it's my party and I'll blog if I want to #1: music I guess

Music on the brain tonight: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts; Brian Eno & David Byrne Ghosts I-IV; Nine Inch Nails Ghosts; Japan

What's weird about the first two is they're both compilations of (somewhat) short musical experiments in sampling and noisemaking. I'm a big fan of making interesting new noises and also putting them together in pleasing ways. I always thought I'd be more into experimental "noise" genres as a whole because I like hearing the music in things like old air conditioning systems and microwaves but almost every time I find someone playing with things like these the end result is interesting for a little while but ultimately not "musical" enough for me. Maybe that's lame, to want something catchy or pleasant or whatever quality it is I'm looking for. I guess that would gel with why people hate pop music, but I also see people defending that more and more (not that I disagree with either stance). Tonight's overarching question: where is the bridge between what is "good" in an objective enjoyment-based way and also "good" in the avant-garde, unsafe way? How do you find it and achieve what they call "good taste"?

In my experience, whenever someone finally relinquishes control of the aux cable to you, you're under obligation to play something both tame enough to suit a variety of people but odd enough to make people think you're not boring. I never know how other people do it. But then again (and this is where I'm gonna sound like a real ass) most of the time I don't really enjoy what other people choose to play. Again and again I find myself voluntarily suffering through other people's tastes (both bad and, from some odd semi-objective standpoint defined by no one in particular and known somehow by all, good) and never find the strength to subject them to my music, which is usually some cheeseball pretentious shit that really gets me excited. The kind of thing that's technical enough to sound genuinely beautiful and impressive, but also so unironically self-obsessed it's hilarious.

Just once I wanna go nuts in the car listening to some goofy ass old ass progshit with somebody that isn't my dad, or some melodramatic synth-ridden sadjams with somebody I haven't coerced into putting up with me. Also just once I wanna go nuts in the car listening to something somebody else put on that isn't just a timeless classic we all know and love (Africa by Toto). Also just once I wanna not pretend to think St. Vincent is as good as everybody wishes she was.

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