Note on Hardcore pt.1
July 11, 2007 at 9:32 pm
We only danced for a minute or two
But then she stuck close to me the whole night through
Can I be fallin’ in love
She’s everything I’ve been dreamin’ of
I walked her home and she held my hand
I knew it couldn’t be just a one-night stand
So I asked to see her next week and she told me I could
(I asked to see her and she told me I could)
Somethin’ tells me I’m into something good
- Herman’s Hermits (lyrics)
“Innocence & Despair”
01. Langley Schools Music Project - I’m Into Something Good
Innocence & Despair (Bar/None Records, 2001)
02. Michio Kurihara - The Wind’s Twelve Quarters (audiversity)
Sunset Notes (20/20/20, 2007)
03. Lauren k. Newman - Come In From the Rain (bf)
January 2005, 10 Songs (Greyday Productions, 2005)
04. The Jesus Lizard - Deaf as a Bat [Live]
Show [LIVE] (1994)
05. Pere Ubu - Ubu Dance Party
Dub Housing (Thirsty Ear, 1979)
06. 90 Day Men - Methodist
90 Day Men / Gogogoairheart split (Box Factory Records, 2001)
07. Bellini - The Switched Lovers (web)
Small Stones (Temporary Resident Limited, 2006)
08. Felix Mendelssohn - Venetianisches Gondellied (Song without Words for piano No. 6 in G minor Op. 19b/6)
Ignaz Friedman plays Beethoven, Chopin, Hummel, Mendelssohn, etc. (1999)
Note: Thinking about hardcore and its relationship to previous rock styles reminds me of this famous postscript by Eco “At this point, having avoided false innocence, having said clearly that it is no longer possible to speak innocently, he will nevertheless have said what he wanted to say to the woman: the ‘he loves her madly’, but he loves her in an age of lost innocence. If the woman goes along with this, she will have recieved a declaration of love all the same.” (Umberto Eco, Postscript to the Name of the Rose, 1984) In essense having abandoned traditional rock form in persue of speed, ever harder and harsher texture, thicker bass line and amplification, hardcore finds itself in mathrock form. So uncompromising yet felt restrained, expressive and raw but longing for rock n’ roll simpler balance to connect. So can it be put back again like before? I don’t think it is possible to regain innocence, only the memory of it. So here is small note/playlist hardcore in the spirit of romantic expressionist. Or maybe like 90 Days Men say “revolution does not happen on buffet table, you can’t pick and choose”
see also: I’m Into Something Good
image: “Punk Love I - Innocence” by djwudi , [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Excellent stuff!
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Love that version of ‘Something Good.’ Hard not to smile at the toe-tapping energy and enthusiasm of the singers. The song rather perfectly illustrates your thesis about music’s lost innocence and ways to reimagine that state. (I’m not so certain that the other playlist selections do this, although I may be misinterpreting your intention in the post. That is to say, I’m not confident that romantic expressionism and a yearning for pre-lapsarian rock n’ roll are one and the same.)
I didn’t mean to make a general comment about the state of rock/music in general. But it’s interesting to muse. I always consider music meant to be at human level. about people, conversation, dancing, entertaining, contemplating, have fun, etc… There is a limit to music as pure abstract/mental exercise of rules.
The idea of innocence probably is simple folks song, while very abstract would be synthetic atonal electronic noise. It’s not possible for a genre to stay with basic simple idea (hummable tune) , without somebody comes along and creates ever more elaborate composition and techniques. Otherwise a music genre will be stagnant. It will be an infinite loop of country muzak.
That’s how I see it. rock -> hardcore -> mathrock. I think we can safely say mathrock is fairly complex and removed from popular folk song. But it would be silly to suggest Mathrock should adopt folk song composition to move forward.
So this post. This post is a part of larger MdM project, making notes, taking inventory of the ‘best indie albums’ out there. It’s preliminary notes.
On other hand, everything in MdM revolves around “playlist”. A playlist has to be complete and listenable as a unit. (that satisfying feeling one get after completing a story.) usually, I build list with several layers of idea. (mostly accidental collection of small ideas. I am not that clever yet)
1. It’s a story/love story. It should have “sound track” quality that evoke narrative.
2. it has key bands (hardcore/post punk). Inventory of important bands. The point of this series.
3. As a whole The playlist itself has to trigger certain emotion. (romantic expresionist?) Usually it’s a combination of key changes, beat and overall textures between songs. not too complicated.
4. It also has to appear as popular work. Anybody can click play, immediately bop head and later want to investigate songs further. (the hardest part of every post)
I think in this list, I am trying to mix ballad plus known songs with hardcore dynamic. Painting a picture of expressive/harsh, but also lovely at the same time.
What happen if mathrocker falls in love? Certainly it’s not possible to go back to simplistic song/ballad form after all that. … etc.
and of course… I am trying to collect information about “best of hardcore” bands.
Yes, if we start from ground zero it all begins with the human voice. To that add primitive percussion and, later, flutes of willow, reed pipes, tambourines and so on until we arrive at plucked instruments. But they are all attendant to the voice.
The advent of sophisticated musical instruments displaced the primacy of voice and made claim to pure music and the primacy of sound. Advanced technques of instrument construction made it possible for skilled performers to mimic, and surpass, vocal melodies. And so we arrived at the classical age and ‘pure’ music which existed without reference to the voice.
Electronic music took this displacement further, insisting on density and complexity of texture no voice could match. But in so doing music cut human emotion adrift. It existed of and for itself.
Now, in this supremely technical age we are rediscovering a need for simple things - ballads, lullabies, the music of childhood and the nursery. We want rythmn, metre, cadence and, above all, the singing voice.
right.
Voice is very unique, but like any other instrument has limitation. (range/dynamic)
But I am always ambivalent about the existence of exact relationship between particular sound and emotion. I believe it is musician’s job to define and make that connection. (afterall, I rather hear a well made electronic than a grating vocal)
It’s context and craftmanship I suppose.
(bonus commentary, this list should have several electronic that mimic aural melody. barely has voice, but sweet enough.)
http://www.moteldemoka.com/2007/07/14/far-far-away-land/