I’m currently listening to a random selection of tracks through Media Player, as I try and formulate some kind of mix that will suit all the players for Thursday’s first Jack Daniels ‘Holmside Invitational’ Poker Night (I just bought a Jack Daniels embossed Poker set, so it has to be used immediately!). Thus far it’s proving a tough challenge for me, seeing as all the participants listen to a wide cross-section of genres, but despite the time it’s currently taking, it is do-able.
It’s hard because I don’t want to alienate anybody, and I want everybody to enjoy the musical offerings, but I don’t want to worry that my selections will fail to impress. Actually impress is definitely not the right word; I just want the music to ‘work’ for the occasion. Hard drinking, aggressive playing, good conversation, and coercive banter for good measure. I also have to fit some tracks that will adhere to the likings of a couple of R&B lovers (no not the true Rhythm & Blues meaning of the term, the new definition unfortunately), as well as a couple who are not fully aware of the full repertoire in my collection. Whilst I can get away with throwing in my usual fare of randomness, this has to be an exercise in diplomacy too…so some more mainstream fare will have to pay an appearance. Not that I have too much of that, but I do have quite a lot of tracks and albums that are more accessible than others.
I think I’m just getting carried away with how I imagine the night should be, ever since finishing my Film Studies degree I have become adjusted to thinking in images, and due to my passion for music too, those images always have a soundtrack. Therefore I imagine a lot of
The Doors,
Johnny Cash,
Mike Patton songs (from across the full spectrum of his bands),
Miles Davis etc, artists that you can imagine living to some sort of excess, and that’s where I want this first night to go…drunken excess and a damn good time. For me, the music is a large part of that. This task has only led me to consider the idea I’ve had for some time that I seem to be fairly good at choosing the right music for any particular moment. Most likely because of this, I’ve often considered that I’d like to be the person that chooses the soundtrack for films. To be able to express what the director and screenwriter is portraying onscreen with the right musical accompaniment; I think would be a truly rewarding job. The only thing is I have no idea how to go about being that person.
I often listen to songs and think how good they would be for a specific scenario, or I find myself thinking that I should write a scene with that track as the background music. I find that music is an integral part of my life, and it’s always irked me somewhat to see in films that people don’t listen to music (as well as never going to the toilet also, but that’s another matter)…the first thing I do when I walk into my room at home is annoy my flatmates by playing something at an unreasonable level (I’m only sharing after all), so I want to see this realism portrayed onscreen also. For example, what music would Travis Bickle have been listening to whilst gearing himself up in the mirror (‘you talking to me’ whilst
Black Sabbath’s
Iron Man blares in the background) in
Taxi Driver? It makes a difference in my opinion; I want to hear music play in the scene, not over it. Incidental music has a place, but I want to see music play an integral part in the world I see play out before me. I think it’s a real skill to be able to emphasise the underlying feelings in a scene, but that’s not always the reason I think a certain song is perfect for a certain situation. Sometimes it can be just as simple as it’ll work, without being able to explain why, it just suits the mood.
Which leads me back to the mix for the Poker night, it’s not just about picking songs that I like, they’ve got to work together, and form some kind of cohesive playlist. However, this is far from the work of a skilled DJ, who can seamlessly mix songs together to get people dancing; this is more about encapsulating an evening with my housemates and friends through Jack Daniels, poker and music.
On a separate note, I was hoping to get some feedback if possible from whoever may be reading this blog. I’m not looking for praise or constructive criticism; I’m just trying to see who is out there reading this and how you stumbled upon this blog. I would also be interested to see what you may like to see on here. I’m thinking of updating weekly and having a weekly album review, and having a monthly feature at the end of every month, so that it gives me a deadline to work too, for all the feature ideas I’ve been storing over the past few months. I may also add regular sections such as relevant upcoming album releases, as well as regular gig postings, but these are just ideas at present. I enjoy writing this blog, and I just hope there are actually people out there enjoying reading it. Please don’t think I want anybody stroking my ego , because I’m really not looking for that, I just want the feedback I’ve asked for above. Please send me your feedback to the email address in the contact me section in the right-hand column of the site. I look forward to some replies, but not the possibility of the silence that will speak volumes…
Next time, I will have my list of what I consider to be the best albums of 2006.
Spinning on the home decksMuse – Black Holes and Revelations
Smog – Red Apple Falls
Smog – The Doctor Came At Dawn
Mars Volta – Amputechture
Billy Talent – Billy Talent II
N.E.R.D. – In Search Of
Gogol Bordello – Multi Kontra Culti
I watched this fascinating film the other day called Screaming Masterpieces, which documented the blossoming Icelandic music scene. It featured many different artists covering a range of genres, and two of my favourite's were featured; through footage of Bjork and Minus. The unexpected highlight for me however was a short acoustic piece by the artist Mugison, which pretty much blew me away. It was a simple, yet highly enchanting and bewitching song, but the strained vocals and haunting melody commanded my attention and I played this song through three times before carrying on with the rest of the film.
