04.01.10 | Dave
I have been thinking a lot lately about what itunes has done to us as listeners of music. The most obvious benefit of being part of the itunes generation is that we have immediate access to seemingly any music you want, anywhere, anytime. Furthermore, you can even sample the music, and buy individual cuts off of any album (lower case a). Side note: Before the digital age, these were called singles and cost almost the same as the actual album.
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05.13.2010 | Dave
I don't like the word cover.
In any other genre, when an artist performs the music of another artist it's not a cover, it's simply a performance. You dig?
The art of the cover is a re-contextualization of a piece of music already known to the listener that is infused with the style, voice and subtlety of the new artist. I really enjoy it when artists manage to walk the line (pun intended) between genre's, and introduce fans to new music and new artists.
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06.01.2010 | Dave
Its been my opinion that there are only three genres of music:
Classical, Jazz, and Pop.
For some reason it is easier to lump artists in the first two genres into their respective category and sleep soundly at night knowing that Franz Schubert and Iannis Xenakis are both Classical composers, and Charlie Parker and Ornette Colemen are both Jazz sax players.
On the other hand, when I make the argument that all pop is simply Pop, I've run into some static. So let me explain myself.
Slayer and Johnny Cash are more similar than dissimilar. Jason Mraz and Mushaga should be friends, and AC/DC and Dashboard Confessional fans should make nice and sit quietly on the bus ride home from school.
Here's why...
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06.24.10 | Dave
I have been on a kind of obsessive listening binge with the mandolin playing of Chris Thile and I think it's high time I ask the question:
Who is he?
and
What the hell does he think he's doing?
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07.10.10 | Dave
We at Those Who Dig firmly believe that with comparative listening comes deeper appreciation and understanding. It is remarkable the differences, both subtle and overt, that can occur when one product is seen through the lens of two different artists.
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