The Music Court

                   The jesters have reached 1000 views thanks to your views and support. So, let us pop open the champagne and celebrate. Hmm, champagne that reminds me of a tune (like most things do). No, not Champagne Supernova by Oasis. How about “Girl in the War,” by the talented Josh Ritter, singer-songwriter from Moscow, Idaho. A man who should also pop open the champagne for making the right career move. The son of two neuroscientists, Ritter originally went into school with the major of Neuroscience. But, his drive to revolutionize American narrative folk music caused him to switch his focus onto the performance of beautiful music. Great idea. His exceptionally creative and smart lyric continues to mix with his subtle melodies and guitar licks. “Girl In The War,” only portrays a simple taste of his musical intelligence. It also mentions champagne.

              “Girl in the War,” makes fantastic use of the most simple of verse chord progressions. Two chords that barely vary. The lyric writes of a conversation between Peter and Paul (both saints by the way). Both are talking about a girl in the war (whose eyes are like Champagne) and their conversation culminates into the lines, “Because the keys to the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom
And the angels fly around in there, but we can’t see them, And I gotta girl in the war, Paul I know that they can hear me yell
If they can’t find a way to help, they can go to Hell,” which maintains numerous religious undertones. The kingdom is Heaven which St. Peter guards. St Peter holds the “keys to the kingdom.” Yet, Ritter, who is fantastic with clever wordplay, makes mention that the “Keys of the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom.” The angels are in there but we cannot see them. No one can get in and no one can see inside heaven’s grand doors. Instead we get the image of wars, guns, violence, and blood that crowds our eyes and with no way to help ends up looking like hell. Yet, at least we can sees the eyes like Champagne. Interesting imagery and interesting song.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqLssKusGzM

I was very tired this morning and I just wanted to sleep, but my alarm decided I shouldn’t and with this song blasting in your ear at 10:30 in the morning you can’t really argue.  This christian metalcore band released this song off of their second album in 2007 and despite the heavy screaming overtones the lyrics are mostly (or as far as I can tell) about baptism in some sense.  

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwVHgj5a68

        Last semester at Binghamton I took a course on Postmodernism to fulfill a theory credit for my English Major. Woohoo exciting stuff right. Well, it actually was a pretty interesting course. Let me share with you faithful readers a short definition of this massively broad and extensive topic. After the modernist movement which attempted to explain why things like World War I happen, World War II came and crashed the modernist party. This, of course, led to a violent confusion and assumingly left modernist’s as confused as economists today. So, the ambiguous postmodernist movement was born and artists began forming their work around their respective views on the term. A good way to look at postmodernist art is art that does not attempt to explain anything. Art that is intentionally loose and diverse. Art that succumbs to the theory that there really “Ain’t ro reason things are this way.”

           Now let us get to the postmodernist classic, “Ain’t No Reason,” by Brett Dennen which does not attempt to explain anything. This is what makes the song so great. Dennen’s Dylan-like voice and Dylan-quality lyric puts this song in the awesome category and it has received honors and popularity because of these qualities. The song is rather simple, like most Dylan songs, and culminates in a chorus where Dennen admits that he does not know why things are this way. He, though, looks for love to be savior. Does love explain all of this craziness? Dennen seems to think so and I tend to agree but what I believe Dennen is trying to say with this song is that no one can explain any of the world. It is a diverse, crazy spinning globe with crazy people with intense emotions. Therefore, one has to look past what they cannot explain and find the ultimate happiness love to set you free.

This 2006 hit single from this Seattle based Indie Rock/Folk band Band of Horses (previously known as Horses) is a very dark and sullen song.  The album “Everything All the Time” has a very dark tone to it but the singer has a pretty nice and uplifting voice making for a great melodic balance.  The Funeral really grabbed my interest because it sounded like nothing else I had heard out of the Indie scene, unlike most of the songs that mostly use acoustic and have a dry feel to them.  This song is very well recorded and has an epic sound to it with great musical backings to make for a great experience in all.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibE7IqEjni4

             In case you were under a rock today, Michael Jackson passed away due to cardiac arrest at the young age of 50. It was an interesting reaction when I first heard of Michael Jackson’s untimely death at dinner tonight. I was chowing down at Applebee’s when our waiter walked by and, with a shocked reaction, told us that Michael Jackson died before quickly scurrying away back to the kitchen. I was with a few friends and we all looked at each other and exclaimed a solid what. We thought for a second he was simply joking. It is interesting how when untimely deaths occur among the rich and famous the initial reaction is complete disbelief. We are so used to hearing their name in the news and tabloids that, when hearing of their deaths, we can only shake our heads and understand that after the proper time for grieving their names will slowly, but surely, fade on. But, on to the case of Michael Jackson.

           Jackson’s name has seemingly always been in the news. Whether for the chart topping success of his numerous epic albums or the seemingly endless problems he faced in his life away from the stage, Michael Jackson could always find the front page of various publications for good and bad reasons. I want to attempt to stay away from his problems off the stage. Yes, in many respects, the man was a certified freak who could have done some very terrible things throughout his life that was shortened by drugs and the constant pressure of media life and performances since he was a kid. But, his music was special. He, with his special brand of theatrical performing mixed with a distinctive and fantastic voice, transcended race and genres of music. He was literally and figuratively a colorless musician who experimented with all different types of music from pop to rock to soul to theatre. His epic albums were only paired with his amazing videos like the one matched with the song of the day today, “Thriller.” 

           “Thriller,” which was not only an amazing song which played with hard rock and true pop, also added a video that simply changed the way music videos ran about their business. He made the first monstruous video that was shot like a movie but was for a song. An unheard of move which shot Jackson to the title of visionary. He finished his illustrious music career with 13 grammy awards, 13 number one singles, over 750 million albums sold worldwide, 2 inductions into the rock and roll hall of fame (which I thought to be pretty impossible), and a record in the Guinness Book of World Records which states that he is the most succesful entertainer of all time.

         So, while the jury will be out on his legacy as a person in this crazy world, the case is pretty simple on his legacy as a musician. An incredible career for one of music’s most influential performers. So, tonight, we lay to rest a visionary, who while certainly an undeniable nut job, still was one of music’s very best.