The Time Has Come

CHRISTMAS MUSIC! Who doesn't love Christmas music during the holidays? It's so festive and pretty and sets the mood for what the holidays should be. And the best thing is that, at least in my experience, is that I can listen to it all season and not get tired of it, because there are so many different versions of songs. And, who could forget? "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" --Buddy the Elf

There are a few that are classics, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reigndeer and Jingle Bells. I have loved these since I was a kid, and get so excited to sing along to them. There are also ones like Drummer Boy and Away in a Manger, that are more true to the Christmas story, and bore biblical. These are beautiful too.  I hear carolers singing these and I have to stop and listen, whether I'm in the grocery store, the mall, or out in the street. I feel compelled to appreciate what they are doing by spreadin Christmas cheer. No, I'll admit, I'm not a religious person, but remembering the true meaning of Christmas is important to me. 

There are a few songs, however, that I don't quite like called Christmas music. I think they are more love songs that want to be Christmas music. These are songs like "Last Christmas" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You."  The only thing really festive about them is the music behind it that might have jingle bells and twinkly sounding instruments, and the word Christmas. Yes, I do still appreciate these, but that's not what I choose to listen to all the time. 

I love hearing the same song over and over, but listening to different artists' versions of it.  Every time, it sounds like a different song. Some are better than otbers, but it's still fun to hear.  Some of it is slow and calm, and super peaceful. Others make songs be really upbeat and fast and make you want to dance. I like this mix, because I get something different every time. I also like hearing older Christmas music, versions from the 50's. These are just odd and unique and different from what I hear the rest of the year. 

Christmas music is what makes me jolly. There isn't anything better that driving around town, Christmas music playing, Santa hat on, buying presents for friends and family. Donating toys to Toys for Tots, or an angel tree, spreading joy to everyone around me. So this year, channel your inner Elf, and remember, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing lobs for all to hear." Santa's sleigh will appreciate it! 

Scores

Have you ever watched a scary movie without the score? Or an action movie? Or a romance movie? Music adds so much effect to a movie and really put the viewer into it. This is vital to the success of a movie. 

Think about that scene in a horror movie, when the killer is in the house, and the girl is walking around, looking for him, knife in her hand. You hear that tense music, you're on the edge of your seat, and bam!! The killer jumps out, you scream and throw your popcorn, and hide your eyes from the screen until you hear things calm down. Now imagine the same scene, but without the music. It just becomes a girl in a house with a knife. There is no tension built up. You wouldn't be scared at all. The movie would be awful. 

Now think about a scene in a movie, when there is a huge battle between the hero and the villain. There's really intense music, adding to the thrill of the fight. Or maybe somebody is being chased by the bad guys, with more fast music playing. This makes you want the good guy to do better. It makes you root harder for your favorite person. You feel drawn into the movie, and want a specific outcome that much more. 

In some cases, the score of a movie becomes wildly famous. Think of Rocky. You know the theme, that rings out as he's training, and runs up the steps in Philadelphia. This is one of the most iconic scenes in movie history. Or when Darth Vader marches in as The Imperial March booms over the speakers around you. And who could forget Jaws? You here that familiar sound get faster and faster, and you know that somebody or something is about to be eaten. 

Scores are vital to movies, and tie it all together with a little bow right on top. I puts the final touches into it, to really set the mood and impact people the most. I challenge you to watch a movie, but without the score. It will be nowhere near as good, no matter what movie it is. 

It's Not a Competition

With the American Music Awards being on tonight, I feel it's a fitting time to discuss music being a competition. It's not. We have award shows for various categories, but that's not what it's about. 

Music is about spreading happiness, or feelings. It's about expressing yourself. It's about being together, and connecting with those around you. Artists all work hard, and put their hearts and souls into the music they make, no single artist works harder than another. 

This also holds true in high school bands and musical groups. They all work super hard to make a good show. Every group, from band to show choir, they all have a love for music, and they are all there to get better at what they love doing, and to be a team that works together. Yes, most groups go to competitions, whether they are invitationals or state competitions, and yes, they do get scores. Somebody ends up first, second, and so on, and unfortunately this means somebody is last.

But just because you got a higher s ore that another group or person doesn't mean that you beat them. It simply means that you were liked a bit better. And this is simply in the minds of the judges that were scoring you. It doesn't mean that every person played the music perfect, or hit the choreography perfect. It simply means that the judges didn't pick that stuff out too much. The next time you go to a competition , you could be last place, because they are not the same judges. As long as you work hard, and give it your all, everybody is a winner. 

I'm also not saying that award show are complete crap. Winning awards for artists are a big accomplishment. To them, I means that all the hard work they have oht into their newest song or album pays off, and that people liked what they did.  It makes them feel honored, and proud. It doesn't mean that they are the best around, it means that for that specific category or time in their career, they were liked better than the other artists nominated for that award. 

So the next time you go to a competition, don't boast that you "beat" another band. Tell all of the other groups that tbsy did a great job, because they did. They worked just as hard as you did. The judges were simply in your favor for that time. 

Music with Meaning

Things happen. You have your first kiss, you get married, you get in a car accident, things impact your life. One thing that always seems to be there, is music. It always seems to be a part of major life events. You remember them for your whole life, and you can usually tell what song was playing when it happened. Or the music playing made the thing so much better, or in some cases, much more awkward. 

I'm a student, so I obviously haven't gotten married. But the first dance at my parents' wedding was Almost Paradise from the movie Footloose. They hear this song and they start to tell stories of old times, their wedding, and memories from when they were young. After my first kiss with my boyfriend Scott, I got in my car and the song Cheerleader was playing. This has become our song, and now it seems like every time we are together, or every time we think about each other, it plays.  When I got in my first car accident not too long ago (nobody was hurt, just a bit of damage to my car), the song Where Are You Now was playing on the radio. 

I don't consciously think about these things, but when I hear these songs, the memories flood back to me. I can remember what I was doing, where I was, what I was wearing, almost everything about that moment. This happens to a lot of people. They just remember things because the memory is hooked to that song. I love it when this happens, because a lot of the memories make me happy. And if they don't, it means that I've learned something from those memories. It's an amazing feeling. 

Maybe this doesn't happen to everybody. Maybe it is just me, and I'm crazy. But this is yet another reason that I love music so much. It affects people in amazing ways, and just by hearing a song, they can remember things that happened years ago and be happy again. Just reminiscing in old times, thinking about memories that they will hold on to for the rest of their life. That's why music is beautiful. 

What's Behind the Music?

As a member of the Kennedy band, we have many things go on in the year. We have marching band season, pep band, and concert seasons, as well as ensembles that happen throughout the year, such as flute choir, show choir combo, and jazz band. When we go and perform at different events, or places in the city, we have people that come up and ask us to play different songs, such as what's popular on the radio, old classics, or simple songs such as Happy Birthday.

What these people don't understand, is what is behind the music. They don't know how hard we practice, how many variations there are to simple tunes, or how hard it can be to play something As a group, by simply sight reading it. (This is what it's called when musicians are given a sheet of music, and they read through it a first time. Often, while playing with a group, people get lost, and it doesn't sound too good.)  Our director can't just say "Okay band, play Uptown Funk," and we do it. We don't know the notes, the rythem, or the key. These are essential to successfully play a song. 

Asking us to play something without practice first, or music in front of us would be like asking a baby to be born, then go run a marathon. It's like asking a kindergartner to do algebra. We have to learn and practice first. This is why we practice daily. Some days, we only get to a few measures. Other days, we focus on getting runs, usually a while after we have been practicing the songs. We spend about two months practicing for a concert, then put those songs to rest. Then the process starts all over again.  

It seems tedious and pointless, but as musicians, we love it. We find joy in spreading the art of music. We view our fellow band members as family. The band room is our home. Seeing somebody find happiness, and enjoy our music is what makes the hard days worth it. 

As much as we would love to play your friend Happy Birthday, or play the cool songs on the radio, we just can't. Maybe we will be able to play it in pep band season, or maybe we will play it at a concert sometime, but we can't just play it. We may be good musicians, but we're not that good. 

Singing For the Eyes

When we look at today's singers and artists, we see them for their looks.  When a famous singer performs on television or at a concert, they put a lot of work into the production, the lights, the outfits, the dancers, and the outfits.  They make the performance visually appealing.  They are singing for the eyes, not the ears, or the soul.  

Let's take a look at Nicki Minaj.  Below, there is a picture of her from 2011, after a performance on Good Morning America.  You can see her wild hair, open jacket with a very small shirt that shows off a lot of skin, and interestingly printed leggings to go under a skirt that appears to be clear plastic.  Her shoes are leopard print rain boots, and the outfit is tied together with big yellow hoop earrings, and large round bracelets.  This is a few years old, and since then, she has been spotted in a lot more crazy and questionable outfits, most that shoe off a lot of her body.  As you can see in the background there was a large set to go with it.  

Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, and many others are very guilty of singing for the eyes.  They put on a big fancy production to distract from the music they are performing.  They do it because they want to be talked about, and be thought of as the best.  This also sets a negative image for how people think they need to dress.  Obviously people aren't going to go out and wear a plastic skirt, but they see artists showing off their bodies, they see that people find that appealing, and they believe that they need to do so as well.  That's not right.  

On the other side of this spectrum, we have people that sing for the eyes, and the soul.  One of the best examples of this is Adele.  She never puts on a big flashy show, and she keeps things simple.  Below, we see her performing at the 54th Annual Grammy's in 2012.  She is wearing a simple black dress, she doesn't have crazy hair, and she is modest.  We can also see that she is a plus sized woman.  She doesn't have to put on a big elaborate show to be talked about by people.  She does that through her music.  

 I believe that artists should be more interested in the music, not the performance.  The performance is about the music and the message.  Music isn't meant to be visually appealing, it should be listened to.  It should be for the people to enjoy and relate to.  I'm not saying that artists should stand at a microphone, sing, and be done.  I'm just saying that we should worry less about the show, and more about the song. 

Holiday Music in November

No.  Absolutely not.  Christmas is in December. Why do we need to put our Halloween costumes away, and immediately start turning our radio stations to "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Last Christmas?"  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and Christmas music as much as the next guy. I fully embrace the holiday spirit and will sing along to it all, no matter who is around.  But not before I have had my Thanksgiving turkey.

Christmas music is a seasonal tradition.  Key word in that phrase: Seasonal.  Meaning it has a season.  Listening to holiday music year round, or too early makes it less of a treat when it comes around.  If we kept our Christmas trees up year round, would it be as fun seeing them lit up in the window when you drive past a house? If we had fireworks every week, would they be as fun on the Fourth of July? no, they wouldn't be.  So why is Christmas music different?

In my opinion, the Christmas season starts the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, and ends on the 26th of December.  Yes, there is some wiggle room to take down the decorations, because I know how people are busy, and you have a lot of new fun stuff to play with from Christmas.  But the Christmas needs to stop once the new year rolls around.  In this time, I am constantly listening to Christmas music.  Tis the season! But not before, and not after.  

 We do not have a shortage of music to listen to.  If you believe this is happening, please look at some of my older blog posts.  There are plenty of ways to expand your horizons and discover new music. Artists are constantly releasing new music, and new music doesn't have to be new.  Just please, do not start listening to Christmas music non-stop the day after Halloween.  

Music in Movies

Who doesn't love musicals?  They're movies and music! And it's totally normal that you randomly burst into song when you're happy.  Or sad. Or angry.  Who doesn't do this?

Okay, nobody does, and a lot of people really hate musicals, but I don't see why.  A lot of really great music comes from them.  And not all musicals have the characters in the movie or production singing.  Look at Footloose, one of my favorite old movies (The original is so much better than the new one).  It's about dancing and music in a small country town.  Kevin Bacon never bursts out into song, but there is a really neat dance scene in an old warehouse.  From this musical, we got some pretty good music, such as "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler, "Let's Her It for the Boy" by Denise Williams, and, of course "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins.  These are songs that became wildly popular because of this movie.

Another one of my favorite old movies, and a classic that I believe everybody should see at least once in their lifetime (Or hundreds like me), is Grease.  This is a musical about high school romance, and has amazing songs.  This one does have the actors singing, and it's done well.  Still, it's not very natural for a person to burst into song at a drive-in movie theater, or an entire school to start singing and dancing in time at a carnival, but it's done in a way that it seems normal.  I admit that some of the songs in this musical are a little bit "out there," but it was released in 1978, what do you expect? They're not bad, they're just old. Despite this, they are still some of my favorites.

Then we can look at almost any Disney movie.  Most of the most famous are in fact musicals, whether they are animated, like The Little Mermaid, or (who could forget?) Frozen, or real actors like Camp Rock and High School Musical.  Will the music from these movies be wildly popular and well known in 30 years? The classic Disney movies, possibly.  Most of them were released a good while ago, and are loved by all.  But Camp Rock?  I believe this will die out and be forgotten.  High School Musical, however, I could see sticking around for a while.  This was a trilogy of three movies that every preteen or child loved, me included.  They might not be played often now, but I'm sure Grease wasn't constantly played for almost 40 years.  Time will tell I suppose.    

Punk Goes Pop

Music can be spun many different ways.  There isn't a right way or a wrong way, and there are many different things you can do with one song.  One way that has been around for a while is "covering" a song, or another artist performing a song originally made by another artist.  Recently, I have come to be interested in a series of albums titled "Punk goes Pop."  On these albums, a few different punk groups take popular pop songs, such as "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift, "Glad You Came" by The Wanted, and "Animals" by Maroon 5, and turn them into punk songs.  There are currently six albums released, the first one in April of 2001, and the most recent in July of 2015.  I am more familiar with the newer albums, but am interested in looking into the previous ones as well.

I've never been a huge fan of punk music, but I do listen to it on occasion, just like all kinds of music.  There's that mood that you get into, and you really want to hear a certain kind of music.  I never really knew what was good when I wanted to listen to punk music, so I just kinda put on a Pandora station and went with it.  I had a good friend of mine introduce me to Punk Goes Pop, and I fell in love.  The new spin on the songs are really cool, and very different to hear.  Its also nice to be able to recognize the lyrics, and if you're like me, attempt to sing along.  It is also nice because none of the covers are too hardcore, or too much "screaming" if that's what you choose to call it.  They are a decent sound, and they have a good range on the albums as well.

I really like hearing the songs that I hear every day on the radio in such a different way.  It helps me to not get sick of them, and keep me listening to them more. I wish that they would be played on the radio, I think that that would be interesting.  But in the same light, I see that it would be hard for radio stations to do this because they have regulations on how often they can play a song, and it wouldn't really fit into their genre of music.  I do believe that this would become much more popular, however.

I highly encourage you to look into this and discover something new.  You might find that you like it, just like I did.  Below are some links to my favorite covers.  If you want more, head over to YouTube and search "Punk goes Pop," a lot will come up for you.

Blank Space by I Prevail (Originally by Taylor Swift)
Glad You Came by We Came As Romans (Originally by The Wanted)
Somebody That I Used to Know by Mayday Parade (Originally be Gotye)