I am challenged when coming up with terms to describe music by the bands I like. The best way I know how to do this is, “They sound like ___ .” (Insert similar band’s name there.) And what if they don’t sound like any other band? I don’t have a good way to describe their music.
Along the same lines, wine terminology leaves me cold. “Oak-ey. With a hint of banana.” Etc. When was the last time you drank or ate some oak? And would you like a wine that tastes like banana? Wine terminology also adds in a snobbery factor... people who don’t spend a lot of time and money pondering the nuances of fine wine can’t really understand it.
The relatively poor photo is captured from a video I took of the band Mercuria and the Gemstars, a Denver band that I do like.
(Yes, I know you’re wondering, has Paul gotten into spam? No, I haven’t.)
Unfortunately I have this flaw whereby I can only listen to any recording a limited number of times. Some songs — or even albums — are spent and can never be enjoyed again. The pain comes when my kids start liking those tunes. Then I am forced to listen again.
Why is it that all female Bollywood singers sound the same?
Rolling Stone magazine ran an section at the end of last year called, “50 Best Albums of the Decade”. Though I did not entirely agree with their choices, my tastes ran much closer to the critics who wrote the article than to the tastes of the public. A small evidence of that: I had seen live 18 of the groups or people represented in that list — and none of the top 40 albums for the week at the end of the magazine.
