Soundgarden and Alice in Chains have taken metal to its next evolution - rhythmic elements and progressive harmonics with enough breath and calm to allow softer emotions to permeate these two. bands. , Alice in Chains, leaned more towards more traditional metal elements. Which makes sense, since their origins were real metal. Both Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell started out in typical '80s glam metal bands - they played forms of real hair metal (seriously, just look at the pictures). When they came together to form the new Alice in Chains - borrowed from Layne's old band name Alice N' Chains - they kept the melodic and rhythmic elements of hair metal and darkened it. It helped that Staley and Cantrell were amazing singers whose voices blended well. They often swapped lead vocals, but when they came together to play those almost medieval parallel Organum harmonies, Alice in Chains became what they were meant to be. They somehow managed to be both dark and light at the same time. Hard, accessible rock - yes, vulnerable, many times in one song. It was a hallmark of grunge that sensitivity and major keys mixed directly with aggressiveness and minor keys. Of all the bands above, Alice in Chain's version was the most haunting and fully realized. That's what makes Layne Staley's death in 2002 so sickening. Not because he overdosed on Speedball. Not because he suffered for years before trying to kick the habit. These are terrible facts that must be mourned and honored, as Layne should be. No, it's because we immediately associate dark, scary music with drug addiction and tragic death. We forget too easily that hundreds of other shadowy gangs have existed without tragedy, that Layne's death is the exception rather than the rule. Soften the loss by saying, "Oh, of course he died like that. Just listen to the music." Like so many other bands that have successfully fused disparate influences into something wholly new and endlessly fascinating, Alice in Chains shouldn't be defined by tragedy. They should be respected and appreciated for the music they create, the new sounds and ideas they contribute, and the the fact that they were and are musicians and artists like any other artist of any other style that you can call a big influence on my music.It woke me up to the possibility of showing my tougher side while still maintaining my usual anterior and middle sensibility. I evolved from that sound years ago, but you can still hear Alice in Chains in my work, especially on songs like these two:NICK - "Your Sister" (from the album Your EP)REC - "Three More Minutes" (from the album The Synergy for the Weird)And here's my grunge acoustic set with most of the bands mentioned above: Nick DeMatteo - Live Acoustic Grunge--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Make a Podcast . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 12, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MOREmusic is layered vertically and horizontally. You have the vertical stack of ensemble music - orchestra, band, choir. Then there is the horizontal layout of the composition - chords, melodies, verse/chorus, theme/variation. I mean, even an a cappella voice has layers. Either way, you're dealing with several parts that make up the whole. Sometimes one part is dominant, but rarely for an entire composition. For a musical work to make a positive impression, all these parts must work well together. This does not mean that all parts do the same job, perform the same function, or even have the same quality. Let's realize that perfection does not exist. Musicians and singers are so good at this that they create the illusion of perfection. Then someone else comes along and does the same thing differently and just as well. Nobody is better or more perfect. They are all successful and each makes a different impression. The same applies to parts that are not so perfect. We all love music that doesn't have great lyrics, passable rhythms, quirky vocals, or solos that don't follow any strict technique or just plain sloppy execution. Doesn't that make music good? No. The end result is work that makes a positive impression and adds something valuable to the musical conversation. "Louie Louie" is no less worthy than "Moonlight Sonata" or "Blue Monk". So why do some of us judge work on superficial elements like cut, tone, or accuracy? Why do we often discard works that contain one or more imperfect elements when perfection does not exist? By what standard do we sustain these works? The answers to most of these questions are personal - based on taste, feeling, experience, education. But the last question – which pattern – I think has an answer: the wrong one. When we judge a work as inferior, it's because we're using a standard that doesn't fit, which may apply to another work or one's experience as a listener or creator, but not to most other works in the world. This is unfair. It's reductive. And it is pernicious because not only does it ignore the varied experience and provenance of this work, but it also neglects its unique and extremely valuable depth and angle of expression. This is how we judge people and communities. If what we see or hear doesn't conform to our preconceptions about what a worthy person or community should be - i.e. H. only what we experience, appreciate and express ourselves is that we mark as inferior, needy or compassionate or worse, discipline and control. Judging by standards that don't fit is A. quick and superficial; B. Too subjective and biased; and C. the cause of most division and destruction in the world. This includes racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism – any personal negativism and phobia. When police spend time “cleaning up” a neighborhood by scrubbing graffiti, arresting vandals, profiling with stop and frisk procedures, and engaging in disproportionately violent responses, they ignore the breadth and substance of an individual or community in favor of superficial elements such as color, skin tone, expression or behavior. This is just the beginning of a cycle that often ends in the most heinous and inhuman acts. This determines how our society is structured. Our basis is to judge everyone by one set of standards and disregard entire constructs of history, experience, work, contribution, creation, context and expression. We can change that if we are willing to be less reductive and reactionary. ...--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 04, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI'm from Philadelphia. Born there, lived there a bit, grew up near there, and been there every week for decades. It's in my blood in more ways than one. But that pales in comparison to my father's experiences. He was born there, lived there for 30 years, and visited his family every week for many decades. Why is it important? Because location matters. Not only for the family, but also for the culture. And that includes a lot of music. Now that I've lived in New York for over 20 years, I can tell you that there's one big difference between the two cities: the pressure. Both cities are a crossroads of cultures. Both have tons of options, influences and sounds. But whereas NYC is a giant pressure cooker that constantly tests you, Philly lets you breathe, it doesn't challenge you to be more of who you are. That's why so many concerts and musicians went there first to get in fighting shape in the past. You MUST be in fighter shape to be successful in NYC. Philly not only lets you live, it encourages you to live. You're also free to do whatever you want in New York, but you're on your own until you prove yourself worth the effort. That's why Philadelphia's music fans, venues and radio stations are so much better, so much easier to find their place to hop on board and be supported. It's also why Philly music is much more of a mix of styles than New York music. NYC has every musical style imaginable, but they're separated into silos that rarely mix in any meaningful way. And they're a lot more confident about it all. In Philadelphia, every kind of music talks to every other kind of music, and the result is new amalgamations that could not have arisen anywhere else. Does that make Philadelphia the greatest music city in the United States? Probably not. There are many worthy candidates - New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago, etc. But it puts Philly FINE in the top 5, and I would say even the top 3.G. Love & Special Sauce is a great example of the Philly amalgam. Fronted by Garrett Dutton, they blend hip-hop, funk, psychedelic, folk, blues, soul and alternative rock in a way only a Philly band can. There are so many other examples of this type of mix over the decades. The very sound of Philadelphia - funk soul dance mixed with lush orchestral strings and percussion horns. Think Hall & Oates - folk roots morphed into funk soul pop rock. Lil Uzi Vert - Lo-Fi Emo Rap Rock. Below is a very partial list of other well-known Philadelphia area artists. Note the variety of styles between and within artists: The Four Aces, Danny & the Juniors, Frankie Avalon/Fabian/Bobby Rydell/Chubby Checker/Nicky DeMatteo, McCoy Tyner, Todd Rundgren & Nazz, Jim Croce, Hall & Oates, Gamble & Huff/McFadden & Whitehead/The Stylistics/Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes/Teddy Pendergrass/Sister Sledge/The Delfonics, Patti LaBelle, Joan Jett, Robert Hazard & the Heroes, The Hooters, Cinderella/Britny Fox, Pretty Poison, The Dead Milkmen, Live, Ween, Schoolly D, DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Boyz II Men, The Roots, Jill Scott, G. Love & Special Sauce, Ape Café, Nick DeMatteo & REC, Huffamoose, Disco Biscuits, Circa Survive, Low Cut Connie, Eve, Chiddy Bang, Meek Mill, Lil Uzi Vert, Tierra Whack. Every thing I've ever done has Philly in it somewhere. Here is the most complete playlist of my solo and band work to date: The Semi-Complete Nick DeMatteo - Spotify Playlist. Do you have any connections to Philly music? Do you know G Love? What other areas of the country are as fertile for mixing music as Philadelphia? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

May 03, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI love naming things. Songs. albums. podcast. Children. The list goes on. names are powerful. So of course I'm fascinated by them. When researching this podcast, I wanted to see if anyone had attempted to compile a comprehensive list of every band name ever in the history of all types of music. no And I was kind of happy about that because I probably would have read the whole thing. Instead, I decided we were going to have some fun. I found five CDs by bands that have the day of the week in their names. I looked ALL day for names of bands that made an impact (meaning that I could actually find) and found that there are hardly any. I figured since there are hundreds of songs with names by day that there would be at least a few dozen bands, but I could only find 17. Of these, only 6 (#s 1, 4, 11, 12, 16, and 17 below) achieved any degree. of Fame. And it's really only FIVE because one of them (#12) changed its name to Radiohead before it hit the big time. I was shocked that the list is so short. Here they are: 1. Blue Monday - Vancouver hardcore punk band2. Happy Mondays - Manchester Brit Pop Neo Psychedelia Vol3. Hey Monday - pop punk band from Florida4. See you next Tuesday - Michigan deathcore and mathcore band5. 'Til Tuesday - New wave alternative rock band from Boston6. Tuesday – emo punk band from Chicago7. Dead by Wednesday - heavy metal band from Connecticut8. Wednesday – Ontario pop vocal band9. Wednesday the 13th - aka Joseph Michael Poole - lead singer of Murderdolls10. Wednesday Night Heroes - punk/street punk band from Edmonton11. Thursday - Post-hardcore, screamo band from New Brunswick, NJ12. Friday Night Boys - electronic/power pop pop band from Virginia13. On a Friday - Radiohead's original name in the early years14. Saturday Looks Good to Me - experimental indie pop band from Michigan15. The Saturdays - British-Irish electropop girl group16. Taking Back Sunday - Long Island emo, post-hardcore, pop-punk band17. The Sundays - alternative rock band from London dreams As for the five I have - one album by The Sundays, two by Thursday and two by Taking Back Sunday - none of those bands are seriously active at the moment, but as they were, it really was me on them. The Sundays were one of the best dream pop bands of all time. Thursday was one of Screamo's seminal bands and hailed from my hometown of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. "Taking Back Sunday" mixed pop punk with screamo and spawned some excellent melodies. Those last two bands had A LOT of energy that could be felt in the stereo. There is absolutely no doubt that these bands influenced me. Sundays showed me that it's possible to be smooth and nice. The other two bands gave me role models for fusing melody and pure power, like Foo Fighters et al. made. Check out the album below for some of Dream Pop's main influences, and listen to the song afterwards for some serious power: REC - Sympathy for the WeirdREC - "Three More Minutes" Remember one of these bands? Do you know other bands with days in their names? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 27, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI spend an hour with Fred Sauter, musical theater librettist, composer, performer, zoo keeper, and Task Rabbit extraordinaire. For more information about Fred, see these links: Fred Sauter OfficialFred Sauter on YouTubeFred Sauter Live---Bedbugs!!!The Astronaut Love ShowTo donate to The Rainbow Lullaby go here: https://gofund.me/9723571c- -- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREWTF?!? That's what crosses my mind every time I think of the Beastie Boys. ONE, because how come these self-proclaimed funky-punky assholes were a major player in changing the face of music in the 1980s? TWO, ​​because then how did they become respected innovators, outspoken activists and legends with long careers to rival the greatest artists of any genre? THIRD, because how could it all end?!? So much of the Beastie Boys' history makes no sense that it almost makes sense that one of them has been dead for nearly a decade. But no, not even that makes up for it. It was three guys - great friends, bandmates and collaborators - who always got back together, no matter what happened between them. Unexpected achievements. career pressure. Explorations beyond the boundaries of accepted form. Life changes. Pauses that seemed to last forever, but were much shorter than, say, waiting for Chinese democracy. No matter what happened, they always came back. And then Adam Yauch died. The soul of the band, like Terry Kath was the soul of Chicago. The difference is that Chicago continued and reinvented itself in clever and disappointing ways, while the Beasties - now Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond - realized that going on without MCA would NOT be the Beastie Boys. So when Dumb Death gets in the way, as usual, we're left with memorabilia and re-releases, and hopes for cooler innovations are dashed. I respect Ad Rock and Mike D's decision to switch gears and I love that they are releasing a comprehensive love letter to music, their incredible trio and Adam Yauch, this is the 2020 mega pack Beastie Boys Book, the Beastie Boys documentary Story, the compilation album Beastie Boys Music and the Spike Jonze photo tribute Beastie Boys. It was a beautiful burst of energy that I only hope will lead to more. As for current music, License to Ill is deep in my DNA. Without them, my music would not be my music. Their next three albums - LEAPED - advanced hip-hop and the music conversation in general in three different ways, with Ill Communication being my favorite because it was a distillation of all three. I also love mid-90's hip hop. Hello Nasty proved they could top the charts in fifteen years and was their favourite. To the 5 Boroughs reminded me why I love NYC so much and it has lyrics that I remember to this day. And the Hot Sauce Committee Part Two reminded everyone else that they completely ruled the creation and graphics until the very end. I wanna hear her influence on me Listen to pretty much anything, but start here: REC - "The Power of Repetition (Everlasting)" (from the Syncopy for the Weird album) Are you a Beasties fan? If yes, what is your favorite album? How did you feel about Adam Yauch's death? Do you wish Adam H. and Mike D. were still making music together and/or do you understand why they almost retired? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI spend an hour with Rich Berta, musician, singer, author and the creative force behind That New Life. For more information about Rich and That New Life, follow these links: https://ampl.ink/yPnRohttps://thatnewlife.bandcamp.com--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREWhen a new band finds the right name for them, it's magic. They don't always get it right the first time. Imagine "Jeremy" was published by Mookie Blaylock. Or if The Hype did “With or Without You”. Or the Young Aborigines had a hit with "Sabotage." These band names don't support the setting and spirit of the songs. Fortunately, the much more direct Pearl Jam, U2 and the Beastie Boys inspired us. And those are just three of the dozens of famous bands that did some trial and error to get the name right. However, Violent Femmes killed him instantly. Of course, it was intended as a spontaneous joke name. But once founding members Brian Ritchie and Victor DeLorenzo discovered Gordon Gano, it made perfect sense. Brian and Victor had the post-punk groove and attitude with an added dose of weirdness. Gordon had a talent for singing—nasal, weird, childlike singing that fit so well, and songs that spoke openly about sensitive, painful, and embarrassing feelings, without the defensiveness that often drives singer/songwriters to drop to the top. It was raw and new and it worked right away. His music embodied both the violent "masculine" emotional turmoil felt by all teenagers and the undisguised honesty vulnerability that is often associated with a person's "feminine" side. And by doing so without apologizing, he's shown that the whole male-female thing is bullshit. There is no reason to label what a person feels, how they behave or how they express themselves. Open up and say whatever comes. Getting angry and aggressive. Be self-confessed and insecure. It's all about being a complete and truly vulnerable human being. Did they want their name to represent all of that? Or your music for that matter? No. The synergy was accidental. The simple arrangements (acoustic bass AND no kick drums!), vocals and words simply came together to embody the very dual genre that the name suggests. And they did it with a frank, no matter what you think, folk-punk attitude that influenced a whole generation of bands. They were pre-emo - one of the groundbreaking bands of the 1980s that gave tons of other bands permission to come clean without defense. And I belong to that group. Whenever I wrote lyrics that felt too raw and insightful, I turned to The Femmes (and The Cure and a few others) to make sure I didn't have to hide the words behind the aggressive music. Below is an older song and a much newer song, both of which show this. NICK - "You Can't Touch Me" (from the album Listen You People) Remember the femmes? Did you know they released a new album last year? Are there any other bands you like that have the same kind of duality? Fuck argue! NICK'S LIVE VERSIONS OF TWO CLASSIC FEMALE SONGS: "Never Tell" "American Music" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

April 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREWhat is pop music? Whatever your head said is wrong. Or if not, that's not the whole story. One definition is that it's anything popular. "Pop" is in the word, isn't it? But that's too easy. Let's dig deeper. Where does "pop"/"popular" come from? The common root means "people". As in "population" or "population". So pop music is music by the people, by the people, for the people. It's "folk music". People music is pop music? This looks super broad and induces "duh". Well, sit down, because let me tell you, it's even wider than you think. The definitions of "pop music", "pop music" that I found online bend to make distinctions and divisions. They are also WRONG because they all start from the basic premise that there is a difference between high-brown and low-brow music - that classical, jazz, avant-garde, world and some other more esoteric forms are worthy of more status and study like rock. , Hip Hop, Soul, Country, Folk. Not only is the assumption of differences WRONG, but the distinctions of "higher" and "intellectual" themselves are meaningless. People hear what they want and like what they like. This has never been truer, as the internet gives most of us access to nearly every song recorded in history, including music that predates sound recording. Assuming that one person listens to classical music while another listens to hip-hop is profiling, pure and simple. We all have tastes that transcend our assumed demographics. And by definition what PEOPLE listen to is POP music. This includes music from all genres and spheres, regardless of status, popularity or financial success. Music is moving in and out of the zeitgeist and the market all the time. Just as the stock market has nothing to do with most people's everyday lives, what is most broadcast has nothing to do with pop's identity. The only way to describe the sound of pop music is: everything. It sounds, sounded, and will sound like every type of music that has ever existed, no matter what the scholars say. No other definitions are helpful or constructive. There is no high brow or low brow. ALL music is NO-BROW. Is it fun to research music from different eras? Absolutely. I love hearing about the changes and developments. But these are cross-sections of a body of work that by no means tells the whole story. They are as representative of pop as a person's clothes are of their existence - it doesn't mean a thing. We make distinctions and divisions all the time. Every day we make decisions, often unconsciously, about which things, ideas and people deserve the most status, respect, popularity and power. It is human nature to categorize and create hierarchies. And it is in the nature of most leaders to reinforce these distinctions to create more division, to the point where we adopt their way of seeing the world and begin to divide ourselves. People who have 95% in common become enemies because of that 5% difference. It's important that we see this power play, recognize our human part in it, and be aware of it daily so that we can consciously shift our judgments and open our thought processes to the idea that all these distinctions are artificial. Just as a dance song can be as valuable as Mahler or a hip-hop song as deep and meaningful as Miles Davis, people, ideas, organizations, objects, and all art are not defined by class or race or mode of communication or appearance or how much money they cost. What people love is what matters. This is pop and we are pop. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

07.04.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MOREpop music is wonderful. More diverse than its reputation suggests. But that's not all. And while they are often accepting of new ideas, they can also be aggressive. The bouncer who makes snap judgments based on a few superficial clues. That is why it is so important that there be rebels. By that I don't mean artists who consciously shun the mainstream and take a more eclectic and experimental indie path. I mean those artists who seek to infiltrate and shake up the mainstream. Trojan horse artists who disguise themselves in pop traps to sneak in more subversive elements. Hyperpop is the latest in a line of musical styles that are turning pop music upside down and pushing it to unabashed extremes. Very bright. Ultra fast. Ultra polished. ultra short. Ultra strange texts. Pick raisins and mix them together like mixing all Play-Doh colors. Brought some new interesting points into the conversation and will definitely move things forward. But this is not the first time this has been done. Subversive pop music has been around as long as regular pop. Where there is a movement, there will always be a counter movement. A perfect example of this is They Might Be Giants. The Johns started in 1982 and seeped into the mainstream for a decade or so. Kind of. Decades before hyperpop, they made songs that were ultra-bright, ultra-fast, ultra-polished, ultra-short, and with ultra-slanted lyrics. Their first four albums, in particular, stretched what a pop song - and a pop album - could be in every direction. She didn't love pop music. They never made it to the top of the charts because pop wasn't ready for them. Like an early '80s bouncer mocking parachute pants, Pop took one look at this accordion and guitar duo playing canned backing tracks and wouldn't let them in. Couldn't stand the madness. As always, the future laughs last. Weirdness is just normality minus a decade or two. Slowly but surely, pop music caught up. Now much of what they've done is becoming a central part of the pop landscape. Short songs and random playlists (see Fingertips compilation). Songs on Demand (the innovative Dial-A-Song). Songs only available online (her Long Tall Weekend album). And much more. And they influenced so many other artists. Think of all the "bands" that formed 20 years after TMBG and it's just one or two people playing backing tracks. It did something like that in the 1980s and almost never in the 1990s. I would say They Might Be Giants is one of my top 20 influences on my music. I've played it "solo" countless times, smuggled weird lyrics into pop songs, played with length, form and genre - on an album and even a song that pushed pop to its limits and turned it upside down. Every album of mine has at least one song that does that. Here's an example that sounds a lot like TMBG to me: REC - "KPS (Korean Pop Song)" (from The Sunshine Seminar album) Do you know TMBG? If so, are you mostly familiar with your classics or children's albums or TV/film/stage work? Did you think they were extremely weird? Can you hear their influence on other artists? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 31, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI spend an hour with Carrie Klein and Joel McGlynn aka Hot Glue & the Gun. They are a theatrical rock collective specializing in CRAFT music and creators of the Gluey Zoomy Show. For more information about hg&tg, follow these links: IG: @hotglueandthegun (http://instagram.com/hotglueandthegun) YouTube: http://youtube.com/hotgluethegunwebsite: http://hotglueandthegun.combandcamp: http://betheglue .bandcamp.comAnd find them here on the GLUEY ZOOMY SHOW!https://youtu.be/NawBbE7H7dc--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 25, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREGrunge was a thing. Born in the 1980s, came of age in the early 1990s, and was co-opted and leveled later in that decade. It was powerful enough to change the landscape of pop music and culture at large before pop culture turned it into a parody of itself (Nickelback anyone?). If you got caught in this storm, there were only a few options: Stop. Double and play grunge circuit. Become a band with more reach and depth. reinvent. This week's band, Stone Temple Pilots, was a hybrid of the latter two, even playing the latter early on and years later the former. During the Core years, STP sounded like grunge imitators, and you wouldn't be guilty of thinking they'd end up in a footnote like, say, Candlebox. But they had depth and range built in from the start - when they were called Mighty Joe Young - it didn't really show until they broke the chains of grunge and followed where the music led them. Although they piqued my interest with Purple's "Vaseline", it was Tiny Music...that blew them away for me. It was as if Scott Weiland's voice had gone from an Eddie Vedder imitation to a John Lennon punk. Their subsequent albums have exhibited the same depth and range, thanks in large part to Weiland's vocal and lyrical prowess AND the incredible songwriting, performance and leadership of the DeLeo brothers. Listen to their hit compilation "Thank You" and you'll hear it all from beginning to end. Anyone familiar with grunge knows that STP is included in the Death is Dumb series because of Weiland's tragic end. I followed his ups and downs closely, watched him try to piece together Velvet Revolver and the STP reunion, and was devastated when he overdosed. Good thing STP still exists - despite another tragic death of the singer (Chester Bennington). The DeLeo brothers deserve more credit than they get for the success of STP. But it was Weiland who brought this band to me. His ever-catchy vocals and desire to shift the envelopes of transformation inspired me to break out of my "dark grunge vocal" period and add more dynamics and brighter, darker accents. You can clearly hear the difference listening to these two songs back to back: NICK - "Away" REC - "Some Things Happen" Do you know STP? Were you also surprised by how much they changed in the 1990s? What do you think of Weiland? Do you know a lot about the various other bands he played with? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 23, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI spend an hour with Gustavo Rodriguez - musician, talent writer, author, producer and podcaster. For more information on everything Gus does, follow these links: IG HANDLE@sandovarSILBIN SANDOVAR - Musichttps://briansilbinandfriends.bandcamp.com/album/brian-silbin-and-friendshttps://open.spotify.com/album/ 1MWy3iIozZKssB6wY98u40? si=06YCiOdNQsOeYAXTn8VsiQFIRESIDE MYSTERY THEATER - Podcasthttps://www.firesidemysterytheatre.com/LIC Bar - Long Island City, NY - Facebook Live Sunday Serieshttps://www.facebook.com/LIC-Bar-119633874719553--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREOne of the many great things about creating timelines is discovering a band's entire family tree. For most bands, breaking up isn't the end. I'm not talking about the reunion tour after the farewell (forever) tour. The most important creative forces in a band don't stop creating just after "the end". Some go solo - like Ozzy Osbourne or any Beatle. A few transitions into work outside the band - say music for film and television like Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo. Some do the retreading cycle - they collect their own legacy like... name 1,000 of them. Then there are those who are reinventing the band experience, who may have needed the split to allow other aspects of their creativity to flourish. Mick Jones is a great example of this. When he left The Clash - who released one post-Mick album before finally disbanding - he wasted no time in forming a new band with a new sound. After two brief and unsuccessful runs as founder of the General Public & Top Risk Action Company (T.R.A.C.) bands, Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite. They released nine albums over the course of nearly 15 years before Jones formed another band, Carbon/Silicon.BAD enjoyed massive success (as well as at least three other names - including BAD, BAD II and Big Audio) culminating in this week's album, The Globe . BAD continued The Clash's musical mission in many ways. political songs. A pop sensibility that doesn't shy away from rough edges, either lyrically or sonically. A mix of different styles of music including punk, funk, reggae and ska. But they got even crazier, more experimental and added other styles like hip hop, dance, afrobeat, electronica and heavy samples. His lyrics also went all over the place. All in all, it was a lively and very successful restart. The BIGGEST parallel between the two bands is that they both subverted conventional wisdom about what can and cannot be done with music. And by default, once you do that, you also subvert industry standards and practices. SO punk. I just listened to all the Clash & BAD back catalogues. I guess I didn't realize the huge impact BAD had on me, especially from 1985 to 1991. At least three of their first six albums had songs that came to my mind as soon as I heard them - no small feat, because that last time I heard most of this song was when she was young. You can still hear that influence today, especially in one of the last songs by my band REC: REC - "Make Me Mic My Mouth" Do you know BAD or Clash? Were you aware of the connection between the two? Can you think of any other amazing inventions in the second act? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 16, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI spends more than an hour with James Castelli, an absolute polymath. James is a composer, performer, teacher, astronomer, astrophotographer, winemaker, family genealogist, and my estranged second cousin. For more information on everything James does, follow these links: ORIGINAL MUSIC https://jamescasttelliomega.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/james-castelli ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY https://www.youtube.com/channel / UCS0Eoj2Cky5zjVvRLZWz96Q http://jamescastelliphotography.blogspot.com CASTELLI VINEYARD https://www.facebook.com/Castelli-Vineyard-Malaga-New-Jersey-357510438087426--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easier Way to create one to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 11, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE loss is a constant. Lover. A job. The end of a relationship. The end of an era. your youth. It hurts more when there's a lot of love and desire. If we want to love, we have to accept that loss is always part of it. And so it is with music. When a favorite band or artist is alive and well, any new album, single or concert is exciting. Even if they break up or retire, there's always hope for another reunion, another album. When a band member or artist dies, it's over. Forever. And so is this age for you. There is no way around this. HURTED like hell. When John Lennon died, an enormous amount of hope died with him. i still feel it The same goes for Kurt Cobain, Prince and countless others. Unreleased tracks or fake reunions like these "new" songs by the 1990s "Beatles" just don't work. It's trying to hold on to something that's gone forever. Only the music and memories survive. This week's band Fountains of Wayne is the first in a series I'm doing about love and loss in music. At the beginning of the pandemic, Adam Schlesinger, the main architect and composer, died of COVID. He was in his 50s and in the midst of a burgeoning career. The band broke up nearly a decade ago, but with him and vocalist Chris Collingwood alive, I would have expected them to do more together. It all ended last April. And it sucks. Fountains of Wayne was one of the few power pop titans that A. influenced me, and B. should have been so much bigger than them. They had their big hit "Stacy's Mom" ​​and this album was phenomenal. But we're all their albums, and they had even better songs. As productive and restless as Adam was, there's no doubt they would have done something again. So this band is gone forever. That era of my life is over. death is stupid But music is not stupid and it is not dead, it will be there forever and deserves to be heard and loved by many more people. We are lucky that it was done. And I'm lucky enough to still make music. My band REC's latest album owes a lot to Fountains of Wayne. Especially this song: REC - "Wake Up High" And here's a link to the tribute show I gave last April: https://youtu.be/fghgpxoTtokDo you know this band? Is there a band that will never exist again that will break your heart? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI spend an hour with the incredible Singer/Songwriter/Producer, Audio Visualist, Emotional Engineer and my good friend and colleague Daniel Cousins. He is also the creative force behind the supernatural electro rock band Albatross Heights. For more information about Daniel and the AH experience, visit: http://albatrossheights.com--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easy Way to Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 04, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREWe need to get sick. We must be fed up with the same stories over and over again. The story is NOW and that's enough. Too many artists - too many people - have been exploited by those in power, pressured and forced to comply or risk major rejection. So many of us have been manipulated, exploited, kicked around, pushed aside - all for money and power. That includes us fans, on whom opinions are foisted MUCH MORE than we realize. Take this week's shining example, Liz Phair. She blew up in Chicago with an album that is now in the top 500 of all time. Then she disappeared. NO NO NO. That's the narrative provided to us by critics and the industry at all times. The fact is, IT IS COMPLETELY WRONG. I've just listened to the entire catalog and left with an overwhelming impression. She was always herself, always did what she wanted and always kicked ass. Who you think she is, she is not. Or is that just a small part of it. Their production is a bit like Bowie's. Each album does something different. They have the deceptively raw and improvised debut, Exile in Guyville. Whip-Smart proved that it didn't run out of all its creativity the first time around, and it's here to stay. It added enough narrowness and difference to indicate she had more places to go. Whitechocolatespaceeg is an absolute tour de force of composition and performance. She is the titan at bringing intimate, quirky lyrics and catchy pop melodies the way they were meant to be. And she doesn't neglect her guitar playing. This one is my favorite. Her eponymous album was EXCITED when it came out for daring to be power pop. Ridiculous. We are all so easily fooled by production values, critics and fans alike. We believe that a looser sound indicates more authenticity and a polished, composed sound is flatter. They're both affections and it's all total bullshit. It goes to show how few critics really listen beyond first impressions. This is why MANY ALBUMS that were criticized first are "out of date" years later. Someone's miracle - it's Taylor Swift before Taylor Swift even started. She takes the stereotypical "singer-songwriter" mode of production and creates lyrics, subtleties and vulnerabilities that would define pop songwriting. Funstyle – experimental and moving everywhere. Weird and unafraid to say fuck gender restrictions and the industry. I suggest listening to this first. If you end up liking or loving it, all the other albums will fall into place. The point is, no matter what story she tells us or what impressions we get before we dig deeper, she has always been herself. That's what we should want from every artist—and every human being. Every thing she has done has stood the test of time because she is always honest and genuine. Dive in and give her all the attention and recognition she deserves. And get ready for her long-awaited new album, which comes out very soon. My entire last project, REC's The Weird Objective, was devoted to the same kind of fuck-it genre. He goes everywhere I wanted him to go. And because it's 32 TRACKS, it also sucks for the industry. See for yourself: REC - The Weird Objective - https://www.nickdematteo.com/rectheweirdobjectiveRemember Liz Phair? If so, do you remember her only as a sexually explicit prostitute? Or do you know their hits better? Are there other artists you think deserve more credit for persevering in the face of misperceptions and abuse? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

March 03, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThe first of a two-part interview with the legendary Nicky DeMatteo, singer, recording artist, pianist, actor and my father. For more information from Nicky, follow these links:Nicky's Live Performance by the Phantom of the Opera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy5RzJfsX1UNicky Virtual LIVE Concert - https://youtu.be/2c-H52N3GQQNicky's Recordings - https://nickydematteo.bandcamp.com/ - -- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 24, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE There is a mindset that insists that connections between genres are tangential and theoretical at best. Of course, MUSIC is not a GENRE to debunk this myth. It's hard enough to fight this kind of thinking in the popular arena - like country doesn't like hip-hop or rock doesn't like dancing. Fortunately, these borders are becoming more and more blurred due to the confusion of the internet and, above all, due to young artists like Breland or Rina Sawayama, who no longer see any reason to remain "pure". When it comes down to it - dubbed "intellectual" music - a distinction I don't like, by the way - the bias is even stronger. There seems to be a need for high-minded people to cling to a false sense of purity in their chosen music. Lovers of classical music – or orchestra to be more precise – tend to reject anything written at least since Stravinsky, if not earlier. Jazzheads are often so rigid about what qualifies as jazz that they reject all but one or two subclassifications. As Wynton Marsalis once said, music that is not rooted in the blues structure is not jazz. There have always been, and always will be, people who are open to mixing, mashups and cross-pollination, and people who are in dire need of solid, high walls to keep out anything they don't see fit. But if you are a true lover of MUSIC - history and evolution, taxonomy and Darwinian evolution - then you know ALL THE WALLS ARE FALSE, and have been for a long time. If jazz is defined by improvisation, then are rock guitar solos jazz? If classical music is defined by a rigorous interpretation of written music, how do you reconcile the stark fact that Liszt, Chopin, Mozart and even Bach were all known for their dazzling improvisational skills? We believe that classical music has always been recorded because we only inherited the score. So it's not true. Jacques Loussier knew this, and his music is one of the greatest embodiments of the porous boundaries between jazz and classical. He became known for interpreting the works of Bach, Vivaldi, Satie and many others, adding many improvisations to the already known melodies, harmonies and rhythms. He was a French pianist whose fusion of jazz and classical music was known as the "Third Stream", a term that has been around since the 1950s. current brings them directly into the present moment. It looks like they are new. I've used classical and jazz elements in many of my songs, probably none more so than "Dream for Real" based on Pachelbel's Canon in D. in some classically inspired passages. And then there are the two songs I made for the film Lock-Load-Love, which combine well-known classical pieces, jazz rhythms and spacey sounds. They were heavily influenced by Loussier, with a bit of Esquivel: REC - "Polymath" (from the Syzygy for the Weird album) "Classical Space-Jazz 1" (from the Lock-Load-Love soundtrack) "Classic Space-Jazz 2” (from the Lock-Load-Love movie soundtrack) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https:// anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 24, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThe first of a two-part interview with the legendary Nicky DeMatteo, singer, recording artist, pianist, actor and my father. For more information from Nicky, follow these links:Nicky's Live Performance by the Phantom of the Opera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy5RzJfsX1UNicky Virtual LIVE Concert - https://youtu.be/2c-H52N3GQQNicky's Recordings - https://nickydematteo.bandcamp.com/ - -- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThere are so many things in the music business that make sense. The perpetual popularity of stars like Sinatra or Elvis or the Beatles or Led Zeppelin or Prince or Nirvana or Mariah Carey or Cher etc etc. intentionally mainstream when they wanted to. Then there are things that make a lot less sense. Why have Nickelback and Kid Rock been so popular for so long? Why would someone as prolific and popular as Billy Joel just stop releasing new music? I'm not saying there aren't logical explanations for these things. I say so what - there must be different answers. The same goes for this week's artist, Matthew Sweet. It doesn't make sense to me that he was never a star. Successful? Yes, for a few years in the 1990s. Seen and still have millions of fans? Absolutely. But he's not like Sparks. He doesn't make obscure or eclectic niche music (not that that isn't great too). He makes singer/songwriter power pop based mostly on classic rock sounds. His lyrics and especially his melodies and arrangements are super catchy. It has substance, broad appeal AND its own unique personal perspective. He has a very approachable voice. Personable and versatile, he hasn't stopped releasing new music since his formative years in the early/mid 1980's in Lincoln, Nebraska and Athens, Georgia. So what is America? What is your problem? OK, so two things. First of all, pretty much all of these descriptions could also refer to me, so I'm taking this personally 😊. Second, I think I know what America's problem is. And yes, I'm picking America here because it's a ubiquitous theme. I even came across this on my last episode of Bee Gees. The problem is that America - or rather, its marketing/business/money structure - has a short attention span and little tolerance for artists who don't always go crazy. America's PR machine wants size. What is already growing grows and truncates what shudders or wanes, to the point of atrophying faster than it should. And fans, who would probably be genuinely excited about what the artist is doing, never hear about it and rarely have the time or presence of mind to look it up. Then he dies on the vine. I include myself among them. I can't tell you how many times I've lost touch with a once popular band, only to discover that they're constantly touring and releasing new music. It would have been nice to KNOW, but the American PR/money machine has no interest in attracting even a few moments of attention... I cannot underestimate the impact that Matthew Sweet has had on my work. He showed me how to write personal, often not very happy lyrics and put them in a catchy power pop context. I did a virtual show mixing his stuff with mine in 2020 and you can hear the connection right away: Matthew Sweet & Me: Perfect Together - Virtual Concert - https://youtu.be/ggwJw9u9aE0Do you know anything about Matthew Sweet? Why do you think he's not a star? Do you agree with my assessment of America's attention problem? Are there any favorite artists of yours that you never understood why they weren't more popular? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREThe full interview with Stephanie Kay, sci-fi podcaster, music lover, award-winning karaoke singer and co-founder of The Lambda Quadrant (see below). For more information about Stephanie Kay, follow these links: THE NX7062 PODCAST http://bit.ly/2NX7062Podcast www.facebook.com/nx7062 www.twitter.com/nx7062 THE HAWK CHRONICLES - Sci-Fi Audio Drama https: // www.spreaker.com/show/the-hawk-chronicles LAMBDA QUADRANT - A group for LGBTQ sci-fi fans that provides safe spaces and supports various charities. - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 11, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE When David Bowie died five years ago, I righted a big mistake. I've known him since the 70's, I've known some of his hits, 80's music and offshoots like Tin Machine. Someone I really respected but kept at a distance. So I fixed that and listened to his entire back catalogue. I was instantly hooked. Not just Bowie's legendary shape-shifting music, but the whole idea of ​​listening to entire catalogues. So I did it again and again and again. I Still Do It At last count, I sifted through well over 50 artist discographies. To be honest, it's probably closer to 150-1000 if you count all the short-lived bands. I call this "Chronolography". It's a mix of 'chronology' and 'discography' and that's how I do it. I'll start with the artist's earliest recording and work chronologically from album to album - including all non-album singles. I also add solo recordings of each prominent member of the band. I read each album as I listen - my version of the liner notes - including any career or personal information that might be related in any way to the music. And I don't stop until I get to the last shot. This could be just one or two albums - as with the pioneering punk band The Germs, or as many as 50 or more, as with the Beatles, and then the solo careers of all the Beatles. There are so many reasons to make this a worthy endeavor. Greater appreciation of the artist's talent beyond his most popular works. Better understanding of where the artist is coming from and what he is trying to achieve. Uncovering hidden gems and creative offshoots they may not be known for. A detailed account of the artist's development over the years. Putting the artist's work in context - both as part of his own career and as a reaction to the wider music scene. Oh, and it's fun and engaging and most of the music is insanely good. Also, it takes much less time than watching a TV show and you can do it anywhere. It's getting much better now. A chronology tells a story. Not just about that song or that career, but the length of time they existed, the people involved inside and outside the band, the development of the music as a whole, how the industry and other outside influences affected (or definitely NOT) the music, and even even a part of society and humanity in general. It's as if history meets documentary mixed with a novel culminating in a time-lapse work of art. It's much more important than just a musical exercise. We all have preconceived notions about anything and everything we've ever encountered. The judgments that shape these notions are largely based on as little information as possible. We may know some songs or a time when the band was very popular. When large-scale commerce coincided with creativity. We decided based only on whether the band was good or worthy of appreciation. And hey, it's okay if that's all you want to do, because it's just music, right? No. It is not alright. Why? Because for most people, approaching an important subject is very similar to anything else. If you're content to settle for your own ill-informed judgment about something relatively simple like music, how likely are you to delve into more complex subjects like politics or social or philosophical issues? Or the grand total of one person's life?...--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 11, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThe full hour-long interview with Cathryn Lynne, performer and co-creator of SnerkShirts by FEEK. For more information about Cathryn, visit here: https://www.facebook.com/CathrynplusNick https://www.instagram.com/cathrynplusnick/ https://snerkshirtsbyfeek.com/ To see Cathryn in action, visit here: https : // youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfrAP6IL7DaVVeltzGfHd3wT-sHezF_RT--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

February 11, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI found it! My CD collection has changed twice in the past 18 months and I have NOT done any reorganizing. Searching through over 600 CDs to find the one I wanted wasn't something I wanted to do. So it was a huge relief to have this one right in front of one of the shelves. It's because? Because I should have started my CD track journey with THIS. It was the first CD I bought with my own money. My parents spent a lot of THEIR money to buy a CD player and since I still lived with them I occasionally had access. And of all the CDs I could have bought—and I did, let's face it—George Michael's Faith was the one that moved me the most. I cannot say enough about George Michael or this album. So much has been said that I don't feel the need to go into detail. I'm just saying that I still remember the crisp, funky, impeccable sound of those songs - and that VOICE. I still remember what a revelation it was to hear his version of what a singer/songwriter/producer could be. And let's not forget the HUGE HITS and the controversies that some of his lyrics and his personal life, not yet ended, caused. We could say that "today" the scandal of someone singing about sex, let alone gay sex, is ridiculous. And for many of us it is, but it's not. In truth. Because for a large part of the population these things are still disturbing, scandalous, sinful and just plain wrong. What an incredible triumph for George Michael, not just singing about this stuff, not just making videos and visuals about it, but doing it in a very personal way. To be a master of pop/R&B/dance music and to profess to be one is an incredible achievement and makes this album a great classic. I wrote a ton of songs inspired by this album, either like the greatest hits. Faith", "Father Figure", "One More Try", "I Want Your Sex" and my favorite "Monkey" or as the lesser known single and jazz pop exercise "Kissing A Fool". he did today than he did then Here's a great example - my version of singing about sex in a personal way: REC - "Make Me Break Like Everyday" (from the Syncopy for the Weird album) Remember this album? Can you still sing some of the songs, even if you haven't heard them in years? Do you remember how great he and this album were? Do you get sad when you think about how his life turned out? What was YOUR FIRST CD? Discuss the fuck! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

04.02.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE Last week we talked about audio formats and mentioned that there are over 50. Every time a new format is introduced and really catches on, the old formats start a slow process of shrinking only for collectors, fetishists and/or nostalgia fanatics. They never completely go away, but eventually become too impractical to consume en masse. The problem is that while the old formats are becoming obsolete, the music itself is not. Sure, trends come and go, but early music has a huge following. This means that if you love an album or artist but no longer listen to vinyl, cassettes, CDs or your MP3 collection, you need to UPDATE. You must make a firm decision to repurchase all your favorite songs in whatever new format they are now in. On one level, this sucks. If you are a collector of EVERYTHING, the idea of ​​having to piece together what you already have is a huge waste of money, time and energy. On another level it's great. You can rediscover music that you haven't heard in a long time, and now it's much easier to share it. But there is a THIRD level that really matters in the world. And the fact is that without these reissues, the music industry would have been bankrupt a long time ago. Just as every new video format since the strobe animations of the 1830's has been funded and propagated in large part by pornography (check it out - it's true), the music industry continues to thrive in large part because it knows it's an internal audience for reissues of all kinds. Once sold, there is a 100% chance of being sold again. You can't count on shoppers to follow your lead whenever the pattern changes, but you can certainly lead them down that path with the tried-and-true new format, and luckily, that. At least if the means allowed it. In our current case - CDs - I ended up collecting entire catalogs of tapes, among many other upgrades. The first upgrade I bought was this week's album. It's not necessarily a one-for-one remake. There was no previous Compact Jazz - The Sampleron vinyl. What this was is a compilation of excellent jazz songs - some familiar and some profound - a kind of introduction for people who don't know jazz well but maybe want to or just want to have all these songs in one place. Like a mini playlist. It's everything that was only available on vinyl or cassette. I've played this CD a ton. I knew and loved some of these artists. With others I was very happy to discover them, even more so to enter. It's a very good and well curated CD. And it was so amazing to hear all those things in such good condition. I recommend listening to each cut. My personal artist switch from cassettes to CDs came a good decade after release, when CD replication became much more accessible. All of my releases were on cassette, until this album below. It was a revelation to hear my music of such high quality and, apart from deliberately tinkering with the sound, I never went back to the old days. This album also includes some jazz-influenced songs, especially tracks 8 and 9. NICK - Listen You People (1998). What has been your experience of updating your collection? Do you mostly like it, mostly hate it, or never really do it? Do you like the song from this week's album? Do you like the music from my first CD? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 28, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREBefore I started doing podcasts, I wrote weekly for a long time. I started with my cassette collection. When I was done and ready to move to vinyl, I paused to discuss the history of music formats, from cylinders in the late 1800s to streaming today. (COOLER LINK ABOVE) As I transition from vinyl to CD, we're going to do something different. Let's talk about what is the best format for listening to music. Rather than discussing all 50 or so options, let's focus on the most commonly used formats over the past 60 years. That is, vinyl, cassettes, CDs and digital files (mainly MP3s, WAVs and cloud-based streaming). Each of these formats has its fans: warm VINYL, scorching romantic compact CASSETTE, scorching usability audiophile techno CD DIGITAL ARCHIVE cool listeners Yes, each has its downsides. Vinyl and cassette tapes - the analogue formats - warp and break easily. They are more difficult to transport, store and play with. Sound quality tends to degrade over time. You can only capture a certain part of the original sound output. These formats color the sound output in ways not intended by the artist. CDs and files - the digital formats - can sound "cold" and thin. Like analogue formats, CDs are more difficult to transport and store and are less likely to degrade and be damaged. Digital files are more difficult to catalog and track and lack a huge amount of visual and textual representations of other formats. Their sound quality varies wildly, and the most compressed files (low-end MP3s) sound about as bad as an old tape through a single-speaker boombox. While digital sound captures a much larger portion of the sound spectrum in breadth and depth, it misses out on the connective tissue that analog captures by default. Spaces between ones and zeros. So what's the best format? When I was young, I only had vinyl and I loved it. When the cassettes arrived, I turned away. I could take them anywhere, even burn vinyl to blanks and take them with me too. When the CDs arrived, I couldn't believe the sound quality. I couldn't take them everywhere because portable players were in short supply, so I got around that by recording them onto cassette tapes. When cars started to have CD players as standard, I left cassette tapes behind. I stopped buying CDs a long time ago, a good 15 years into the MP3/streaming era. I didn't like downloading files and copying them to a CD or sending them to a player. At the same time, I collected them at a price I could never otherwise afford. After becoming familiar with a streaming service that I liked, I stopped buying CDs entirely, and also almost entirely stopped downloading files. Which FINALLY leads to an answer. The most important aspect of ALL of the above is... the MUSIC. The experience of listening, absorbing, getting lost in the sounds, words and world that artists create. It doesn't matter which format you prefer, as long as it gets you the music you want. Discuss the pros and cons. Make your case for your loved one. NONE of them are "the best". What always counts is the music. This is my band REC's magnum opus, a small piece of music I created for you to experience: https://www.nickdematteo.com/rectheweirdobjectiveWhat's your history with music formats? What is your favorite? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 28, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MORE people are passionate about the music they love. (Most people anyway. Let's not mention the others :)). When that passion runs deep enough to become part of your core identity, it can start fires. You might be offended by people who don't like a favorite artist or style. They can become so obsessed with their music that all other music is either ignored or considered unworthy, and this attitude spills over to other music lovers. You can let this feeling run wild to the point of apathy, contempt, outright hatred. I felt everything. I am an obsessive music lover. I used to be so careful about my tastes that I was afraid to share them, and so dismissive of those who disagreed that I could hardly discuss music with anyone. I would hold tightly to my opinions and keep them to myself or just share them inside an echo chamber with the same opinion. It's easy to explain the inner reasons and understand why we can get to this point. This is us as children and young adults. It allows us to feel what we want. It reflects us back to ourselves in the light we want to see. It gives us a safe space to hide our vulnerabilities from the perceived dangers of the unknown. And it's important to note that somewhere in our being, consciously or unconsciously, we choose to embrace these exclusionary attitudes. What is often overlooked are the external reasons. Social pressure to belong to a particular group or population group. Industry messages that favor one artist or music genre over another and target those messages only to specific individuals. Media sensationalism that eschews factual reporting to focus solely on controversies, even when those controversies are wholly fabricated. Critics and journalists whose bias shows in their words more than any attempt at objective analysis. We are not always aware of these pressures and influences, but they are always there, imposing limitations on the otherwise limitless world of musical enjoyment. Think of all the musical rivalries. Beatles vs. Stones. MJ versus Prince. Nirvana vs. Pearl Jam. Mary v. Whitney. Tupac vs Biggie. Metal vs Punk. Rock vs Disco or Hip Hop. This was either completely false or just true because the fans were divided by their passions or one of these outside influencers was creating differences to stir up press and money. In some cases, like rock vs. disco, arose not just from greed for money and power, but outright racism. It goes to show that even fake rivalries can turn ugly, even dangerous. We have a choice that allows us to stand by what we believe in and still be open to the likes, beliefs, opinions, and experiences of others. Maybe even open to appreciating something they do, something we never thought we'd understand. When I was a kid I never understood why people couldn't like rock and disco at the same time. But I kept it to myself, and that set me on the path to developing this exclusive and divisive mindset. External pressure and internal fear separated me from many people. This adopted-and-learned mindset took over and prevented me from sharing the joy of the music I love. It forced me to judge others so harshly that I dismissed them AND their music as a defense against the possibility that they might do the same to me... do a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREIS. We are preparing to enter phase 3 of something that started five years ago. These Thursday posts have gone through a lot of changes. Phase 1 was all about text and photos and all about cassettes. Phase 2 was a transition phase - everything revolved around vinyl, from lyrics and photos to videos, which became a YouTube channel and even included a name change. Today's episode concludes that phase and sets the stage for the next one, with many more to come. What I'm saying is, today is the last one in my vinyl collection. I decided to take the remaining six albums and put them all together for a good old-fashioned conversation about music of various genres. None of them really mattered to me, but they all deserve mention. Below are those six, with a few brief notes. You must watch the video for an in-depth analysis. -- Bad Company - Each era has a handful of acts that represent the quintessence of a style - no crossover or muddy waters. Bad Company was that for 1970s rock. -- Billy Ocean - If you don't like Billy Ocean, you're missing a piece of humanity. And it's good that he's returning to the music business after such a long break. So many hits in the 1980s, although to be honest I don't remember this one. - Freddie Jackson - One of those singers - like Peabo Bryson or the late James Ingram - who brought great, smooth R&B to the 1980s. That was their biggest hit, which I remember well.-- 5 Star - A British band of pop/R&B that had several hits in the 1980s, including five from this album, one of which was 'Let Me Be the One' the biggest in the US was Schlag. I often prefer British R&B because I don't feel the need to stick so strictly to the genre, something that often limits what American R&B can be.-- Whistle - Whistle's biggest hit. A few years later, they made the surprisingly smooth transition from hip-hop to an R&B singing group. You should definitely see the video for this single. It's one of many fun, irreverent '80s rap songs peppered with well-known public domain songs, in this case performed by an old-school keyboard sampler patch. - Charlie Parker - Recorded in 1944, this is Prime Bird and Supreme Bebop. Bebop is one of my three favorite styles of jazz because it had one foot in old, more lyrical jazz and the other in hard bop and the more dissonant jazz of the future. Right in the sweet spot. I bought this at a thrift store in college when I was diving headfirst into jazz of all kinds (except Smooth). I love the song "Romance Without Finance" and even covered it at one of my shows last year. And that's it folks. The vinyl phase is over. Next week I will start phase 3 - my CD collection. Here's the link to my band REC's box set, The Weird Objective: REC - The Weird Objective - https://www.nickdematteo.com/rectheweirdobjectiveDo you like any of these artists? Is your vinyl collection as bizarre as mine? Are you ready to dive into my massive CD collection? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE multitalents are not uncommon. The creative brain tends to think that everything has the potential to be something. And if that brain also has talent and interest in an area, that person won't be able to resist trying something new. I can think of a dozen famous people who are really good at at least two things. What is more rare is that people know how versatile someone is. Most successful artists are known for one thing, two at most. Jamie Foxx is a comedian, actor and singer. He is also an accomplished composer and pianist. Tom Hanks is an actor and producer. He is also an author and application designer. Reese Witherspoon is an actress and producer. She is also a singer and author. Lupita Nyong'o is an acclaimed actress. She is also a writer and TV producer. This doesn't even address all of her non-creative work in business, charity, etc. And that's just four out of thousands and thousands. Shaun Cassidy belongs to this group. If you know him, you're old. Second, you probably know him as the younger brother of David Cassidy or as a co-star in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Or, as this week's album shows, a pop singer. But he did so much more. I loved this album. So much so that I hung the accompanying poster on my bedroom closet door. This was mainly due to their cover of The Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron". But so was general pop. Granted, I was 7 when it came out, but I still retain that pre-teen flavor to this day because, if we're honest, it never goes away. So I kind of got over it. His next two albums were also successful and he did a lot of TV and stage work, but most of it didn't interest me. In the mid-90s, I heard his name again, this time as the creator, writer, and producer of American Gothic. I didn't watch it, but I heard his name again a few years later as the creator of Roar, starring Heath Ledger. I loved this show. From there, I kept an eye on Shaun, who has worked behind the scenes in television, including the current show New Amsterdam. And I'm always looking for other less famous things that famous people do well. I am also one of those not uncommon polymaths. If you've been following along, you know that I'm doing this podcast in part to promote my own music - most of which I write, sing, perform and produce myself. But I'm also a voice actor and I've done a lot of voice actors for commercials, movies and video games. And I'm also an actor - stage, film and television. I'm a writer - fiction, non-fiction and poetry. And graphic designer and photographer. I will dance even if you kick me. I do all this for many reasons. It's fun. I'm restless. I CAN. I like multiple sources of income. I enjoy jumping back and forth between seemingly incompatible art forms. It cleanses the palate, and in the process, you might find insights and connections you never would have if you were stuck on one thing. But mostly because that's how I absorb and interpret the world. How to give meaning to life. Check out these projects I created or contributed to: MUSIC: The Weird Objective - https://www.nickdematteo.com/rectheweirdobjective GRAPHIC DESIGN: SnerkShirts by FEEK - https://snerkshirtsbyfeek.comVOICE OVERS : my VO Reel - https : //youtu.be/wEoWto1gUeMACTING: The Many Saints of Newark - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8110232/PHOTOGRAPHY: Hands Down - http://bit.ly/handsdownphotos- - - This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREOccasionally I like to stop the madness and check in. Make a state of the onion - talk about which layers have been peeled off and which ones are yet to come. I won't add my voice to the thousands of others who have to repeat what a year it was - unexpected suffering, discovery, triumph, etc. All true and all blah. I'll get to the meat in a minute. Onion meat. Nothing lights the fire like light. And nothing creates more clarity than constant work. In the last 12 months I've done nearly 70 podcasts, played over 75 shows and released five albums with over 30 songs with my band REC. It was great, but what was that supposed to mean? I am a firm believer that the best way to learn to swim is to jump in the pool. I mean learn some basic survival skills first. So fuck off. And once you're inside, keep swimming until you figure out where you're going. It's exhausting, but all the muscle you build will make the next leg of your journey that much stronger and easier to plan. By the end of my laps in 2020 - and this is where I end the swimming metaphor (you're welcome) - a few things became clear. One is that I love talking as much as I love making and playing music. And that there is no reason for them to be separated. Another reason is that there's nothing I'd rather spend my work hours doing. All that work IS exhausting, but the result is a world of music I wouldn't trade for anything. My solo performances, with REC and with C+N. The conclusion of Volume One of Strange Fate. MUSIC is not a GENRE. music is everything. It's all here. and everything remains. But not everything stays here. In 2021, I will shift my focus from YouTube to Patreon. What exactly does that mean? First, a lot of what you see here on YouTube will still be here. And I will continue to release new podcasts and occasional live shows on a monthly basis. Except for the C+N shows, they will all be moving to our next C+N YouTube channel - more on that soon! You can still find all the REC songs on my REC YouTube channel - get it here on my channel page. If you're looking for something else, visit MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE on Patreon. And what's everything else? Oh man, get ready. In addition to many of the playlists and special podcasts and presentations you see here that are moving to Patreon, most of my new podcasts are released exclusively for Patreon customers. And it won't just be the podcast series you've seen here. I will be releasing several new series including live interviews, deep dive genre deconstructions, artist highlights, special appearances and I will even fulfill some of your requests. In the coming weeks, I'll start releasing curated clips and highlights from this year's shows - music from artists you've loved for nearly 100 years, including REC. And I'll keep you regularly updated on who I'm interviewing and what else I talk about that you might miss if you're not already a patron. In the process of doing this, I will also be migrating a lot of my YouTube footage over to Patreon. It will be the best place to find me very soon. In the meantime, stay healthy, find yourself happy, enjoy the rest of this year however you can, and never stop the music. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREEvery year I make a gift list to attract people. I try to anticipate their tastes and interests and give them something thoughtful and meaningful. Books. Clothes. goodies. Homemade stuff. appliances and games. But that list is somewhat lacking, as it has been in recent years. Music. CDs. box sets. Vinyl. We all know this has happened with the growing dominance of streaming. Physical music sales are decreasing every year. Stores – even big chains – are closing one after the other. While I lament the wasted experience of sifting through piles of music from all genres to find hidden gems or that one thing I'm looking for, I don't like streaming. I really love it. It opened up musical worlds that I otherwise couldn't afford. What it lacks in imagination, it makes up for in tenfold greater convenience and malleability. However, where I really question all of this is gift giving. Probably my favorite thing to do each Christmas is share favorite songs with a loved one - buy them a CD that introduces them to something I'm looking forward to and want to be involved with, or one that I know they will already. loves her. Or I would mix cassettes/CDs every year if the list was too varied to buy so many albums. It connected me to people on a level that meant more than anything else. And now? How do I gift music when anyone can find all possible gift ideas on Spotify or iTunes etc in 10 seconds? Could you suggest that I make a playlist and share it with you - a virtual mixtape. I did it. It falls very smooth. It is consumed along with everything else. Not being able to hold a physical product to visually explore while listening is devastating to the experience. It makes everything super unforgettable. You could say fuck it. Get them a CD or vinyl anyway. You will appreciate the throwback feeling and you will never forget the gesture. That's what I did in the early years too, when streaming started to catch on. Inevitably, the album would never be played and would be added to a collection of other albums that were never played. Yes, even a custom CD mix, because who else wastes time plugging in and loading a CD player? And box sets or special editions are future shelf statues that cost too much to justify the expense. So what's the answer? Especially this year, when buying Tix for a concert to go to together is out of the question, how do you distribute music? In short: I DON'T KNOW. I haven't found a suitable solution. This week's two albums were gifts from someone cleaning out their collection. I appreciate them and will keep them. And if I want to listen to their music, I'll probably go to Spotify. Have you gifted music recently? If yes, HOW BY GOD? Do you prefer physical music (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, wax cylinders) or streaming? Help me here and damn debate! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE Calling something "world music" is like calling people "people of the earth". In other words: DUH. It's a genre name that means something simply because the music industry said so. But if you look at it, if you dig deeper and find out what it's really saying, you'll quickly discover that it's nothing more than an American/Eurocentric way of marginalizing any kind of music that comes from "elsewhere". It's like the term "exotic". At first glance it seems harmless, but if you dig deeper, you'll begin to understand that it's actually DIVIDE, not UNITE. It is intended to characterize something or someone that is less familiar as well as LESS RELEVANT than our core culture. And again, as I've said so many times, we are both victims and participants in this. Sometimes we ALL resist being exposed to the unknown. What we do next counts more. Do we accept this unpleasant feeling and characterize something or someone as "less than"? Or are we trying to connect and understand this “alterity”? So yes, we have work to do. But we are also VICTIMS, having been fed misinformation and division at every turn. Since the beginning of the music industry, we've always been told to like what should please "our kind" and ignore or even demonize music that doesn't fit into those categories. As soon as you see that – as soon as you get a feel for how random genres and labels are, your senses start seeing clues and similarities in things you never thought you'd respond to. I say all this because I went through it. This week's selections, more or less from my formative years, all seemed vaguely "weird" to me when I first heard them. Looking back now from a 2020 pop music perspective, it seems silly. Every aspect of each of these releases is SUPER present in today's pop world, to the point where we barely notice the dozens of non-Western influences floating around. But back then, like almost every era before and after, music that wasn't rock, pop, dance, or country was what? ... "exotic". In those cases, it's doubly silly because all these releases are hybrids, fusing American-British music with other forms. Again, the futility of trying to describe music by simply giving it a genre label is pointed out. UB40, The Jets, Gloria Estefan, Nard Ranks - ALL together define the pop landscape of 2020. Perfect examples: reggaeton is an offshoot of dancehall, which is an offshoot of traditional reggae, and it's EVERYWHERE. So is Latin music - and Bad Bunny is the crossroads of these two styles. That is, IF you mix them with pop/dance/R&B, a la The Jets. So yes, this week's five selections are essentially the DNA of 2020 music. Non-Western cultural music has seeped into much of my work, albeit not prominently. I've done many soundtracks that incorporate styles and/or languages ​​from other countries. However, the latest and greatest hybrid example is my band REC's latest single: REC - "Sing Owwt". Do you remember any of these bands? Do you hear their descendants and offshoots in music today? Do you understand what I'm saying, that all of this isn't more "mundane" than anything mainstream in America (and Canada and the UK) makes? Have there been times in your musical history when you've been put off by certain musical genres? Did you keep him at a distance or give him time - and IT TAKES - to get to know him and let himself be absorbed? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE Have you ever heard a great song and then found out it was a remake? Or a song that you know is a cover and it's so incredibly good that you like it even more than the original? Both are incredible discoveries, not just because you love the songs, but because they breathe new life into old songs AND create a direct connection between eras that otherwise have little in common. If you've been following along all these years, you know I'm very picky about covers. On the one hand, it's not enough to remake a song because it's good and you like it if you don't add anything new to it. On the other hand, it can be fun to tear a song apart until it bears little resemblance to the original, but it only works when there's still a tangible spiritual connection between the two. Otherwise, why not write your own music? I'm not talking about repurposing: using words, chords, production elements and/or full song samples in the service of an entirely new song. It's not a cover, and there are several criteria for when that works (see tons of great hip-hop songs). I say an uncompromising reissue of a song has to be good in its own right, as well as doing justice to the source material. So it's doubly rewarding when a song that meets this requirement is also better than the original. And one of those songs is "Hazy Shade of Winter", originally by Simon & Garfunkel, and here by The Bangles. Firstly, The Bangles are a great band, one of the seminal girl groups of the 1970s/80s that showed that "girl groups" didn't have to be just vocal pop. They rocked it and brought the pop goodness with them too. Their version of "Hazy Shade" brings out an energetic, aggressive dark side that the original only hinted at, while still remaining very close in spirit and structure - which is for the best. It's a matter of taste and how your era affects what moves you the most. Although I think it's not always like that. Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," for example, trumps the original. Even the great Dolly Parton herself says it, when I choose a cover it's because I hear something in it that I want to highlight and highlight, connect with some new elements and shed a new light on it. And it's usually a lesser known song by a popular band or a better known song by an obscure band. A perfect example of this is my band REC's version of The Beatles' "I'll Be Back" from their new Syncopy for Weird EP. It's not a well-known Beatles song, but I've always loved it. I also love Hamilton's music, one of the slow groove songs had a beat that I knew would bring a smoky funkiness to "I'll Be Back" that wasn't noticeable on the original. REC - "I'll Be Back" - (from the Syncopy for the Weird album) There are dozens - if not hundreds or thousands - of covers that are as good or better than the first versions. I talk about several of them on the podcast. So listen up if you want all the goodies. And especially if you're willing to disagree, because this is all subjective. I want to know what you think. Do you know Hazy Shade of Winter? If yes, which version do you like best? Are there covers you prefer, like The Beatles' "Twist and Shout"? Do you like her version of "I'll Be Back" or mine? What about the LIST OF CHALLENGES below? Watch the podcast to see what I think - and let me know if you agree or disagree! Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE WITH THESE SONGS:1978 - Arpeggio - "Love & Desire"1979 - French Kiss - "Panic"1983 - Rags & Riches - "Land of 1,000 Dances"1983 - Pamala Stanley - "Coming Out of Hiding" 1983 - Lime - "Angel Eyes"/"Guilty" 1984 - Temper - "No Favors" 1984 - Wish, Featuring Fonda Rae - "Touch Me (All Night Long)" 1985 - The Bar-Kays - "Your Place Or Mine" 1986 - Eastbound Expressway - "Knock Me Senseless" 1986 - Regina - "Baby Love" 1987 - Herb Alpert - "Keep Your Eye On Me" 1987 - Left Lane - "Bam Bam Bam (I Came Here) To Jam)"1987 - Cyre - "Last Chance"1987 - Will to Power - "Dreamin'" Yep, it's time for another vinyl mega-blast. I saved this set for the right time and that's it. If you've been following along all these years, you know I was a live DJ for a while as a teenager and have been creating mixes ever since. That adolescence was groundbreaking for so many reasons, and because my partner and I needed real vinyl (and cassettes) to mix at dances and parties, I inherited A LOT from that collection. I highlighted some specific songs and albums that were more meaningful and/or meant more to me. Those 13 12-inch discs - made up of 15 singles - don't mean enough to me individually to be featured on a podcast, but they were all mainstays of our sets. I won't go into all the details here as it would require PAGES of text. You have to watch the video for that. Instead, I focus on the essentials. Dance music is dance music - that is, when you hear music that you think you can dance to, that's it. BUT there is a narrower definition of “dance” that emerged in the 1980s. And this specific type of dance music of the same name came straight out of disco. Most disco music was created with real instruments - a real lineup of funk/r&b/pop/rock bands and/or musicians hired to simulate it. In the late 1970s, electronic elements were incorporated, especially keyboard sounds, and sometimes these sounds replaced real instruments like horns or strings. When the 1980s rolled around, disco was considered cheesy for several years. Several other dance music styles have emerged to fill this gap, including post-punk, new wave, techno, house, electro/synthpop, freestyle, hi-NRG and so on. Most of them contained predominantly electronic beats and instruments. And they ALL had one element in common with the record: the four-on-the-floor beat - four bass drums to a beat of around 120-140 bpm. During that time, it felt like this music was a far cry from 1970s dance music, which was newer, fresher, and more innovative. The second part of this sentence is true because that's how things always happen. However, hearing all of this NOW is the revelation that the FIRST PART of this sentence is not true. Dance music of the 1980s remained very, very close to the disco form until the end of the decade, when darker electronic palates, hard rock, and especially hip-hop and its offshoots transformed dance into what it was in the 1990s and beyond. be. Although my 1978-1987 timeline is arbitrary - based on my personal dance collection, which STOPPED when I stopped DJing, it kind of works because, after that, dance music left disco in the dust. REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (from the album Syncopy for the Weird) Do you like dance music of any kind? Do you hear the differences between dance music from each decade? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORESince the dawn of popular music - and depending on how you define it, that could mean hundreds of years ago, trends have been a thing. Whether it's music creators pushing to the next or another level of songwriting, performance and production; or fans who are attracted to something new and different and/or want to get into the latest fashion; or the powers that be – patrons, corporations, journalists, critics – who decide what's hot or what sells best... what is constant is that new musical styles and ideas are replacing old ones. A sound or style that was in vogue for a while can become clichéd or outdated, almost erasing the old style. This can happen gradually over a few years or quickly overnight. Initially, modern media and the Internet accelerated this sales process – as everything else accelerates. Then about 10-15 years ago, when streaming became the dominant way of recording music, it hit an infinity point and exploded. Trends began to merge, intersect, repeat, die and regenerate, appearing and disappearing too quickly to hold and drive out anything else. In short, trends in music are ups and downs, far ahead. It put a whole different strain on EVERYONE - creators, fans, sellers, chroniclers. You couldn't just do or like anything old. They had to track what was hot now, still hot but fading, totally gone, gone but retro cool again, next, totally off the list, or any other classification. It was exhausting and suffocating and generated tremendous anxiety. Once you are on this track it is very difficult to jump. You become addicted to believing that this is the only way to be relevant and successful, and you fear that if you step out of the way, you will be instantly crushed. When this infinity point explosion happened, I didn't realize it at first. Then I felt something was different. And when I realized that, I slowly realized that this. IT WAS. ALL. ABOVE. And it was very good. Freeing. I started hearing about "outdated" production values ​​- sounds, effects, writing/singing/performance styles that didn't fit in with the trendy pop landscape. That was just in indie music early on - lesser known acts outside of the mainstream. So I didn't think about it too much. I thought they were creative people in their sandbox building retro castles. Slowly - but not so slowly - these sounds started to appear on the charts. First as novelties, then as mini-trends. At one point, these minitrends bubbled up, overlapped, intertwined, and petered out so quickly that trying to call any one of them a “new trend” was futile. This unleashed a wave of creation with little to no limits. People did what they wanted as if everything was fine – because suddenly it was. Songs can sound like they were made in any of the last few decades, and as long as they were good, they were accepted. Now there are certainly still trends or movements in all areas of music - in the sense of creatives (producers, writers, artists) always keep your ears open and listen for great ideas that you can adapt. The difference is that these do not dictate the taste or dictate what can be heard. There they are...--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 22, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE First of all, I have to say that I know absolutely nothing about Southern Rock. I know some classic bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top and Allman Brothers. Newer alternative bands like My Morning Jacket and Kings of Leon and some newer bands like Alabama Shakes and Derek Trucks. I'm not a Southern Rock expert or even a huge fan. But I embraced it early on and learned to respect it. I joined Little Feat for a short time for three reasons. The first was when I was looking for a band that had Chicago-like qualities - horn jammy rock. The second is that I was, and still am, very interested in New Orleans music and stuff like that. The third was that I had just discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd. In fact, a few months ago I did an episode about Skynyrd and talked about how people who don't know it assume it was and is Southern Confederacy hiccups. And that was never the case. It's a point worth delving into here this week, because the same goes for southern rock in general, especially the 70s and 80s. People often believe stereotypes, and I say that because I believed them. I believed as much as I believed that Southerners in general are stupid and racist. Filling perceived gaps in ideology means being willing to be wrong. It means being open to hearing something you don't like and still being open to making a real connection. It took a long time to break free of these notions. Specifically, it took desire, curiosity, research, and connection. I had to want to believe otherwise. I had to be curious enough to want to know if I was right or wrong. I had to do my homework and find those answers. And I had to connect with the music and the people who make the music. And that's why Southern Rock may be the ideal American music for our world today. It's down-to-earth enough to feel traditional, familiar, and comforting, yet eclectic and expansive enough to combine elements of rock, blues, country, folk, pop, and sometimes even metal and jazz. And in the case of Little Feat, there's even that New Orleans swamp. It's a mix of musical styles that caters to many tastes. And the more you learn about it, the more familiar it seems and the more you see through the preconceptions (PRE judgments) to the truth: it's not what you think it is. And oh, it sucks really good. Coming from pop, jazz/blues and rock, it took associative surges to get used to Southern Rock of any kind. As I've said in other podcasts, you find commonalities - things you're familiar with in a context you can latch on to comfortably and with some understanding in a less familiar context. For me it was Chicago, Led Zeppelin and the blues. You can hear it in the song below, from the 2020 EP by my band REC, Symphony for the Weird, in collaboration with the band America UK: REC - "No Way Out for Me" (from the album Symphony for the Weird) Do you know Kids Performance? Have you ever been to Southern Rock? Or are you staying away from it because you think it's a redneck thing? Is there any other music you found that you had to stretch your mind to get there? Or non-musical shit you had to overcome to get into the party? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE There are two types of people in this world... Okay, there are a lot more than two types of people - like people who don't care about any of that, for example. But let's forget about them and be reductionists just for fun. As I said before, there are two types of people in this world: those who find the enjoyment of a trick spoiled once they figure out how to do it, and those who still love the show no matter what they know. If you've followed my thread up to this point, you know that I've used several entry points to argue that all music (and all art in general) is in some way an illusion. As this is the fourth and final episode of my ILLUSION series, it's the perfect time to get to the bottom line, which is that for all true music lovers - and indeed for most others - it DOESN'T MATTER. Know or not know For those who love music, it doesn't matter how something is created. In fact, I would argue that KNOWING makes the listener like it MORE. Having an idea – or even a detailed analysis – of how a piece of music comes to be enhances appreciation because you can see how much effort, skill, thought and inspiration went into its creation and even an extremely simple final result appears, contained in dozens or so. hundreds of choices and abilities, some of which even the Creator is unaware of. When I listen to a song, the more I relate to it, the more I want to know how it came to be - from why it came to be, to why it sounds the way it does, what the lyrics are connected to, the underlying chord progression, how a certain passage is played or sung. The more I know, the more I delve into it. And when I pull away and just listen for pleasure again, I can still feel and let go. I'd say I'm MORE INSIDE than if I didn't know so much. Not much learning and discovery and generally tipping the scales from ignorance to knowledge much more will spoil the fun. It doesn't take away the emotional or psychological impact. It deepens you. This makes the music stay with you longer, maybe even forever, coloring your enjoyment and connection to any other music related to it. Which, ultimately, is EVERYTHING. We are faced with a lot of information from birth to death. Some central and vital. Some peripherals and options. Some accurate and some…um…much less accurate. Some we want and thrive on. Some we push away and are afraid of. Hell, we're still in the so-called information age! Which just means that the things we can know can be found easier and faster than ever before. We all filter this information in different ways and for various reasons. As with music, we choose to listen more to what appeals to us the most and perhaps we should explore a little more the things we hear that sound strange or less comfortable. Whether we are stepping out of our comfort zone or not, there is one thing that we ALL must do more: SEEK KNOWLEDGE. FIND THE TRUTH. DIG DEEPER. However, it means not settling for a superficial understanding of anything we have an interest in, or taking one person's word or source for EVERYTHING.... --- This episode will be sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE If you've been following along, you should know two things: 1. This is the third episode of my podcast miniseries ILLUSION; and B. I LOVE working in the studio. You might also know what I mean by that, which is that these two things are... DA da da DAAAA... CONNECTED by recording and preserving sounds of all kinds, it's also possible and FUN to manipulate these sounds. Initially, manipulation was mostly about volume or clarity. Then it was a matter of stitching multiple takes together to create a great version. Then it was layering - that is, multitracking elements after an initial performance had been determined. All of this points to one big revelation: ALL recorded music is an ILLUSION. It's crucial to capture the purest sound possible. But even THAT is illusory. It is a way of giving the listener the feeling of hearing the artist in real time, in ideal conditions and with no barrier between the sound and the ears. But of course we now know that the illusion goes much further. A few years before the two bands I'm in this week debuted, artists like the Beatles began to discover that the only limit to what you can create in the studio is your own mind. They began to create worlds of sound that did not and often could not exist in the real world. Not just impossible levels of reverb or layering beyond the number of parts that could be played live, but a lack of backtracking, splicing sound collages, manipulating vocals or other instruments to sound like something else entirely. It's an extensive list that has skyrocketed as fast as technological innovations have allowed. These days, we take it for granted - often without knowing it - that what we hear in music stems from massive manipulations (AutoTune, anyone?). This is the standard way most popular music is produced. Which MEANS that we are all basically living in an illusion. - Okay, maybe not living in it so much as surrounded by the sounds of illusion. And artists like the Nazz (and especially Todd Rundgren, who pushed the boundaries in his solo career) and the Moody Blues should be remembered as part of the generation that pioneered the ultimate sound manipulation. Swirly, psychedelic, ethereal, atmospheric, triple, epic and somehow so real. Biggest trick of all. So back to me as usual. I don't just love the studio manipulation I'm capable of. i flourish I am constantly expanding my taste buds and my abilities, always pushing the limits of my mind, for what I hear in my head that I can bring to the world for others to hear and understand. Like these two songs. The first is from my band REC's new EP, Symphony for the Weird. The second is my cover of a melancholic blues song. Both are great examples of electro-psychedelic power-pop and how single-player recordings can sound like an entire band: REC - "The Accumulate" (from the Symphony for the Weird album) The Drop - "Lovely to See You" from the DEALeR feature film soundtrack album) Do you remember love and hate with any of these bands? Or Todd Rundgren - a boy from his hometown of Philadelphia? Do you like obvious and complete sound illusions like psychedelic or electronic? Or do you prefer the everyday illusion of ALL OTHER TYPES OF RECORDED MUSIC? Will it make you listen to music differently now? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE, every artist gets there. For some, it's a break from their normal mode. For some, it's their way. For some, it's a concession to age. For some, not being labeled or seen as less "serious" is a challenging statement. You know the moment I'm talking. When an artist writes and records that very special "heartfelt confession", that song that reveals something truer and more personal about him. And I'm here to tell you it's bullshit. If you watched my podcast on Thursday, you know that this is the second of several episodes I'm doing that deal with illusions in art, especially music. It has to do with the idea that the way a song is created and recorded tells us something about its content. THAT... is an illusion. It's one of the many tricks that all artists use to make an impact. I mentioned on Thursday that art is art. That no matter how “true” a work is, it is still made by hand. The very word "craft" is constantly used to indicate cheating. Think "witchcraft". When you "make up" a song, that song is "made up", which can also mean "not real". So many words related to art also somehow mean “not true”. The very word "create" means "to form out of nothing". Nothing, which means something is not real. Okay, let's get back to the main point here, that how a SOA song indicates how true or deep it is. This really is total and complete bullshit. I can tell you, both as a listener and as a creator, that the style - or shall we say the genre - of a song is pure illusion. Do certain types of instrumentation better express certain emotional intentions? Yes. Do artists hope to make listeners feel a certain way by producing their music? Absolutely. Does this mean that the lyrics of these songs have the same emotional content or perceived depth or intended "meaning"? No way. There are thousands of examples of songs that sound like this and have lyrics that flow very differently. Or songs whose "depth" goes as far as they sound and whose lyrics - intentionally or not - fall far short of keeping up. A song's style is its costume. His skin. It's not guts and bones. In fact, many artists have fun with this kind of deception, this kind of illusion. On the one hand, it's fun to mess with people, challenge expectations, surprise. On the other hand, this juxtaposition adds a completely different level of meaning. It forces the listener to... REALLY LISTEN. Don't let the surface fool you. Many songs with amazing lyrics often fall short because they are produced in a way that doesn't immediately convey "deep meaning". pop songs. rock songs. dance songs. pop power. Heavy songs that hide sensitive lyrics and vice versa. Superficial judgments miss the truth, miss the real substance. Does this sound familiar to you? We ruin our speech, our ability to connect with each other, by judging people by how they look or how they talk rather than what they do or say. How many times have you heard someone with a certain accent or dialect and immediately dismissed them as stupid or incapable of meaningful conversation or, on the other hand, too cold, too correct, too intellectual? Or how many times have you been misled by a person's appearance: assumed they were rude or suspicious or alternatively trustworthy and knowledgeable based on their clothes, skin or facial features?... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor : The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MOREFake. Authentic. Sale. Integrity. Judge, right? Yes we are. We all know what's real and what's not. What is valuable and what is not. What is substance and what is fluff. Only we don't. It's ALL an illusion. And ILLUSION is what I'll talk about in upcoming episodes of BOTH podcasts. All art is part truth and part trick. Even the most authentic works - stemming from direct personal experience - are artificial. They MUST, otherwise they would not be art. It's right there in the damn word. I'll go into more detail about this in Saturday's podcast. Now let's talk about this week's picks, which might be the perfect way to start this conversation. If you remember Milli Vanilli, you probably remember two things, in this order: 1. They lost their Grammys because the guys singing the songs on stage didn't do ANY of the performances on the recording; and 2. Their album was a huge success, with several hit singles, including this one, "Baby Don't Forget My Number". It was a top five hit in the United States, three of which reached number one. Songs were everywhere. I remember sitting on a bus at the time and everyone was singing "Blame It on the Rain". I'm pretty sure that was the only time I experienced this with a group that was NOT in a live house. Things you may not know or may have forgotten. The two guys were Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. Fab is a French singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer and model. Rob was a German model, dancer and singer. They attempted a series of comebacks, the last of which ended when Rob died of a drug and alcohol overdose. Fab is still out there making music, DJing and a few other things. Scandals have existed in the world of music and art in general for centuries. Plagiarism. Lost credit. Total theft. Don't pay debts to artists. Lip syncs intended for live performances. Etc. etc. But it would be hard to find one the size of Milli Vanilli. There were also tons of deliberate fakes. Artists who record songs under other names or write under pseudonyms for other artists. "Classic" or "vintage" songs that turned out to be completely made up. THEN, there are the most profound fakes: artists who, through their work, pretend to be folk, blues or country - some of them actually turn this hoax into something very close to reality. I will go into more detail on the subject in the paragraph in future episodes. But what about poor Milli Vanilli? What's left for us now? As always, you can probably guess my answer: THE MUSIC. I make no apologies for what the label did or who got involved. And I'm really happy that real singers get credit and recognition (and money!). What I'm saying is that there hasn't been a single scandal related to quality art that has detracted from how good or enjoyable the work is. Listen to this week's song or any song from this album and I guarantee the song will get you pumped. I like a healthy dose of intentional falsehood. Here's a BIG one. Everything below is entirely made by me. Fake history, fake "old" songs, fake bands. All that."Move Ahead, Long Boy" - https://youtu.be/LBvYPbisxmQHistory of Modern Popular Music Using ONE SONG! - Live Concert - https://youtu.be/vID5aGZPugE--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 21, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORETons of years I created this cartoon character named Feek. As you can see on this shirt, he is essentially a talking head with legs and feet. The whole purpose of being his is to shout things out into the general space that you would be very shy of. Some of his quotes (or snerks) are funnier than angry, some vice versa. But ALL of them are observers. About feelings, problems, or the world in general. SIDE NOTE: A few years ago my partner Cathryn and I started the company SnerkShirts by FEEK. We are now selling feek t-shirts and will expand our offer to include masks, mugs and long sleeve shirts. NOTE SIDE OVER! One of the phrases I had him shout out was, "Retro is SO five years ago." Yeah, puns aside, what I was trying to say is that there's always something we look back on, something we revisit or recreate. And it didn't take us more than ten or fifteen years to reflect on a time distant enough to characterize it, miss it and want to get it back in some way. Think of the musical Grease. It was released in 1971, just a decade after the late 1950s. Or how grunge has taken over so much since the 1970s, again just a decade ago. Or how the Neptunes started using 1980s-style productions and sounds, NOT EVEN a decade ago. The list is extensive. It is part nostalgia, part fascination and fetishization, part emotion and rediscovery, or even a new discovery. It is reductive, like all nostalgia, and often tends to overlook the negative in favor of the good memories. Whether it's intentional rose glasses or deliberate ignorance, the end result can range from clever repurposing or reinvention (like most Neptunes catalogs or the band Unlocking the Truth) to a lovingly faithful homage (like Grease or even "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd). no more than an echo of substance (like Greta Van Fleet... at least so far, or most of what the Black Keys do). But repeating the past can be something other than nostalgia. It could be a complete accident. It could be the subconscious thought that you have created something new and revolutionary that has been done before, sometimes repeatedly. It's the old saying "he who cannot remember the past is doomed to repeat it". Your answer to all of the above says a lot about you. It can reveal your age, your era, the era you wish you had lived in or the era you have no experience or knowledge of. Whether you grew up privileged or semi-privileged or super-disprivileged or somewhere in between, it might shed some light on your socioeconomic upbringing. It might just show how open or receptive you are to whatever feels good to you. Or it might bring out your inner critic - the one who believes that anyone who wants to repeat the past should do much better and do well - however you define those terms. So what is my profile? I have my seasons, especially the ones I was really a part of. I grew up semi-privileged – and more on that in a moment. I like some flashbacks, others not so much. And I firmly believe that an artist who wants to delve into the past should do the following: A. Don't find it by chance and/or without knowing the ancestors; B. Recognize in your work that you live and create in the PRESENT; and C. Finding a unique and substantial way to reuse and/or reinvent the elements of the past that nullify them. Preferably, the last two co-exist in a way that's not just an affectionate homage (they're fun but get old fast) but actually drives the musical conversation forward....--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Way simplest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 20, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREWhen you think of Madonna, what comes to mind first? Is this the beginning of the post-punk dance period in New York? your movie career? your many relationships? One or more of her mega hits? His near-constant reinvention? Chances are, it's at least two of those things (okay, maybe not her movie career). But one thing that runs through EVERYONE is CONTROVERSY. From the beginning, Madonna was a shitty agitator. She's made bold decisions, bold statements, bold shows, and sometimes even bold songs. She never stopped pushing the envelope whether it worked for her or not. Time and again, she's figured out what pisses people off and used that to her extreme advantage. Sex. Social questions. Policy. Female Empowerment. And to all this I say: so what? Why is it important? There are a lot of people messing around all the time, famous and not. What makes what she does more important than everyone else? Why is she an icon? Why is she a role model for so many? Why isn't she just seen as a dissident who sticks her fingers in her eyes? Why did she persevere, because of and despite her controversy? If you follow these 40+ podcasts, you already know the answer. It's their music. your art. The work she was brought to this earth to do. She is one of many examples of artists who have never lost sight of their strengths and true purpose. Who used it to make their voice louder, so what they do and say matters to more people than... than who? Than anyone else who has lost the thread of inspiration, allowed volume to drown out quality, stopped caring about why anyone knows who they are and/or contributes absolutely nothing of value to society. I agree? everything she said and did? No way! I like all their songs? I'll let you know when I've heard more than 20% of it. None of that matters. What matters and what causes controversy is the studious generosity she shows every time she makes music and gives it to the world. Would we care what Tom Hanks had to say if he could act mean? Would we care about Frida Kahlo's politics if her art sucked? Would we care about Prince's social, sexual, and personal endeavors if he wasn't an undeniable genius? No. If the only purpose of these people was to give voice to causes, fine. As an orator or writer or philosopher or journalist or politician of conscience, that would be the reason for your main task. But as the MAIN ACTION of these artists is art, this is also why their controversies matter in the first place. And what is Madonna's main contribution to...not politics or sex or any other conversation...but to MUSIC? She was one of the pioneers who made dance music more than just a beat to get you going. Like many of the LGBTQ artists who practically invented disco and dance music as their own thing, or so many post-punks who saw techno/EDM as a way to move people with big beats and big ideas, she saw the freedom not just to place the substance lyrics in dance songs, but also that the dance itself IS SUBSTANCE. We spend much of our lives conforming to society's strict rules, or worse, arbitrary rules that we impose on ourselves. We have to get rid of it. And sometimes that path to freedom can start with something as simple and instinctive as DANCE. Then take it. Dance music has always been in my blood: REC - "You Make Me Wanna" (from the "Syncopy for the Weird" album) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easy Way to Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 20, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE Years ago, I had a boss who told me that multitasking was a myth. That it's impossible for the brain to concentrate or do more than one thing at a time. I realized this as I mentally reviewed my work schedule for the day, casually rubbing my thigh and biting the inside of my lip. It was the first time I heard someone take that stance, but it wasn't the last. More and more people started expressing this opinion, usually telling me while walking down the street or eating something else or writing something else. Sometimes I disagree. Sometimes I just nod. In both cases, I really wanted to scream: are you crazy ?! Don't watch yourself NOW?! Or I wanted to play a low-pitched note and describe my last performance as a musician/singer. There are two facets to this argument, and I will refute both. Let's do the second part first. I don't think there's anyone who would dispute that multitasking is not only PHYSICALLY possible, but that we do it all the time - literally with every breath we take. The body is capable of doing dozens of things at the same time and, in fact, it needs to do this in order to survive. Let's go back to the musician example on a more practical level. Most musicians have at least two members actively doing two different things - drummers can have all four. When you add that chant, someone can physically do five different things at the same time. Yes, they are all in tandem and serve one purpose, but this clearly qualifies as multitasking. I know these are easy hanging fruits. That's the easy part of this rebuttal. I know that when people say that multitasking is impossible, what they really mean is that the brain cannot focus on more than one thing at a time. So let me separate that too. Let's make it difficult for ourselves. Leaving aside the fact that the brain controls the entire body and then some, it takes multitasking to a level that can only be achieved by the most powerful supercomputers. Let's focus on the crux of this argument: the brain CANNOT focus ITS CONSCIOUS ATTENTION on more than one thing at a time. It contains its own counterargument. We still know so little about the brain compared to what is yet to be discovered. But one thing we do know is that their processes are layered. This applies not only to autonomous processes, but also to voluntary processes, including and especially thinking. While we're talking about one thing, a lower layer of our brain might be preparing the next comment or thinking about something else entirely. There's a lot of scientific evidence out there that says both the brain and computers aren't really capable of multitasking, what's happening here is really fast firing, jumping between foci - in some cases so fast that it gives the illusion of multitasking. To that I say: so what?! There comes a point when a thing and the illusion of that thing are close enough that the either/or doesn't matter. In my experience, when someone tries to explain the existence of multitasking, the caveats and limitations pile up so quickly that they cloud their original argument beyond meaning... --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way To do a podcast . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 20, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE When it didn't cause massive physical anxiety when I was walking indoors among strangers, I took every opportunity to go to a thrift store and see if there was any interesting vinyl. The truth is, EVERY vinyl you find in a thrift store is interesting. It's something someone else has owned and heard that for some reason they are now sharing with someone new. By default, thrift store vinyl's randomness makes it interesting whether what you find is familiar, some kind of obscure gem, or completely unfamiliar on any level. That describes this week's three albums. I found them all in thrift stores and bought them for different reasons. I bought The Beatles because, although I have every Beatles song on cassette, CD and digital/streaming formats, I never owned an actual Beatles album. I have a 45 of them and that's it. Also, I was familiar with the look of this particular album from my father, who owned the originals of all his American albums, and what I found didn't look like this. It's the soundtrack version of the movie. Not obscure by any means, but cool to find and have. Artie Shaw was my first big band love when I was a little boy, mainly because I always loved the clarinet. And again, I never had it on vinyl. Finding this big, shiny package of an album was like the universe said, “We know.” Nowadays, someone like Artie Shaw is pretty obscure, so it was a good find. And it's a very good collection! Then there is the famous (?) Eddie Heywood. Honestly, I had never heard of him. It was the complete unfamiliarity of this album, along with the title and cover of Bob Ross' yacht rock mashup that compelled me to buy it. I thought I would never find this album again. I wish there was more blatant cheese in pop music. And it doesn't disappoint. It's that kind of late 1950s swing lounge jazz, muffled with super sugary strings and with enough quality and flourishes to rise above Mantovani, but not enough to match Guaraldi or record Esquivel. All songs were written or co-written by Heywood, who has worked with greats like Benny Carter and Billie Holiday, and even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Who would have thought? Just to boil it down to something super mega-connected, my brain was telling me that the known-type of obscure-unknown is a perfect description of what I love about making music. I almost always take some familiar phrases/chord progressions/rhythms, mix them with obscure words, sounds and arrangements and add some completely unknown elements that are unique to me - manipulated sounds or strangely lyrical phrases, as my mind puts them together. words. OR I do the opposite of all those things. Either way, what emerges is an amalgamation that sounds familiar, feels connected, and is entirely its own. These two songs are perfect examples. The first combines catchy melodies and rhythms with darker lyrics and weird backing vocals. The second combines catchy synths and rhythms with darker lyrics and at least three tracks of genuine "found sound":REC - "Make Me Mic My Mouth" (from the Syzygy for the Weird album)REC - "The Power of Repetition (Everlasting) " (from the album Syncopy for the Weird) Do you have any connection with any of these artists? Do you like searching for music you never thought you'd find or buy? Don't you think thrift stores are great on every level? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE A few years ago I wrote and recorded a dark folk song called "You Can't Touch Me" in which part of the chorus says: "That face you see is not mine On my own, this body is not my true home.” Etc etc, so that kind of gets depressing. However, the point of these two lines was to illustrate the idea that a person's true identity is not what you see. Or hear. The surface is just a slice of the whole truth No one can fully reveal their identity. The whole human being is too complex for that to happen. Besides, none of us know ourselves 100%. That's okay. Part of the joy and pain of life is constant self-discovery, along with the parts of ourselves that we let others discover, whether intentionally or not. The one thing we DON'T want is another person or entity to tell us what we can and cannot share, or who we can and cannot be. It should be left to us ONLY we decide all of that. Hell, it's hard enough figuring that out without the outside compulsions. Sure, fear can hold us back. But that's also part of us when we choose to walk that path. While full self-discovery is wonderful (though just as fleeting as true perfection), everything we are by birth or choice - including our flaws and fears - is and should be 100% fine. That said, when we come across someone who has made a conscious choice to live up to their identity as much as possible, we are profoundly affected. Impressed. scared. tickled. be amazed. dazzled The feelings are strong in all directions. Think of David Bowie. Prince. Madonna. Lady Gaga. The never-ending quest for THEM was less about discovering other facets of their identities and more about expanding the bubble of who they could be. Understanding more and more what it means to be them, regardless of social conventions or pressures, the media, the industry or even the fans. Society has taught us to define who we are early and often and to hold on to that until we die. And again, if it's your choice to go through with it, that's fine. But EVEN THEN, parts of us all falter when we encounter that membrane that supposedly separates us from not-us. Here's the truth: it doesn't exist. Or if it is, because WE PUT IT IN THERE. Every day we decide what is and what is not in our identity bubble. Which foreign definitions we want to fight and refute and which ones we accept. Who we are - whether as people, artists or whatever - is as limitless as we want to make it. It is not defined by roles or relationships or performances or labels or genders other than those we consciously or unconsciously say yes to. As a musician, creator, and human being, I work tirelessly to expand my bladder. To set and reset purely at will. I'm making music now that I couldn't and wouldn't have done ten years ago. And ten years ago I made music that I couldn't and didn't want to make ten years ago. Yes, there is a core consistency to who I am. My lifeline that winds through everything I am and do. It's so profound I have no idea how to put it into words. It guides me, vibrating every time I make good choices, every time I choose connection over disconnection. We all have that lifeline. And the bigger our identity bubbles get, the more endless our lifelines become. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE A few months ago, I did an entire podcast about how music and comedy intertwine on multiple levels. Timed coordination. Formulation. Using conventional forms and ideas to do unconventional things. Another dozen similarities. But what applies most this week is pushing boundaries - turning one thing into another - breaking with a narrow notion of what a work should be. Jethro Tull is not a band that would be immediately associated with disrespect or defiance of convention. This is because they are now considered "classics", offering a certain progressive rock flavor that is often classified as overly serious in other genres. But stop and think for a second. Anyone who knows his music will likely think of one thing in particular: the flute. NOW name another band where the piper is considered the front person. Except for the amazing Lizzo, I don't think I could name any other artist. So not only is this an inverted convention, it's also funny. The musicianship itself is/was amazing and nothing to laugh about, but the concept of a flute-centric hard rock band is silly. And it worked. It worked like crazy. THEN watch Thick as a Brick. For some, this was the height of progressive rock pleasure: a nearly 45-minute song with movement and variation and self-serious lyrics. The problem is that it was all meant to be a joke. Ian Anderson wanted it to be a parody of the concept album form. And then a single-length stretch becomes a hit. And other artists take longer compositions more seriously. This is an example - not even the most basic one - of how what starts out as a joke is eventually (and often quickly) embraced as serious change in the music business. Even a fundamental change. Examples of this can be found throughout music history. A vocal performance meant to mimic or mock becomes the way to sing when you have a certain style. A keyboard part that sounds weird, wobbly, or downright insane will become THE Sound in most future productions of that style. A rhythm or drum part intended to break the form of a song becomes THE NEW FORM of that type of song from then on. Why is this happening? And why is this essential for musical development? People are always looking for something new. ALL people - artists, industry insiders, fans. And they like to be surprised. When pop music or a certain style becomes too codified - too ossified, it needs to be broken. And while there are artists who understand the flow of musical development well enough to consciously introduce this change from a well-thought-out theoretical position, the most fundamental changes come from those artists who want and need what was, what was. It's the "middle finger with a smile" approach to change. Like, “I dare you to take this seriously.” And almost every time, sooner or later, we do. Stone. Punk. Hip hop. Electronic music. This all started as a pitch, taking a pre-existing style and playing with it. We all know how it all turned out. I have boosted my own career and musical development this way MANY TIMES, added elements to my music that I had never experienced before, or completely changed my production style. You can hear that peak in these two songs, written a year apart:NICK - "Standin' There" (from the Standin' There album)NICK - "Your Sweetness" (from Your EP album) --- These episodes are sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE We like to keep THINGS in our homes. Things we need and things we love. We are even proud of some of them and want to show them off. artwork. family heirloom. favorite furniture. Photos with beautiful memories. We display these things prominently in places that make sense and allow space for them to be appreciated. Like favorite art and photos on the living room wall above favorite furniture that has some favorite keepsakes. We don't use grandma's blanket as a bathroom heater. Or place the sofa directly in front of a door. We do not hang photos over other photos. Or place 35 ceramic vases in the middle of the kitchen floor. There's a place for everything, one that supports the value of that thing AND lets it shine. So what the hell does this have to do with this week's topic? Songs and chops relate to this HOW? See how. Musicians create ideas. Words, melodies, harmonies/chords, licks, riffs and solos, etc. You feel inspired to bring them in and do something with them. And some of them are super proud and want to brag about it. All these ideas need a place to live. One piece, one composition, one reproduction, one song - one musical structure. One that offers strong support and room to shine. It must be worth holding back all that inspiration. Let's say a board - a MUSIC - exists only for support, somehow fitted together so that the musician can fill it with 'inspiration'. Or let's say the underlying music is well written, but the musician or singer fills every second with one great idea after another. There may be great performances and singing, but so what? It doesn't last. If any part of a song becomes so pervasive that it obscures the song's purpose or, even worse, destroys the song's structural integrity, it loses its ability to convey the idea it's trying to convey. Explodes its own brilliance. And that's where the CHOPS part of this conversation comes in. If you're not familiar with this term, it simply means being very good at an instrument (including voice). Some musicians and fans are obsessed with chops. Not only are they impressed by technical feats, they INSIST on them. They don't think the music is worth anything unless every part of it passes the technical exam. For them, it doesn't matter in what context these cuts appear or how structurally sound the painting is. While the chops last the day, the music has to be good music. yuck Like, serious hunch, ugh. For me, this is the height of intellectualism at the expense of the heart and mind. It's the idea that perfect is better than... well... EVERYTHING else. That our mistakes must be eliminated, our quirks worked on, our humanity impeccably "corrected". It suffocates, crushes, kills the spirit of life. Well, it's true that for some people technical skill IS the heart, the mind. They find their spirit in remarkable heroic deeds. And in this case, they found their soulmate in Chops over Song. I love it, but it's not. This is oppression, fear of emotional expression, or vulnerability of any kind, even a form of self-loathing. I've met and worked with many musicians who know that chops are the only thing that matters. UUUUUGH....--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREelephants are great. Majestic Creatures. Hidden talents. Etc. Etc. They're not my favorite animal (that would be something in the primate family), but there comes a time when they need attention. Hence this week's theme. I see no good reason to examine the contents of this album. Almost everyone in the world of a certain age knows this at this point, and those who don't, eventually will. Despite the limited time we've spent in stores/restaurants this year, I've listened to the songs on this album a dozen times. So, in a way, this week's theme is less about actual music and more about the aforementioned elephant. What's what? It's the man himself, the notorious legend. The complex story and the psychological and emotional labyrinth. Michael Jackson. There's no denying that MJ's music is brilliant. From his time with his brothers to most of his solo career, there have been many milestones and breakthroughs. Not to mention it sounded fantastic and was a lot of fun to listen to. Many, many songs have become a part of our lives whether we like it or not. As for the man himself, we are divided. You as an individual cannot. You may have already decided which side of the line you'll fall on or if you're comfortable sitting on it. However, as a society, we don't know what to make of it anymore. We cannot ignore him as we could a lesser known or less relevant artist for our time. But we can't embrace it like we used to. I think it's great that we're at a point now where we're not sweeping everything under the rug and shrugging our shoulders and making excuses. It's something we need to develop and extend to all areas of life - the workplace, personal relationships, etc. However, when it comes to things like arts and sports, it's more difficult. Can we – should we – separate the art from the artist? We can say: hey, this person was flawed, maybe deep and disturbing, but he still brought beauty and genius to the world. Are we not equal to some extent? Don't we hope that, despite our many mistakes, we are still making a positive difference by existing and doing good? If any of these things are true and acceptable, when is a line crossed beyond the point of no return? How bad is really bad? Who can be a racist, misogynistic asshole who hasn't necessarily done anything wrong, and/or who can't be a loving, caring, progressive person who has done some truly despicable things? History is full of people who were much less than positive forces in the world (Richard Wagner, Ty Cobb), but whose contributions we still revere in other ways. There are no easy answers. As individuals, all of our cross lines are curved and unstable. As a society, we need basic standards of behavior and respect. Even so, there may still be room for us to appreciate the OBJECTS (songs, books, movies, comedy, athletic achievements, and even political and social accomplishments) while appreciating the SUBJECTS (MJ, Lovecraft, Gibson, Louis C.K., Woods, Gandhi). I don't know, and I'm not sure I answered that for myself. But it's an important question that we all try to answer over and over again. Truth to self and power: I'm not perfect either (shocking!). I've etched this into many of my songs, including the following. I'll leave it up to you to figure out what context this is from and how you judge it: NICK - "Your Sister" (from The Metrogrande Sessions album) --- This episode is sponsored by Anchor: The Easiest Way to Start a Podcast to create. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORECommon – Gael. The white stripes - the beehives. Beck—REC. If you've heard of either of these artists, it's probably the first of each pair. And while there are many different reasons for this - from internal and external, subjective and objective forces - there is one MAIN reason that they all share. Commerce, politics, and even social constructions are governed by majority rule. The more popular and profitable something is, the more popularity and profit it accumulates. The bigger something is, the bigger it becomes. Very little allowance or attention is given to the things and people that control and consume a smaller piece of the various pies. In music, this rule - which I call "the tyranny of the many" - manifests itself in many ways. The most obvious one is that artists who aren't as popular and don't have as much money/power to dictate their own destiny have always been inherently lesser known, obscure, even completely unknown. The other is that bands whose careers rose to fame often work out the rest of their careers in relative obscurity, attended only by the most dedicated fans. The result is that attention and resources are so unequal that artists who make money and hit the headlines get more of both, and artists who don't have to fight for every penny and ounce of recognition. So whose fault is it? ALL. We are all guilty. The music companies. Streaming services and radio stations. The distributors. Advertisers. The media. And yes, the fans. We all discriminate - sometimes on purpose, more often unknowingly. We are all lazy and scared. We cling to what's safe and comfortable, assuming anything outside this bubble is somehow worse and not worth our time, attention, or money. And it's not a conspiracy. It happens openly and in public. Companies, streaming services, distributors and advertisers consciously choose to dedicate disproportionately large resources to those that are already successful or to similar actions enough to capitalize on a trend. Why shouldn't they? This gives them easy money - though not as much as they could earn if their resources were more evenly distributed. The media chooses to cover hot artists almost to the complete exclusion of everyone else. And why shouldn't you? We fans get excited about big things, big news and big accomplishments, so we devour the articles, reviews, posts and content that all these power players produce. We rarely complain. There's no reason for them to change tactics, because we've all tacitly agreed that's the way it should be - whether through cooperation or silence. Yes, there are exceptions to all of this. Within each category are smaller units that champion the obscure, trying to shine a brighter light on the artists who deserve the most attention, pouring in as much money and power as possible. And there are plenty of fans actively looking for lesser-known artists, jumping from algorithmically generated playlists to hear what else is out there. Those who consciously or subconsciously get bored with the sameness that the powerful present us...--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 19, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORErock. Pop. Wireless. Soul. Electronic. What do these words have in common? AT LEAST two things: 1. They are all so-called "genres" of popular music; and B. Are all included on both albums in this podcast. Why is it important? Builds like this are more important than ever. The music industry learns as it grows. He tries things, and the things that work are doubled, then quadrupled until they don't work anymore. Then he tries other things and so on. One thing that worked - and by "worked" I mean for promotion, sales and programming - was coming up with the idea of ​​genres. To target the market to people who they assume like a certain type of music more than other types. And damn if it didn't work like a charm every step of the way. So the industry continued to create more genres, further dividing existing genres and narrowing the scope of each. The many successes of this strategy are hard to dispute, but I will. Here's a negative effect the industry doesn't care about: the extreme fragmentation of music across all forms of media, marginalizing fans and stifling the collective music experience. Blah, blah, blah - we might be interested in that, but that doesn't sound like a business or financial issue, does it? INCORRECT. And this is why the industry MUST take care of this. Over-bias in demographics and over-reliance on genres, categories and labels in general has excluded so many potential fans that every facet of the music industry is LOSING MONEY. This leaves money on the table by alienating fans who don't "belong" to a defined demographic as more genre-oriented. So it's not just about love and pigeons together. It's about COLD HARD CASH. And this is the way to convince ALL INDUSTRIES that discrimination and disrespect for some people and the experience of the community at large is a bad thing. It hurts the bottom line. Aaaaa, and why did I engage in this rant in this episode? Because K-Tel's annual greatest hits collections were the exact opposite of that. They got it for sure. But beyond that, intentionally or not, they recognized that it's possible and even LIKELY that ONE music fan really likes MANY types of music. It's something the industry has let go and suffered for years. It's something the internet is also doing REALLY TERRIBLE as an extension of business - I mean, algorithms are now doing extreme faction targeting that the pre-internet industry could only dream of. But it's also something the CITIZENS of the internet are very good at. some do. And actually, I would say do more than not do. More music fans search for more types of music than the percentage of fans that only stick to assigned demographic genres. More and more musicians are denouncing genres as creative AND business prisons. So give these two amazing collections of hits from 1982 and 1983 some love. Albums like this are the granddads of diversity and connection. ALL of my band REC's releases this year - four EPs and one album - were born out of my MUSIC is not a GENRE project. It's my way of pushing artistic, commercial and social boundaries. Listen to what I've posted so far here on the REC YouTube page and you'll understand what I mean: REC on YouTube What kind of music do you like that you shouldn't? Do you remember K-Tel? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE We all know what music is made of: music and lyrics (or at least most have lyrics). Whenever you see credits for a song written by more than one person, or say a musical, they will always list who wrote the song (sometimes called the "composer") and who wrote the lyrics. So it stands to reason that all good songs have good music and good lyrics, right? NO. EXCEPTIONAL songs - the great, legendary, enduring classics or the unknown, obscure works of geniuses - THOSE have good music and good lyrics. But a good song, even a great song, doesn't have to have good or great lyrics to work. WHY? Because of the eponymous definition of what we talk about every week: MUSIC. Music is music because of MUSIC. Without the musical side - the composition itself - songs with lyrics are just poetry - often not even good poetry; and there are songs without lyrics… well… no. I prefer with good lyrics? Yes absolutely. Some of the songs I really like have lyrical gems or are really well written overall. And I make sure every song I WRITE has the best lyrics possible in the context of what I'm trying to achieve. But there are other songs that I like that have average or maybe not great lyrics, and yet those songs are good to great. On the other hand, there are TONS of songs with good to great lyrics - sometimes even brilliant lyrics - whose music doesn't support that quality. The music for these songs is simply there to serve the lyrics and the end result is often trite, boring, not memorable. If the music of a song is good, I access the lyrics and appreciate it at their level. I want to understand and connect more. If the music isn't good, I don't care what the singer sings. I don't have any connection. It could be a decent or second-rate poem or someone's diary. I guarantee that the songs you'll remember most are the ones that have great music, no matter the lyrics. And the songs that speak to you - the songs from your heart - have lyrics that speak to you THROUGH THE MUSIC. Music is the medium. Music conveys the message more deeply and effectively than words alone. It's a facet of my philosophy that when you make music, every aspect of it should serve the music. It's a topic I'll explore in more detail in a future podcast. When someone speaks in ANY way - speech, interview, conversation, acting, voice-over, spoken word, the WAY they say what they say is even more important than the words themselves. Think of it like this: give three people the exact same speech. You read it without a vocal inflection – drawn flat. Someone reads with significant intonation, someone tries to add texture to the sound and flow of words - the average speaker. It reads dynamically, with rich intonation and, most importantly, connection to words and meaning. With the first speaker, you'd be too bored to engage, remember, or stay to the end. With the second one, you'd probably get the gist and take away something valuable, but it wouldn't be as memorable or related to your personal experience. With the THIRD speaker, you'll remember. They will connect as if they were talking directly to you. You might even get inspired...--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE Every artist steals. There is a famous quote repeated by Stravinsky, Bowie and Steve Jobs: “Good artists borrow; great artists steal.” It's an open secret among all artists. What he says is that nothing anyone creates comes out of a black hole. Some musicians sometimes wear their influences on their sleeves - like Oasis with the Beatles or Janelle Monae with Prince. Others, of course, are more subtle. Early in an artist's career, you can usually hear the theft more clearly - like Bowie with the Beatles or Greta Van Fleet with Led Zeppelin and MAN, I hope they expand your taste buds. As artists evolve, they are better able to integrate their thefts throughout their work, in part because they are simply stealing from so many other sources. Of course there is theft and then theft. If someone completely adopts someone else's music or idea without any recognition or compensation, that is in no way kosher. If someone makes original music, but in a way or in a way that benefits from the hard work and innovation of another person or group, that's cool, but kind of bad and unethical. Fortunately, most musicians love music so much that they never want to betray anyone. In the first case, they would give credit and, hopefully, compensation. In the second, they would consider an homage to a favorite artist or style. Paul Simon took the homage idea a step further by integrating and integrating the artists themselves – Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Anyone familiar with this album knows the results were tremendous. And while there's certainly a conversation to be had here about race and cultural appropriation, I believe that everyone involved with this artist has an advantage and walks with a lot of respect and love. When I started writing songs, I used favorite artists as models: Beatles, Chicago, Prince, The Cure, the Femmes, etc. During my development and especially now, I had so many influences that the resulting confusion is all I am. But there's NO DOUBT that you can still connect the dots anywhere. I proudly pointed out exact lines or phrasing or instrumental parts or production values ​​and told people exactly where I got it. Nine times out of ten they would never think of it. Even if they did, so what? Good music is good music, no matter where it comes from. But to prove the point a little more clearly, here's a NEW song that was clearly influenced by both the White Stripes and Lenny Kravitz: REC - "No Way Out For Me" (from the Symphony for the Weird album) remember that? Album? Do you like it? Do you like Paul Simon and if so was that one of your favorites or do you prefer his work from the 1960s/70s? What do you think of this idea of ​​"stealing"? Or appropriation, adaptation, homage? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREEveryone loves toplists. They are easy to digest. They give you immediate reasons to love/hate them, agree/disagree with them. They trigger all kinds of reactions. We can't help it, although we all know they are subjective and arbitrary. Even though we all know they are a COMPLETE BULLSHIT. If you follow my podcasts or live shows, you've heard me talk about my favorite artists. If you're actually following, you might also remember two weird things about my list of favorite artists. FIRST my TOP 5 contains about 15 entries. AND SECOND, it is CONSTANTLY changing. If that's the case, is my list even one of the "best" ones? Yes. And not. YES, because my list absolutely represents my favorites. Artists at or near the top will always be at or near the top. If you expand my list to - say - the top 100, chances are 95% of them will never change. But also NO, because those rankings are always in flux. My number one will probably always be my number one. But my numbers from two to ten keep changing. Band #2 might be #3, 5 or 7 on another day. A band from 11 to 20 could break into the top ten the next month and drop to number 28 the following month. And that's not just nice, it's honest. It takes into account natural human rhythms, changes in mood or context, or intonation, even changes in opinion or judgment. We all have our undeniable beliefs that they will not be shaken no matter who says what or what new experience or information we come across. However, the mistake we often make is believing that ALL of our beliefs are undeniable, unchanging and unshakable. When we allow ourselves to be more open to our natural rhythms, letting our vulnerability permeate, we become more aware of how often our minds and hearts shift from one small belief to the opposite. Or, more likely, our belief shifts one way or the other on the spectrum, as the notion of hard versus fast opposites is often as elusive as the top lists themselves. but actually, the MORE we are honest and positive, we begin to explore the fullness of our minds and hearts and how much more dynamic and alive the world is. Try. Instead of making a numbered list, make a favorites GROUP and a second favorites GROUP etc etc. The scope and variety is incredible. You will see the walls of categorization and division dissolve and the possibilities expand to limitless capacity. Whether it's music or movies, people or politics, we must never limit our choices and "favorites" to those at the top - the ones we push and need to keep. We should be able to pick a group of anything or anyone and say, "They are what I like, love, respect, agree with, believe in." So YES, we MUST make our lists. WE MUST think and decide what is important to us. But let our top picks come with a revolving door. Let our vote sort instead of either/or. And as with so many things I talk about, we're going to find that we have a lot more connections, we have a lot more in common than we thought before. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchors: The Easiest Way to Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREFour on the floor. Boom Boom Boom Nothing sounds like an 8-0-8. All about that bass. The vast majority of modern music is drum machine based. And the vast majority of THIS music is structured around a constant 4/4 meter - you know, something you can dance to. Sure, dance music has probably been around since the invention of music. Rhythm is too important not to be a key element in separating random noise from intentional generation. And music doesn't even have to be called "dance music" to be danced to. But there are certain types of music that are designed and labeled specifically for dancing (gavotte, anyone?). Which brings us to House. House basically started out as electronic disco with a deeper kick. It was a way for people without a band to make music to play in clubs. In fact, most historians say the term "house" came from the late great Chicago club The Warehouse, which closed in 1983, right at the height of house music's invention. People wanted music like they played at The House. And it spawned virtually every style of electronic dance music (EDM) since then. Is everything EDM house? No. And while house wasn't the first EDM, it has become so influential that nearly every electronic music genre today owes something to house. Well, house is by no means my favorite music. Repetition is important on many levels, but for me it takes more texture, more layers to hold my attention. However, I have a lot of respect for house - as well as its disco parent - because it was created to be a safe and inclusive place for the underprivileged to come together and celebrate life. People of color, the LGBTQ community, anyone who feels "different" among their friends and family. And equally important to me, House reinforces my belief that DANCING is an integral part of the good life. Chip E. was a home pioneer. Some even call him the "Godfather of the House". I own "Like This" by Chip E. because I was a DJ in the mid-1980s. I knew even then that I couldn't live without dancing, and I also wanted to provide music that other people could dance to. I've been making electronic music and dance music of all kinds since the beginning of my career. Since my band REC's album, Distance to Empty, almost all of my music has been electronic in some way. That's why I classify what I do as "progressive electro power pop". Since my music derives directly from house, there's less of it. But it's there. In fact, this single from REC is clearly inspired by house: REC - "All Kinds of Right (The Highway 28 Song)" (feat. Cathryn Lynne - from Synergy for the Weird) Do you know house music? Do you like that or some kind of EDM? Or are you into one of the many house-influenced artists - like Madonna, Rihanna, Daft Punk, Calvin Harris? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREAll music is black music.What? How can be? What does it really mean? This does not mean that all songs were created or performed by black artists. That doesn't even mean that all music was invented by black artists. And I'm actually not even talking about ALL THE MUSIC. But - and this is important - I'm talking about ALL MUSIC OF THE MODERN ERA. I'm talking about any music created in the last, say, 140 years. A VERY inaccurate number, but close enough for argument purposes. Let me repeat that again: all the music anyone has ever written, performed, and produced since the mid-19th century owes its existence to black music and black performers. No exceptions. No qualifications. Let's get the easy ones out of the way first. Every song in every genre that has ever been streamed, downloaded, or played on the radio since... well... the invention of radio has been credited to black music. Here is a pathetically short list of music styles that WOULDN'T EXIST without Black Music's influence, if not direct involvement and invention: Country, Blues, Jazz, Rock, Pop, Dance/Disco, Techno, A Cappella, Heavy Metal, Funk, hip -hop What about modern classical music? Instrumental music and soundtrack? Yes Yes Yes. And the thing that just came to your mind that I forgot to mention? YES! Well, these simple ones are simple for two reasons: 1. There is documentation proving that all of these styles were either invented by Black artists or appropriated (and yes, often co-opted) by White artists who were directly influenced by what Black music had previously become; and 2. You can LISTEN. As for this second point, I will develop it in the context of the second list above. We already know that many people mistakenly consider country and rock music to be "white" music. The more we listen and learn, the more we know what is further from the truth. What we also know is that a lot of people think that "fine art" forms of music - a term I don't think means anything but use as an outlet - are "white" music, and don't think they're wrong about that. . But they are. If a modern musical work contains any of the following elements, it is definitely influenced by black music: dissonance; Syncope; Repetition; vocal inflections like rubato or wails; telling real stories with real emotions about real life. Yes, all these things existed in one form or another before the 20th century; but not the way they were last used... what arbitrary number did I use? … 140 years. There is one more way to show that all of the above is true. Go back in history and read reviews of various singers/musicians/musicians from that time period. There were times when these critics called certain songs "very black" - or worse, used several worse descriptions. If we listen to almost all old music today, most of us wouldn't consider what we hear to be strictly "black" sound. In fact, most of it sounds painfully stilted and "white". Part of that is because we're creating departments that don't actually exist - like GENRES. This is in part because what has happened since then has pushed these ideas so far that older music pales in comparison. In other words, our perception of what something is or should be classified is strongly influenced by our own experience and consciousness, which in turn is strongly influenced by the time we live in and what came before it. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE Bing Crosby. Frank Sinatra. elvis The Beatles. The cars. RunDMC. pearl candy. The white stripes. beyonce Billie Eilish. Right? But what about... Rudy Vallee? Mel Torme. Gene Vicente. The twists. Squeeze. The fat boys. sound garden. The hives. rihanna grimes. Each era is defined by its most beloved stars. Or is this how we remember? Hardly any of the stars on this first list were the bestsellers of their decades. Were they influential? Absolutely. The best? Controversial, but at least top 5 in all cases. They all deserve their fame and respect. But they also name Karo artists from the previous decade who weren't as famous. Or more precisely - these "Also-Rans" were very famous in their time and simply did not have sales or historical legs to remain in our consciousness for so long. I presume I know not only the great Mahoffs, but also the second, third, and sometimes fourth tier performers of most eras. The point is that both revisionist history and succeeding generations often don't. And what a shame. I'd rather Mel Torme than Frank any day. Squeeze over the cars. The beehives on the white stripes. For a lot of the other great artists, yeah, they're my favorite or something. But there's no underestimating the influence of Gene Vincent or the Kinks or... the Fat Boys. The Fat Boys. This week's election. A band I was SO in love with when they first came out. A band that may not have invented beatboxing, but they definitely popularized it. They were the first and biggest to make this possible. A band that isn't afraid to be humorous. Or downright corny. Were they better than Run-D.M.C.? no I liked her more than Run-D.M.C. no But I bet most people have heard of THIS band, and very few remember the Fat Boys, let alone how HUGE they were. So let's take a moment to all the bands that don't get as much press or acclaim, and celebrate how much richer and more diverse each era (or anything) is when we dig beneath the surface. My music gets crazy and fun now. And yes, hip-hop has always been a huge influence. As for the Fat Boys themselves, I've beatboxed quite a bit, and there's probably no better song of mine to represent their influence than the same song I wrote last week from my band REC's new EP, Syzygy for the Weird: REC, shared - "Make Me Mic My Mouth" (from the album Syzygy for the Weird) Remember the Fat Boys? Do you remember how HUGE they were? What artists from other eras would you like to remember more than the ones everyone already knows? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThere's a lot of music out there. The amount and diversity of music production and release is mainly related to two things: A. the world's population: there will always be a slightly varying percentage of the total population that makes music; and B. the increasing ease that technology offers in sharing the music you make, and how much greater the reach of any new technology is: Posting to the web is easier and farther reaching than sending MP3s via email, eh it was easier and more complete than burning CDs, which was easier than making cassette tapes, which was easier than pressing vinyl, which was easier than printing sheet music, which was easier and more comprehensive than staying standing on a corner singing a song. All of this is great - the more the better. But what does NOT change is that each one of us, no matter how much music we are exposed to, is still just ONE PERSON. We can access more types of music faster than any other generation, but we still have the same limited ability to digest it all. We've all heard about the attention crisis. People can no longer sit on a thing long enough to really get to know and appreciate it. I'll admit that phones and everything else make it very easy to jump from one thing to another, and that holding someone's attention for more than ten seconds is quite an achievement. But the crisis of attention is no more recent than any other complaint about new technology we've heard for a long time. So let's forget about that and get straight to the point. No matter what has changed, what you think is better or worse about the present, one thing that will NEVER change is that every true music lover has their favourites. Your bands take to the grave. You-don't-have-to-wait-on-a-lonely-island-to-be-with-these-singers. I call them artists of the heart. And that's what an artist at heart does: you love and accept everything he does. Even if they miss the mark, get lost, or otherwise get lost, don't give up. Their music speaks to you on many levels - you hear musical and lyrical nuances that tell a fuller story of existence, connecting you beyond the music to what they do. You feel more awake and alive when you listen to their music, as if the air itself is shocking you with electric shocks. They are a direct connection to your life spark - the one that exists within all of us. You are a safe place in the middle of the madness. They want others to know what it's like to love them and share that love with you. It's not that love is unconditional, it's that its mere existence and way of being and expressing itself already fulfills all the conditions. Calling them "favorites" seems trite. It would take 1000 words to describe why you love her and even that wouldn't be enough. You might even get defensive if you feel like someone else doesn't understand how great that artist is. If you've ever been in love or are in love now, you know what it's like. Nothing in the world beats the deepest connection and sharing the spark of life that love brings to another. And whether you're far or near, you can take that love with you wherever you go. Your brain and heart know the feelings and are a part of you, regardless of the circumstances. You know the songs without having to hear them. We can't all be with the ones we love right now. But we can still find as many ways as possible to connect. Heart Artists are more than an escape from our problems, they are an extension and transcendent expression of the love and acceptance we receive from our heart people. Who are yours?--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 18, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREWe become aware of things when they become real. When enough people and media hear about something going on and start talking about it. It spreads and morphs into a specific genre, trend, or cultural shift. He gets a label, a NAME. Just like rock 'n' roll supposedly started in the mid-1950s. Of course, this is all very misleading. What we know as a thing has almost always been around much longer than we realize. Rock 'n' roll songs - bluntly, you can hear it, rock 'n' roll - were around in the 1940s. Cell phones and the internet weren't invented in the 1990s. IN THE 1940s. The internet has been around since the late 1960s. The first rap song was also recorded in the late 1960s. There are thousands of such examples in all kinds of fields. The commercial success and/or media/social notoriety of an article or the donation of a name/label do not determine its origin. They only matter if enough people with enough money care about it to make it more important. But as any true music fan (or fan of anything creative) knows, the story is much more complicated. Take pop will eat itself. This band was a mix of late 80's and early 90's post-punk, indie rock, postmodern glitch/sampling, pop, hip-hop, techno/dance and metal. Before Limp Bizkit or Linkin Park they were rap rock/nu metal - they even said at the time how much they were influenced by Public Enemy and LL Cool J (among others). He incorporated samples into rock music long before Beck. It was part of a burgeoning electro-industrial scene that existed long before this type of music exploded in the 1990s. When I listen to it again, I remember how much I liked it. Enough to have this on vinyl and cassette. I remember being struck by how different they sounded from other British or American bands. How they mixed so many ideas, styles and sounds. It's one of those bands that I wish I'd paid more attention to while they were playing. To be honest, I don't think I was ready to absorb its complexities. But I know they influenced me. Your social/cultural commentary. His vocal performance similar to rap. Certainly its pastiche approach to writing a song. Its blaring rhythms and guitars. The British essence of his Americanized music. All of that has been pulsing through my songs for years, including this one from my band REC's new EP, Syzygy for the Weird:REC - "Make Me Mic My Mouth" (from the Syzygy for the Weird album) music like nine inch nails? Do you remember the PWEI? In fact, they've had a handful of minor hits: Check out "Wise Up! Sucker", "Can U Dig It?" or "Not now James, we're busy" to prove it. Are there any trends or styles in music or anything creative or technological that you remember long before you became famous? Discuss the fuck! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: A Easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThe modern world of music - and the "world" in general - is truly amazing. We have pretty much everything we could want. And much of it is cheap or free. What we imagine, we can create. Anyone with access to a computer and the Internet can dream, work out and launch whatever they want into the world. It `s not perfect. So many people STILL don't have access to a computer or the internet. And as the discrepancy between having and not having higher education used to be (and still is), it is a question of accessibility and outright discrimination, the absence of which is an almost insurmountable disadvantage. For those of us who are connected, there are also some downsides and side effects, omissions and overheads. While it's great that people can share to their hearts' content, the deluge of new material is impossible to fully digest. That kind of overwhelming volume makes it hard for people to sit still with something long enough to fully enjoy it. The ease of finding and digesting our little bites devalued EVERYTHING, making industry players like Spotify and iTunes very happy. We as artists can get as many listeners as, say, the Strokes did in the early 2000s, but we're making tiny fractions of a cent compared to 15 or even 10 years ago. With this wave, this onslaught of artistic expression that brings us the most thoughtful and thoughtful works alongside almost thoughtless shit spit out in an afternoon, we can conclude that things were better before. Thing is, when there were people saying the same thing about Wayer back then. And further back when - yes, the same thing. Whenever a new technology overwhelms us, we assume that the technology itself is flawed. And every time the overhead eases and things like TV or radio or books become another form of everyday media, we realize that it's not the technology, it's us. So does that mean we should throw it all away and go back to nature? Put on our Luddite hats and carve our stories into cave walls? If that's you, good for you and even the afterlife if that's a thing. I say ABSOLUTELY NO. I say that with any new technology, the benefits inevitably far outweigh the drawbacks. Access to information is the greatest form of power as it spurs disclosure, action, change and all the concrete work we do to move this world forward. Those in power want us to fight among ourselves, not to know the truth and fight against it. We can and will learn to navigate the pitfalls - misinformation, diminishing both the value and quality of what we create and consume, limiting too many options - and we will come out the other side smarter, more informed, more aware and more CONNECTED. We see and hear things we never would have without technology, whether it's a musical performance from a far corner of the world, television showing us what war and police action is really like, radio giving the least paid the opportunity to hear a full orchestra play a classical concert, or reading a book that takes us to another place or time in detail. Go back as often as you like, and whatever follows the proliferation of new technologies is connection... and change. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI don't like not knowing things. Which, of course, means I'm in a constant state of inadequacy. The more I learn, the more I realize that I know A LOT less than I think I want or will ever know. Still, I take solace in crushing that mysterious Olympus Mons and shining my flashlight on the Mariana Trench of Missing Things. Finding a vague fact in the giant haystack of ignorance. These metaphors make me sick. Just like two weeks ago, every time I flipped through my collection I would stumble upon this week's album and pass it up because I had no idea what it was or what to do with it. And just like two weeks ago, I made my choice. As follows... Time Meal is a band. Shok is apparently the person whose band this is. He/she exists since 1990 and makes Electro-Industrial-Goth-Rock. He/She still makes music. So why do I have this particular album? I have a vague memory of driving to a friend of a friend's house back then. The house was huge. The recording studio was HUGE and better than many of the professional studios I had seen. The guy - whose real name he gave at the time but I can't remember - was laid back, humble and eager to share his music. I went because... I don't remember anyone other than my boyfriend and I being/we are music heads and I wanted to connect with other creators in the techno space - the music I was making at the time. I remember realizing it was time to move on to a different kind of music because I didn't care enough about the very solid music Shok was playing for me to get good at it on my own. Shortly after starting the long road to ROCK I ended up... going back to electronic music. So that's a connection... more or less, we were both suburban Philly guys of a certain age who made our own music. It's an influence... sort of, as it further solidified my desire to be in a full rock band. It's a mystery solved... as I still don't know much about this band or the guy behind it. What makes me happy is that he's still around - and THAT is the real connection. Because we both did our thing, regardless of how others define success... sort of. As for the album I have, I think it's their first. It's from 1992 and I have to say I loved hearing it again. It's goth, techno, rock, pop, industrial, hip-hop, funk. It has sparse lyrics, but what's there is diverse - social commentary, relationship stuff, anger, psychology. Looks like...Philadelphia to me. Music from a place where people listen to all kinds of things and find cool ways to put them together. It fits for me. This is the single from the EP I wrote/played/recorded/produced the same year this album was released. More straightforward pop techno rock, but you get the point: NICK - "Reflections" If ANYONE knows anything about this, let me know. I found and befriended Shok on Facebook, so maybe this is going somewhere. Any songs you know or have that conjure up vague memories that you didn't realize actually meant something to you? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE I'll tell you why recorded music is MUCH MORE OFTEN as close to musical perfection as human beings. I've been thinking about this a lot lately due to our current social condition. We can't play live in person, but we can play live online in real time, which was great. Since this podcast I've done almost 50 shows online and I have no plans to stop anytime soon. It was a thrill on almost every level. But I'll tell you what: the more I do it live - in person or virtually, the more I believe that the vast majority of live music is LAME compared to the recorded versions Faulty quirks can only come from live music. Ehnt! (summerton wrong answer) Inspiration and happy accidents can happen anywhere. As an experienced artist and producer myself, I can tell you that the best parts of my songs often come from those "crazy" takes or lucky coincidences that I always leave room for. You get all of that live too, but it's fleeting, almost never full, and both sonically and musically it's almost always subpar. Here's another myth: live is always more dynamic and visceral. Ehnt! Musicians can also be "in the zone" in the studio, and have the advantage of finding and using the best version of it. Any good recording artist knows how to be dynamic in any environment, and any good producer knows how to get that out of artists - even those who aren't that good at recording. As a listener, whether you're in a car, wearing headphones, or playing music LOUD in a room, a song can touch you so much that you start to tingle, scream, cry, or sing along. And one more thing: life is more human and more connected. Ehnt! EVERYTHING humans create is human - acoustic, electrical, electronic, programmed, you name it. And what better way to connect directly with an artist than to hear their music in your head exactly as they intended. Artists really appreciate that - I know they do. When a recording is well done, when the essence of a song is extracted to the maximum, it is the truest version and closest to the original inspiration. Okay, in any case, you might as well get all of that from the live experience. And to the artists and listeners who live and die for life, much respect and honor. So why is recorded music better than live? Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing. It's as close to immortality as we can get. Live music lives and dies like us. It's a one-night stand. Recording lasts as long as our media and media conversions allow. This applies to both sheet music and sound recording. Recorded music is a must. Uniformity and repetition can lead to numbness. But follow this road ALL THE WAY - listen to a song AT LEAST THREE TIMES, and then 10, and 100, and 1000. And what you get is infinite. Nuance. The mantra of organized sound. Oh, and for those of you who are saying, "What about the live albums?" VAAAAAAST most of them are basically the worst of both worlds. None of the visceral real-time experience along with none of the artistic intimacy/nuance that a musical artist aspires to. So one last big EHNNT. But let's use this to further prove my point. Choose a song that has both a fully produced recording and a live version and listen to it AT LEAST 3 times. Write down every detail you notice, including things that move you. So step away from the speakers for a long time and tell me: which one sticks in your head the most? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE VIDEOS & MORE Let's face it: we forget A LOT more than we remember, both as individuals and as a society. This is not a big reveal. But I'll go further and say that we remember much more MISS than exactly. We are all our little chroniclers of life, each one with a unique history of the world. And unless some fantastic science fiction imagination (like Ted Chiang's The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling) comes true, it always will. With music, you might think it would be easier to remember the exact song. no The only thing easier is that you can search and find out how to turn your memory on or off. This is the case with this week's double album, 20 Rockin' Originals (Vol. 2). I listened to it while making the playlist above and my brain sorted the songs into three categories: 1. Songs I barely or don't remember (eg "A Rose and Baby Ruth"); 2. Songs I remember vividly, whether I like them ("Earth Angel") or not ("Hey Paula"); and 3. Songs I like and know well but remember very differently (“Silhouettes”). Of the 20 songs here, just over half were in categories 1 and 3. Why? Basically, human memory function is highly subjective and flawed. Also, the time between an event (eg hearing a song) and any point in the future is full of other events replacing the original one. covers. live versions. Versions that live only in memory. Even with corrective media such as recordings, film and written reports, we are fighting a losing battle. And that's perfectly fine. For me, the replacement is huge. When I heard "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet," it sounded kind of right, but not quite. When I (re)discovered Deep Purple using the same riff in a song, I knew that my memory of those two songs had merged into one that only exists in my head. When I heard "Silhouettes", I had to choose each cover version. There were many. The only problem: none of them felt right. And that's because the version I have in mind is the one my dad sang hundreds (thousands?) of times in his performances, one I sang along a lot. I swear he used a minor IV for the second chord and none of the recorded versions did. Of course, I could be WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING. This is the point. Perfect example - I had to verify my sincerity after writing that I didn't like "Hey Paula". I don't particularly like it NOW, but I vaguely remember liking it as a kid. Memory is a slippery thing. Oh, and the music itself? It's a decent collection of second-rate doo-wop songs, with some similar-sounding bands (The Hondells = The Beach Boys, Tommy Roe = Buddy Holly) and outliers ("Walk Away, Renee", "We Ain't Got Nothin ' Yet") added. Volume 1 came out in 1973 (God, all that 1970s nostalgia for the 1950s was crazy) and was a slightly stronger collection, though strangely it also included Tommy Roe's music (I Smell Payola). Doo-wop was very important in my upbringing, not least because my father was a second/third grade rock 'n' roll star and sang it his whole life. I loved getting along with my dad (and my brother and my friends) and I still do. The harmonies have always been HUGE in my work. Too many songs to name here, so I'll pick a new one. It's NOT doo wop at all, but the backing vocals vividly recall: REC - "Final Call" (from Sympathy for the Weird album) Do you like old rock n roll or did you get tired of it like me years ago? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREWhat do you think about this? You need to get back to WHY. Why am I doing all this? What am I waiting for? What do I expect to GIVE? Answer these and all other core questions, and what fits all answers will remain. THIS IS MY WHY: Sharing my music. To sell my music. To spread my music everywhere and to everyone. To talk about my love for ALL music. To have that conversation with YOU. To make connections with you And between all kinds of music - mine or not. Entertain/enlighten/uplift – as one of those Greeks said. To break barriers. To show that if labels, divisions, the dichotomy between high art and low art, and a truly objective assessment of merit in MUSIC are LIMITING at best and ALL WRONG at worst, they must also be LIMITING and EXCLUSIVELY WRONG in LIFE. ~ ~~ A A few years ago I started a project called MUSIC IS NOT A GENRE. It was a 60+ song recording project that made it clear that genres are limiting at best and misleading at worst. Good music is good music, no matter what it's called or what category someone wants to put it in. Genre names exist because of money and power. They separate songs into categories to package and sell to target audiences. But this is all based on so many assumptions and generalizations that the labels become meaningless bullshit. The only reason a label should exist is if the person decides it should be called that. It is a personal decision that no one else should make or question. ANY LABEL affixed by an outside force is reductive and, at worst, divisive and discriminatory. We see this in the music business AND society as a whole. We cannot escape the harsh reality of how harmful labels can be when applied by the wrong hands and used for the wrong reasons. ~~~ We are attracted to what we identify with and connect with and what we desire. When we hear a song we like, we focus on what we already know. We discard differences in favor of what feels right. When these differences come to our attention, they can be disturbing, intriguing, frightening, exciting, repulsive, and attractive. But we know how to integrate them because they exist within the framework of a song that we like. When we hear a song we don't know, but it sounds familiar, it's not difficult to "understand" it, even if we don't like it. It comes from a similar place and consists of similar elements. It's a little weird, but very easy to incorporate into this type of music. When we listen to music outside our realm, we feel the same things we feel when we hear a foreign element in familiar music, but not in a comfortable context. Negative feelings often outweigh the positive ones and we tend to judge music/style negatively as well. Like my cousin who loves classical, jazz and rock music and can't understand hip hop so he judges it harshly. But a rap within a standard pop song is good for him because he understands the context. There is a BETTER WAY to look at it all. And that means hearing FIRST what these weird songs have in common with the songs we know and love. To find the LINKS between them. And there are many because language is universal.~~~What is it all about? Of all the music And the internet? It's to CONNECT. There are so many reasons to hate or fear this quarantine, but one hugely positive thing is that we are learning that connections can happen more often, more dynamically, and more diversely than we ever imagined. We create connections that go beyond music. It is the IMMEDIATIVITY AND FREQUENCY OF MULTIPLE INTIMATE CONNECTIONS that we must take with us when we meet again in person. ---- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 15, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI love solving puzzles. These two 12" vinyls have been in my collection for over 30 years, completely ignored. I assumed they were one-off items from local DJs looking to make a living that my partner DJ and I found at one of the many stores on Chestnut Street in Philly that sold these things. no Well, yes, but NO. These albums had a lot more print runs than I ever thought. Both were born in...anti-battery, because that's no surprise...NYC, by mixed crews looking to make money and earn some kind of notoriety. I bet thousands of DJs have it. And I bet these are two of hundreds or thousands of albums of this nature. They were great for DJs who wanted to learn how to do it, come up with ideas for their own mixes, and most of all important, filling gaps in DJing sets with mixing the professionals wanted to fill in. "Bits & PCs 86" was by The Dynamite Mixers. They are Carlos Berrios & Norberto Cotto, and not only did they release "Bits & PCs" from 1985 to 1998, how they are still working around even though it looks like they are apart. "Mega - Mix 86" was more difficult to track. A wonderful person put it on YouTube (which I linked to "Bits & PCs 86" in my playlist above) and it listed some song credits, but no artist/DJ credit. So I kept looking and I'm pretty sure it's Deejay B@m B@m (not to be confused with the much younger DJ Bam Bam) who appears to be originally from Mexico. It may be discredited, but it's the closet I could discover. Cool that all these mixers are Latinos. I heard them - probably for the first time since 1986, and they reminded me of things I'd heard on Philly's Power 99 FM: whole sets of DJs mixing, chopping and scratching there. And it reminded me of my own DJing. I've never looked so good. At least not with vinyl. I went through a cassette mixing phase where I recorded with three cassette decks: two to play the songs so they overlap, or I could insert phrases/licks/beats over another track, and one to do everything to capture I still have one or two of these remaining efforts and I will definitely be transferring them soon.I. DJ history. dance beats. My music. You've heard it before. This is about as seminal as it gets. The perfect example of this is... another anti-drum roll... a mix I made of my 1986-2020 edition of Funky Tune:NICK & REC - "Funky Time Machine Mashup". Have you ever mixed or DJed or even made a mixtape? or compilation? Got an obscure vinyl you'd like to track? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREhh 80's production values. Crisp, clean, tight, bouncy but slightly dark, and with fantastic amalgamations of styles and sounds. But after 1982-3 or so we all know how it got out of hand. The big snapping bow. Overlapping instruments. The cheesy keyboard sounds. THE MELODRAMA. It's a perfect example of why every 10 years or so a new style appears to rid the table of excess - in this case, grunge. But all of this is only true if we focus on the biggest hits and the broadest trends. In the mid-'80s there were some amazing second tier singles that still sound a lot like their time but managed to hold it steady. The production did exactly and JUST what the song needed. They weren't the biggest hits or the most memorable or representative of their time. But they succeeded on every level. These six 12" singles from my collection did it all. You never get tired of listening to them because their production is so exquisite. And they weren't overdone. And although two of the songs ("Human" and Cherrelle's original version of "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On") were by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the other common factor in general is that they were artist-oriented and independently produced. They were excellent examples of artists following their muses. two cover songs - by Robert Palmer & Pseudo Echo and Robbie Nevil's remake - matched the originals perfectly - and in some ways even surpassed them at that time. You can hear it clearly in these two songs: REC - "Whatever We Have To Do To Wake Up High" (from Synergy for the Weird album) REC - "KPS (Korean Pop Song)" (from The Sunshine Seminar album) Remember these songs? Can you hear the difference in production values ​​between this and other major hits from 1980s? Discuss the fuck! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE This week we have a mega mix of five FORCE-rich artists and eight LPs (and more in the Spotify playlist - see below), so let's get down to business. Electro funk pop was HUGE in the 1980s, a real force (expect to see that word a lot) in the music business. And for me it all started with Soulsonic Force fronted by THEE HIP-HOP LEGEND, Afrika Bambaataa. "Planet Rock" sealed the deal for me in terms of electro-infused hip-hop and almost single-handedly launched the electro-funk movement. Everything else you read below can be attributed to Afrika, Soulsonic and "Planet Rock". Yes, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Yes, of course prince. But A BIG YES must be shouted out to SEMINAL band/production team Full Force. Not only did they have their own hits, like the irresistible "Alice, I Want You Just for Me", but they wrote and produced (for years after the 1980s) hits for artists big and small like The Real Roxanne, UTFO, Samantha Fox , Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, La Toya Jackson, Patti LaBelle, Backstreet Boys, Rihanna & James Brown (the first four are on my Spotify playlist). Why aren't they better known??? How many legendary production teams have kicked as much as OTHER legendary artists and not been praised, adored and idolized? Look no further if you're reading this without listening to "Alice" and at least three of these other artists. Give them the props they deserve. They're still around - all original members - and still pumping. And finally, you have the Force MDs, a band (from Staten Island of all places) that paved the way for all kinds of hip-hop-infused R&B and slow-tempo jams like New Jack Swing, Quiet Storm, Boys II Men, Bell Biv DeVoe and MANY other artists from the 90's. The hit "Tender Love" was one of the best prototypes and a song I sang and played on the piano many times. It's sad that most of the members are now dead. One more reason to revisit this other important pop-electro-funk band. Here's a Spotify playlist with tons of those songs, plus some of my CLEARLY INFLUENCED songs: The Unheralded FORCEs of Pop Electro Funk - Spotify PlaylistRemember These Bands? The songs? Considering that 99% of pop music today can be classified as some form of electro-funk pop, do you think these artists should be much better known? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE A few episodes ago I talked about growing musically - ie. H. that point in your life where you start to consciously choose what music is 'yours' and not your parents or siblings 'or peers' or whatever the culture dictates to you. Although I think it happens to almost 100% of people, it's not a rule. But if it were, as with any rule, it's the exceptions that prove it. This Chic song is one of those exceptions. I was almost 10 when Le Freak came out. And although by then I was dealing with The Beatles and Sean Cassidy and other pop of the day (especially songs my dad played live) and Grease and Saturday Night Fever and a lot of other stuff, I remember for some reason this song has a much more immediate effect on me. It was the first 45 single I bought at K-Mart with my own money. I not only wanted it, I needed it. A frugal production, but convincing and never boring. The positivity. The call to let go of all pressure and freak out. The infinite funky. It never left me. Proof of this is that I bought this song TWICE. First the 45 in 1978 (as discussed in week 141) and then the 12-inch single in 1986 - when I started DJing heavily. I couldn't think of a dance ensemble that didn't include this. And with all the tremendous changes in production, style and taste over those eight years, it shows the genius and perfection of this music that is still coming home. Staccato funk has been part of my repertoire for decades. Here's an example that mixes funk & pop & rock & grunge: NICK - "Your Sister" (from The Metrogrande Sessions album) Like this song? Do you know who Nile Rogers is? Do you like radio? What song do you remember that was the first one you had to own? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI grew up listening to rap. Right next door. Okay when I was really young I was in proto form (Gil Scott-Heron etc) but when I met my pre-tweens he grabbed me and never let go. Apache (Jump On It) started. "Planet Rock", Kurtis Blow and "Jam On It" continued. And then Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys cemented it. And all the while, that journey has been something else that came with rap culture. Big sneakers with bigger laces. parachute pants. The movies. And ALL the dancing - hitting, crashing, breaking, etc. Yes, I did that too. I was good at popping and locking, but unfortunately mediocre at everything else. When you couldn't just go to YouTube to learn how to do anything for free, you had to be resourceful. At least until this week's record comes out, as part of a flood of other records and tapes and books and videotapes and whatnot. Breakdance is an honest INSTRUCTIONAL LP by Yeezus. Of course there are the songs. But then there's the huge poster inside with step-by-step photos for various dances, a definition of breakdancing, and a glossary of related terms like bite and bro and cool. His mission was to teach all about rap culture - and yes, it was "rap" for the suburban masses back then. You won't see the word hip-hop anywhere on this album. Although the term has been around since its inception, it didn't become popular until the late 1980s or later. Teaching albums have been around for a lot longer than that, but they were typically for more established dances. The fact that Moloch K-Tel released an album about "street dancing" shows how ubiquitous rap was at that time. Though none of us could have imagined that it would become the dominant and most viable genre in popular music. If you've been following these posts, you already know that I've been writing and producing rap/hip-hop for years. Of these songs, this one probably fits best with what we're discussing here: REC - "Let It Wreck Your Mind" (from the Syncopy for the Weird album) Have you ever tried this kind of dancing? What connection do you have with early rap? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREInstrumentals, especially dance instrumentals, can be super boring. Most of them exist just to keep the rhythm and vibe in a club or mix. Comfort food for ravers. With that in mind, and with the strict rules that apply to songs like this (long intros, BPM in a very small range, interruptions, and builds come out as expected), it doesn't take a lot of thought to make a dance instrumental work. And that's perfectly fine - it does the job to a T. BUT there are artists who have taken dance/techno-instrumental (or mostly instrumental) music to more interesting places. Gordo Slim mobile. Skrillex. People who know more about it can name more obscure artists. The pioneers of artistic instrumental dance are, of course, Kraftwerk (RIP Florian). Kraftwerk may have done more to influence 1980s music than any other artist. Listen to her and Depeche Mode back-to-back and you'll understand. And then listen to house, industrial, drum and bass, glitch hop and any other kind of techno or EDM. It is and has been everywhere for decades. Part of the reason it's so ubiquitous is because of George Kranz & The Art of Noise. The latter in particular were essentially the powerhouses of my generation. They made instrumental dancing not only interesting but popular in an era where Trevor Horn's (one of AoN's founders) production/style dominated many of the charts. Eventually it became a huge 80's cliché, it became overused and was probably one of the reasons Art of Noise didn't last long. But while it was big, it really raised the bar and showed just how versatile and expressive the sample can be. And George Kranz reminds us never to mess with German techno. I don't do a lot of instrumental stuff, but I do a lot of glitch techno stuff, including this vocally minimal one: REC - "Love In Stockholm" (from the Distance To Empty album) Do you know these artists? Do you have an affinity for electronic dance music? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE After last week's cleanup, there is a smaller and less significant crowd of albums this week. Their greatest similarity is that they almost exactly cover my "childhood years". That said, it's an eclectic mix of artists that you'd be hard-pressed to find in the same genre, let alone on the same playlist. This is how I roll SO... out of your head: Psychedelic Furs - Mirror Moves - British post-punk romance at its finest. And a vocalist who doesn't give up for a second or try to hide his origins - in other words, that's a BIG ACCENT! They're like The Cure without the goth influences. "The Ghost In You" and "Heaven" are forever classics. --Midnight to Midnight - This made me a little sad because it was obvious they were going for more commercialization. It worked, with "Heartbreak Beat" becoming their highest-charting single in the United States. But it lacked the quirky ambient heart of his earlier work. Even Richard Butler agreed. They released two more albums before breaking up, after which Butler formed the amazing band Love Spit Love. BUT NOW the Furs are back with their first album since 1991 and what I've heard so far has been great Lou Reed. His work with the Velvet Underground alone deserves legendary status. THEN you have this collection that showcased the genius we all know him for today. And that only covers up to 1976! - New York - This album made me buy the above album. I needed to know more about this guy who looked like a New York version of Bob Dylan. I can only stand his voice for about an album or so, so he's not one of my favorites. But I loved that album to death, especially the single "Dirty Blvd". The shitty vocals combined with pure poetry show what an individual genius he was. Too bad he's dead. Talking Heads - Remain in Light - TH are a bit to the left for me in terms of taste. I fall in love with some of your stuff. Others I find strangely far removed from passion. But through no fault of their own. This album will always be great because it was made during my absolute favorite era of production values, c.1978-1982.--Little Creatures - It sucks to say this, but I preferred TH when they were filming for commercials because they kept all their guts and whimsy, but struggled to really make a connection. This album and the next one (True Stories) were probably the pinnacle of that. The first and last strips here are gold. Yes - The Yes Album - Yes was the best progressive rock band. Critics might give Genesis that title and I 100% understand why. But pound for pound, Sim has been more consistent. Sure, they dove into indulgence in the mid-1970s, but what prog band didn't. To be honest, I find part of the beginning of Genesis inaudible. But this is HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE, for two reasons: A. I prefer Jon Anderson's voice to the old Peter Gabriel (he's become much more flattering with age); and B. I'm a Romantic, and while Genesis briefly dabbled in romance after Phil Collins took the helm, Sim was romantic from start to finish. And his vocal harmonies rocked even more. - Classic Yes - It's weird that this album even existed because it's NOT a greatest hits album and it's NOT a throwback to one's current career. It's the perfect prog build for these reasons, and the fact that Chris Squire made the selection explains it all. And it makes it great. Do you like any of these artists? Want to hear the playlist I made? Could you make an even more disjointed playlist? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 14, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE When I started these posts 4 years ago, I HAD NO PLAN. So it's no surprise that I hit a snag. I had the idea of ​​making each album individually. Which might have worked if I just stuck to the text. When I started the video, everything was 8-track. I took an album as an opportunity to talk about the artist in general without thinking what the hell I would be talking about for their NEXT album. And every week, as I flipped through my collection, I skipped over albums by bands I'd done before. Which led to a delay. THIS WEEK is my chance to fix that. Get ready for the explosion. THE CURE - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - Standing on the Beach - Disintegration PRINCE - Purple Rain - "Do Me Baby" - Meli'sa Morgans Cover - Around the World in a Day --Sign of the Times --LovesexyU2 --Boy --October --War --Under a Blood Red Sky --The Unforgettable Fire --Awake in America --The Joshua Tree --Rattle and Hum There you go. Was it as cleansing for you as it was for me? Great, now check out my NEW BOXSET: REC - The Weird Objective - a five album multi-genre boxset. Do you like any of these artists? Which artists are in your top 5? Are you as obsessed with music as I am? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MORE * If you haven't heard of the Beastie Boys, stop reading and find out. Pick up the AMAZING Beastie Boys book and/or watch the Spike Jonze documentary tomorrow. I can tell a little of their story in the video, but I won't detail it here. *Beastie Boys are my top 10 favorites. Not in the "these 50 bands could easily be my top 10" sense. No kidding, it never makes the top 10. Here's why: 1. They started when I was old enough to appreciate them the most.2. They were funny from the start - serious about the music but never too serious about themselves.3. They're from New York, a place I had a soft spot for decades before I moved here.4. They showed me that otherwise uncool white kids can rap if they want to.5. They took hip-hop to places it had never been while respecting its roots and the people who created it.6. You evolved. Musically. Professionally. Guys. They never stop growing and exploring.7. You confused. They were never content with sticking with the boom bap because they were too curious not to always find something else to add to their sound.8. They LOVE music of all kinds. Love, respect, adore and play with, but still know what it means to listen well.9. You were never quite what you thought you were. I still have a hard time believing that Adam Yauch has been dead for eight years. Like Prince, Bowie, Cobain or Lennon, the world doesn't feel right without them. It's like they're still there. Do I wish the other two Beasties were still making music? In any case! Do I understand why they don't and do I respect that? In any case! But it hurts not to wait for the next release every few years. So what's so special about this 12″? First of all, it's the only one I have on vinyl. Second, these songs weren't hits in the US, but I liked them better than some of the hits from Licensed to Ill. Third, the B-side was sung by fellow countrymen and tourmates Run-D.M.C. And fourth, the style from the A-side to the B-side has a real past-present-future shift. "She She's On It" has that Rick Rubin heavy metal/rap hybrid, while "Slow and Low" combines a BOOMING 808 kick with what sounds like live band guitar samples. It's more than the subtle change it seems. A song like "Slow and Low" came from 808's heavy past and heralded their cut-and-paste work at Paul's Boutique. *Note: My partner and I went to the grounds of Paul's Boutique in the "early days" and they have a cool little Beasties tribute mural there. *When their first album came out, and then 12 inch singles like this one, my brother and partner/boyfriend DJ learned the lyrics and rapped over the instrumentals at school dances. I'm pretty sure it was Ad Rock, my brother MCA and my friend Mike S. Mike D. We got him so early, it became part of our DNA. You can hear it clearly in a song like this one: REC - "Let It Wreck Your Mind" (formerly "I Took One for Me" - from the Syncopy for the Weird album) Do you have a history with the Beasties? With some kind of hip hop? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI never understood people who only listen to one or two types of music. Life is much more complicated and interesting than that. I believe your maturity and emotional openness is directly reflected in the type of music you listen to (and other art you consume). i love punk i love heavy metal. i love hip-hop i love funk i love dirty I love about 35-400 other genres and subgenres, many of which are hardcore, kick ass, in your face. But I don't play. I'm not in front. I don't get up. I love any song that's good (subjectively anything, if you don't know what I mean then drop me a comment!). This includes songs that DON'T go in your face. Just like this week's selection. Musical taste is as natural as anything else. We are born with certain inclinations and then we are exposed to music through our family and friends, which further influences our tastes. BUT I think there comes a point in everyone's life when they take responsibility. When they put nature/care aside and decide for themselves what music they want to get into. They also chose and graduated when young, but this is different. It's an active, conscious decision to potentially discard (or even more safely) everything you've learned about music in favor of things that are "uniquely" yours - those passion bands and artists that belong to you and speak only to you. . The music that sets your tastes apart from those of your parents or older siblings or other influencers. For me, it was about 15 years. For others much later or much sooner. Air Supply came to me just before I was of legal age to play music. You all know that I love Songcraft. And these guys had it or knew it when they heard it. Also, sometimes you just need to relax. Feel the sunset in your ears. To really see the heart fibers being pulled. That's what Air Supply is for. Not to mention that THERE IS NO BETTER NAME for a band that (yes, in the present tense - they're still around and have actually never stopped) offer a fresh, refreshing breeze of music? No. Yes, right after the heyday, my tastes changed drastically. But I never let go of this song. And you can still hear it in some of the things I do today. Especially with this song: REC - "Up All Day" (from The Sunshine Seminar album) A quick note: Air Supply is from Australia. Like INXS. Like Silverchair. AC/DC type. I'm convinced that Australian and Canadian bands have a way of distilling American-style music down to its essential components, creating versions that are often more compact and intrusive than American artists. Too many examples from both countries to go into here. I will discuss this in more detail in my video version. Do you remember/like/hate these guys? Do they qualify as yacht rock? Do you have soft music that you prefer? What artists or songs from your pre-awakening days do you still love? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREEverything comes from something. The Beatles emerged from a mix of skiffle and 1950s American pop music. Bach wouldn't be Bach without the lovely and talented Deiterich Buxtehude. The Nirvana name revised both the Pixies and the Monkees, and damn if you can't hear that convergence. (New Order fans, you know what I'm getting at.) In the late 1970s, goth emerged from the punk/post-punk scene as a distinct subgenre. Darker, more economical, more brooding, more atmospheric, but still raw as punk. Bauhaus. Siouxsie and the Banshees, a bit of what The Cure did. And Joy Division. When you have a suicidal frontman, it's no surprise that the result is depressing, even divisive. But don't neglect the joyful part of the equation. Ian Curtis and the band created music that reflected life's struggle to extract joy from pain and suffering. Therefore, their music was dark and danceable. When he died, the band's remaining members formed New Order - an apt name, all things considered. And her new task was to create music that would inspire people to move despite the occasional bleakness of life. what they did Getting better and better over the years. Hell, their albums in this century usually have moments that are as good as the best. Yes, New Order still makes New Stuff. When some fans think of New Order, they immediately think of Depeche Mode (a band that still does excellent work today). Many parallels, and fans are well aware of the differences. The main similarities are: both are new wave bands that fuse electronica with rock, creating strong and often atmospheric beautiful songs that lyrically explore the darker aspects of inner and outer life. "True Faith" is one of New Order's standouts, a perfect representation of all these aspects. A lot of what I do involves exploring negative or uncomfortable feelings in the context of ambient electronic rock music. The most obvious example of this is from The Sunshine Seminar: REC - "Any Universe" (from The Sunshine Seminar album) Do you have any experience with new wave or post punk or goth or techno? Remember when you could only be a fan of New Order OR Depeche Mode but not both? Do you like it when artists illustrate universal feelings of depression and insecurity, etc., but in a crazy way? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not GENRE VIDEOS and MORELife is not black and white. This is not a revelation, and yet we need constant reminders because our brains WANT it. It's much more convenient to put things into categories. Well, if you know one thing about me, it's that I prefer artists who don't shy away from categorization. In most cases - like Prince, The Beatles or Bowie - these artists jump between genres at will. They don't let themselves be contained by walls or rules. In other cases - like this week's band, The Smiths - they don't change genres so much as create their own genre. There are so many reasons to love The Smiths. Morrissey's incomparable voice. Johnny Marr's amazing guitar. The surprising (though not to be for those in the know) many catchy pop hooks. They don't give a damn about trends. But what I always liked best about them is that they lived in the gray. They fused happy or lush and gentle songs with downright sad and often harrowing lyrics. Like wallowing in mud. All good music comes from a place of joy. Even the heaviest, grittiest wailing metal is written and performed with glee. joy is not happiness. It is the pumping of blood and the breath of life. The blacksmith's ability to wallow in joy from sadness was an instant drug to my heart. Is still. Strangeways' "Girlfriend in a Coma" is the perfect example of a happy-sounding song with somber lyrics. But really the whole album is exemplary and incredible. It would be hard for me to list the countless songs I've written that juxtapose happy music with sad lyrics. dozens easily. Really, there isn't even a definitive one. So here's one of the more recent ones: REC - "Lost Found" (from the "Sympathy for the Weird" album) What do you think of The Smiths? What other artists can you name that have happy songs with sad lyrics OR sad songs with happy lyrics (like "Love Song" by The Cure or "Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin)? Do you prefer black and white music or nothing gray either? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREOne of the best things about reliving the past is realizing how wrong you are. A memory sticks in your head, but not in a big, clear way like something groundbreaking or transformative. Then the memory becomes distorted like a mental telephone game. It is stored in your brain like a warp, overwriting old memory. Other thoughts and feelings cling to this distorted version, which is slowly becoming "real" and gaining more meaning than it ever deserved. BUT the replacement is not digital, it is analog. It's like recording on a cassette tape that already has something on it. Sometimes original content shines. For years I remembered The Alarm as a favorite band - a dwarf who never grew to full size but was loved nonetheless. I pumped this memory and gave it more weight. The alarm was "my band". The Alarm's music inspired me. The Alarm was amazing and should have been big, not the U2 rans they eventually became. THEN I take this album out of my collection, listen to it, read it and realize I'm giving the whole thing way too much credit. It took some digging to figure out why I cared about her in the first place. And here's what I found out: They had a little hit called "Rescue Me" in 1987. It sounded so much like U2 that I thought YES, I'm ready to get into that. So I waited for the new album and bought it in 1989. This one. And I was impressed. I have very little memory of any of those songs. It's not a judgment call. They were a really good band. Her name still evokes feelings of post-New Wave British cool in me. It's just that, like so many bands I got the wrong impression about, I broke up with them shortly after that particular iteration of their sound peaked - i.e. "the one after the good". We all have an idea of ​​where an artist is going and we're all a lot more picky than we admit. When a band meets our unspoken expectations, we love them more. When a band repeats itself, we are attentive and hope that it continues to grow. When a band spins wildly, we're confused and must choose whether we love the pivot for their risky genius or they're lost and we're done with it. And it's about what beats in the heart. For a brief moment in 1987, The Alarm pierced my heart. This album didn't - didn't do what I wanted - needy and arrogant and overbearing. That's what being a music fan is all about. And that's why it's hard for everyone. Difficult for the fan who wants what he wants, but not overly aggressive or boring. Hard - I say much harder - for the artist who, by not succumbing to the pressures of trends or popularity or what the other says, is just trying to follow the muse. Created from the soul. No, artists cannot expect fans to follow their whims or be as excited about a change in direction or so-called innovation as they are. But fans - we have to be patient. Loving. Conciliatory. Accept the human side of creation. We really need to hear it and hear it again and hear it again and give things a real chance. Listen to these two songs. They separate about 20 years. Does it look like the same artist? Are the changes a journey you would have taken with me? · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 10, 2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI realized that I didn't respect my destiny. The destination I chose is this. I was born into music. I thrived on music before I could spell it. With every step, with every blessing, and in every need, music was my constant companion. Nothing has ever been more important to me than music. (THING, not PERSON - people like my kids are on a higher level.) So why? Why did I subvert this clear destiny and avoid embracing it? Why did I assume that money and my music are mutually exclusive or, at best, tenuously related? Why did I spend more time looking for another job instead of writing, recording and realizing every opportunity? Apparently, the universe will not tolerate this. Two years ago, I was "released" from my 13-year job at the Bronx Zoo. I was a freelance musician, actor and voice actor for a while. So last October I got another day job at a giant shit company show. I quit after a month because I didn't like the job or the people. Then, in January, I was hired by a very good company with very good people. However, it's completely normal work and I quickly realized that it's not my world and never was. Lo and behold, m-m-m-myyyy Corona (apologies to The Knack) came along and shut this company down. So I'm back to day jobless, back to freelancing. And he says, among other things: Stick to the music, boy. That's what you were made for. It's the one thing that always feels right. This album – my dad's full-length debut as a singer/songwriter – is a huge reason why I do what I do. It's a small but very important part of the huge musical world that my father is. All these songs sank - no, ARE - my blood. They are the DNA of how I write and produce. Original music was never his main focus. In addition, he had written a number of other songs before and after, and then released an EP of original country music in 1996 (included at the end of this album at the link above). I was 7 when he made this album. It was one of the first things that opened my eyes and heart to the world of possibilities. I was barely human, but I knew that music would be my life. Just like my father. Through all of life's changes. Professional highs and lows. Financial Yes and No. Family and friends come and go. It's always been music. There are many things my father and I have in common. One that stands out is the joy of blowing up genre boxes and playing/singing/writing/recording whatever we want. Knowing that a good song is a good song, no matter what it is. There are also many differences. One big problem is that it made its statement in the world of covers, whereas I dove into the originals almost immediately. But the BIGGEST DIFFERENCE is what sums up this week's post: Every week, month, year, decade, he made music for a living. He supported his family and paid his bills and financed cars and vacations and a house with music. I am not. I assumed for a long time that my music and money don't mix. Now that the world is being turned upside down and important parts of life are turned upside down, let me say that I hear you, universe. That assumption ends NOW. I will do what I can and must do to live exclusively from creative art. NOW. Listen to my father's album. Nicky DeMatteo So listen to my song below or one from the same album and see if you can hear a spiritual connection. This was the highlight: NICK - "Deal" (from The Metrogrande Sessions album) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The Easiest Way to Create a Podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREmusicians and comedians have been in love for a long time. Talk to any musician or comedian and chances are they'll tell you how much they love their other profession. I mean, look at Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon drooling and even making music of all kinds. Yes, you could say that artists tend to do and love more than one thing - Kevin Bacon and Jared Leto both have work bands. Tony Bennett and Jim Carrey are painters. J.Lo plays, dances and sings. Etc. Etc. But the love affair between musicians and comedians goes far beyond that. Timed coordination. Delivery. Volume. rhythm sets. Divide your art into digestible chunks that somehow hold together. All this and more flows between music and comedy, I would say more than any of the other disciplines. I can't even count how many times comedians have crossed over to music (Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Sarah Silverman). . Musicians making the transition to comedy were not as common, but they have happened. Two BIG ones are: Ricky Gervais, who may be known now for his comedy but started out as a serious musician and even had a new wave hit in the 80s; and the new prince himself, Will Smith, whom every self-respecting Philly fan knows, was first and foremost a rapper. Real music/comedy hybrids - music meant to be funny - are everywhere (Alan Sherman, Spike Jones, Mel Brooks, Beastie Boys, Flight of the Conchords, Elaine May, Judy Tenuta, Bridget Everett - even the Beatles). Then there are those who do both equally well with little to no intended crossover (like Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino). I'm old enough to vaguely remember the first season of SNL, a show that always featured/debuted/respected comedy, music, and so many hybrids of the two (like the Blues Brothers). I have ALWAYS been as much a fan of comedy as music. Growing up, I watched my dad play countless songs and he had moments of pure comedy every night. When I play, no matter how serious some of my music is, I'm always looking for a laugh. This week's three albums - the first two by Eddie Murphy (and really his entire early career) and Bob & Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas and really EVERYTHING SCTV related, still my second favorite sketch show behind Mr. . Show) - these are albums I bought with my own pocket, money that could have gone into music. They meant a lot to me. And don't forget that both Eddie Murphy and the McKenzie brothers had hit singles - "Party All the Time" and "Take Off" (featuring Rush's Geddy Lee), respectively. So let's go. At some point in the near future, I'll cross stand-up comedy off my bucket list. Until then, here are two perfect examples of how comedy has seeped into my music:NICK - "Listen You People" (from the Listen You People album)NICK - "Sick" (from the Listen You People album)What another music-comedy crossover you are watching? What/who are your favorite sketch shows or comedians? What bands/singers that people might not know have also done funny things? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORE This week is all about country music, so I thought I'd talk about one of my top ten favorite bands of all time: Violent Femmes. Yes it's right. The Feminine. And country music. you call. Seriously. Read on, then listen to the three albums I feature this week and they'll hit you like a pickup truck on fire. Those of you who know something about the ladies probably only know the big hits from their 1983 self-titled first album, like "Blister in the Sun" or "Add It Up". This album was an explosion of acoustic punk that launched the Femmes as yet another post-punk band that rewrote the rules of the genre. And if you know her, there are at least three things you probably don't know: 1. Her biggest hit single was "American Music" from Why Do Birds Sing? (Also had a great cover of "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?")2. They're still around and actually just released their latest album last year, which sounds a lot like their first stuff.3. They went through a country music phase. As a matter of fact, your 2nd, 3rd and 4th albums were mostly country. You could call it alt country (before the term existed), southern goth, crazy folk, country rock, or folk punk. The thing is, it's not just acoustic punk. Listen to almost anything from Hallowed Ground, The Blind Leading the Naked or 3 and you'll hear country music. "Country Death Song", "Jesus Walking on Water". "Old Mother Reagan", "Breakin' Hearts", "Cold Canyon". "Fat", "Lies". Straightforward country accent, folks. Not that that's all they did at the time or ever. But the fact that they went there in their own way - that's really cool. The femmes penetrated my subconscious so much that it's hard to say exactly how they influenced me. There's a chance, like the Beatles or Prince, that their influence is somewhere in every song I've ever written. Add separate text here and there to keep things honest and fresh. A vocal performance that ranges from the whispered to the raucous and from the plaintive to the aggressive, but always with emotion. Don't be afraid to go negative, but still break out. There are so many songs I can use as an example, but DUH I have to pick the one that might be named after my favorite Femmes song (from Hallowed Ground): REC - “Never Tell” (from the Distance To Empty album). Never Tell" by the Femmes and see if you can find parallels. Which Femmes songs do you know and/or love? So you want to dig deeper into your catalog? Do you prefer straight country music? or you hate everything Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI love greatest hits collections. There are four types that I particularly love: 1. A retrospective that spans a band's life up until now and shows its development.2. An artist's hits don't interest me enough to listen to their entire back catalog.3. A collection of genres, especially one I haven't delved into realz.4. A time capsule of a specific era or year. Chart Action 83 is a perfect example of #4. Long before playlists, K-Tel (and other companies, but seriously, K-Tel is MASTER) released annual collections of that year's hits. I ate it! Interestingly, the hits chosen by K-Tel couldn't just be top ten on the charts, as the songs need to be licensed to be released. In this way, the collections became representative and diversified. That's a big reason why I loved these collections so much. Of the 14 songs on Chart Action 83, only FOUR made the top 20. Some, like Peter Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey", didn't even make the top 100! So what K-Tel came out with was something that played radio (according to Clear Channel) and the vast majority of playlists (Spotify et al.). It's like K-Tel has the standard and, I think, the option to get artistic. Which is also cool when you look at the list of albums K-Tel released during their heyday - roughly 1973-1984, they got creative and fun with their album titles. Music Explosion, Night Flight, Hit Machine, Right, Pure Gold, Dimensions. There are still plenty of ultra-fun, creative companies and people out there today, but that feeling of throwing shit at the wall and actually having fun with it hardly exists in today's music industry, the biggest companies of any kind, or the most visited sites online. In a way, everyone's "best" work is subjective. But it's also driven by what worked in the world - what was successful or what was celebrated artistically. I don't think you have to be rich and famous to have the greatest hits. Shortly before forming the band REC, I was collecting my own greatest hits from my NICK era (see last week), songs that were popular with my fans and/or that I felt resonated with what I had heard in my head. . Here's that collection: Clear To Sunrise - Nick's Good Stuff 1995-2005 Who are some artists whose biggest hits you've played on repeat? Which Chart Action 83 songs do you love? Which songs from my collection do you like the most? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI take a 4T break this week to discuss the reason behind all my weekly posts including: Music for Saturday - I did a long time ago in February 2016 with "SNo Globe", which at the time was from my latest publication, The Sunshine Seminar. I decided to do a "reverse chronology" of my music from that moment on. Nearly 200 weeks (and songs) later, it's 1986 - and there's still more to do. The Thursday Throwback Track (4Q) - In April 2016, I was looking at the huge collection of tapes that I purposely laid out at the foot of my bed. I realized that everything I've ever heard is somehow connected to everything I've written and produced, and that it would be cool to explore those connections and discuss all types of music in general. · New Music Tuesday (NuMuTu) – So about two years ago when I started recording my next set of songs I wanted to highlight what I'm doing now. Each week I share a new song I've written/produced/made, or announce a performance or other aspect of my work. Then why?? What's the point of doing all this? It's a real commitment not to miss a single weekly post - three times a week - for years. What is my motivating factor? YES, I love evolution and watching artists grow, change and connect with their origins (Song for Saturday). YES, I love discussing all the artists I've dealt with, both in general and in specific contexts (The Thursday Throwback Track). YES, I am an active music artist myself (REC, Nick DeMatteo, other bands) and would like to share my new releases and activities (New Music Tuesday). But what connects all this? Well that's easy. My. My music. I live and breathe music and I want everyone to know that. I'm an infinity veteran right now and I'm loving every minute of every musical thing in my life. Like the artists I present, I have a history, a development and even a legacy. A good songwriter/musician friend of mine believes that if a song is good, it doesn't matter how old it is. And it doesn't matter ESPECIALLY when the vast majority of the world has no idea who you are. For them, a song from 1999 is the same as a song from 2020. SO... above and below are direct links to my discography, with songs dating back to 1995 - what I call my "modern" time after a good 15 years of development .Nick DeMatteo - Modern Discography - https://www.nickdematteo.com/musicListen. To explore. To share. As. Comment. And stay tuned... all of this leads up to a show I'm producing, which will be directed this year and premiered soon after. What are your favorites? What do you think of it in general? What do you think?? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE"I need a beat" - "I can't live without my radio" - "Rock the Bells" - "Going Back to Cali" - "Big Ole Butt" - "Jingling Baby." - "Around the Way Girl" - "Mama Said Knock You Out". Anyone who knows classic hip-hop - in this case Second & Third Wave - knows LL Cool J. And if you know LL, you probably know at least one of the songs I've just listed. (Let me just say his greatest hits CD is ON POINT.) Well, I have a 12-inch album clip from his first LP, Radio, which is this selection. Only true LL fans know these two songs. And to be honest, I had to listen to both cuts again to remember what they were. But as soon as I did, everything came back. When you listen to a song that you and everyone else has heard a thousand times, the connection to the original ear gradually breaks down. I can hear or play "I Melt With You" and at that point it doesn't feel like it's 1983 anymore. I still love the song but it's totally separate from its 80's anchor point. throughout... they still maintain the intense connection with their original time. You feel them just as strongly as you did back then. Those two LL songs do that for me. The paucity of his output—à la Early Run-DMC & Beasties (also produced by Rick Rubin)—gives rise to images of the costumes and the dances. The lyrical content and delivery brings back the feeling of someone speaking directly to me in a way no one else has. I only feel that with songs I don't listen to that often. The great thing about good music is that no matter how many times you listen to it, it's always good. And often the more you listen, the better it gets. That's how I record music. That's how I make music. Maybe you've heard one of my songs before. You might have liked it. I can tell you this: listen again. And again. And yet one more time. Not only will you like it. You will understand. Maybe you even love it. Here's a song clearly inspired by LL and that era, with a lyrical theme that says the same thing: REC - "The Power of Repetition (Everlasting)" (from the Syncopy for the Weird album) What classic hip-hop match you ? What songs from EACH genre do you find special because you DON'T listen to them all the time? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

09.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MORERemember Lilith Fair? Remember how the "first" time women in rock were famous and respected and how that would change everything? That attitude pretty much summed up the 1990s. I still look forward to this decade very much, and I believe that many important issues were brought to the fore in all areas. I won't even criticize the fact that progress has actually been made. But, as with all growth, what we thought was the end and end of all revolutions pales in comparison to the advances that have been made since then. And what we forget is that there were significant growth spurts even before certain themes gained popularity. This tangent is meant to remind you that there were women in rock music who made sensitive music before the 1990s — um, Joni Mitchell and Carole King, anyone? ?? — and that even in the big, flashy 1980s, there were plenty of women who could hold their own with the Springsteens & Princes & U2s. I've always followed women in music. I respected Patti Smith and Stevie Nicks, I liked Pat Benatar and Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde, I loved the bracelets and go-gos, and I had a secret fondness for Siouxsie Sioux. And don't even get me started on the riot grrrl scene in the 1990s or Hole or the Breeders. In the late '80s, Edie Brickell and Natalie Merchant were my two favorite women. At some point everyone needs an antidote to what they usually hear. Keeps your ears and brain cool. To counteract all the bombastic reverberation of the late '80s, one of the things I chose was 10,000 Maniacs. This album was their first to receive widespread acclaim - most notably for the songs "What's the Matter Here?", "Like the Weather" and the Cat Stevens cover "Peace Train". The main attraction, of course, was Natalie - for her singing, songwriting and ability to pick and own covers. They are the strengths that propelled Maniacs to even greater success in the early 1990s and Natalie Merchant to EVEN BIGGER success in the mid to late 1990s, icy stuff. You can hear it most clearly on my home EP, Black-Eyed Susan, from the mid-1990s - especially the title track and opening track "Higher Ground Again". Here's a link to the whole thing: Black-Eyed Susan (EP) - https://soundcloud.com/recarea/sets/black-eyed-susan the dorm. I would say my favorite is probably “Like the Weather”. Who are some of your favorite women in skirts from any era? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE When you're in high school, you're looking for two completely different things. First, you want to belong. It's different for everyone - and as the hands-on documentary The Breakfast Club taught us, where you belong may be entirely up to you. It's about finding like-minded people in one way or another so that you're not a total outcast or adrift in a sea of ​​isolation. Second, you are looking for your identity. They want to know who you really are and how deep that goes based on so many factors, including how comfortable you are with the truth. I do NOT have a deep nostalgia for my school years. So many good things have happened and I'm grateful for the people I still care about, but I have no desire to revisit any pre-college years. What I miss is music and how and why I got interested in it. Agent Orange was one of MANY artists that my amazing friend Mike Smith (not his real name... actually his real name) put me to work with with U2, Violent Femmes, Husker Du, even Bowie. Mike and the music we listened to served BOTH of the above purposes: he and she gave me a sense of belonging, not being alone with my quirky, eccentric, mellow, eclectic tastes; and they also helped define all these individualistic qualities for me. On the surface, I was an academic star and music/theatre artist, but at heart I was an angry, confused, antisocial, sex-obsessed teenager, trying so hard to recognize and suppress it all at the same time. It sucked - that's why I don't want to revisit the era. But, as in so many times, the music that comforted, defined and saved me will always be precious. Oh yes, then the actual music. They were one of the first surf punk bands, straight out of Southern California. Their name shows how early they were formed (1979) as the Vietnam War was still a HUGE presence at the time. Surfpunk is still a lively thing in 2020 (nods anyone?), and a whole host of non-punk bands have incorporated it into their shit as well. Being able to combine the bright exuberance of surf rock with the dark power of punk is great, and because of chiaroscuro, it's my thing again. I've done a good handful of songs like this, but the OBVIOUS CHOICE for this week's Nick/REC song is an ACTUAL AGENT ORANGE COVER. From this album here, the great success "In Your Dreams Tonight". I took this in a downbeat emo shoegaze vein because there's no reason to recreate an absolute classic: REC - "In Your Dreams Tonight" (from the Syzygy for the Weird album) Besides this track and "It's In Your Head", I can't select favorites . The whole album works for me. Do you have any experience with surf punk or old school surf rock or cali music or any kind of punk? Or what song helped you get through high school or any other difficult time in your life? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThere have been many Chicagos. As with most bands, people know their most commercially successful period. But the 1980s was actually the FOURTH phase, IMO (don't get me started on the subphases or we'll be here all year). PHASE ONE (1967-74) was all about fusion, eclecticism and experimentation. Virtually every respected or popular style of music Chicago has tried. Jazz, Classical, Blues, Funk, Heavy Rock, Light Rock, Progressive Rock, Pop, Folk, Politics, Latin, Free Form, Spoken Word, Electronics. It was all there. They followed up their first THREE DOUBLE ALBUMS with a QUADRUPLE album, then two shorter ones, and then another double album. They were a true progressive rock band. And a lot of it was done so well. In PHASE TWO (1975-77) they narrowed down and focused more on singles. They still had many of the elements mentioned above, but increasingly they were used in service of shorter songs. This was also his first real commercial peak and saw Cetera take on more hit vocals than the other two lead singers - Robert Lamm and Terry Kath. PHASE THREE (1978-80) was when they were just trying, after the death of rising to the fore the incomparable Terry Kath (one of the greatest guitarists of all time, so stop what you're doing and find him NOW). They tried their luck at the disco. They had a revolving door of backing guitarists/vocalists, some of whom took them in a cheap and complicated direction. There are some hidden gems here, but it didn't really work. PHASE FOUR (1982-91) was the money phase. New producer. External composition help. The rise and eventual fall of pistol Pete Cetera. Polishing their jammy jazz-funk tendencies into mass-market mega-hits. It was a real make-and-break period. They managed to keep the hits going for years after Cetera (and drummer Danny Seraphine) left. But if Phase 3 didn't adequately show how they lost direction AND soul, Phase 4 certainly sealed that deal. PHASE FIVE (since 1995) was them wandering the desert - continuing to capitalize on their history and their still incredible live show presence while pumping out the holy trinity of filth: common jazz cover albums, overproduced Christmas albums and deep beneath the surface. original average. They rarely reached their peak (phases 1, 2 and 4), except maybe when they worked with Lenny Kravitz in the late 1990s. And yet I'm still a fan, I'm a die-hard loyalist. I will continue listening. I keep hoping that something will make them stop being so commercial and go back to their roots, even as the original members keep retiring and being replaced by soulless veterans. Why? Because they deserve respect and respect. They've done what they've done so well for so long and clearly love music and life so much and have managed to persevere despite so many struggles and heartbreak. That said, their first phase was so much work that even if they stopped in 1978, they would still be revered as a great American band. I only have two of their albums on vinyl - IX (a greatest hits). Collection) and II, as well as all their albums up to XXXII on CD. I've heard everything they've ever released. So there is no doubt that they just influenced me by default. Creating progressive pop music with funky backbeats and layered harmonies became part of my wheelhouse. Here's one of the MANY of those songs: NICK - "One Minute Shy of Forever" (from the What It Is album) What do you think of Chicago? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREIf you haven't lived it, you can't feel it. The title track of this album was 100% correct. While video games were a craze for a few years when Pac-Man was released in 1980, everyone went nuts (pun intended - this was another arcade game released in 1980 and it was almost always next to or next to the Pac-Man Machine. It is also the inspiration for the last song on this album.). Before Fortnite, before Minecraft, before Grand Theft Auto, before Doom, even before Super Mario - Pac-Man fever was the madness that started it all. Yes, Atari and Pong before that claimed to have a few fevers, but Pac-Man set the bar for all future temperature spikes. I've been a huge video game fan since I got the Atari 2600 for Christmas 1977. I continue to play mostly on my phone, although I occasionally play Switch games with my kids. At that time there were two things: hours in front of the TV with my joystick; and being dumped at an arcade with my brother whenever my parents wanted some quiet alone time - we loved it. Regardless of console, format, or adrenaline delivery system, video games have been in my mix nearly every week of my life for over 40 years. No wonder I freaked out when my obsession merged with my first love: music. No one is saying anything about the Buckner & Garcia album being genius - it was clearly trending. It made a lot of money, selling over two million singles - the title track and "Do the Donkey Kong". And it's better than you can remember. I also have to praise "Froggy's Lament" and "Ode To A Centipede" - Frogger & Centipede were huge games back then. Every song on this album pays homage to one of the hottest video games/arcades of the time, and they were all equally fun. Listening to it again, it sounds like each song was also made to emulate other bands of the era, which is nice to hear. Another interesting fact is that Jerry Buckner (who is still alive) wrote the theme song for Wreck-It Ralph. My old band Ape Café did a KICK-ASS live version of Pac-Man Fever. And every now and then I put a cheesy cover in my live sets. However, in terms of writing and recording, I don't do new songs or tributes. But some of my songs have that feeling. I made theme songs for two movies I produced with my former production company, both of which have a lot of tributes ("This End Up" and "Lock-Load-Love" - ​​check it out on YouTube!). As for a song from one of my albums, "KPS" fits perfectly. It pays homage to K-pop and features some decidedly video game-like sounds. CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE bands each song tried to imitate? What are YOUR favorite video games? Fuck argue! . https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a VIDEO GENRE and MOREMusic and Nostalgia are SO closely connected. You can listen to a song and it will instantly take you back to the moment you first heard it. You feel what you felt then, or a slightly bittersweet/painful echo mixed with affection. For you, this song is a classic and will always mean something. The holiday season is the best time of year to get nostalgic. It's when all the old chestnuts are dusted and played everywhere and all the time. I have a killer Spotify Christmas playlist and it has everything from old classics to obscure but awesome left-handers and new classics. One thing I love most about Christmas and music in general is that everyone is always looking for the classics - the songs that are good every time you hear them. And the best part is, there's ALWAYS MORE. When I was a kid, bass songs by Rankin and Ella and Elvis and all that stuff was a Christmas classic for me. Then came grandma got run over by a reindeer, and little did we know that a new classic was born. It's played somewhere every year, for better or worse. Everyone probably knows John Lennon and Paul McCartney's Christmas hits these days. Both are classics now. Mariah Carey takes the cake here with an INSTANT classic released in 1994, almost the same year. Along with all that and more is a track from this week's album, Last Christmas. It was remade and even filmed, but without a doubt we will always prefer and love the original. It's a modern classic. At the time, we had no idea how steep George Michael's career would turn - what a genius he was and how tragic the rest of his life would turn out to be. But phew! he was loved from the beginning. Music from the Edge of Heaven was their third album and by then they already had several hit singles, ALL of which were left behind by George Michael's solo successes. I have wham! loved it, but I really loved his solo work. Faith was the first CD I bought and it was a huge influence. It showed me that you can be a singer/songwriter without sounding like one - you can create dynamic pop music with diverse influences, built on heartfelt, well-written songs. That's pretty much my entire career. You hear a loud Wham! – or at least George Michael – influence on the track below. A soulful pop ballad with solid lyrics and a slightly cheesy production. REC - "Up All Day" (from The Sunshine Seminar album) Favorites are tracks 1, 3, 4 and of course 8. Which songs are modern classics for you? Are there any songs NOW that you think will become a classic? Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

08.01.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON WATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MORE There are albums that shake the earth. Everyone has at least one that once you hear it your world will never be the same. Of the few dozen that changed my existence, I can no longer ignore this one. I've been digging through my LP collection, picking releases at random over the past few months, and I knew I couldn't get to this one until it was done. I had three copies of Run-D.M.C.'s debut album. Anyone old enough to remember that era can probably guess why. For everyone else, here's the deal. I was a DJ for years when you had to carry boxes, two turntables, two cassette players, a mixer, a microphone and everything. My partner, Mike Smith, and I DJ at a few parties and dances, and we've even made real non-metaphorical mixtapes. We also love performing (you heard us rapping original last Saturday), and our two favorite bands to cover were Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. (who traveled together and were really good friends for a while). If we just wanted to play the tracks, we'd use a good copy of the album. When we wanted to mix them down, we needed a second copy to scratch - which unfortunately, in my case, resulted in REALLY SCRATCHING the vinyl. (I didn't win any hip-hop awards.) If we were going to perform them, we needed the instrumental versions they sold in certain places where DJs bought shit back then. (Mike and I always went to Chestnut Street in Philadelphia to get our stuff.) So three copies. And it was fitting that I owned so many of this album. When it came out, my whole neighborhood freaked out. There was the guy who was great at popping and crashing. Then there were the guys who could memorize and rap every lyric to every song. That was my brother and me. I think I was Run and he was D.M.C. We certainly had our favorite tracks, but basically we could play the entire album front to back. I was into rap (later AKA hip-hop) before - "Apache", Kurtis Blow, "Planet Rock" etc. - but when this album came out, it sealed the deal. From then on, hip-hop was part of my life and musical development. I started writing rap lyrics as a teenager, and hip-hop as a genre — or at least as a production influence — has been part of my suite ever since. The song I shared last Saturday may be the oldest recorded evidence, and the song below from this year is the most recent: REC - "The Power of Repetition (Everlasting)" (from the Synocpy for the Weird album) Hearing It Again Albums I have, I can say that I don't pick favorites. The whole thing rocks. But if I had to choose, I would choose "It's Like That" and "Sucker MCs". Do you have a favorite hip hop artist, old school or not? Do you like hip hop? Argue, damn it! And hey, don't forget to check out our SnerkShirts! https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

01.07.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREI never knew much about Talking Heads. They were one of those fringe bands for me - they drifted in and out of my field of vision based on moods and tastes that matched exactly what they were putting out. I've been finding out more about her lately because I'm leaving for David Byrne's New York show soon and saw a great new song by him on Colbert. This piqued my interest. Byrne & Talking Heads have always been their own thing. It's not quite post-punk or new wave or world music or experimental or pop. Pretty much all of those things at once, and more. Not everything they've done is any of my business, but when their song hits me, it hits me hard. ("Once in a Lifetime" from this album is a perfect example). Tighter than the previous one, but still feeling fresh and open-air and not quite as bombastic as what came after. This album is no exception. It has a hell of a range, but the minimal production values ​​really hold it together and really let the weird funky world vibe shine through. Funny thing about Talking Heads. You were always respected. Every album they released is considered good/great. But their first FIVE albums really only had ONE hit song each. Their commercial breakthrough came in 1983 and their best selling album was 1985 - TEN YEARS after their creation. They were either ahead of the curve or completely off the curve - they probably didn't give a shit about the curve - so it makes sense that it takes a while for audience tastes to recover. But unlike other bands with a similar trajectory, Talking Heads stayed when they came along and never left. Sometimes the weird becomes its own hook, and when David Byrne does the weird, he makes it gooey. I don't do a bunch of totally weird stuff - I like to sprinkle in to keep things interesting no matter how many times you hear it. TH's brand of eclecticism isn't my focus, but it still had its influence, especially in the ability to write about existential shit, produce it in whimsical ways, and package it all up in a deliciously addictive burrito. This song has it all: REC - "Make Me Mic My Mouth" (from the Syzygy for the Weird album) Favorites are: side one, track 2, and side two, tracks 1 and 2. What do you think of all this? Or which band you love that had a slow career. Discuss Damn!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

01.07.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS & MOREHave you ever browsed a bookstore not really knowing what you want, and while browsing, found a book that piqued your interest enough to buy? The same thing used to happen to me walking around Tower or Full Circle or Sam Goody. Normally, I would walk into a store knowing exactly what I wanted and I had to buy it NOW or I would start itching. Sometimes I would look for new stuff and feel like throwing a curveball through my collection. I've always been restless for new things and I don't want to miss anything that might change the way I think about music or at least make me feel good listening to it. Some of these discoveries turned into lifelong love affairs. Others were one-off fantasies that I was so glad I took the time to discover. And a small handful of others were total failures that felt like a waste of time and money - YES I take this music shit seriously 😊. Royal Crescent Mob clearly fell into the second category. They were a band I always thought of as West Coast because they sounded like cousins ​​to RHCP & Fishbone - funky punk rock but with a dash of East Coast G. Love & Special Sauce. I guess it makes sense that they're from Columbus, Ohio. I haven't heard from this album in 30 years so I checked it out on YouTube to refresh my memory. I can understand why I liked them enough to keep the album all these years, but not enough to buy anything else from them. They had a relaxed sound that avoided pop sensibilities and took them places I didn't go until a few years later. Timing is everything! Still, they're a band that deserves a second listen, especially the songs below. I need funk, punk, pop, rock and WEIRD. This song of mine has pretty much all these elements: REC - "Some Things Happen" (from the Parts and Labor album) Favorites are: "Big Show", "Hungry", "Corporation Enema", "Nanana", "Going to the hospital“ How do you randomly discover new music these days? Fucking discussion! //anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

01.07.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREPhiladelphia - my old hometown - has a rich musical history and every few years there is a buzz around the scene (NOW? - see Mannequin Pussy). When I was a teenager, there were some big acts in the Philly area that made their mark then (The Hooters, Joan Jett, Robert Hazard & the Heroes) or later started their way to great success (Boys II Men, Will Smith, The Roots, Live). I was immersed in the present and the possible. And like most Philadelphia music fans, I had a hunger for good music of any kind. The Dead Milkmen are from Philadelphia. Your first four albums were very important in my life through high school and college. I've seen them live several times, usually on and around South Street. I loved how punk and meta-punk they were/are, killing the punk/surf-punk style while commenting and promoting it, and every other genre (dance, pop, folk, hard rock) brought along. They felt like using it. They had the punk "disdain" for hippies from the start, although the split was either old news by this point. So they made fun of hippies And they made fun of making fun of hippies. Punk and metapunk. They've gone through many ups and downs: their early chart cult years; his years of decline on a major label; his break and Dave Blood's tragic suicide; and its makeover (yay!) a little over a decade ago. Your music from the last five years is better than ever. Like Philly (and me), they don't give up. They are always ready to come back for more, whether as underdogs, veterans or stars. Like her, I've always been right in the mix and away from it. This means my/our music tends to be on the up AND watching what's going on and includes a lot of genre jumping and experimentation. That's why our music is so alive and so hard to define. What I got from the Milkmen (among other bands) was what I call "disrespectful reverence" - honoring a style or working within a style, but not committing to it to the point of being talked about or attacked. Texts can be superficially or subtly funny, overtly or cleverly cutting. Here are two recent examples that go along with it all: REC - "The Garden" (from the album "Sympathy for the Weird")REC - "Xmiss" (from the album "The Sunshine Seminar") Favorites are: BLIimBY: "Beach Song" , "Big Lizard", "Bitchin' Camaro", "Right Wing Pigeons"; EYP: Beach Party Vietnam, the thing that only eats hippies; pretty much all Bucky Fellini; Beelzebubba: "Brat in the Frat", "I Walk the Thinnest Line", "Punk Rock Girl", "Smokin' Banana Peels". --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

01.07.2021

SUPPORT ME ON PATREONWATCH MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREHere's another top 5 band - I'm sure it's typical of people who came of age in the 80's. Once again I was introduced to U2 by a good friend from high school and then scoured their catalog to devour everything I could. Like The Cure, like Joy Division/New Order, like The Jam, like PIL and so many others, U2 was post-punk. Lots of definitions and sub-genres for it, but for me the post-punk I responded to the most was rhythmic, atmospheric, crunchy, sparse, melodic, emotional, organic and electronic, pop and experimental. U2 was another band that showed me what's possible. They respected what was around in the mid-1970s and what came before, but they made their own rules about how to interpret it all and make it their own - which they did early on. It's fascinating to me to see how, even when an artist is not fully formed, their first incarnations are still "them". You can 100% hear the uniqueness of his approach to music, his personality and his quirks. You can hear where they came from and get a strong sense of where they ended up going. ALL later U2 elements are present in their early work - all elements at the end of the first paragraph above. They would emphasize some and less emphasize others. They would improve on some and leave others behind. They would bring in some new elements here and there. But overall they are still U2, just as the Stones are still the Stones. Just as we're discovering together through my retro Song for Saturday posts that all the elements I have in my music have been there for decades. Life is always changing and always the same. cool When I was in college, my friend Ralph Colombino had a band that he almost signed. They did some originals and a bunch of covers by bands like The Who and U2. I co-produced a music night where I also played an original and a cover on keys - my only instrument practiced at the time besides my voice. Ralph's band was playing and in their set was "I Will Follow", which is one of my favorite songs on that album, by U2. Their drummer didn't bring his mat or anything to stop his gear from sliding across the floor as he tapped his foot. So I volunteered on the spot to sit in front of the bass drum with my hands over my ears and make sure they played a few songs unhindered. That's what I would do for music. U2's influence is everywhere in my work. Here's a song that a friend of mine immediately dubbed U2, much to my delight: REC - "Little White Lies" - (from the Distance To Empty album) Favorites are: SIDE ONE tracks 1, 3/4 (they run together), 5; and PAGE TWO tracks 1, 3, 5. Discuss the fuck! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

01.07.2021

APOIE-ME NO PATREON SHOW MUSIC is not a GENRE VIDEOS and MOREThe CURE for What Ailed Me - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (The Cure - 1987) Let's get this out of the way first. The Cure is in my top 5. When I discovered them in the mid-80s, they were instant soulmates. Like Prince and U2 - two other top 5's, they were only 10 years older than me and showed me my musical future early on. Each represented a way to digest many influences and expel the results in a way that had emotional depth, musical intelligence, innovation and accessibility. They showed me what good and smart pop music can be. In the case of The Cure, I learned that it can be vulnerable, a little twee, dark, playful, frivolous, sonically rich and catchy at the same time. While the Head on the Door album became my absolute favorite, Disintegration is probably a better album too, it's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me that came out first. I was still holding it on Tuesday when it was released and it wouldn't let go. It combined elements of goth, pop, college rock, punk, electro, and northern soul into a smorgasbord of double albums that spawned three lead singles: "Hot Hot Hot!!!" - a favorite nightclub; "Why can't I be you?" - in many ways a typical Cure song and at the time the biggest of the three; and "Just Like Heaven" - a song that stands above the other two, has been covered by the ton and is not only one of the best, but one of the best of the 1980s and the entire modern era. There are dozens of songs of mine that were influenced by The Cure, especially lyrically. Both sonically and lyrically, no song comes closer to me than the one I still play live today: REC - "Break You" (from the "Parts and Labor" album) I can't pick favorites - the list is too long. Instead, I'm going to highlight a much lesser known track that has all of the Cure elements I mentioned in the first paragraph and is just beautiful. And this is Side B, Track 2 - "How Beautiful You Are". Please listen to my song above and then this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s08jD3E6Mpg. You'll be glad you did. Fuck argue! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to create a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/musicisnotagenre/support

January 06, 2021