I can’t take the pressure - it’s too much. There’s so much expected of me and I can’t do it. The amount isn’t like what it was last year - this is much worse. I have to be musically competent to the point of damn good and I have to jump through fire to please the people around me. I have to ‘do my family justice’ like how all my other cousins did it. But I’m different - I can’t take it. There’s too much to to, too little time and it’s killing me.
It’s like they expect me to do everything ‘I’m meant to’ while following my dreams. I mean if all I’m expected to do is get high grades and nothing else, that can be done. But things I can’t do are the ones that are being expected of me ALL AT ONCE. I have to do Cherubim, supply this gigantic instrument to an ethnic dance contest we HAVE to win and they still expect me to juggle school AND writing?
I see it as slave-driving.
I hate it. All I want to do is effin’ sleep and write. I don’t want to be judged, I don’t want to be called ‘weak’ because I’m can’t juggle school and Cherubim.
In the back of my mind, I have a hunch that I didn’t win the Palanca. I didn’t. I’m gonna get depressed and everything and I won’t be able to write for months. I hate rejection and this means that I’m not a good writer because if I can’t even win a Palanca, what do people ACTUALLY think of my writing?
UGH. I hate my life - I hate everything about what I’m ‘meant to do’ and I wanna get rid of it.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Why A Capella is my main basis in gauging the abilities of a pop vocal group.
When I look at and listen to boybands, my gauge for how good they are is a capella work. That's what matters to me because boybands should be able to sing extremely well together - there are at an average five members so they should have something that solo singers don't. In this case, it's the ability to do a capella work extremely well.
My definition of a capella for bands is is 3 or more guys in a boyband singing different lines of a music score at the same time with no accompaniment from musical instruments whatsoever - their instruments are their voices. Once you add drums or guitar it's not a capella to me even if they sing different lines of the music score.
A good a capella piece/performance has members' vocals in their proper places, each one cleanly executing their part (no mistakes in the harmonies or phrasing) with strong but not overpowering volume and timbre, on tempo with the correct dynamics and all voices blended well at the same volume/level.
OK - why use a capella as a judge? Because music is the main thing - it always SHOULD be. To be able to judge how musical the group is and how well they work together, I look at the a capella work.
The most obvious reason is because a capella work shows me whether or not every single member can sing together with the group and individually. Since they're singing different notes, you know which part isn't being done well if it sounds off and since they're singing the same words, at the same tempo and phrasing at the same time, you know if they have the ability to listen and work with the group to make a whole. It's the most basic thing they can show with a capella - if they don't pass this, it's game over for me.
A deeper reason for using a capella as a basis is to show how technically musical the group is. Since they don't have a steady drum part that doubles as a metronome to depend on, they have to have someone or all of them have to have a good sense of tempo and time because they'd fall apart otherwise. They also have to have a sense of dynamics - there's no instrumental to tell them when to go forte or piano, that all has to be done by the members themselves. At the end of the day, they have to know what the crap they're singing - there's no room for mistakes when harmonies are concerned.
Frankly, everything about the performance has to be perfect and that's hard for five guys who most often have never met each other before they became a band.
Over time, I've found good and bad a capella and eventually I've found my standard for amazing performances. The boyband in question is none other than Westlife. There's one performance/song in particular that I use because one, it passes all my basic and further requirements for a strong a capella performance and two, this was done as a joke in their early days. A JOKE that was THIS GOOD.
For further proof and evidence that they truly deserve to be called Gods of a capella, see this video:
Westlife are my benchmark for all other groups - those 40 seconds or so say more than what a whole collection of a capella performances of BSB do. Strong vocals, tight, clean harmonies and conviction - that's what makes them the best for me.
Other notable acts who do a capella almost as well are Ju-Taun (the American representative) and DBSK/TVQX/Tohoshinki (the Korean respresentative) - below are some performances of DBSK in one video for your viewing convenience.
My definition of a capella for bands is is 3 or more guys in a boyband singing different lines of a music score at the same time with no accompaniment from musical instruments whatsoever - their instruments are their voices. Once you add drums or guitar it's not a capella to me even if they sing different lines of the music score.
A good a capella piece/performance has members' vocals in their proper places, each one cleanly executing their part (no mistakes in the harmonies or phrasing) with strong but not overpowering volume and timbre, on tempo with the correct dynamics and all voices blended well at the same volume/level.
OK - why use a capella as a judge? Because music is the main thing - it always SHOULD be. To be able to judge how musical the group is and how well they work together, I look at the a capella work.
The most obvious reason is because a capella work shows me whether or not every single member can sing together with the group and individually. Since they're singing different notes, you know which part isn't being done well if it sounds off and since they're singing the same words, at the same tempo and phrasing at the same time, you know if they have the ability to listen and work with the group to make a whole. It's the most basic thing they can show with a capella - if they don't pass this, it's game over for me.
A deeper reason for using a capella as a basis is to show how technically musical the group is. Since they don't have a steady drum part that doubles as a metronome to depend on, they have to have someone or all of them have to have a good sense of tempo and time because they'd fall apart otherwise. They also have to have a sense of dynamics - there's no instrumental to tell them when to go forte or piano, that all has to be done by the members themselves. At the end of the day, they have to know what the crap they're singing - there's no room for mistakes when harmonies are concerned.
Frankly, everything about the performance has to be perfect and that's hard for five guys who most often have never met each other before they became a band.
Over time, I've found good and bad a capella and eventually I've found my standard for amazing performances. The boyband in question is none other than Westlife. There's one performance/song in particular that I use because one, it passes all my basic and further requirements for a strong a capella performance and two, this was done as a joke in their early days. A JOKE that was THIS GOOD.
For further proof and evidence that they truly deserve to be called Gods of a capella, see this video:
Westlife are my benchmark for all other groups - those 40 seconds or so say more than what a whole collection of a capella performances of BSB do. Strong vocals, tight, clean harmonies and conviction - that's what makes them the best for me.
Other notable acts who do a capella almost as well are Ju-Taun (the American representative) and DBSK/TVQX/Tohoshinki (the Korean respresentative) - below are some performances of DBSK in one video for your viewing convenience.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
If I were to make my own Korean Entertainment Company..
A little exercise for myself - a scenario and what I'd do with it. How will this help my writing? Well I think it's a way for me to apply my principles, thoughts and opinions in such a way that it fits into what the scenario is asking for.
Scenario: I have my own Korean talent agency/company.
These are the things I'd do and live by if I did have my own talent company. These follow the principles I have and this is how record company executives should act, in my opinion.
But first, this is the staff I want:
1. Songwriters for the artists who choose not to write their own songs. Mostly Koreans. They know their own pop music industry more than anyone and I don't want to destroy the nature of the industry - Koreans know themselves best.
2. Producers who know what the crap they're doing. Producers who will take what an artist gives them, gives them options to improve but doesn't intrude or try to change who the artist is. I want producers who don't just buy food and press the 'record' button then during mastering auto-tune the whole song but ones who take the lead in recording songs and have their own aesthetic.
3. Managers who answer to me and only me - if something goes wrong, I'm the one who scolds them. I want managers who know how to respect and take care of their acts because that's the main job of a manager. They must have deep ties within the industry and know how to get a slot in a TV show or concert in less than 2 hours - I want them to be damn good at what they do.
4. Choreographers. I don't dance - I need people who are the best in their field. Choreographers who can whip non-dancers into competent and consistent dancers in under a year.
5. Vocal coaches who know what real, unadulterated voices sound like - they don't think the only beautiful voices are those that sound decades older than they should be. They should know how to take a beautiful voice and mould it, improve it - not change it to suit marketability.
6. PA's who can run around doing errands and who have even more ties within the industry than the managers have.
1. I'd still follow the unspoken 'dance or rot and die' rule.
It's one of the things that make K-pop what it is, in my opinion. I can't dance myself and I can't tell what a good dancer has but I sure do like the twist it puts on a song. I kinda like how synchronized dancing looks like for a band. BUT, I don't force it on those who really don't want it.
2. There will still be auditions and trainees.
I don't get it but it seems to work for the industry - let's go with that. I've come to find it as a good way to one, filter the good and bad quickly and as real-y as possible and two, turn them into competent performers and creative people. If I see the artists as themselves and in their elements I'll be able to better judge how much potential they have, how hard they can push themselves and just how good they are. It's also easier for me to be able to teach them the basics and let them decide what lessons I've taught them to use in their actual career. Works both ways, really.
I think the 'training period' should last for two years max. During that time they get sessions with choreographers, vocal coaches and get assigned a songwriter or producer to mentor them. I sit in on sessions three times a month and watch all my artists' progress so I can see how to tweak their training scheme.
Then I do what the talent companies there do - form groups from existing trainees. It works and it doesn't have any disrespect for music in my opinion so why stop it?
3. I value an impeccable voice but follow the 'dance or rot and die' rule.
To pass an audition in front of me, you have to be able to sing well - no less. Dancing or rapping or any other 'special talents' are second to singing, this is after all the MUSIC industry. During the training stage I'll still put the most weight on vocals though because one, it's what I see as most important in an artist and two, if you can't sing what's the use of being a singer? If I took you in only because you could sing and you can't dance that well - I'll turn you into a competent dancer as well but I won't oust you from the company just because you aren't a drop-dead brilliant dancer. I won't make you the next Yunho DBSK, Taemin SHINee or Rain or whoever but I'll make sure you keep on singing well and you don't falter in the 'dance or rot and die' rule.
4. Artists choose if they want to be controlled or not.
Some like it, some don't - I make them choose after the trainee 'stage'. If they want their music and their career be based on and centered around my aesthetic - what I think is good and right then so be it. If they want me to be the one to choose which songs get recorded, released, performed, how their schedule works, how much pushing they need and where to go musically then I'll do it - I respect their decision. I won't discourage artists having complete or partial control over their careers and music though. They work how they want to at their own pace with little or no pressure from me - I will only put out something they feel is their best at the time and something they think is ready for the spotlight.
5. I encourage creativity in all fields.
I give my artists a voice. What do they want to sing? What's THEM? I let them create and discover their own musical and artistic identities because it's one of the most important and valuable things to have as a singer - something that makes your songs your own. If they don't know how to be creative they have no right to be called artists but then again, everyone is creative - some just don't know in which field they are. In that case, I'll help them discover where their creativity lies.
Also, if they want to go into other fields of the entertainment industry and they ask for my help, I will support them. As long as they feel they can be creative and do a damn good job in what they want to do, I'm fine with it. Heck, if they say they want to break the US - I'll do that for them. I'm not in it for the money, I'm in it because my artists want it.
I want meaningful artists that don't just bring in cash and have millions of fans screaming their names but earn the credibility from their critics and the creative respect of their peers, juniors and seniors.
6. No one I control in my company raps.
OK, maybe there will be instances - maybe once a year or something but I refuse to put songs with rap in every single effin' album/single/mini-album I release. It's a personal preference that they not rap - I'll only retract this opinion if I find the rap tasteful or fitting to the song.
7. I'm not a money-hungry, emotionless robot.
I don't order a complete image change if someone doesn't sell because it's wrong. I don't slave-drive my artists to the point of death just so they get more exposure and ultimately sell more because it's inhumane. I'm sensitive to their feelings and opinions because they're people, not slaves or robots and they deserve to be treated like it. I make sure they put in their hard work and do their job to the best of their abilities but give them a break when they need it.
8. ALL artists are treated equally.
Doesn't matter if you've made one album or five, if you've broken Korea or the US. Doesn't matter if you've sold 100,000 copies or one - I treat everyone the same. I may personally favor the music one artist is making over another but I treat them just the same because they deserve my respect and support. Everyone has flaws they need to work on and plus points they need to highlight but at the end of the day, they all need to be treated fairly and equally.
9. I am merely a vehicle for my artists' creativity.
I only take what they make, what they give me and give it to the public - that's all I'm here for. I encourage them to make music, be creative and be themselves because it's their brains, their bodies, their lives. I'm here to teach them the basics, make sure they're introduced to the public properly and get/teach them whatever keeps that creativity flowing - it's up to them where they take their careers because they're the stars and this is their career. I have no business in their personal lives and things not related to music because this is a job and everything is purely on the professional level. I offer and make them choose - I don't force.
Scenario: I have my own Korean talent agency/company.
These are the things I'd do and live by if I did have my own talent company. These follow the principles I have and this is how record company executives should act, in my opinion.
But first, this is the staff I want:
1. Songwriters for the artists who choose not to write their own songs. Mostly Koreans. They know their own pop music industry more than anyone and I don't want to destroy the nature of the industry - Koreans know themselves best.
2. Producers who know what the crap they're doing. Producers who will take what an artist gives them, gives them options to improve but doesn't intrude or try to change who the artist is. I want producers who don't just buy food and press the 'record' button then during mastering auto-tune the whole song but ones who take the lead in recording songs and have their own aesthetic.
3. Managers who answer to me and only me - if something goes wrong, I'm the one who scolds them. I want managers who know how to respect and take care of their acts because that's the main job of a manager. They must have deep ties within the industry and know how to get a slot in a TV show or concert in less than 2 hours - I want them to be damn good at what they do.
4. Choreographers. I don't dance - I need people who are the best in their field. Choreographers who can whip non-dancers into competent and consistent dancers in under a year.
5. Vocal coaches who know what real, unadulterated voices sound like - they don't think the only beautiful voices are those that sound decades older than they should be. They should know how to take a beautiful voice and mould it, improve it - not change it to suit marketability.
6. PA's who can run around doing errands and who have even more ties within the industry than the managers have.
1. I'd still follow the unspoken 'dance or rot and die' rule.
It's one of the things that make K-pop what it is, in my opinion. I can't dance myself and I can't tell what a good dancer has but I sure do like the twist it puts on a song. I kinda like how synchronized dancing looks like for a band. BUT, I don't force it on those who really don't want it.
2. There will still be auditions and trainees.
I don't get it but it seems to work for the industry - let's go with that. I've come to find it as a good way to one, filter the good and bad quickly and as real-y as possible and two, turn them into competent performers and creative people. If I see the artists as themselves and in their elements I'll be able to better judge how much potential they have, how hard they can push themselves and just how good they are. It's also easier for me to be able to teach them the basics and let them decide what lessons I've taught them to use in their actual career. Works both ways, really.
I think the 'training period' should last for two years max. During that time they get sessions with choreographers, vocal coaches and get assigned a songwriter or producer to mentor them. I sit in on sessions three times a month and watch all my artists' progress so I can see how to tweak their training scheme.
Then I do what the talent companies there do - form groups from existing trainees. It works and it doesn't have any disrespect for music in my opinion so why stop it?
3. I value an impeccable voice but follow the 'dance or rot and die' rule.
To pass an audition in front of me, you have to be able to sing well - no less. Dancing or rapping or any other 'special talents' are second to singing, this is after all the MUSIC industry. During the training stage I'll still put the most weight on vocals though because one, it's what I see as most important in an artist and two, if you can't sing what's the use of being a singer? If I took you in only because you could sing and you can't dance that well - I'll turn you into a competent dancer as well but I won't oust you from the company just because you aren't a drop-dead brilliant dancer. I won't make you the next Yunho DBSK, Taemin SHINee or Rain or whoever but I'll make sure you keep on singing well and you don't falter in the 'dance or rot and die' rule.
4. Artists choose if they want to be controlled or not.
Some like it, some don't - I make them choose after the trainee 'stage'. If they want their music and their career be based on and centered around my aesthetic - what I think is good and right then so be it. If they want me to be the one to choose which songs get recorded, released, performed, how their schedule works, how much pushing they need and where to go musically then I'll do it - I respect their decision. I won't discourage artists having complete or partial control over their careers and music though. They work how they want to at their own pace with little or no pressure from me - I will only put out something they feel is their best at the time and something they think is ready for the spotlight.
5. I encourage creativity in all fields.
I give my artists a voice. What do they want to sing? What's THEM? I let them create and discover their own musical and artistic identities because it's one of the most important and valuable things to have as a singer - something that makes your songs your own. If they don't know how to be creative they have no right to be called artists but then again, everyone is creative - some just don't know in which field they are. In that case, I'll help them discover where their creativity lies.
Also, if they want to go into other fields of the entertainment industry and they ask for my help, I will support them. As long as they feel they can be creative and do a damn good job in what they want to do, I'm fine with it. Heck, if they say they want to break the US - I'll do that for them. I'm not in it for the money, I'm in it because my artists want it.
I want meaningful artists that don't just bring in cash and have millions of fans screaming their names but earn the credibility from their critics and the creative respect of their peers, juniors and seniors.
6. No one I control in my company raps.
OK, maybe there will be instances - maybe once a year or something but I refuse to put songs with rap in every single effin' album/single/mini-album I release. It's a personal preference that they not rap - I'll only retract this opinion if I find the rap tasteful or fitting to the song.
7. I'm not a money-hungry, emotionless robot.
I don't order a complete image change if someone doesn't sell because it's wrong. I don't slave-drive my artists to the point of death just so they get more exposure and ultimately sell more because it's inhumane. I'm sensitive to their feelings and opinions because they're people, not slaves or robots and they deserve to be treated like it. I make sure they put in their hard work and do their job to the best of their abilities but give them a break when they need it.
8. ALL artists are treated equally.
Doesn't matter if you've made one album or five, if you've broken Korea or the US. Doesn't matter if you've sold 100,000 copies or one - I treat everyone the same. I may personally favor the music one artist is making over another but I treat them just the same because they deserve my respect and support. Everyone has flaws they need to work on and plus points they need to highlight but at the end of the day, they all need to be treated fairly and equally.
9. I am merely a vehicle for my artists' creativity.
I only take what they make, what they give me and give it to the public - that's all I'm here for. I encourage them to make music, be creative and be themselves because it's their brains, their bodies, their lives. I'm here to teach them the basics, make sure they're introduced to the public properly and get/teach them whatever keeps that creativity flowing - it's up to them where they take their careers because they're the stars and this is their career. I have no business in their personal lives and things not related to music because this is a job and everything is purely on the professional level. I offer and make them choose - I don't force.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
It's time for me to defend the music industry I want to strangle.
Taken from my review blog - Pop Reviews Now. (http://popreviewsnow.blogspot.com/2009/08/its-time-for-me-to-defend-music.html)
My own - The Philippine music industry. It's time I speak up because I am sick and tired of all the generalizations about the culture I was raised with.
As I was reading over a K-pop blog, they featured the fact that K-pop is getting pretty big here - stuff about Sandara and stuff. I said OK, I may not like it but I can't do anything about the *wannabe* Wondergirls being gigantic here. I don't know how but I found myself reading the comments but after scrolling down for a few seconds, my morning was officially ruined.
There we people talking about how ugly we are, how all we do is copy from foreign artists, never do anything for ourselves, only strip our clothes off well and sing "shit kiddie songs".
I'M ANGRY - FURIOUS.
The Philippine music industry may have some stupid people on top, uncreative artists releasing albums that sell a ton of records and a stupid music channel that shows trash and wrong lyrics but hold on - DOESN'T EVERY COUNTRY HAVE SOME OF THEM? Of all the things I hate, apart from disrespect I hate racist people the most. But that's the same thing, really.
Whatever I may want to be or dream of being, I'm still a Filipino. I may be only half a Filipino by blood but The Philippines is the country that I grew up in - it was the country that raised me. I grew up learning PHILIPPINE history, watching Philippine news, surrounded by Philippine personalities. Our politicians may be corrupt, we may be poor and a puppet of the United States and 60% of the music here may really suck but we're a country, we're people and WE DESERVE RESPECT.
That's all I ask, really. It's all I give and it's all I want in return for the respect I show.
I hate it when people call others ugly - who the effin' crap are they to tell someone that? We all have different definitions of beauty and if you tell someone they're ugly they may think that they're beautiful. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO BE CALLED UGLY OR NEVER BE CALLED BEAUTIFUL? It's unbreably painful. In my whole life I've only been called 'pretty' once and it was by someone I had just met.
I can vouch right now in front of a church or a courtroom if I have to that FILIPINOS ARE EXTREMELY CREATIVE. If you can only see the amount and quality of original music being circulated around the indie market who have no stupid money-centric capitalist morons controlling their music, you'd think twice about saying all we do are covers and 'shit kiddy songs'. All over the world, the only reason why crap, unoriginal and generic music is released is because of the morons running the damn record companies - Korea, The US, The UK and pretty much every single country with a thriving music industry are no different from us.
The reason why I don't like OPM (Original Philippine/Filipino Music) is because it's not my taste - I have my own esthetic and my own concept of what makes a beautiful song. If I strip that away from my brain, there are bands and artists that honestly make technically and artistically outstanding music here.
I'm angry at the fact that just because people think we suck at English, text with annoying sticky caps, have the cheezy-est and corny-est variety shows the world over and just because we truly have one of the most corrupt governments in the world that we have no right to be creative - THAT WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE PEOPLE.
My own - The Philippine music industry. It's time I speak up because I am sick and tired of all the generalizations about the culture I was raised with.
As I was reading over a K-pop blog, they featured the fact that K-pop is getting pretty big here - stuff about Sandara and stuff. I said OK, I may not like it but I can't do anything about the *wannabe* Wondergirls being gigantic here. I don't know how but I found myself reading the comments but after scrolling down for a few seconds, my morning was officially ruined.
There we people talking about how ugly we are, how all we do is copy from foreign artists, never do anything for ourselves, only strip our clothes off well and sing "shit kiddie songs".
I'M ANGRY - FURIOUS.
The Philippine music industry may have some stupid people on top, uncreative artists releasing albums that sell a ton of records and a stupid music channel that shows trash and wrong lyrics but hold on - DOESN'T EVERY COUNTRY HAVE SOME OF THEM? Of all the things I hate, apart from disrespect I hate racist people the most. But that's the same thing, really.
Whatever I may want to be or dream of being, I'm still a Filipino. I may be only half a Filipino by blood but The Philippines is the country that I grew up in - it was the country that raised me. I grew up learning PHILIPPINE history, watching Philippine news, surrounded by Philippine personalities. Our politicians may be corrupt, we may be poor and a puppet of the United States and 60% of the music here may really suck but we're a country, we're people and WE DESERVE RESPECT.
That's all I ask, really. It's all I give and it's all I want in return for the respect I show.
I hate it when people call others ugly - who the effin' crap are they to tell someone that? We all have different definitions of beauty and if you tell someone they're ugly they may think that they're beautiful. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO BE CALLED UGLY OR NEVER BE CALLED BEAUTIFUL? It's unbreably painful. In my whole life I've only been called 'pretty' once and it was by someone I had just met.
I can vouch right now in front of a church or a courtroom if I have to that FILIPINOS ARE EXTREMELY CREATIVE. If you can only see the amount and quality of original music being circulated around the indie market who have no stupid money-centric capitalist morons controlling their music, you'd think twice about saying all we do are covers and 'shit kiddy songs'. All over the world, the only reason why crap, unoriginal and generic music is released is because of the morons running the damn record companies - Korea, The US, The UK and pretty much every single country with a thriving music industry are no different from us.
The reason why I don't like OPM (Original Philippine/Filipino Music) is because it's not my taste - I have my own esthetic and my own concept of what makes a beautiful song. If I strip that away from my brain, there are bands and artists that honestly make technically and artistically outstanding music here.
I'm angry at the fact that just because people think we suck at English, text with annoying sticky caps, have the cheezy-est and corny-est variety shows the world over and just because we truly have one of the most corrupt governments in the world that we have no right to be creative - THAT WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE PEOPLE.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Why I hate most rap. Personally.
I don't like rap because it's the part of a song that's most like poetry - no melody, just recited to a beat or rhythm. I can appreciate poetry, understand some of the 'hidden meanings' but the one thing I cannot do with poetry is write it. I can't because I'm not a poetic person - I've never been. I write frankly with conviction and feeling - I don't beat around the bush or try to cover up what I want to say. I think that's why I'm good at reaching 'the masses' or ordinary people - I say things as they are.
If I can't write it or do it, I can't relate to it. I can't draw and so, I'm not a big visual arts fan - I don't see why people spend so much time staring at one artwork. Yes, I respect every single form of creativity whatever it may be but respect doesn't have to mean personal preference. I may not like it but it's a product of someone's creativity so who am I to tell the person it's wrong or disrespect the creation?
I don't like rap because it's like poetry. I don't like poetry because I can't write it. Thus, I don't like rap because I can't do it. But I don't think that's the only reason.
When I listen to a song, the first thing I look for is a moving melody - without it the instrumentation, arrangement or other elements of the song mean nothing. The minute I get even an ounce of interest in the song, I begin to notice everything else - that's just how I look at music. I need melody for me to like a song.
Rap has no melody. I'm stating it as a fact - not as an opinion. Thus, I don't like rap.
HOWEVER if rap is done tastefully and creatively to my ears, then everything's OK. An example is Craig David's This Is The Girl - the song is predominantly rap and the first thing I fell in love with was the melody of the chorus but over time I noticed that the rap part wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. It's tasteful - no excessive obscenity and the rhythm was interesting. Not that I have a problem with obscenity - if it's what the writer wants, then so be it. As long as the end product tasteful, that's all I ask.
What do I mean by tasteful? To me, taste is something different in every person - it's a matter of personal preference. There is however a certain aesthetic every 'genre' or 'field' must follow. I'm not saying that people shouldn't think out of the box, I'm just saying that rap must be appropriate to the music - nothing else. It must not overpower the music, it must not contradict the music - it's there to compliment and so it should be appropriate to what it's complementing.
If I can't write it or do it, I can't relate to it. I can't draw and so, I'm not a big visual arts fan - I don't see why people spend so much time staring at one artwork. Yes, I respect every single form of creativity whatever it may be but respect doesn't have to mean personal preference. I may not like it but it's a product of someone's creativity so who am I to tell the person it's wrong or disrespect the creation?
I don't like rap because it's like poetry. I don't like poetry because I can't write it. Thus, I don't like rap because I can't do it. But I don't think that's the only reason.
When I listen to a song, the first thing I look for is a moving melody - without it the instrumentation, arrangement or other elements of the song mean nothing. The minute I get even an ounce of interest in the song, I begin to notice everything else - that's just how I look at music. I need melody for me to like a song.
Rap has no melody. I'm stating it as a fact - not as an opinion. Thus, I don't like rap.
HOWEVER if rap is done tastefully and creatively to my ears, then everything's OK. An example is Craig David's This Is The Girl - the song is predominantly rap and the first thing I fell in love with was the melody of the chorus but over time I noticed that the rap part wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. It's tasteful - no excessive obscenity and the rhythm was interesting. Not that I have a problem with obscenity - if it's what the writer wants, then so be it. As long as the end product tasteful, that's all I ask.
What do I mean by tasteful? To me, taste is something different in every person - it's a matter of personal preference. There is however a certain aesthetic every 'genre' or 'field' must follow. I'm not saying that people shouldn't think out of the box, I'm just saying that rap must be appropriate to the music - nothing else. It must not overpower the music, it must not contradict the music - it's there to compliment and so it should be appropriate to what it's complementing.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The State of the Industry (June 26, 2009)
Taken from my Tumblr: http://writergirl.tumblr.com/post/130620879
I adore Rain - his music, his performances, his persistence and how he broke countless moulds set before his time but watching one of his interviews has made me respect the guy and what he stands for.
Wherever I go I always complain about how stupid record company executives are because all they care about is how much they sell - they know absolutely nothing about the music itself but think they can tell the artists what to do because it sells. When Rain was making his 2008 album, he said that his main goal was to make a good album - not to sell or make money.
It’s hard to find people like that in the industry nowadays because the record company execs are stupid enough to think that people won’t notice if they don’t know anything about music - they think WE’RE the stupid ones.
I’m not stupid. I know how the industry worked before, I know how it works now and I don’t like it. While all these talentless and tasteless people who don’t do any justice to music as an art dominate people’s ears and iPods, the artists with the talent, drive and actual artistry are pushed to the sidelines just because ‘they won’t sell’.
Music isn’t made to be sold. I repeat - MUSIC ISN’T MADE TO BE SOLD. Music was made because there are people who live their lives for it, who are so passionate about it that they will die trying to make it and what to these executives do to it? They sell it, treat it like a commodity and put a price on it, saying that anyone who doesn’t pay for music will face ‘consequences’.
I’m sick and tired of the recording industry taking down download links and making a big deal about illegal downloading. Yes, artists lose money because of that but they’ve found new ways to earn back the money they spend making the album - concerts, copyrighting, clothing lines, all the gimmicks. That’s how they make money now and the industry should understand that. I don’t necessarily think artists should be millionaires - there are people in the world who live middle-class lives and they don’t seem to have a problem with it. You should make music because you love it, not because you’ll earn tons of money from it. Yes, you’ll be a lot more comfortable with the fame but that’s the the only think that matters - the music will always come first.
You get recognized on the internet, artists are noticed not because they spent this much money on this particular album but because they make an impact on people. Writing their own songs, singing covers, posting home recordings - they’re all made with limited funds but with overflowing amounts of creativity.
I personally download an album then if I like it and it’s available here, then I buy it. The problem is, the music isn’t available for purchase here - why are the record companies blaming us for something that’s their fault? I mean, it’s because they don’t bother to send over albums to this tiny little third-world country in Southeast Asia because they think we know nothing. HELLO!? I’m sick and tired of being marginalized just because I come from a poor country. I have a right to develop my own taste in music - I HAVE A RIGHT TO LISTEN TO MUSIC I LIKE AND NOT CHANGE MY TASTES JUST BECAUSE THEY DON’T SELL THE PHYSICAL ALBUMS HERE.
I respect Rain because he doesn’t look like money - that’s not the only thing he cares about in life. Yes, I like the idea of a lot of money but I’m Chinese and I was raised with values passed down from generation to generation. I was taught that yes, you need money to survive in the capitalist world but you should be frugal and spend on things you need. I personally like looking at expensive things and dream of owning them but if you actually give me money and tell me to buy anything I want I honestly won’t buy anything - I have a mentality that if I buy something now, something better might come in the future and I won’t have any more money to buy it.
Straying from the topic, much?
You get my point. I hate the recording industry and I want to change it - even if I’m ‘just someone from a poor country’.
I adore Rain - his music, his performances, his persistence and how he broke countless moulds set before his time but watching one of his interviews has made me respect the guy and what he stands for.
Wherever I go I always complain about how stupid record company executives are because all they care about is how much they sell - they know absolutely nothing about the music itself but think they can tell the artists what to do because it sells. When Rain was making his 2008 album, he said that his main goal was to make a good album - not to sell or make money.
It’s hard to find people like that in the industry nowadays because the record company execs are stupid enough to think that people won’t notice if they don’t know anything about music - they think WE’RE the stupid ones.
I’m not stupid. I know how the industry worked before, I know how it works now and I don’t like it. While all these talentless and tasteless people who don’t do any justice to music as an art dominate people’s ears and iPods, the artists with the talent, drive and actual artistry are pushed to the sidelines just because ‘they won’t sell’.
Music isn’t made to be sold. I repeat - MUSIC ISN’T MADE TO BE SOLD. Music was made because there are people who live their lives for it, who are so passionate about it that they will die trying to make it and what to these executives do to it? They sell it, treat it like a commodity and put a price on it, saying that anyone who doesn’t pay for music will face ‘consequences’.
I’m sick and tired of the recording industry taking down download links and making a big deal about illegal downloading. Yes, artists lose money because of that but they’ve found new ways to earn back the money they spend making the album - concerts, copyrighting, clothing lines, all the gimmicks. That’s how they make money now and the industry should understand that. I don’t necessarily think artists should be millionaires - there are people in the world who live middle-class lives and they don’t seem to have a problem with it. You should make music because you love it, not because you’ll earn tons of money from it. Yes, you’ll be a lot more comfortable with the fame but that’s the the only think that matters - the music will always come first.
You get recognized on the internet, artists are noticed not because they spent this much money on this particular album but because they make an impact on people. Writing their own songs, singing covers, posting home recordings - they’re all made with limited funds but with overflowing amounts of creativity.
I personally download an album then if I like it and it’s available here, then I buy it. The problem is, the music isn’t available for purchase here - why are the record companies blaming us for something that’s their fault? I mean, it’s because they don’t bother to send over albums to this tiny little third-world country in Southeast Asia because they think we know nothing. HELLO!? I’m sick and tired of being marginalized just because I come from a poor country. I have a right to develop my own taste in music - I HAVE A RIGHT TO LISTEN TO MUSIC I LIKE AND NOT CHANGE MY TASTES JUST BECAUSE THEY DON’T SELL THE PHYSICAL ALBUMS HERE.
I respect Rain because he doesn’t look like money - that’s not the only thing he cares about in life. Yes, I like the idea of a lot of money but I’m Chinese and I was raised with values passed down from generation to generation. I was taught that yes, you need money to survive in the capitalist world but you should be frugal and spend on things you need. I personally like looking at expensive things and dream of owning them but if you actually give me money and tell me to buy anything I want I honestly won’t buy anything - I have a mentality that if I buy something now, something better might come in the future and I won’t have any more money to buy it.
Straying from the topic, much?
You get my point. I hate the recording industry and I want to change it - even if I’m ‘just someone from a poor country’.
A Teen's Mind.
A child's mind is complex and often misunderstood but a teen's mind is even more confusing and convoluted. Why? We're children given tasks and responsibilities of adults - kids thrown into an adult world. We have kids minds and hardly any experiences to shape us and yet we're faced with time pressure, growing up, body issues, a society that's confusing and a myriad of roads to follow through.
Yet I'm extremely happy where I am. I can understand what's happening in the world, point out what's right and wrong but not have to take all the responsibility for political, social and economical matters. I have the opportunity to see the world like an adult but act like a kid.
Like an adult I know what I want, I want to write but like a kid I don't have that much experience to actually professionally write.
Yet I'm extremely happy where I am. I can understand what's happening in the world, point out what's right and wrong but not have to take all the responsibility for political, social and economical matters. I have the opportunity to see the world like an adult but act like a kid.
Like an adult I know what I want, I want to write but like a kid I don't have that much experience to actually professionally write.