While Carnegie Hall would never think of forcing a performing artist to play from memory, competitions and auditions - that give student musicians an important first step in the profession - frequently insist that their repertoire be performed from memory.
I am not alone when I admit to my David Bowie fixation. It began when I started seriously collecting and listening to records in my early teens. I had “The Bowie Wall” in my room, with photos painstakingly cut out and pasted as a mural-like collage, but this was only a superficial marking. Like many teens trying on new personas in the process of discovering themselves, I was fascinated with the way he could exquisitely morph into a new character as easily as slipping on a new coat.
Music, basically, has become the aural equivalent of fast food: consumed quickly, in super-sized portions; we get filled up but not necessarily nourished.
It was the spring of 2002. My 13-year-old had randomly pulled Annie Gallup’s album from a disorganized shelf of used books offered for sale in our local library for fundraising purposes. It was the only CD there. “Do you know this?” he asked…
When I Was a Boy showed me the way. It started so accidentally. One minute I was in Tower Records in New York City in the early fall of 1993, briefly browsing, the next minute I was leaving the store with this Jane Siberry album I hadn’t otherwise realized existed, never mind that I was going to buy.
Music has accompanied my life seamlessly; it has never occurred to me to wonder why I listen so intently, why I seem to need music on wherever I am, or what, even, I am concretely getting out of it. I have just always known that I want it and need it, that it satisfies something beyond the realm of my rational mind.
For part two of my blog mini-series on recording I thought I’d go behind the scenes and offer you some helpful hints and tips based on what I’ve learned from the recordings I’ve done so far - both with Linn and the BBC.
As the dust and glitter of the Mercury press carnival settles on another year I can’t help but wonder if the awards are simply about celebrating the merits of individual artists. If the Mercury Music Prize acts as some form of musical zeitgeist, what can this year’s win say more broadly about where new, contemporary music might be heading?
During recent weeks I’ve been planning the next Prince Consort album for Linn and I’ve noticed a lot of musical parallels in differences between film and studio recording and theatre and live performance. So for my next few blog posts, I’ve decided to open the door on what goes on at a professional recording, besides eating biscuits and swearing.
When was the last time you listened to a whole album from start to finish? And I don’t mean blaring out tracks as you get ready for the weekend or sticking something on in the background while recreating Jamie Oliver’s latest 30 minute meal.
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