Music is noise. All of it. "Noise" can mean any kind of sound or just unwanted sound like hiss or hum. I'm referring to the former. Music is nothing more than an organization of sound waves. I've no clue why people love it so much; it seems so inconsequential when you look at what it really is.

But is there anything wrong with that? I worked at a post production company for the last few years and discovered that I enjoy listening to noises in general, not just music. I take pleasure in picking out every distinct sound I can hear in a particular setting. Right now, there's my fingers typing, my computer fan, TV downstairs, voices outside, occasional passing car, mysterious hum in the wall, and Mahavishnu Orchestra in my speakers (I won't list all the instruments, but I was thinking of them). I try to listen to them all simultaneously rather than shifting my focus between them. I get a big kick out of this, and I do it all the time.

I think this is the source of my new fascination with free jazz, avant garde, or otherwise experimental music. I've been seeking out artists who abandon established musical structure. Frank Zappa, John Coltrane, John Zorn, The Bad Plus, Bill Frisell, Nels Cline, Ornette Coleman and other crazies have been rapidly climbing my Last.fm charts. I've always had an affinity for music over songs, but I seem to be shifting up another level to prefer noise over music. When I'm about to listen to something new, I no longer wonder if I'm going to enjoy this music; I wonder if these noises are going to move me or not.

It's all just noise in the end. And there's nothing wrong with that.

»
Random Post
«