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The Thread In Which Rizzo Reviews Deerhoof
TrueNeutral:
--- Quote from: Moiche ---TrueNeutral, I definitely see where you are coming from with the wierd noises bit. Flaming Lips is a really interesting album to contrast against Deerhoof, because I think it brings out one of Deerhoof's greatest strengths: its narrative. Deerhoof songs, like the ones on Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, or the ones on any of the Fiery Furnaces' last three albums. Khar mentioned, in another thread, Cocteau Twins and Tan-Hauser Gate, both of which I think are excellent bands that have this in common as well.
What I mean by "narrative", is that the songs don't tend to repeat themselves either lyrically or rythmically. They tend to be segmented, either explicitly through the stories that the vocals literally tell, or melodically. Listen to Gigadance -- a perfect example -- it has a beginning, a middle and an end. Then try to imagine what that story might be. It becomes less of a song, and more of a tone-poem. That's how I appreciate Deerhoof. Over-intellectual? Probably, but then, if you've read my posts before, you'll probably realize that I have a terminal tendency in that direction.
But at the end of the day, you either like Satomi Matsuzaki's voice or you don't. If you like it (which probably means you can listen to some j-pop without cringing, as I can), then the door is opened to liking the albums. If you find Matsuzaki's vocals jarring, as I know many people do, then you're pretty much shut out of all the deeper stuff. Liking or not liking her voice is not a taste that I would choose to characterize as "right" or "wrong". For Westerners, it's not exactly run of the mill.
--- End quote ---
True enough, but I usually don't pay too much attention to narrative. I'm more of a 'how does it sound' kind of guy. I often don't pay attention to vocals, and if I do, I don't pay attention to the lyrics (the irony being that I am, as of recently, a singer). I like everything to come together in one piece of good sounds that make me feel happy.
As for Matsuzaki, I am not all that against it, actually. I mean, I listen to some j-pop with similar sounding vocals, and I don't have a problem there. I think it's mostly that it doesn't have enough 'together-ness' to me. When I listen to it, I think 'wow, that's pretty cool, too bad it just sounds weird when it's put together with the other things in this song'.
Yeah, I am so eloquent at explaining how I feel about music. I probably made no sense at all.
Bastardous Bassist:
--- Quote from: TrueNeutral ---I'm more of a 'how does it sound' kind of guy. I often don't pay attention to vocals, and if I do, I don't pay attention to the lyrics. I like everything to come together in one piece of good sounds that make me feel happy.
--- End quote ---
Exactly how I feel. My parents listen to concert music, and even when the libretto is in English, it's impossible to understand, so I never gave a damn about lyrics.
Garcin:
Well even when the lyrics are foreign, like in most opera reading them can enhance the listening experience. Reading the libretto for Rusalka or the Ring Cycle, for instance, made me feel like I was getting a better grasp of the music itself. On the other hand, reading the libretto for Die Zauberflote, as amusing as it was, was pretty useless from a "what did Mozart mean" perspective.
--- Quote from: TrueNeutral ---Yeah, I am so eloquent at explaining how I feel about music. I probably made no sense at all.
--- End quote ---
Made sense to me. I go through moods, personally. Sometimes I want to listen to something fluid and lazy like Jenny Lewis, Neko Case, or Martha Wainwright. Sometimes I want to listen to something energizing but (to me anyway) pretty meaningless, like Danzig or Kasabian. And sometimes I want to be stimulated. The first time I listened to Blueberry Boat, I thought it was shit -- completely incomprehensible. But I was warned about that, and told I should listen to it at least four or five times before passing judgment. The second time around, I started to pick up on some of the vocal and instrumental tricks that they pull. By number three I was seriously into it. If I'd been going at it with a more relaxed attitude toward music appreciation, I would have never bothered.
In the end, I'm glad I put in the effort, because I find that sort of challenging music way more enriching than the "hear one riff and you're hooked" stuff. My most profound musical pleasures come from the stuff that doesn't seem to fit together, at first at least, and makes me go: "Woah I never saw that coming." Perfect example: the end of Sufjan Steven's John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Or the repeated time signature change and melodic changes in The Runners Four. Wicked-ass.
TrueNeutral:
Yeah, but as I said earlier (might have been in this thread too), it took me a couple of times to start not liking Deerhoof. I've listened to, for example, The Runners Four, about five or six times.
Garcin:
Yeah, I wasn't trying to say that you don't like 'em for lack of trying. Actually I wasn't really trying to say anything in particular. I'm secure enough in my musical tastes to accept that intelligent discriminating folk can not like my music, and be ok with that. :)
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