So I realize that much of this blog (ok, all of our posts, as we haven’t been exactly proliferate in our postings) has been centered around food.  Which is all fine and great, but there’s a ton of food bloggers out there, and honestly, one thing I dislike is being a copycat.  Understanding this, I’m expanding the scope of this blog to incorporate another of my interests: music.

Let me begin by saying that one of my favorite shows these days is Chuck.  It’s a great mix of nerdiness, action, humor, and enjoyable story lines.  It appeals to me on many levels, since I think I can relate somewhat to the nerdy guy who’s hopelessly in love with the beautiful girl.  Goodness knows I spent enough of my adolescence pining over beautiful, popular girls that I didn’t have a shot with.  Nowadays I’m a lot more comfortable in my skin and therefore can acknowledge with pride that I am in fact, somewhat of a nerd, which makes Chuck’s celebration of all things nerdy that much more enjoyable.  However, it didn’t occur to me until after I’d watched the show for a while that the soundtrack they use is fantastic.  I’ve been going through my own music renaissance lately, revisiting some of my old favorites and looking for new music.  Chuck is a great way to find some new music, since they like to use indie/alternative artists that might be on the fringe of popularity but are great nonetheless.

I suppose this push toward indie music has been prompted by my own personal backlash against pop.  While Ke$ha is annoyingly catchy and sticks in your head in a happy, sugary way, it pains me to even admit that I can recognize her song on the radio and find myself bopping to it.  However, what has completely pushed me to look for non-popular music is Taylor Swift.  I just do not find any redeeming qualities to her music whatsoever.  I refuse to listen to anything she puts out, as much for the fact that it sends legions of pre-adolescent (and probably a number of older) girls into throes of lovestruck sighs and whimpers, as for the fact that it’s musically inane.

Let me explain what I mean by musically inane.

The first introduction I had to music beyond nursery rhymes was a heavy dose of classical “pops” type music mixed with Perry Como, Doris Day, and Johnny Mathis.  During junior high, I tried to foreswear these influences (but now happily acknowledge them) and thanks to my older sisters I was bombarded with Duran Duran, Madonna, and Air Supply.  I remember the first real album (cassette tape) that I felt proud to own was “Forever Young” by Alphaville (Christmas gift from my sister).  There was a perverse pleasure in listening to this album knowing that absolutely no one in my high school had a clue who Alphaville was.  Looking back of course, Alphaville was nothing particularly earth-shattering in terms of musical complexity, but it was enough “alternative” to me that I still have fond memories every time I break it out.  By the time I hit college, I was surviving on a steady diet of top 40 and classical music from the romantic period.  I owe the next evolution in my musical education to my freshman year roommate, Dom, who was heavy into classic rock.  I began to listen to old Genesis, Pink Floyd, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Marillion, and was introduced to World Party.  The one group I didn’t pick up on from my roommate was The Grateful Dead, which, although I respect, I just can’t seem to get into.

I also took a few classes in music, mostly to help boost my GPA and to take a break from Bessel functions and trying to code C++.  One of the most memorable classes that I had was where the professor had us listen to “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx and “She’s Always A Woman” by Billy Joel and made us say which one was the “better” song.  His point was that “She’s Always a Woman” is a more complex song than “Right Here Waiting” and even if we didn’t know squat about music theory or composition, we could tell innately which was a better song.

Which brings me to back to musically inane.  After listening to a song like, “Supper’s Ready,” a 9 minute extravaganza written by Genesis that involves multiple sections, time signatures, and complex lyrics discussing religion and death, anything by Taylor Swift is in a word, inane.  There’s absolutely no musical substance whatsoever and it contributes absolutely nothing to musical development.  I’d even argue it subtracts from musical development.  If I start listening to Taylor Swift, I think my IQ drops by several points, I go into a coma, and begin humming “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

I realize that Chuck is just a TV show, and compared to meaty shows like The Wire or Lost, it’s probably the equivalent of French fries.  However, it’s duck-fat fried French fries if only for the reason that the producers manage to add depth and subtlety by using music by Imogen Heap, Frightened Rabbit, Matt Costa, Leonard Cohen, and Nina Simone, eschewing the trend of using bubblegum pop songs that Dawson’s Creek started.  (Dang, I managed to sneak in a reference to food.)

If I have one vanity (and I probably have more than one), it’s the fact that I take pride in my musical tastes.  I have my fair share of cringe-worthy albums in my collection, but for the most part, I am proud of the music I’ve collected.  I’m always looking for good music to add, and always willing to listen to something new.  I like being clued into a group before they hit it big, and even if they never hit it big, I will still stick with them.  The Lovehammers, David Gray, Vienna Teng, Ray LaMontagne, Nick Drake, eat your heart out.

I am counting on my wife to make sure I don’t become like Barry in “High Fidelity,” however.  Except if you like Taylor Swift.  If you do, I reserve the right to make fun of you incessantly behind your back.

Tags: