Sometimes
I find myself buying into the myth that music has gone downhill
nowadays. It's hard not to buy into it when it surrounds you every
day. Walk into a club or a bar, turn on the radio, turn on MTV and
the majority of what you hear is over-produced, under-inspired music.
And for a good deal people, that music is enough because they take
what they're given. I guess growing up I became a music addict and
can't get high on the stuff the media is pushing on me today.
I
became enchanted by the romantic music of Beethoven as a child and
fought the system by turning against my piano teacher and teaching
myself to play piano. I then heard Elvis' voice and went through his
massive body of work in the matter of a year. I discovered a CD
collection called 'Putumayo' that promoted ethnic music and bought
nearly the whole collection at the time. I was introduced to the pop
world with the very best, Michael Jackson. Jackson's music took me
back to the Motown collection. The artists on the label drew me to
the disco era that ended in the creation of the hip hop scene that
became so strong in the early 90's. I had a change of heart in my
teens and heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" blasting through
the speakers of my stereo. I soaked myself in the emotions of the
Seattle sound of the early 90's and discovered a load of other 90's
rock bands that seriously rocked! And next thing I knew I was going
back in time to listen to bands that changed the face of music.
Aerosmith, Led Zep., The Who, Cream, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles
and countless others. And as anyone who knows music knows, I was on a
train headed straight for the blues. All the way to the Robert
Johnson collection and Leadbelly's timeless songs.
But
did the major record labels ever give us what we wanted to listen to?
They didn't give the world grunge until the world screamed for it,
they didn't give the world classic rock until it demanded it. The
truth is, a lot of people don't really know what "the next
thing" is. Even I don't. But I do know what music is good and I
don't feel that the majority of today's music (that you hear on the
radio, the tv, clubs/bars etc.) is fair to the audience. The trouble
is people don't know what they're missing out on. If you don't know
better, of course the drum machine will move you. But for those who
want something more, there's definitely good music out there.
The
reason I made this blog is to direct you to today's worldwide
"underground" music scene, that is Youtube. It's true that
Justin Bieber started out there. For some that is a plus, for others
its completely negative. Well, all I can say is that there is so much
original talent on Youtube. From acoustic acts such as the
wonderfully talented Orla Gartland, who released her single 'Devil On
My Shoulder' on iTunes in 2012, to Kelly Rosenthal, who is one of the
most well-rounded guitarists I've seen on Youtube. They both do a
bunch of covers, but I suggest that you listen to the original stuff,
since you're the one complaining that there's no good original music
out there today. It's there, you just gotta look it up. And I'm doing
my best to direct you to it! If you find any fantastic artists around
the underground Youtube scene send them my way at
infinite_freedom@live.com
and
I'll share them in my future blog posts! Here's the new era of
great music!
© Alex Hamel.
i know you said to give suggestions for great tube artists through your email, but i decided to just just try through the comments sections first since i'm already here.
ReplyDeletefirst: NAUDO. i'm surprised you haven't done a blog post about him; and i'm actually more surprised that he isn't much more famous than he is right now. he is easily one of the best acoustic/fingerstyle guitar players on the tube. just Youtube Naudo How Deep is Your Love, or Naudo Wonderful Tonight, or Naudo Stand by Me or Naudo While my Guitar gently weeps, or Naudo Killing me Softly or Naudo September or Naudo I believe I can fly, etc. just about everything he does is gold. he had so much more on the tube but he was banned so many times (unfairly compared to say Sungha Jung who does mostly the same thing/covers), so a lot of his material has been removed. but unlike regular covers, he adds so much improvisation which is a true hallmark of a creative artist.
another relatively unknown fingerstyle artist is the young Sandra Bae. she has similar talents as Kelly Rosenthal (multiple instruments), but her best cover by far is Queen's Don't Stop me Now. so just Youtube Sandra Bae Don't Stop me now. i've only found 2 or 3 decent covers of this on the tube and her arrangement and performance of this song is master class.
my last suggestion is another versatile young artist/musician, Maddie Rice whose most viewed video is her Cliffs of Dover cover. she also has an excellent Seven Seas of Rye solo (by Queen) not on her channel. her technical mastery approaches that of Laura Cox and Juliette Valduriez although being younger than both, her tone still needs developing. she has numerous involvements with groups and duets where she also sings and does original music.
all 3 of these artists post new videos quite infrequently which seems to be the case among the best artists.
Hi there!
DeleteThanks for your recommendations. I'll definitely check them out. I like the fact that you added your personal opinion, though I do not agree that only those who post videos infrequently are "best". If you're doing your thing and putting up on Youtube, whether it's daily (e.g. Danny McEvoy) or monthly, or even yearly, you're still awesome in my eyes. Additionally, whether you're trained or untrained, i feel you're an equal musician/artist. No need to rank one higher than another.
Thanks for your recommendations though. I'll be checking them out.
Alex Hamel.