Musings

[bladespark]

It is strange to think, but at one point I tuned out guitar solos when listening to music. I was from a vocal background, and vocals were what I listened to music for. This is why I used to not enjoy classic rock. Too much guitar, not enough voice, and I was just tuning out the guitar as background noise, waiting impatiently for all this flailing about with strings to get over with and the singing to start again.

Then a song got me to notice a guitar solo, and realise that hey! This is music! Real music. Great music, even. It was, in fact, a Pink Floyd song (Hey You, to be specific. Comfortably Numb was the first song to get me to really like Floyd, but the guitar solo still didn't register properly with me until after I heard Hey You) and Floyd is probably still my favorite guitar sound out there. I have enough Floyd music that I've been listening to it all day and haven't repeated any yet.

But it is funny to think that at one point I listened to the entirety of the Wish You Were Here album, and didn't think it was that great. Too much guitar noise, not enough music, I thought. Tastes change.

Comments

[harliquinnraver.livejournal.com]

Pink Floyd has such a uniquely flavorful sound. there are just so many bands now that sound like each other but you cant listen to PF and think, "hey! they sounds just like so and so!"

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. It's funny, actually, because I once had somebody recommend some other band to me, on the basis that they sounded like Floyd, and if I liked Floyd, I'd like them. They didn't sound like Floyd, and I didn't like them! Nobody sounds like Floyd but Floyd. I am sad that they broke up before I knew who they were.

[harliquinnraver.livejournal.com]

i feel your pain there. my dad got to see Floyd live a few times. oh the jealousy! <3

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Happily the Floydian Slips are nearly as good. So, you know, next best thing.

They're actually starting to tour just a little. Only here in Oregon though. But before this year they'd never played outside of Eugene. Maybe they'll tour for real some day and you can hear them.

[harliquinnraver.livejournal.com]

that would definitely be neat! :)
ah well, off to bed with me! big day tomorrow! ^-^

[pointytilly.livejournal.com]

I had a similar experience with Chicago's early jazzrock stuff as a kid - didn't like them, thought the long instrumental bits were boring, and then something clicked. I'm still very attached to those albums as a result, and the way they sound so shiny in Sennheiser headphones just makes it worse...

Music. I need so much more of it!

[malakim2099.livejournal.com]

Here, it's Pink Floyd at Live 8. Pretty good selection, and probably the only time you'll have Gilmour and Waters on stage at the same time ever again.

[lanabananaotter.livejournal.com]

There's something I really don't like about guitar...

It's often too rambunctios for me.

My dad even plays it but I just don't like listening.

[malakim2099.livejournal.com]

Well, I think that's the beauty of the Pink Floyd guitar solos. They aren't WHAMWHAMNANANANANANANA type of solos. Rather, they trend to an almost ethereal sound, which probably sounds way pretentious, but it's true! *grins*

[jtbeckett.livejournal.com]

Working in children's music, I can tell you that the vast majority of people tune out instrumental solos as children, and eventually as their ears develop, they come around, some people as early as 4 or 5, some as late as 25... Some never make the transition. That's something We take into account by bringing up the levels of the vocals in the mix so music can hold the interest of a kid... We do still add guitar solos and whatnot, don't get me wrong, but I thought you might find that interesting to know that it's not only taste, but starts out at least to some extent as physiology.