Sunday, February 11th, 2007 // Paperhouse
Music can tantalize the aural senses, arouse the physical body, and complement the fine art of copulation. So for people who can’t stand Marvin Gaye and are tired of infomercials for Girls Gone Wild in the background while you’re trying to “get your bone on,” here’s a short stack of new choices provided by the DJs of WRCT.
Goth/Industrial: Here we have an expansive selection of choices depending on what kind of emotion you want to express, as long as it’s angry or sad. Depeche Mode’s “A Question Of Lust” or “Never Let Me Down Again” are tried and true slow romantic songs that set the mood and allow for some sensual writhing. Then, to pick up the pace and really get rough, try some aggrotech like Combichrist’s “You Will Be The Bitch Now” or “Enjoy The Abuse” — you’ll definitely show your partner who’s the boss. For those not interested in reaming but still wanting to make an impact, “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails is an absolute foolproof solution. Following the climax, we suggest either Wolfsheim’s “Lovesong” (for cuddles) or “I Don’t Love You Anymore” (to kick them out of your bed).
Metal: Most metal songs aren’t really designed to enhance your sexing. If they’re mentioning sex at all, it’s usually along the lines of W.A.S.P.’s “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” or Cannibal Corpse’s “Orgasm Through Torture” — not exactly the thing that most people would pick for getting it on. However, if you’re looking for background music, there are always bands like — in increasingly ambient order — My Dying Bride, Isis, Angel Eyes, Harvey Milk, Corrupted, or Sunn O))), which will at least not actively impair your mood-setting attempts. On the other hand, if your preferred manner of getting it on involves breaking furniture and possible contusions, it’s hard to go wrong with Motorhead or Dragonforce.
Electronic: If you don’t mind long, slow sex, there’s always “Fuck” by the Hafler Trio, which clocks in at nearly a half-hour of strange samples and typical creepy ambient atmosphere. If you like a little less subtlety, there’s Nymphomatriarch by Hecate and Venetian Snares, featuring song titles like “Blood on the Rope” and “Hymen Tramp Choir,” which is an album made entirely out of samples recorded via contact mikes of the two artists having sex in a hotel room. If you like things even less subtle than that, do it near a TV and put on the video for “Windowlicker” by Aphex Twin, or “flex” by Chris Cunningham.
Sunday, February 4th, 2007 // Paperhouse
Bloodyminded is a Chicago music collective often associated with “noise” music. With roughly a dozen high-quality releases under its belt since 1996, Bloodyminded has many recordings worthy of columns in “Paperhouse.” However, since I am writing this article, I will focus on my personal favorite song by Bloodyminded.
The song is titled “Cost,” and it can be found on Bloodyminded’s debut release Trophy. The song has a simple structure, as do many songs by Bloodyminded. A grating, digital-sounding drone rings throughout the two minutes and 13 seconds; it acts as a sort of backdrop for a shouted poem, which begins a few seconds into the song. Vocalist Mark Solotroff delivers his lyrics with incredible conviction. The lyrics establish a sort of second-person monologue in which the singer seems to be yelling at another person. However, as one delves into the lyrical framework, it becomes quite clear that Solotroff is proposing a situation that is distinctly not of this plane of reality.
Solotroff begins by demanding an unnamed person to get into a car. The person (apparently some sort of prostitute) assumedly obeys, and the rest of the song proceeds as a sort of one-sided conversation. At one point, Solotroff yells, “Here’s the turnoff / Too bad you’ll be TURNED OFF / First by my idea of fun / And then, FOR GOOD.” Solotroff concludes by yelling “GET OUT. GET OUT!” He then repeats the lyrical content in its entirety with added stress.
When one listens to the song there is nothing else. The rest of the universe recedes and only “Cost” remains. It recognizes and engages the listener with the use of a spoken language, yet then immediately proposes an impossible human existence. I predict that if the entire world’s population was forced to listen to this song at sufficient volume for three full days and nights, it would cause all nations to collapse. All conflicts would cease and all men and women would no longer have need for shelter or technology of any sort. Even within the context of all recorded sound, the song stands in a class of its own. With the recording of the Trophy album, and especially “Cost,” Bloodyminded has achieved an extremely unique and informative form of human expression — one that all humans and perhaps even certain animals can benefit from experiencing.
Sunday, January 28th, 2007 // Paperhouse
“Hey, what is this guy going to tell me that I don’t already know?”
Okay, on some level, I’m not going to tell you anything — it’s just a reminder. I find that some of my friends don’t know how to sit down and appreciate music, and then they get confused when they don’t enjoy it nearly as much as I do.
I’m kind of done with the article now. Sit down and enjoy it. Good music is usually good because it rewards intense concentration and repeated scrutiny by getting better.
Musician and theorist Brian Eno once said, “Ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.” Note that he made that a defining characteristic of ambient music, implying that it shouldn’t hold for other types. That means that the majority of music is not designed to be ignored. Really fantastic music may grab you if you just have it on while surfing the internet, but equally amazing music may be unassuming and you’ll miss it. This, I think, is what happens to my friends.
Music can be roughly divided into two types, with some overlap: There’s music for sitting and music for dancing. So, the first time you get a new album, figure out which type it is, and use it for that. If you can’t figure it out, sit and listen — good dance music will force you to get up and dance, mostly. Good music for sitting will just make you hate it if you try to dance.
Don’t lie down, you’ll fall asleep. Sit in an armchair, lean back, and close your eyes. Invest in a good pair of headphones — they’ll give you more sound quality per dollar than speakers, and have aspects all but the best speakers cannot duplicate (hello killer stereo separation).
The last important part of listening is your mood. I like listening to music that complements my mood and doesn’t try to force me into a mood I don’t have. For example: Don’t listen to Coil if you’re feeling happy — it’ll sound dumb, listen to it late at night and get scared. For example, I’m listening to some funk from ’70s Bollywood action films right now and becoming much more energized about this column than I would’ve been otherwise. But be careful of this, too; I was vaguely upset last week and listened to Stars of the Lid (example song title: “Lonely People (Are Getting Lonelier)”), which resulted in a little bit of a six-hour, what’s-wrong-with-my-life depression.
It’s not hard: sit down, pay attention, and match the music to your mood. You’ll enjoy music more.
