Update: Music is cool. Yes, yes, it’s true. Don’t try to fight it.
I like to think I’m cool. So sometimes I can’t distinguish where music cool ends and Leslie cool begins.
Hence the newest incarnation of Sound and Tonic. I ramble. I slowly tackle the metric ton (literally 132 GBs) of music clogging my hard drive. I tell you the odd and poorly illustrated story that shows how truly lacking in glamor my life is.
At the end of the day, however, I will ramble about music more often than not, one album at a time. I will still tell you what alcoholic beverage would be best paired with an album (an all consuming question if ever there was one). I will still rate Savage Garden and Add N to (x) and Raine Miada back to back.
I will still have no followers.
But I will be able to search for songs that talk about Nero or clowns and have cash register sound effects.
And that’s what truly matters.
Older Shenanigans that still ring true, if you tilt your mind enough:
Imagine, if you will, a place – a place drenched in history and filled to the rafters with an ambiance of general good will and deep thought. A place where the fireplace bathes the occupants of the wooden interior in warm light, and the steady murmur of discussion embraces those who enter. This is our perfect bar.
“Hold up… You dreamed up an imaginary bar?”
Well… yes.
“Why?”
To have a place to mentally gather and discuss that most unifying and divisive of topics: music!
“So you have a digital bar filled with digital people discussing digital concepts of music… This may call for an intervention.”
No, no – bare with me while I explain. Music is one of those seemingly universal arts tied directly to human spirit. Everybody understands the concept of music and virtually every civilization has used it extensively to cement common ideals and provide a temporal escape from reality. Music is unique, highly individual, and while it may be classified and put into genres and characteristic groupings its acceptance only happens when it resonates with the listener. It’s a veritable psychological probe that can be used to both express and assess the inner nature of a person.
“Uh, that’s all well and good, but how does your virtual bar relate?”
We like to drink.
“Seriously?”
Well, music has enjoyed a special relationship to drink going back ages, but the classic cocktail party has ever been a location for discussion and intellectual debate so we figured a bar was an effective analogy and pretend location.
“It occurs to me right now how unbalanced you likely are.”
And since music is such a personal thing we have a hard time justifying critical review of merit – although we certainly will at times – and instead plan to be more of a audio commentator.
“I’m going to call for backup – don’t go anywhere.”
We are forever on the search for new and regional interest bands that haven’t quite managed a national (or global) level of recognition. They make up the future of the art, and we hope to make them a centerpiece of our discussions. If you have something you’d like us to listen to, please contact us with details! Beyond new and upcoming, we will cover whatever peaks our interest: the new, the old, the headliners and the openers – anything is game. Our tastes are eclectic, but don’t expect modern country or rap to meander into our thoughts often… We just can’t get in to them, but thanks to the almost limitless supply of other styles this shouldn’t limit us.
So let us raise our glasses and make a toast! To music!
“Hello, officer…”
