bear wrote:As a musician/songwriter, i realize how easy it is to rip off melodies and words from your influences, its only natural.
I would say it's not only natural, it is
de rigeur,
par for the course,
expected and even
encouraged. Also, if you can't rip off your idols, whose coffers would you rather pilfer?
however, when its pointed out to me I do my best to alter it.
How about when it's not pointed out to you???
I guess we all want to do our best to alter songs to make them sound original, but should we not try harder to alter our minds? Haven't all the sounds existed since the creation of the Universe?
I know more than one very creative musician who insist they work hard at not listening to other music so their artistic integrity is not corrupted by outside influences. A noble idea if I ever heard one, but is this truly possible? I guess if we have faith that music emanates from a divine source (or source outside our experience, perhaps). Back to the sounds of the Universe. Do birds create music, or is it just a bunch of sounds? Or is it language? Or something completely different?
The mockingbird chirps and seems to work hard at never repeating the same tune twice. I like mockingbirds but some people hate them (since many rise before dawn). I sometimes wonder if these creatures are trying to talk to us but we're not equipped to understand what they are saying. And other times I hear it and think that bird just wants to get laid. So why do musicians sing and write songs? Is it just a more convenient way to get laid? ;-}
I guess I dont really like Black Telephone anyway,
Now we're getting somewhere.
regardless of the fact it sounds like the Beatles. Pretty boring song in my humble opinion.
Hmmm...can a song that sounds like the Beatles be caught for being boring? Are the Beatles distinctively boring? I would say they are more "approachable", but many of their songs are quite challenging (particularly when taken in context of the times, but definitely not quite as challenging as Hendrix or Jefferson Airplane). To my novice ears,
Black Telephone sounds a lot more like Jimmy Buffet, and I like it a whole lot. It's one of my faves from the
post-Eisenhower era.
Let me guess, you are a Stones fan.
I do hope they record these new tunes soon though to capitalize on the success they are having. if it takes 4 more years (the gap between angels and eisenhower) i think the world will just pass them by. i dont really care if they get huge or not, I just hope they can be successful enough to play as the Slip for 10 more years.
Well, I'm no psychic (as far as I know), but I would have to guess they are already recording these tunes. When I hear the paint dry, that seems to be a good place to get the notes down in stone. I'm mixing my metaphors here, so please bear with my conflicted symbolism. The 4-year gap may very much be a result of a noble quest for perfection (which takes a lot more time, energy and of course resources). I think the wait was worth it. Also there were plenty of live CDs coming out, so our ears weren't idle to the Slipvolution.
As for lack of success and the world passing by an immensely talented band, well, that's happened before. However, the success of Eisenhower appears to be a turning point in their career. From the great press coverage and increased venue sizes, I'd say BAM is on the upswing. Part of me wants them to be totally successful and be able to afford the luxuries they deserve, but another part of me hopes they stay "down home" and we always have that intimacy at shows. However, this seems rather selfish in essence. I hope and feel they are strong enough to maintain their intimacy even if they become "huge" in the general music world.
In any case, The Slip will always be a huge influence on me (musically, philosphically and otherwise). And so were the Beatles.
-I am not Jimmy Page!!!
Black Telephone (lyrics)