One of my favorites. Reminds me of how vast and incomprehensible the world is, how trivial we are, and how infinitesimal a dent we make on universe in its entirety. It’s almost beautiful, the way everything is actually nothing.
Category: Earworm
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Toffee Nut Latte + Jude Young
Christmas is magical.
Even if it’s just hype, I can’t help but feel all fuzzy and warm and happy when it’s near.
This year, Jude Young’s (formerly Yuquan) acapella rendition of All I Want for Christmas reaaaally put me in the mood. Also the way he looks at you when he sings MY HEART CANNOT -fangirls-.
But yeah on a serious note I’m really very proud of him! This cover is almost as magical as Christmas is for me, so I wanted to share it with all of you.
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Miles Davis & the Modern Jazz Giants
When it comes to music, I’ve always preferred for words to be subordinate. It should enhance, not distract. This is why i’m downright inept when it comes to remembering lyrics, because to me their function is decorative. It is also one of the reasons why jazz appeals to me. Scat singing exemplifies the spirit of music first, words as a complement. Pre-scat bebop usage of words can be quintessentially found in one of my absolute favorites: Dizzy Gillespie’s Salt Peanuts. He literally yells SALT PEANUTS SALT PEANUTS in intervals. The meaning attached to these words become irrelevant, but the vocalizations are sublime paired with the music.
K that was a rather digressive aside.
I’ve been wanting to briefly share some jazz pieces/players here but didn’t know where to start. Justin has given me the perfect opportunity:
In it, The Man I Love (Take 1 and 2) – which i’ve never heard before; Swing Spring, Bemsha Swing. Miles Davis on the trumpet, Monk on the piano, Milt Jackson on the vibraphone, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums. It also includes ‘Round Midnight (!!!) which i really like, with Coltrane on the tenor sax, Paul Chambers on bass, Red Chambers on piano and PJJ on the drums. All in all an impressive line up.
My first comment when Justin popped the CD into his player and started The Man I Love was that it doesn’t do Thelonious Monk any justice.
First off and more obviously, he seemed muted throughout the piece. Secondly, even when his sound was discernible in the foreground, it wasn’t the usual charming Monk-spasmodic, but an uncertain-spasmodic. I apologize for my embarrassing lack of technical knowledge lol. Monk always plays lurchingly – and i mean that in the most reverent way possible (i love dissonance in music). It is a deliberate lurching, with characteristic pockets of sudden withdrawal and then a (very pleasing) burst of self-assured playing. In this recording of The Man I Love it sounded more timid than anything.
Percy Heath on bass, though, was great. I love the sound of bass and it’s always what stands out to me in jazz, and it did especially so here. Also, watch out of the vibraphone – whenever it came on it did an excellent job pulling everything (including the sidelined Monk) together.
At home i listened to Take 1 and 2 more closely. Miles Davis’ trumpet solo is much more captivating in Take 2 – harsher, cleaner – with the space more effectively shared with Milt Jackson’s vibes.
Monk comes back with a piano solo in Swing Spring and is par excellence on his usual form, and he doesn’t break the trend in Bemsha Swing. His comping for both trumpet and vibes in Bemsha Swing, particularly, was beauty.
‘Round Midnight features a different set, with Coltrane on sax and Chambers on bass – sans Monk, the original composer. Which i thought worked for this version. Monk with Coltrane did much justice for ‘Round Midnight but with Miles Davis thrown into the mix as well, Monk’s healthy dissonance might be thrown into confusion (Monk coupled with Gillespie, though, did such a breathtaking rendition).
This is a nice mix with classic tracks and beefy solos. My only gripe is that it lacks cohesion. Sometimes within each piece, but more distinctively as a compilation. Some albums give a strong sense of each piece being chapters to a unified whole. Each chapter unique in itself, with nuances in ambiance, but coming together finally so you feel that satisfaction of having finished something truly great. Still, there are enough moments of incredible solos that make this gift very worthy (thank you Justin xo!)
I recommend this album for that time of the night you realize you’ve tripped too far past bed time to be sleeping at all. When fatigue gives up on you and a light-headed, giggly kind of energy starts creeping in. The music here becomes brilliantly suitable, where discordant transitions from piece to piece will match your manic progression throughout the night. It will go down well with a strong, nasty brew of something heady like ginger ale. Slightly uncomfortable but exciting and secretly loved.
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Precursor
It began in 2008 when i came across a jazz recording somewhere outside, and fell into such crashing love with the double bass (tbh i didn’t know what instrument it when i first identified its sound) (also i’d never listened to jazz voluntarily). I found out what it was (through shameless inquiry), this:
My first love and always one of my favorites, Mingus on double bass.
And then i dove right in and haven’t gone back up for air since.
I’ve never liked limiting myself to a preferred ‘genre’ of music, to me there’s only good music or bad music (and even then based on the individual). But jazz, but jazz. I’m obscenely partial to it. To me it’s the purest, most distilled form of music.
There’s a whole literature and science on it and also ridiculous variety given its history, but i mainly stick to bebop and cool jazz, occasionally nujazz (mostly japanese ones). Also i love the ones without emphasis on lyrics/with just nonsense lyrics. Better yet if it does without completely (yah i’m pretty much off scat singing).
I’ve always remained vaguely embarrassed about it, i’m not sure why. Not the same embarrassment i feel for secretly liking Alt-J (a brassy, see-if-i-care, omg i’m gross kind), but a shadier, more private one. It may have been because i never bothered to share it with anyone initially, because i knew none of my friends listened to it. And when someone did accidentally stumble across me listening to jazz one day over the phone, he asked “um… why are you listening to sex music?”
But sometimes it gets a little lonely it’s just such, such a lovely world that it seems to me a pity more of my friends aren’t into it. And not because they won’t like it but probably cause they never tried?
So i’m gonna do a series of recommendations (hence the title) of my favorites, cultivated over five years (with lackluster knowledge of the technicalities of which there are a lot, i should warn y’all). Half of you will be bored to death the other half will skip them. But maybe just oneee person will like at least one of the recs and i’d be rlyrly happy with that.
Ok but another day because i’m hungry and shleepy rn also i wanna read bye.
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Soft
If asked the question, which one person do you most want to hear live, the answer will always be Monk
Always
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Day 11
Day 10: Your views on mainstream music
Mmuhh, the thing is.. i don’t really know much mainstream music. It’s not that i’m against it – i just don’t listen to music based on genre. I listen to anything that’s good, mainstream or not.
I like Britney Spears (or at least her older stuff) and Red Hot Chili Peppers and Justin Timberlake and the Beatles and the Pussycat Dolls and also some Maroon 5. Beyond those, i’m familiar only with the really, really popular songs by mainstream artists. Like Justin Bieber’s baby and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance and Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass. I’m pathetically clueless about pop music lol. Oh and i do love musical numbers.
Aye to be frank, everything is mainstream now because everyone’s trying to be all obscure with their music. When everyone disperses to find something no one else listens to, the market becomes less saturated. There’s pop music, sure, but everything else is mainstream. In fact i think indie is now the new mainstream lol.
Whatever. Good music is good music. Don’t make a fuss.
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Subjective song is subjective.
I’ve always had a problem with Taylor Swift’s You Belong With Me. It strikes me as assuming, self-righteous, biased, and even hypocritical. In the first place, theboythesongwaswrittenfor (hereby known as Boy) must have chosen girltaylorswiftbitchesabout (thereafter known as Bitched) for a reason. She was either
A) genuinely a worthy girlfriend – in which case Taylor was wrong in wishing they’d break up for her own selfish wishes, especially since she did it by basically being hot during prom, OR
B) a true bitchtart, which says a lot about how dense Boy is, and how he’s attracted to hots basically, highlighted by his turn in affection after Taylor transforms by removing her glasses during prom.Either way, Taylor and Boy are highly misguided people.
A brief dissection:
You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset
She’s going off about something that you said
‘Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I doUnless she’s a complete monster devoid of humane reason (in which case see B), there must be a reason Bitched freaked out over Boy’s ‘humor’ which she doesn’t get. Think about it. Maybe Boy’s humor is of the derogatory, sexist, or crude variety. Maybe that’s why Bitched got set off: because he was being a complete asshat – and one who thinks he’s funny at that. And because Taylor is a lovelorn bag of desperation, she’s willing to swallow all of Boy’s douchebaggery and by extension claims she ‘gets’ his douchebag humor.
Essentially, Boy is an ass and Taylor enjoys kissing his ass.
I’m in the room, it’s a typical Tuesday night
I’m listening to the kind of music she doesn’t like
And she’ll never know your story like I doOh God NO YOU JUDGMENTAL HYPOCRITE. If we go metatext here, Taylor Swift is in fact saying Bitched would never like Taylor Swift songs (which already makes her significantly more likeable than Taylor Swift). Or perhaps this is another one of those hipster my-songs-are-more-superior-than-yours, if-you-don’t-listen-to-indie-you’re-not-in-my-ranks kind of thing. BITCH PLEASE. Who are you to say that the Pussycat Dolls or Justin Timberlake isn’t any better than whatever is the ‘kind of music she doesn’t like’? ALSO, does music compatibility even MATTER out of 500 Days of Summer and Nick and Norah’s Magical Playlist of Wonderful Indie?
You know what Taylor, NO. No it doesn’t.
And you probably know his ‘story’ because you are a stalker.
But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts
She’s Cheer Captain and I’m on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you’re looking for has been here the whole timeThis verse offends me deeply. The blatant condemnation of short skirts, for one. What makes you think you’re in any way better, just because you’re a T-Shirt wearer? What makes someone who bothers about how she looks like any less than you who enjoys the comfort of casual shirts. Nothing. Nothing, Taylor. Stop it with your stereotypes. Stop insulting anyone who tries to do something with their lives instead of sitting at home on Tuesday night in T-shirts stalking people (which ironically is often what I find myself doing hurhurhur).
And again comes your generalization of cheerleaders. Are you a sucker for B-grade tween made-for-TV movies, Taylor? Are you? Because your entire prejudice against Cheer Captain, obvious from your disdainful description of Bitched – seems to be shaped from watching one a two many chick flicks, in which case can I suggest you take your own advice and try matching your taste in film to something as apparently glorified as your taste in music. The fact that she is Cheer Captain probably means that SHE IS GOOD AT WHAT SHE DOES and has LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL and also, FRIENDS – which she must have acquired from hard work and being proactive. A concept you obviously do not understand because you prefer to ‘dream’ passively.
And you’re on the bleachers. Well boo-hoo poor you. K. No one cares.
Standing by and waiting at your back door
All this time, how could you not know?
Baby, you belong with me, you belong with meThis borders on obsessive, and you being obsessed with someone =/= he belongs to you. That’s the kind of stuff CRIMINALS believe in. Those who end up sending creepy letters and when jilted stab their object of affection with swiss knives and get sent away. Also the fact that you’d stand by and wait at his back door suggests a total lack of self-respect, in line with our earlier conclusion that Taylor is of little opinion of her own – choosing instead to concur with Boy and his crappy degrading humor.
WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHO BELONGS TO YOU, TAYLOR SWIFT? If you ‘understand’ and ‘get’ Boy so much, then why don’t you respect his decision and stop making things difficult by posing as a friend when in fact you’re consciously seducing him with flash cards across the road and planning a huge makeover to charm him during prom and VERY POSSIBLY sabotaging his relationship with Bitched the ENTIRE TIME. That just makes you a bad, scheming person, Taylor Swift. Not a deserving, understanding friend who eventually became Boy’s lover.
You used means of beauty (which you very recently dissed as artificial and superficial, because, yknw, you wear T-SHIRTS AND SNEAKERS and is therefore more compatible with Boy) to turn Boy against Bitched, which makes you no different from everything you’ve bitched about Bitched. OH, WAIT. NO. It makes you WORSE because you weren’t Boy’s girlfriend to begin with and secondly: HYPOCRITE.
It’s such a bad song it makes me mad.
Q 