A short e-conversation I had a while back centered on the merits of a certain rock band. Not the particulars or anything, just a plain old "love 'em" vs. "don't" kind of thing. Actually, "don't love 'em" isn't quite right. It was more like "don't understand the attraction".
Being the musical evangelist that I am (and aren't we all...just a little bit?), I decided to describe, as concretely as possible, why I like this band's music.
Now, of course I knew this that this was going to be no easy task. Describing in words what is inherently abstract is tough enough. The added requirement, why I like it...well, that's something else. I let the idea ferment in my head for a few days. Procrastination? No, just my way of giving my subconscious time to have its say.
Except that's not really what happened.
What did happen was that I found this great article by author Louis Menand about "the art of short fiction". A critical review of The Early Stories (a collection of John Updike's early short fiction), it's introduced in the most ingenious way: a parallel is constructed between the 'invisible' technique behind the professional golf swing and the effect that an author is trying to create. "The effect" is that moment when the reader "gets it"...the moment of "ahhh". So, just as each little mechanical element serves to support the swing, each word in the short story is there to contribute to "the effect".
What's this have to do with music? Menard goes on to say that this effect is tough to describe...but it is felt by the reader(or at least that's the author's hope). James Joyce referred to the effect as an epiphany. In his words, "...a revelation of the whatness of a thing".
The whatness of a thing.
Yep, that's what I want to describe. It's an elusive topic. In the past I've put the question "Why does that sound good to me?" down on my writing to-do list. That's as far as it ever gets though...mostly because it has always seemed like a huge undertaking, with too much mental and emotional inertia.
What I want to do now is describe the 'whatness' of the music of the band Rush. The word 'music' is underlined because that'll be the focus here. I'm not a lyrics guy when it comes to most rock music and Rush is no exception. Though Neil Peart is known for his lyric writing (and of course: spectacular drumming) the music is what I'm there for.
Before I get to the specifics I'd like to try to put into words the musical events (epiphanies?) that I listen for: you should know their whatness.
Despite my musical background (started off with violin and sax, then played guitar for over twenty years with almost ten years of jazz improvisation formal training), I almost never think about music in an analytical way. I don't really care about key, time signature, major, minor, etc. No, I think about music visually. Yep, when I close my eyes...pictures appear. Call them musical landscapes.
Warning: this is a little weird.
The bits of a tune that remain 'constant', that form the foundation (rhythm guitar, bass, any kind of repeat) are seen as the surface of a body of water. This surface can have all sorts of textures: smooth & glassy (or mat), rough, choppy, wavy, jagged - depending on what the foundation is doing.
The melodic parts of the music show up as lines stretching over the lake's surface. These lines can form any and all shapes in three-dimensional space and can be as close to or as far away from the surface as 'necessary' (things like tension, release & energy of the music have influence over this) and project shadows down to it.
Note: I told you this was weird.
Depending upon what's going on in the music, any element can switch its function from 'foundation' to 'line' or vice versa.
Note: this does not involve drugs of any kind.
That's it. Well...almost. What's missing is what makes these things 'good'. What I tend to listen for are scenarios where the elements interact with one another - where the shadow(s) projected down upon the surface change the surface in some way.
Ok, back to earth for some concrete examples (sort of).
Since the Rush catalog is quite large, and since I've only got one more pencil left in my Dixon/Ticonderoga box, I'll have to distill the songlist down to a manageable length.
One title: "La Villa Strangiato" from Hemispheres.
La Villa Strangiato
Subtitled "An Exercise in Self-Indulgence", this tune clocks in at 9 minutes and 35 seconds of pure rock instrumental fun.
After a short Spanish guitar introduction an electric guitar arpeggio repeats (the 'surface'). Various synth figures and orchestral bells 'comment' on the guitar. The 'surface' gains some texture as a repeated hi-hat pattern joins in to boost the intensity. The bass jumps in with the hi-hat (with kick drum soon to follow) to imply a space for some power chords. A few cycles later, when the tension is nearly unbearable, those chords do show up...setting off the first (of several) mini-climaxes of the song.
Now we're into the 'verses'. While Peart plays a supporting ride pattern, Alex plays the 'theme' of the song. Geddy Lee's bass, instead of merely holding up the bottom end, mirrors the guitar theme...in a mutant sort of way.
A few extended guitar chords serve as an introduction to the next section...where the skeletal drums and periodic bass notes (Taurus Pedals?) provide plenty of room for an extended guitar solo that builds and builds and builds...
...Until it stops to begin a muted staccato pattern that again builds to...
A 'tumbling' section that both frenzied and controlled. It's like a rock band falling down the stairs. Gracefully.
Some call & response, some start and stop...and then we begin a highly modified restatement of the original 'verses', which morphs into some wild and crazy bass/drum unison bits.
A few more nearly indescribable rhythmic chord workouts and we're again back to the final theme revisit before the song's finale is encountered - where again descending shards of chords build monumental amounts of energy. This 'exercise in self-indulgence' ends in a flurry of unison bass and snare drum notes followed by one last clipped guitar chord.
What I love about this music (besides the 'visual' aspect, that I can't begin to describe) is the sense of shared adventure. Sure, all bands play together. But not all bands have togetherness. Rush puts together musics that overflows with enthusiasm for rock's possibilities. Yes, the players are supposed to be 'virtuosos'. Who cares?! What matters is results: how those air molecules are wiggled.
Other candidates for adventures with Rush (though I don't want to turn this into a "what's your favorite" kinda thing) are "Free Will" from Permanent Waves, "YYZ" from the breakthrough record Moving Pictures and the introduction to the epic 2112. Lots and lots of textured surfaces to be explored.
Well, there. How I perceive music (sort of), some Rush epiphanies, and an extension to everybody's vocabulary: whatness.
(Special thanks to fellow Blogcritic and Rush fan Tom Johnson and uber-Blogcritic (and future Rush fan) Eric Olsen for starting the e-conversion that pushed me toward this essay).
(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)
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Article comments
1 - Casper
Well, I guess I'll start the "my-favorite-Rush-song" thread by say that La Villa Strangiato is probably my favorite one. A bit over nine minutes long, it wanders through a bunch of different musical idioms (Flamenco, Waltz, Prog-Rock, and those are just the ones that I can think of off the top of my head).
The live verson on Exit Stage Left is even better (the jury's still out on the Live in Rio version).
2 - Craig Lyndall
My favorite Rush song is the one they will record after I get my hands around the throat of Geddy Lee for singing like a 6 year old boy who got knocked in the balls.
3 - Eric Olsen
Man, I love "Working Man" because it sounds like Black Sabbath after detox - IT ROCKS.
Mark, many thanks for a brilliant and readable explanation of the unexplainable. It's the effort that makes it so endearing and meaningful. And yes, my interest is piqued. Great job!
4 - Mark Saleski
thanks E.
Sabbath after detox...hmmmm.
5 - Tom Johnson
Nice work, Mark. I'm still mulling my response over. I think I may have to write a book to explain it all . . .
6 - Mark Saleski
thanks tom, don't mull too hard. you might pull something.
7 - JohnnyLunchBox
My favorite Rush songs are the ones they haven't written yet. I think I just hurt my brain.
8 - Tom Johnson
Man, I'm glad you linked to this from here. I didn't remember this at all, but I'm glad to have a refresher. (Unfortunately, I also don't remember the conversation you note that spawned it - I'm kinda curious now!)
I certainly get what you're saying. Texture is something I've come to realize is very important to me. If it doesn't "feel" right, it just doesn't work, and it likely never will. Not only that, I often have this visual in my head of a live line-graph to the music, or maybe the raw wave-form of the music as seen in a sound editing program. Up and down it goes as various events happen. No one else seems to understand what I'm talking about.
Jeez, that sounds nuts, reading back on it.
9 - Mark Saleski
makes sense to me!
10 - Josh
Dynamics come in to play as well; that Dylan quote about modern recordings being atrocious and all. Soft and loud, harsh and rounded... that makes a difference when I listen. Dylan's Modern Times and Wilco's Sky Blue Sky take advantage of textures and dynamics better than a lot of records I've listened to recently.