uTopianTurtleTop

MUSIC MAKES ME FEEL GOOD

One of the slogans of the Oldies station caught my ear today. "Music that makes you feel good!" A nice idea, right? And true enough, often enough, for me.

It's also a cliche. A conceptual cliche. "Music makes people feel good." A few nights ago I posted on how I dislike conceptual cliche but have less trouble with descriptive cliche. It turns out I have no problem with conceptual cliches either, if I agree with them.

The other night, when digging around Robert Christgau's writings, I found part of the introduction to his terrific book Grown Up All Wrong on line, and I copied this passage because it captured this cliche (which I fervently endorse) in specific and engaging imagery.

"I'm driven by a continuing quest for music that will serve some function or other in my life and yours--inspire, amuse, enlighten, calm, excite; help a person do the dishes or stay awake on the interstate, get through a bad night or a good marriage, know beauty and feel truth."

"Feel truth" is not the same as "feel good," but the other functions can fall under the banner of my local Oldies station. And Christgau is right. Music can help a person feel truth.


NEW YEAR'S DAY

Heard “New Year's Day” by U2 on the Quality Rock station driving to work this morning.  One of The Edge’s best guitar solos – beautiful, really – I’ve always admired The Edge – and it struck me like it never had before just how solid the bassist & drummer are, how they keep things moving, how dramatic and stoic and rocking that bass riff is.

Good melody too. I’ve warmed to Bono over the years.  A 19th-century long-hair Romantic type of singer.